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Professional Development 

Pre-Health UA APAMSA has compiled a bank of professional development resources for easy access for our members. From CV/Resume resources to finding jobs on campus, this page has it all!​

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Resume/CV

What is a resume?

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  • Document that summarizes your professional qualifications, skills, and experience

  • Designed to highlight your strengths and relevant experience to potential employers

    • REMEMBER this is an employers first impression of you, this is before interviews and such so make sure that you guys start off on the right foot 

 

Major Components of Resume

  • Heading

    • Name, City and State, phone number, appropriate email

    • Professional Summary (debatable)

      • Something I see sometimes but as college students, I don’t think it is necessary

      • Situations where it could be necessary in the future

        • Non-linear experience, i.e. large gaps in experience. You can use a professional summary to explain a little about these gaps and what/why you took them.

        • Switching fields, i.e. Healthcare to tech. If you apply to a tech job and you have mainly healthcare experience, this might be alarming to employers so having this summary can help them understand why that is.

        • Education

          • Include University, City and State, Major, GPA, and Graduation year

          • Have in reverse chronological order (most recent at the top)

          • If you are a freshman, including your high school is okay but once you get more experience, you can take it off.

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How to write about experiences

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  • Start bullet point with strong action verb

    • Action verb list

    • ^^ list of strong action verbs to use on resume

    • Helps paint the picture of what you did and that can change drastically depending on the verb you decide to use

    • ‘Helped’ vs ‘Coordinated’. ‘Helped’ sounds too passive and general while ‘coordinated’ sounds more proactive and impactful.

    • Try to quantify your skills if possible

      • Giving a specific number just helps the employer visualize your impact during your experience 

  • Before: Helped with event planning.

  • After: Coordinated and executed events with up to 300 attendees, improving attendee satisfaction by 15%

  • Formula for writing about experiences

    • Action verb + what you did + effect of what you did

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Formatting

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  • Choose a template that are simple, no flashy graphics, distracting fonts, or excessive colors. 

  • Personal favorite is the Eller Template, but there are many free resources online, Resume Genius, Resume Now, and Harvard resume template. 

  • Keep resume to one page MAX

    • Employers spend literal seconds on your resume and tend to read in an “F” shape.

    • This is why you experiences should be in reverse chronological order so they read your most relevant information

    • If they are barely reading one page, they for sure are not reading two.

    • Below are some good examples when it comes to format!

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Other things to add

  • Honors and awards, skills, certifications, languages

Things NOT to add/do

  • Do NOT lie 

  • ‘References upon request’

    • If employers care they will ask, but save the space to talk about your experiences

  • Interest and Hobbies unless relevant

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Other Resume resources: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3207-resume-writing-tips.html 

https://eller.arizona.edu/programs/undergraduate/professional-development/career-preparation/resume-cover-letter â€‹

Personal Statement

What is a personal statement?
A personal statement is a written narrative typically included in applications for college, graduate programs, or jobs. It provides an opportunity for applicants to highlight their unique qualities, skills, experiences, and aspirations. Beyond showcasing academic credentials like GPA and test scores, a personal statement offers space to share your personality, motivations, and personal journey.

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How to Structure Your Personal Statement:

Introduction

  • Hook: Start with something engaging—a quote, a thought-provoking question, or a vivid anecdote. Aim to draw the reader in right away.
     

  • Topic Sentence: Clearly introduce what your personal statement will focus on.
     

Body Paragraphs

  • First Supporting Paragraph: Share a specific event, moment, or idea that supports your main theme.
     

  • Second Supporting Paragraph: Introduce a new but related idea or experience.
     

  • Third Supporting Paragraph: Present another perspective or story that reinforces your overall message.
     

Conclusion

  • Reiterate your central message, briefly summarize key points, and leave the reader with a final, memorable thought—perhaps an insightful takeaway or the conclusion to your earlier story.
     

Tips for a Strong Personal Statement:

  • Avoid filler language. Be concise—eliminate unnecessary or repetitive words.
     

  • Be specific. Tailor your statement to explain why you're interested in the field (e.g., medicine) and why you're a strong fit.
     

  • Answer the prompt! Always directly address the question being asked.
     

  • Use concrete examples. Your supporting paragraphs should include detailed experiences and lessons learned.
     

  • Seek feedback. Ask multiple people, preferably from different backgrounds, to review your statement for clarity, impact, and grammar.
     

Need inspiration?

Check out these examples: College Essay Guy - Personal Statement Examples

Finding Research Opportunities

Whether you are pursuing a career in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, or many other healthcare (and non-healthcare) fields, undergraduate research is a staple for a strong graduate school application. However, finding a lab for research can be very overwhelming. Here are a few of the several ways to get involved in undergraduate research at the UofA! 

 

Cold-Emailing Professors

 

Start by finding different professors and what they are researching. A good resource for this is KMAP , which will show you exactly what different professors are working on and their past publications, along with their contact information; KMAP is easier to use if you have already narrowed down your interests. The undergraduate research website is also a great place to find researchers at the UofA who are accepting students. 

 

If you have narrowed down your professor but cannot find their email address, then the UofA Phonebook is a good place to look and has contact information for all faculty and students at the UofA. 

 

Once you have found your professor and a way to contact them, send them an email expressing your interest in doing research in their lab. 

 

Here is a  template to help you get started:

 

Dear Dr. [enter last name],

My name is [enter full name] and I am currently a [enter year of study] year student majoring in [enter major] at [enter university name]. I am writing to ask about available undergraduate research positions in your laboratory. I am interested in [enter topic] and want to pursue a career in [enter career goal]. I was first introduced to this [enter topic] in [enter class/previous research experience] and would love to pursue this topic further. I am very interested in your work on [describe a specific paper or research topic], and I would love to have the opportunity to contribute to your research.

My resume is attached to this email. Please contact me for any additional information or if you have any questions. If possible, I would love to schedule a time at your convenience to discuss this opportunity further.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[Enter full name]

 

Tips for cold emailing:

  • Keep it short and sweet. Professors and researchers are very busy people, so ensure that you are taking up as little time as possible and get straight to the point. You do not need to include all of your qualifications as those should be in your resume. 

  • Make sure you do your research about the lab! Read past publications and really familiarize yourself with the topics they are researching. Professors want to see that you are genuinely interested. 

  • Cold email as many professors as possible! The more people you email, the more chance your have of being accepted into a lab. 

  • Don’t feel discouraged if they do not reply or if they reject you; that is very common!

 

Summer Programs

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Another great way to get involved in research is through summer programs and/or internships. Some great opportunities at the UofA are:

UBRP (Undergraduate Biology Research Program) 

Medical Student Research Program 

REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) 

And more programs around the country! 

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Want to build your resume? Want to earn extra money while being a full-time student? Want to work as a research assistant in a lab? If so, check out Handshake, a free online career hub that gives all students access to job and internship postings, career fairs and employer events, employer pages with peer reviews, and more! Moreover, this website has the feature to narrow down your job search to a specific university and area code, so you can easily find jobs ON CAMPUS!
 

  • Be sure to update your resume with all your relevant experiences 

  • Use the website’s filters to narrow down your search, such as giving a location preference or an area of interest. 

  • Don’t forget to review job descriptions and maintain professional etiquette in your communications with the organizations. 

Visit Handshake here: https://joinhandshake.com/
 
Want to work closer to home? Want to look for summer jobs? Want to for other employers? For any off-campus listings, you can also check out Indeed: https://www.indeed.com/
 
With similar features as Handshake, Indeed allows you to narrow down your search based on your interests and allows you to explore the job details, all in one place!

Jobs On Campus

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