Toastmasters International -How to Create a Comprehensive Résumé

List everything career-related.
Provide the title, organization, location, dates (month and year), and description for each entry. Remember to include both paid and unpaid work, and to list your duties and accomplishments. On a comprehensive résumé, everything is documented—it doesn’t matter if you worked on something daily or one time. You never know when that one item could highlight a key experience an employer is seeking.
Organize the document with as many categories as needed. In addition to the typical Professional Experience and Education categories, consider other sections, such as Volunteer Experience, Presentations, Publications, Computer or Technical Skills, and Language Skills. If something doesn’t fit into a typical category, create an Additional Experience section. I tend to like awards and honors to be integrated into the corresponding entry so a commendation is linked to and highlights the effort. However, not all awards are directly connected to one activity, so you could always create a separate section to list them.
Add the details.
Each entry should have a full and detailed description. When documenting what you did, use bullet points that start with meaningful active verbs to communicate the skill involved, such as “organize,” “manage,” “coordinate,” and “research.” If you are actively doing such activities, use present-tense verbs. Use past-tense verbs for anything done in the past or any fully completed tasks at a current job.
Then add context and quantify, including for such items as amounts (e.g., budget size, numbers of people), levels of people (e.g., government officials, board members, interdepartmental), how often (e.g., weekly, quarterly), and more. You can also add scope by incorporating such descriptive words as “quantitative and qualitative” and “municipal, national, and international.”

You don’t need to be job searching to maintain a comprehensive résumé. It’s best to update one regularly, especially after you do something new or achieve a goal. Then you’ll be ready—whether it’s time for a job search or another opportunity that presents itself, or you need a reminder of all that you’ve accomplished. If you don’t have a comprehensive résumé already, create one today.

—Jennifer L. Blanck