What to put on a resume?

Resume questions: what to put on or leave off?

• I graduated with a B.S. in Communication degree in 2008. Not finding work with my degree and needing money, I went back to my summer retail job and have been there since. In 2010 I went to graduate school for a Master's of Public Health for one semester. One of my friend committed suicide during midterms and I became very depressed. I tried to seek help, but even for a large campus, the best advice I got was to get over it! I also learned I didn't want to do public health. My GPA in undergrad was a 3.64, in grad school I earned a C and two D (meaning I flunked out). I have picked up new volunteer work and hobbies since I flunked out of grad school. Even though I have been promoted at my job, I realize it's a dead-end and I know I need to move on. I will be going to a career fair this week, hence have to get my resume ready. I will be looking at retail management jobs. On my resume, can I leave off grad school? I feel I should put grad school on my resume, mainly because I don't want employers thinking I've just been working at my store and haven't tried anything since graduation. Yet I want to leave it off, because I'm applying to work not related to public health and the low GPA. Is there a way I can put it on there or leave it off? Another thing I'm not sure about putting on my resume is a forum I designed and moderator. It's a small site, I'm proud of it, but I don't know how employers will react to going to this site and seeing that I'm involved in gaming. Would an employer really go look at the site? I have other volunteer work like mentoring and organizing donation drives, that I have no problem mentioning. Basically my questions: Keep in mind I'm applying for management retail jobs. 1. How do I handle my failure with graduate school on my resume? Leave it off? I'd want to show my undergrad GPA, but not my grad GPA. 2. Do I mention the gaming forum? It's technically a hobby, but I think it would show my computer skills and leadership. If I do mention it, do I include my screen name for the site? Thanks in advance!

• Answer:

  I think it's a great idea to put the site you created on your resume. It shows that you have an entrepreneurial spirit and are a go-getter; they should be impressed by that. I'm assuming you're applying for entry-level positions right now, so putting the short time you were in grad school on your resume isn't vital to you getting hired.