What is a Resume?

A resume is a dense, fact-based document that provides information on your educational background, details your past professional experience, lists your top skills, and showcases your achievements (MIT, Career Advising & Professional Development).

Here’s what’s usually included:

• Contact info: Name, Email, Phone Number, LinkedIn and/or Personal Website

• Education: School Name, Degree, Major, Expected Graduation, and sometimes Relevant Courses

• Experience: Jobs, Internships, Research, etc.

• Projects: Class Based, Personal, and/or Team Projects

• Skills: Foreign Languages, Programming Languages, Lab Techniques, Software's, and/or Tools

• Leadership / Involvement: Clubs, Mentorship, Student Groups, Outreach

• Honors: Awards, Recognitions, Academic Honor Roll / Deans List.

• Extras: Publications, Certifications, Presentations, TA Experience, Study Abroad, etc.

How is a STEM Resume Different?

STEM resumes tend to focus more on technical experience. If you’re in engineering, computer science, or physics, it’s important to include projects you’ve done, even if they were for class. If you’re in research fields, your resume should make it clear what tools or methods you’ve worked with. Here’s a good resource for STEM resume advice from MIT: https://capd.mit.edu/resources/resumes-writing-about-your-skills/

Master Resume Vs. One Page Resume

A master resume is a full document that includes everything you’ve done. It’s not meant to be sent out for every opportunity, but it’s useful to keep updated so you always have a record of your experiences. There are times when a master resume is actually what’s needed. For example, graduate school applications, fellowships, and some academic programs may ask for a full CV, which is similar to a master resume. These programs often want to see all of your academic, research, and professional experience.

A one page resume is what you actually use when applying. You pick and choose from your master resume based on what the opportunity is. You can add or cut out experiences based on relevance to what you are applying to.

Research Vs. Industry Resume

Research and industry jobs tend to look for different things, so it helps to know what each one values. If you’re applying for a research position, like an REU or working in a university lab, the focus is usually on your academic background. This includes your GPA, relevant coursework, and research methods. If you’ve done a poster presentation or contributed to a paper, that’s a big plus. In contrast, industry roles tend to focus more on how you solve problems, work on a team, and apply technical skills in real world settings. They like to see internships, hands on project experience, and results that show impact.

A Note on Format & Action Verbs

One of the most important things you can do is start each bullet point with an action verb. This makes your experience sound more confident and clear. Instead of saying “Responsible for maintaining lab equipment,” you can say “Maintained and calibrated lab equipment used in daily geochemical analysis.” Starting with action verbs helps readers quickly understand what you did and your impact.

Additional Resources

Here are some helpful links to get you started or improve your current resume:

• NSBE Resume Writing Guide

• Indeed STEM Resume Examples

• Space to Succeed Resume Template

• Action Verbs for Resumes: List from UC Berkeley