Resumes & Cover Letters

Your resume and cover letter are powerful ways to tell your story to an employer.

Personnel manager reviewing an applicant's materials. Credit: @ prostock-studio / Freepik

More About Resumes

To apply for internships, jobs, and other opportunities, your one-page resume should connect your past experience with the employer’s needs and demonstrate why you’re qualified for an opportunity. Follow these steps to create or tailor your resume:

Decide what you want the employer to know about you and your experience.
Organize your information under descriptive headings that summarize your relevant experience for the employer.
Describe each experience, focusing on directly-related skills that demonstrate you are a good match for the position.

Check out our resume resources.

Knight Management Center, Stanford Graduate School of Business, opening day. Credit Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service

Editable Resume Templates

Create a resume by starting with one of our editable resume templates.

Learn More

If you are a PhD student or Postdoc, watch this video for helpful tips on writing a compelling resume.

Watch this Video on YouTube

Close-up of an individual providing a resume to another. Credit: @ Drazen Zigic / Freepik

Cover Letters

The purpose of a cover letter is to illustrate your future potential with an organization. It is a one-page document that is tailored for one role and one organization that uses examples from your past experience to demonstrate why you’re qualified for this target role. A compelling cover letter includes four sections: