Resumes & Cover Letters

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

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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.

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Check out our resume resources.

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Editable Resume Templates

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

Stanford Career Education’s Handshake Resources

Learn more about writing a resume and cover letter from Stanford Career Education’s Handshake resources.

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

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:

• An introduction and why you’re interested in the role
• Why you’re qualified for the role (with examples)
• How your experience aligns with the organization
• Summary and thank you