1. Writing Winning Resumes – Marketing Your Professional Self
Student Resource Centre
Student Employment Services

2. Workshop Outline Student Employment Services Purpose of a Resume
Considerations
Types of Resumes
Presentation and Formatting Tips
Employability Skills
Organizing Your Resume

3. Student Employment Services
Supports students with their search for
employment
Resource materials
Workshops (Student Success)
Resume critiques
Job postings on the myMacEwan Student portal (Student Services & Student Employment Services)
Employment Services for Students

4. Why Write A Resume?
To persuade your readers that you are the best person for the job – a self-marketing tool
To construct a professional image of yourself and establish your credibility
To provide a sample of your written communication skills
To peak a recruiter’s interest so that they want to find out more about you
To sell your skills, experience and accomplishments that are relevant to the position you are applying for

5. A Winning Resume
Employers use resumes as a screening device. You have about 20 seconds to make a positive impact.
Recruiters will use a variety of criteria to make their stack of resumes a little smaller. Spelling errors and length are two common mistakes.

6. Owed to a Spell Chequer Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marques, four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
It’s letter perfect awl the weigh,
My chequer told me sew.

7. How Not to Present your Professional Self
“Worked party-time as an office assistant”
“Typing speed of rpm”
“Assisted with murders and acquisitions”
“I have lurnt WP 6.0 computor and spreadsheet programs”
“Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year”
“Manged an office of ten persons”
“I was working with my Mom until she decided to move”
“Marital Status: Single. Unmarried. Unengaged. Uninvolved”

8. Considerations…
The longer your resume is, the greater the risk that it will not be understood or even read entirely
Competition for good jobs results in a high volume of resumes and applications
It takes a trained, well-disciplined recruiter to give the same consideration to the last application as the first
Source: You’re Hired!” Job Search Strategies for the 90’s.

9. Planning must be a deliberate prelude to writing.
E.B. White
Author

10. Types of Resumes There are three common types of resumes:
A chronological resume emphasizes dates in reverse order, duties of jobs and highlights a steady work history
A functional resume emphasizes related skills and abilities
A combination resume emphasizes jobs and skills. It clearly lists relevant skill areas and presents a fuller picture of your strengths

11. Delivery Methods
Think about your job-search strategy and make some decisions about current resume technologies.
Traditional print resumes
Scannable resumes
On-line web resumes
Research what is current in the industry you are targetting

13. Presenting Your Information
Think not of yourself, but your professional self
Target your resume to the job you are applying for
Present information in easy-to-read categories
Use headings to help skimmers find what they are looking for
Use details to convince skeptics you really have the qualifications you say you do
Validate the employability skills identified by the Conference Board of Canada

14. Conference Board of Canada Employability Skills
Communication Skills
Thinking and Decision-Making Skills
Positive Attitude and Behaviors
Flexibility and Adaptability
Time-Management Skills
Organizational Skills
Teamwork Skills

15. A Targeted Resume
A targeted resume addresses the employer’s need for a specific skills set
The resume content includes experience and accomplishments that are relevant to the targeted skill(s)
It quickly demonstrates to the employer that you are a good match for the position

16. Targeting Review the top employability skills
Identify areas that you feel you can demonstrate through life, work and your recent educational experience
Refer to a specific job ad that you are interested in. Highlight the skills required. Assess the fit.

17. Designing Your Resume Top 10 Visual Appeal Tips
Place your strategic selling features within the visual centre
Place supporting information below it
Less important material goes at the bottom of the page

18. Take Note…. Beware of appearing single-dimensional
Many companies appreciate generalist skills, especially small- to medium-sized companies where you are often expected to wear many hats
By eliminating broad-based, value-added skills, you may appear less qualified in comparison with other candidates

19. Organization Your name should be one of the focal points
Headers
Your name should be one of the focal points
Include anywhere from 3 to a maximum of 8 data bits to your header
Examples: name, address, residence phone, business phone, cellular phone, fax, personal , business web-page
A word about addresses & voice mail messages

20. Objective or Focus Statement
Should focus on the employer’s needs
Make it work-centered, not self-centered
Direct your writing toward what the employer wants and how you can give it to them

21. Three Key Pieces of Information to Include in Your Objective
1) The position you want
2) The key skills that qualify you
3) The benefits or value to an employer

22. This….
Marketing research position that will use my strengths in demographic research and analysis to target, develop and maintain a dominant market share for your company.
Retail buyer with impressive record contributing to gross margin improvement, comparable store sales and product development.
Human Resources graduate with internship experience in training and compensation and benefits. Strong analytical skills and knowledge of budgeting and planning. Seeking an entry-level HR generalist position.

23. Not This….
Challenging position with a dynamic, growth- orientated company that will lead to advancement opportunities.

24. Title Statement
You can quickly convey your job focus with a short noun phrase, known as a title statement
Centre it below the header of your resume
This technique is clean, gets across your point and saves you one or two lines of space

25. CUSTOMER SERVICE/SALES SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL
PATIRA LANE
Street Residence:
Edmonton, AB T6A 2B Cellular:
CUSTOMER SERVICE/SALES SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL

26. Qualifications Summary
Provides a concise, easy-to-read summary of your skills and qualifications at the visual centre of the resume
Three to five points that include a balance of
Hard skills
Technical training & knowledge base & experience
Soft skills
Teamwork, communication, initiative

27. Be Prepared…
…to back up your summary statements with evidence

28. Alternate Names for Qualification Skills Summary
Accomplishments
Background
Career Summary
Chronology
Highlights
Professional Profile
Skills Summary
Strengths
Features and Benefits

29. Skills Section(s)
A Skills section works well for people in career transition, those with unrelated industry experience or limited paid experience, or no recent work history
It avoids redundant job descriptions from employer to employer
Use sub-headings to outline up to a half dozen skill areas that reflect your talents and strengths

30. Skills Section(s) Focus on skills relevant to the position you are
applying for i.e. transferable skills
For each key skill area, think of several accomplishments
Use action words to begin each statement i.e. prepared, developed, created, researched…

31. Education
Place this section within the visual centre of your resume if received within the past three years and is related to your profession
Once you have gained relevant experience, place below your experience
When decades have passed… place at the bottom and eliminate dates of graduation

32. If Education is Your Biggest Selling Point (and even if it’s not) …
Elaborate
Can also include current and related credentials, certificates and licenses
Treat your education like work experience

33. For Example: EDUCATION
Management Studies Diploma, Insurance and Risk Management
Major, 2003 – 2005
Grant MacEwan College, Edmonton, AB
Course work highlights: accounting, business law, personal property
insurance, liability insurance, claims and risk management
Field Placement (170 hours): Allstate Insurance
Provided excellent customer service while taking the lead on three client files
Honours: The Co-operators Scholarship
Based on academic achievement and the demonstration of leadership
Co-curricular activities: Planning Committee for the Student Business
Conference. Member of the International Business Association. Student
mentor for first-year business students.

34. Demonstrating and Validating Your Skills
Many recruiters have indicated that new grads are expected to demonstrate and validate the following:
good communication and interpersonal skills
ability to function as a team player and to take initiative
adaptability, flexibility, motivation and a positive attitude
How do you show this?
By specific examples integrated into your resume and cover letter. Where/when did you demonstrate these skills?

35. Skills Developed as Part of Your Educational Experience
Research, writing and organizational skills
Writing essays and term papers
Analytical skills and critical thinking
Examining case studies, conducting lab experiments, participating in class projects
Team Work
Group projects

36. Skills Developed as Part of Your Educational Experience
Communication skills, time-management
skills, flexibility and the ability to set goals
Volunteering, working at part-time and summer jobs
Initiative and leadership skills
Involvement in campus activities
Participation on committees where you have held a position or title

37. Incomplete Diploma
Present as a Diploma Program: Accounting and Strategic Measurement, Grant MacEwan College
Accounting and Strategic Measurement program – completed 3 terms of the diploma program before accepting an accounting training opportunity with…

38. Work Experience Position title Dates Company, Location
accomplishment/achievement, skills used woven in with duties
For example…
Server Oct present
Moxie's, Edmonton, AB
Demonstrated excellent communication and interpersonal skills while delivering exemplary customer service

39. Awards and Honours
Consider the impact before deciding where to place this section
If related to your career objective, place near visual centre
If limited to community work, position near the bottom
If only one, weave it into the Qualifications Summary

40. Interests/Hobbies/Activities
Recruiters want to know who you really are and whether you will fit in with their team/workplace/corporate culture
It should support your candidacy – if it doesn’t, leave it out

41. Examples Travel experiences Language skills Athletic abilities
Involvement in team sports
Musical/theatrical/performance abilities
Favourite reading material
Unusual experiences
Special interests

42. Important If you use an Interest category, make sure it is,
indeed, of interest and supports your professional image
If it reads like the one below and you’re not applying to work as a seniors’ activity co-ordinator, rework or eliminate it
INTERESTS
Member of Bonnie Doon Bowling Team
Play clarinet
Enjoy gardening, canning and knitting

43. Prune, prune, prune… Resumes should be no more than 2 pages
Ask yourself, “Does this information support or detract from my candidacy?”
Omit information that does not support your skills for the position
Weed out personal pronouns

44. References
List on a separate sheet of paper – bring to your interview UNLESS the recruiter requests references be included with your resume
Minimally three
Professional
Supervisors
Instructors
Field Placement Supervisors
Include name, professional title, contact information
Ask permission…first!
Keep your references updated about your job search

45. Resumes…
Should include only relevant information about your professional self for specific employers.
Should be re-written and updated often – like a career, a resume is a work-in-progress.
Must include research, planning, questioning and self-reflection as part of the process.

46. Lead with your strengths
Remember
Language is powerful
Lead with your strengths
Show what you know

47. On the human chessboard, all moves count.
Miriam Scheff

48. Thank You Patti Albert, Student Advisor Room 121, SRC, South Campus
Rita J Kolpak, Student Advisor
Room 7-112, SRC, City Centre Campus