Revised August 2013
Learning Resource Center Practice Department
320 Newbury, 6th Floor 320 Newbury, 5th Floor
www.the-bac.edu/LRC www.the-bac.edu/practice
CAREER SERVICES
CHRONOLOGICAL RÉSUMÉ
A résumé is a summary of your skills and background designed to get you a job interview. A one-page, 8.5” by 11”,
black and white marketing device, it is necessary for entry into any area of Practice (Gateway Project,
internship/job, Practice Assessment). It is a well-crafted piece of design that showcases your abilities to put
together a clear, readable, consistent document. It is not an autobiography. Before you start, ask yourself, “Who is
my audience? What do they need to know in order to consider me for an interview? And how can I best frame my
prior skills and experience?” The chronological résumé is recommended for students with significant (two or
more years of) professional design experience, as it highlights your professional background, responsibilities, and
accomplishments.
Heading
Your name, complete mailing address, phone number, email address … identical to your cover letter.
You do not need to write “Email: ( your address)” or “Phone: ( your number).” Just list your address and
number.
List one phone number, the one you’d want prospective employers to reach you at. Answer it professionally,
and be sure you have a professional outgoing voicemail message.
Use a professional email address, e.g. BAC email. Remove all hyperlinks throughout all documents.
Education
List colleges in reverse chronological order, most recent (BAC) first.
Format your Education section identically to your Experience section. For example:
School/Company, City, State Month Year – Month Year
Degree/Title
For each college, list the dates you attended and the degree you received. For BAC, write: “Candidate for
[Degree]”
Make sure your degree is written correctly:
o Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Interior Design, Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Bachelor of
Design Studies, Master of Architecture, Master of Interior Design, Master of Landscape Architecture,
or Master of Design Studies
Do not put your expected graduation date. Write: “[Month Year Started] – present.”
Optional: include GPA if 3.25 or higher.
Do not list individual classes. Communicate such knowledge in your cover letter and/or Skills section.
Experience
This is the main focus of your résumé, as it calls attention to your background, responsibilities, and
achievements.
List your jobs in reverse chronological order, most recent first.
Start each bulleted responsibility or achievement with an action verb: answered, composed, created,
designed, guided, managed, mediated, oversaw, presented, etc. Vary your action verbs. For a helpful list of
verbs, visit www.quintcareers.com/action_skills.html. If you’re still at the job, use present tense. If not, use
past tense.
Don’t list the same skills for every job. Whenever possible, try to indicate professional growth. Give more
recent jobs greater emphasis (more bullets).
Study job ads carefully. Reorder your bullets to draw attention to the skills an employer is most looking for.
Revised August 2013
Additional Skills/Interests
Use this last section of your résumé to provide a complete picture of who you are as a person.
o Professional memberships (e.g. BSA Student Member)
o School organizations (an Atelier committee)
o Volunteerism, community-based activities
o Languages (highly valued these days!)
o Travel, sports, outdoor activities, hobbies, interests
Please note:
The use of an Objective is not recommended for any format. Your objective should be clearly stated in your
cover letter.
You need not write “References Available Upon Request.” For most jobs, it’s assumed that references - and
work samples - can be requested at any time.
Remember, every document must be 100% free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Once you have a
résumé drafted, make an appointment with the Learning Resource Center (writingcenter@the-bac.edu).
Revised August 2013
Chronological résumé template:
FIRST LAST
123 Fake Street, City, State, Zip
555-555-5555
EDUCATION
Boston Architectural College, Boston, MA Month Year – present
Candidate for (Degree) of (Discipline)
GPA: 3.5
Prior College, City, State Month Year – Month Year
(Degree) of (Discipline)
GPA 3.7
Semester Abroad: City, Country
EXPERIENCE
Some Design Firm, City, State Month Year – present
Title
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Some Design Firm, City, State Month Year – Month Year
Title
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Some Design Firm, City, State Month Year – Month Year
Title
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Some Design Firm, City, State Month Year – Month Year
Title
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
Skill/Responsibility, started with an action verb
INTERESTS
Membership: Organization 1, Organization 2, Organization 3
Languages: fluent in (language); working knowledge of (language)
Travel: Country 1, Country 2, Country 3, Country 4, Country 5
Interests: hobbies, outdoor/athletic activity, artistic/musical endeavors, etc.
