1. Successful Resume Strategies

2. What is a resume? A personal summary of your professional
history and qualifications.
Career Goals
Education
Work Experience
Activities and Honors
Special Skills

3. Purpose of a Resume To get you selected for an interview
Employers get their first impression of your professional standards and talents from
the resume.
What information would you most like to see on a resume if you were on a hiring committee?

4. Preliminary Research Find out Check with General job
information
Desired qualifications
and skills
Key values and words
Check with
One-stop Career Centers
Internet
Trade journals,
magazines, and
newsletters
Directories
Company literature

5. Identifying Information
Put your name, address, phone number, and address prominently at the top of your resume.
Avoid using a nickname to identify yourself.
Consider including your URL address or fax number if you have one.
Use this heading on resume, cover letter, and reference page.
KIMBERLY ANN HURST
1305 Palmer Drive, #1276
West Point, NE 68888
(402) 555 – 1706

6. Objective An “at a glance” picture of you and your career objective
A good objective statement answers the following questions:
What position are you applying for?
What are your main qualifications for this position?
How will these benefit the employer?

7. Examples of Objectives
For practice, complete the Focusing Your Resume and Cover Letter worksheet:
To utilize my [top two or three qualifications, strengths, skills] as a [position title] at [company name]
Seeking a [position title] at [company name] using my [top two or three skills, strengths, qualifications]

8. Work Experience What goes in this section? Company or organization
Location (City, State)
Position title
Dates of employment/involvement
Descriptions of skills, knowledge or accomplishments

9. Example Cabinetmaker May 2002 – June 2005 Woodshop USA Anywhere, NE
Set up and operated machines, including power saws, jointers, mortisers, tenoners, molders, and shapers, to cut and shape woodstock
Built 15 furniture pieces, Queen Anne to Contemporary
Designed, built and installed custom cabinets
Delivered outstanding customer service
Employee of the Month: August 2003, January 2005

10. Getting Started
Using the Work Experience worksheet list the provide the following information starting with your most recent position.
Position
Company
Dates

11. Describing Experiences
Use Action Verbs which are more descriptive and powerful.
Using the Action verb/Skills lists,
go through and place a checkmarks next to all those words that apply to you.
Now go back through and place a checkmarks next to words you think employers in your field would want see.
Words with 2 checkmark should definitely
be included on your resume! .

12. Developing your descriptions
Answer the journalistic questions:
Who?...With whom did you work?
What?...What duties did you perform?
Where?... Where did your job fit into the organization?
Why?..What goals were you trying to accomplish?
When?...What timelines were you working under?
How?...What procedures did you follow?

14. Guidelines Keep statements brief (under 12 words).
Provide examples, quantify when possible.
Avoid unnecessary repetition of action verbs.

15. Developing your descriptions
Sample
Before:
Planned activities
Questions asked: What kinds?, How?, When?, For Whom?
After:
Planned arts, crafts, activities, and exercises weekly for physically-challenged children

16. Making your descriptions match
Column B
Recorded OSHA regulated documents
Conducted material purchasing and expediting
Prepared weekly payroll
Processed charge orders
Column A
Recording OSHA regulated documents
Material purchasing and expediting
Prepared weekly field payroll
Responsible for charge orders .

17. Selling Your Skills Understated Answered phone Wiped tables
Professional
Acted as liaison between clients and legal staff
Created healthy environment for customers and maintained positive public image

18. Education and Training Section
Shows that you are capable of learning
Includes:
Apprenticeship training
On-the-job training
Special workshops and
seminars
Vocational schools
Colleges

19. Example A College in Nebraska Anywhere, NE
Associates in Applied Science Degree: Office Skills Technology (May 2005)
Project Management
Business Presentations
Document Processing

20. Skills and Abilities
Include skills that make you unique, such as computer skills, foreign language skills
Be specific in describing your special skills; name computer programs you know, how long you studied a foreign language

21. General Resume Guidelines
Limit your resume to one page.
Keep a one-inch margin on all four sides.
Do not write in paragraphs, use bullets.
Use fonts between 10 point and12 point, and avoid fancy fonts.
Use 8 1/2” x 11” resume paper in a light color (white, ivory, tan, gray).
Print on laser or high quality ink-jet printer.

22. Resume Writing Tips Use simple, everyday language. Give examples.
Be positive and enthusiastic.
Be honest, don’t exaggerate.
Don’t mention salary or wages.
Don’t list personal references.
Double space between sections, and single space within sections.

23. Electronic Resumes Email attachment, entered online, or scanned
Use a “plain text” format
Eliminate all text formatting
Left justify all text
Important to use key words

24. References Mary Delinsky Position title XYZ Company 123 Millard Avenue
Include the names, addresses, and phone numbers of your references.
Always ask permission before you include any information on your reference sheet.
Give your references a copy of your resume so they will be prepared to talk to employers.
This is a separate page.
Mary Delinsky
Position title
XYZ Company
123 Millard Avenue
Omaha, NE
(402) 494 – 3723

25. What Is a Cover Letter?
A cover letter expresses your interest in and qualifications for a position to a prospective employer.

26. What Should My Cover Letter Accomplish?
Your cover letter should introduce the main points of your resume.
It should also help you to “sell” your qualifications to the prospective employer.

27. Inside Address Address your letter to a specific person who is hiring.
If unknown, send to a specific position, such as Director of Human Resources.
Date
Emma Markley
Human Resources Director
St. Luke's Medical Center
729 South Paulina
Somewhere, NE 68612
Dear Ms. Markley:

28. Introductory Paragraph
Your first paragraph should:
Get the reader’s attention, stimulate interest, and be appropriate for the job you are seeking.
Make your goal clear to readers.
Preview the rest of your letter. Highlight the qualifications you will discuss throughout the letter.

29. Example
My knowledge of public relations and proven communication and leadership skills make me a strong candidate for the position of Media Relations Coordinator that was posted on

30. Goals of the Body Paragraphs
Highlight your strongest qualifications for the position for which you are applying.
Demonstrate how these qualifications will benefit the employer.
Refer employers to your enclosed resume.

31. Detailing Your Experience
Show (don’t tell) employers your qualifications.
Include specific, credible examples of your qualifications for the position.
Use numbers, names of equipment you've used, or features of a project that may apply to the job you want.

32. Example
As a banking representative at Bank One, I provided quality customer service while promoting the sale of products to customers. I also handled upwards of $20,000 a day and was responsible for balancing the bank’s ATM machine.

33. Using Active Language—Don’ts
Don’t be vague in your descriptions.
Don’t use weak verbs such as endeavored, tried, hoped, and attempted.
Don’t use sexist language such as chairman and manpower.
Vague: I worked as a ramp agent at AirOne.
Weak: I attempted to attract customers.

34. Using Active Language—Do’s
Use concrete words to describe your experience.
Use present tense to discuss current activities and past tense for previous job duties or accomplishments.
Be as specific as possible in descriptions; list dollar amounts and figures when you can.
Vague: I worked as a ramp agent for AirOne.
 Specific: As a ramp agent, I assisted in loading baggage, oversaw fueling the aircraft, and stocked commissary items on the aircraft.
Weak: I attempted to attract customers.
Strong: I initiated a program to attract customers to Pizza Hut, which resulted in a 5% increase in sales for the month of June.

35. Concluding Your Letter
Conclude by asking for a personal interview.
Be flexible regarding a date and time for the interview.
Be specific about how the interviewer should contact you.
Include a thank you.
I would welcome the
opportunity to discuss these and other qualifications with you. If you are interested, please contact me at (317) any morning before 11:00 a.m., or feel free to leave a message.

36. Organizing Your Letter
In general, cover letters should be no longer than one typed page.
Organize your body paragraphs to emphasize your strongest and most relevant qualifications. Only include the two or three strongest qualifications from your resume.
Make it easy for readers to scan your letter by beginning each paragraph with a topic sentence.

37. Mailing Your Letter With Your Resume
Coordinate the design of your letter with the design of your resume.
Be sure to send both to prospective employers; they both reveal different kinds of information about you.

38. Key Points to Remember
Appeal to company values, attitudes, goals, projects, etc.
Elaborate on the information in your resume.
Provide evidence of your qualifications.
Proofread carefully for grammatical and typographical errors. The cover letter and resume should be error-free.

39. QUESTIONS For further assistance contact:
NE Workforce Development or your local college/university