If you go to a school that classifies your degree (i.e. second class honours, first class honours), then I think you should put that as it doesn't indicate your EXACT GPA (e.g. an upper second class is roughly a 3.5 or so), but might give the employer a rough idea. I'm not sure if too many schools do this anymore, or if at all in the US. It might be an old British thing that is only practiced by a few schools in Canada.

Does Queen's do that? I know Guelph doesn't. Also, British schools are starting to move away from that classification.

Queen's did it when I graduated in 2002. They changed it last year, and replaced First Class Honours with "Distinction".
Students can still get old classifications if they want to.

http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/student...ion/index.html

Do not list volunteer work that has political leanings...it's just safer that way. The same goes for anything that will get people overly excited like pro-life, pro-choice, Greenpeace or PETA. As for leaving it off and it looking like 'you've never worked a day in your life', I personally think having volunteer experience on your resume is overrated, in terms of if it will really help you to get the job or not.

Lastly, I am not sure if you are referring to the Junior League as the organization that "some may view as snobby", since I know you are in JLT (and I was in JLC until I moved) but 99.9999999% of Canadians will not even know what Junior League is; they'll think it's Junior Achievement or something to do with sports and kids, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm just saying...is all.

For the political stuff: I currently have "volunteered for political campaigns at all three levels of government". No party is specified. As for the Junior League, I would think that it would depend on where I am looking for work. I have sent resumes to the States as well.

I just wanted everyone to know that I just did my first stupid (at least that I caught) thing on my cover letter. I had e-mailed in my resume for a position, and sent it in form letter form... I forgot to replace the "Dear Sir or Madam" so it read:

Dear Ms. Smith,

Dear Sir or Madam,


What's frustrating is that this is a position that I actually cared about and wanted, I just was too tired. Silly me, I shouldn't have used a form letter.

i've never been in this situation. i'm submitting my resume to an interim position. the job description is "a temporary basis lasting 6 months but could lead to a permanent position," for entry-level newspaper editorial blah. which works out wonderfully because that's as long as i'll be in the area.

but do i tell them that i would consider, or want, the permanent position, when i'm fairly certain that i will only work ad-interim until next summer? would letting them know that my intentions are to leave after 6 months affect my chances? will lassie make it to the town and back to the well before the storm drowns lil' timmy thompson mcthamerson?

Yes. Make them think it's about them and only them. Look out for your own interests. At the same time it is a 6 month position so you shouldn't feel bad if you choose to leave. But I would be willing to bet someone money that as soon as they divulge the fact that they don't want to be there too long, they will not be hired.

-Rudey

freelance jobs & websites
 

What is the best way to list freelance jobs? Most of my freelance jobs are graphic/web design. I'm thinking just make a separate section and list the jobs without going into detail.

Also, I have a website that relates to my field. I designed it to be professional because I wanted to include it on my resume. It contains some of my better class projects and some I just did for fun. For those who work in HR, have you found applicants listing websites.

English major here!
 

Heya.. I'm going to apply for a job soon!

I am a sophomore in college. Should I include a cover sheet or paragraph? I am unfamiliar with a format for this part of a resume. Please give a sample or advise concerning what to include in a cover sheet or introduction paragraph.

I think my resume is pretty decent (divided into: "Work Experience", "Academic Experience and Related Skills", "Writing Experience" [related to the jobs I'm applying for], "Extracurricular Activities and Community Service"). Since I will need a lot of writing and editing skills, I am adding my composite and English/verbal scores for ACT and SAT too. Do you think this is a good idea, since I don't have too many previous jobs?

Thanks for your advice!

Some of the jobs that I'm applying for are asking for computer skills. Should I list on there that I built our website and maintain it or no?

Re: English major here!
 

ALWAYS include a cover letter. I usually won't consider resumes that dont' have a cover letter, because it shows (at least to me) that the person can't be bothered putting in the effort. Also, a cover letter is a great place to explain some things that you might not be able to put on your resume, such as why the company should hire you over anyone else with a similar background. As an English major applying for writing jobs, it is especially important, because you can showcase your writing skills. Monster has a lot of information about cover letters here: http://resume.monster.com/archives/coverletter/

SAT/ACT scores have been discussed in this thread previously, and some say they help and others don't care either way. I would say that if you want to include them, go ahead. It's not going to hurt your chances if you include them (an employer isn't going to say "I don't care about this person's SAT scores" and throw away your resume because they're there), and there is a small chance that it may help you.

Definitely include that information, and possibly include a link to the Web site so that the employer can check out your skills. The more experience you put on your resume, the better, even if it's not directly related to academics or employment.

Definately.

i checked and fixed my student teacher's resume today.

her advisor in college insisted that she include "references available upon request" at the bottom of the resume. i said to take it off because of course your references are available if they ask you. i feel that most people use that as a filler to make their resume look longer and you don't need it. i told her to have a nicely typed paper with her contacts' names and addresses and phone numbers on it that she can give out when they ask her.

what are your thoughts on the "references available upon request" line on your resume?

I think things like "Pike Dreamgirl" or "ATO sweetheart" are irrelevant and should be omitted. :p