Bursar Resume Example

For a bursar, it’s all about the money — and that’s never truer than when you’re on the hunt for a job that pays you every penny you’re worth. When it comes to convincing employers you’re worth the investment, your first step is presenting a compelling summary of your experience with an unforgettable resume and outstanding achievements. In our bursar resume sample, we show you how to turn a job application into payday by breaking down the components of an effective resume and how you can build your own. If you still need help, don’t hesitate to give our resume builder a spin and take a guided tour of your exceptional career performance.

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Pamela Dugan

100 Broadway Lane
New Parkland, CA 91010
Cell: (555) 987-1234
pamela@dugan.com

Professional Summary

Task-oriented Bursar with extensive experience in a higher education accounts environment. Administrative and accounting expertise, detail-oriented and efficient. Specializing in customer service and conflict management.

Core Qualifications

• Financial aid
• Payment receiving and processing
• Transaction reports
• Account updating
• Record entry and maintenance
• Time management
• Customer service

Experience

Bursar, July 2009 – Present
New Parkland University – New Parkland, CA

• Received and recorded student payments for over 2000 accounts.
• Assisted in financial aid monitoring.
• Posted payments to student accounts for tuition, books and other expenditures.

Bursar, August 2007 – July 2009
New Parkland Community College – New Parkland, CA

• Received student payments and inputted into record system for approximately 1200 accounts.
• Maintained daily transaction reports.
• Made adjustments and changes to student accounts.

Education

2007 Bachelor of Science, Accounting
New Parkland University – New Parkland, CA

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Why Is This a Good Bursar Resume Sample?

When you work in a university environment, it can be tempting to fall back on one of two standards for academic resumes: the overly brief CV, or the standard novel-length resume that demands every tiny unnecessary detail of every job. Neither of these approaches actually works, when what you need is an achievement-oriented resume written in the same engaging style as our bursar resume sample.

Not sure what that style is? It’s called action writing, and it’s proven time and time again to be the best way to write a resume. Action writing uses — you guessed it — action verbs that replace passive phrasing and tired, dull words that make your job sound like exhaustive labor. Instead of saying “I was involved in financial aid monitoring,” you can say much more concisely and dynamically that you “assisted financial aid monitoring,” just like the example jobs in our bursar resume sample. Rather than being in charge of student payments, you posted student payments.

So how does this style of writing work? It’s simple; it’s really first-person writing, with the person taken out of the sentence. The subject of every sentence in action writing is “I,” as in “I specialize in customer service and conflict management” or “I received and recorded payments for over 2,000 accounts.” Yet if you look at the bursar resume sample, the opening summary actually says “Specializing in customer service and conflict management” while the job details say “Received and recorded payments for over 2000 accounts.” To avoid repetition, we drop the “I” and make it implied so each sentence starts with a verb that sizzles and creates a much stronger impression than passive voice.

Leveraging the strengths of action writing, you can build an outstanding resume that jumps off the page and directly involves the reader rather than a static document. Don’t just convey facts, take control of your resume and how you portray your professional history.

Why You Need a Strong Bursar Resume

Employment for general accounting and finance professionals has been on the rise since 2014, but with universities so often operating with fixed budgets and extensive budget freezes during different periods of the year, bursar jobs are often filled quickly and taken off the market. It’s best to move fast and get in the front door with the first wave of applicants before hiring closes again.

Ideally, you should have your resume ready at all times, which means reviewing your documents and doing everything you can to improve them. Our bursar resume sample provides an excellent example of the ideal end result for a well-written, captivating resume. With our format, you can make sure you’re ready whether a new job opportunity pops up next week, next month, or next year.

Costly Bursar Resume Mistakes To Avoid

Confidentiality is key when selecting information to include in your resume. Because you’re often privy to sensitive details regarding budget and grant funds, disbursements, scholarships, and student financial records, including certain information in your resume could put you in violation of prior employers’ confidence. A bursar’s resume isn’t like a sales manager’s resume; publicly disclosing budget amounts or other finance and treasury data is a breach that can make you appear untrustworthy to potential employers. If you’d like to include metrics to leave an impression, take a page from our bursar resume sample and use a metric such as the number of student accounts handled.

Remember not to repeat yourself from job to job. Even though you may have performed the same duties at different institutions, vary the functions you choose to draw attention to so you can create a well-rounded presentation of diverse skills. Use creative language to rewrite anything necessary to include multiple positions, to avoid repetition, and keep your reader’s interest.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve reviewed what makes our bursar resume sample work, it’s time to apply those principles to your resume and give it a solid tune-up. Changing how you portray your experience can change how you perceive yourself and give you the confidence to reach for bigger and better things as you continue your career path.