Before you begin applying for internship and full-time employment opportunities, and to graduate schools, it will be necessary to create a polished resume, draft well-written cover letters and develop your list of professional references.

To schedule an appointment with a career counselor to review your documents, log into your Handshake account and click on the Career Center tab.  Before your appointment, please use the resources and samples below to get you started on the creation of your documents. 

Resume & cover letter tutorials

• Resume Tutorial
• Cover Letter Tutorial
• Writing With Action Verbs

First-year student resume resources

• Resume Resources & Samples
• First-year Resume Sample 1
• First-year Resume Sample 2

Creating your resume and cover letter

• Sample Resume Template
• Sample Cover Letter Template

Internship sample resume & cover letter

• Internship Resume Sample
• EDGE Certificate Program Resume
• Internship Sample Cover Letter

Sample resumes with EDGE certificates

• EDGE Certificate
• EDGE with Distinction Certificate
• EDGE with Distinction Certificate 2

Sample resumes based on academic school

Sample cover letters

• Internship Cover Letter Samples
• Full-time Employment Cover Letter Samples
• Bulleted Cover Letter Samples
• Graduate School Admission Cover Letter Samples
• Education Cover Letter Samples

Curriculum vitae resources

• CV, Undergraduate English
• CV, Undergraduate Biology
• CV, Undergraduate Psychology
• CV Writing Tips and Samples, from the Graduate College, University of Illinois 

Professional references

• Do not submit references with your resume unless asked. Provide upon request.
• Get 3-5 professional references, meaning people who have supervised you in an academic setting or during a job, internship or volunteer position.
• Always secure permission from a reference in advance. Also, send your reference a copy of your resume and job description. Give your references a "heads up" when you expect they will be contacted. Be sure to thank your references for their help.