1. English IV 2016

2.  Professional summary of your background and qualifications  Usually includes information about  Education,  Career objectives,  Work experience, activities,  Awards or honors,  Other special skills you might have

3.  Your resume should be no longer than 1-2 pages. 1 page (front only) is perfect for a high school student.  Use at least 11 point font  Avoid flashy FONTS - use Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri  Use spell check and TRIPLE check for typos and grammatical errors.

4. 1. Spelling Errors/Typos 2. Poor Grammar 3. Inaccurate Dates or None at all 4. Inaccurate or Missing Contact Information 5. Formatting 6. Non-functional Resumes 7. Long Resumes 8. Long Paragraphs 9. Unqualified Candidates 10. Personal Information Unrelated to the Job

5.  Research the job you want  Desired qualifications  Experience level required  Skills needed  Research the company you want to work for  Check their website  Look for the company philosophy, values, etc.  When you get an interview, they may ask you about this! Be ready to answer!

6.  Put your name, email address, and phone number at the very top of your resume.  Bold your name  Center all information at the top of the resume  DO NOT include your address- don’t give employers an opportunity to prejudge you! John Doe johndoe@gmail.com 817-555-5555

7.  Make sure you have a professional email address- if you don’t have one sign up for one!  Don’t use email addresses like haltomhottie@gmail.com or bigbadbasketballballer@yahoo.com. haltomhottie@gmail.com bigbadbasketballballer@yahoo.com  Get an email address with your name only- johndoe@gmail.com or janeelizabethdoe@yahoo.comjohndoe@gmail.com janeelizabethdoe@yahoo.com

8.  First line after your contact information.  Is a sentence that includes skills, qualifications and strengths which are related to the job you are applying for.  Use a confident tone  Confused? Start with “To obtain a position where….”  This section should be left aligned.

9.  Avoid Being Too General:  Example: To obtain a position utilizing all of my skills, experience, and knowledge.  Avoid The Ridiculous  Example: To obtain a position as a professional ice skater. Since I don’t know how to ice skate, I’d like to try being a sales manager.  Be Clear and Concise  Example: To obtain a position as a sales associate with a car dealership in the DFW area.  Example: To utilize my restaurant service experience to obtain a server position at Chili’s.

10.  For recent high school and college graduates, this is an important section to include.  Until your work experience is more impressive than your education, this category should be the second section in your resume.  Recent graduates or students still in school should include extracurricular activities (clubs, sports, etc.), academic achievements and honors.  GPA  Only include this if you REALLY know your GPA and it’s impressive.

11.  This section follows Education  The goal for this area is to stand out among the other applicants and to persuade the employer that you are the ideal candidate for the job  Include positions related to the one you are applying for including paid jobs, volunteer jobs and internships.  Start with your most recent work experience first (job you have now or most recent job)

12.  Include company name and location, job title, dates, and duties performed.  Make this section clear, concise, well-spaced, organized, and use bullets  Use action phrases to highlight the responsibilities you have performed: Managed Initiated Planned Designed Oversaw Followed through with Responsible for Coordinated Created

13. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: June 2013-March 2014 Taco Casa, Watauga, TX Food Service Associate  Maintained high standards of customer service during high-volume, fast-paced operations  Communicated clearly and positively with coworkers and management  Mastered point-of-service (POS) computer system for automated order taking  Handled currency and credit transactions quickly and accurately  Followed procedures for safe food preparation, assembly, and presentation  Assisted management with inventory control and stock ordering  Built loyal clientele through friendly interactions and consistent appreciation  Resolved complaints promptly and professionally  Cross-trained and coordinated scheduling with team members to ensure seamless service

14.  Use the exact words in the job posting listed as “Required Skills.”  You should try to edit your resume to better match the employers job posting for EACH job you apply for.  YES! This is a lot of work!  Many employers use a word matching software.  It matches the words in their job posting to the words in your resume.  Your resume is given a percentage match.  The more words you have in common with the job posting, the higher your percentage.  If your resume doesn’t have enough words in common, an employer may not even look at it.

15.  This is the final section of your resume  Similar to other sections of your resume, try to relate your special skills to your desired job.  Include skills such as computer knowledge, foreign language expertise, military service, musical abilities, or anything else that separates you from the crowd

16. Other Skills and Experience English/Spanish Bilingual Proficient in Microsoft Office Products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint) Expert in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Contribute) Teammate on Haltom High School’s women’s soccer team, 2012-2014

17.  Add any awards and achievements to this section.  Include dates and be specific! Examples:  Named MVP of Haltom High School football team, September 2014  Perfect attendance during 2012-2013 school year, Haltom High School  Haltom High School Honor Society, 2013- 2014  Humane Society of North Texas Volunteer of the Month, March 2013

18.  Do not include references on your resume.  Including references on your resume gives employers a chance to prejudge you.  Do not write “References Available Upon Request.”  This is implied.  If employers truly want a list of references, they will ask for it. Have this ready on a SEPARATE sheet of paper.

19.  References should be professional.  DO NOT use your Mom, Dad, brother, sister, etc. as a reference.  Use your managers, coworkers, coaches, etc as references.  ASK a person if they will be your reference BEFORE putting their name down as your reference.

20.  Open Word  Select “New” on the Office Icon  Search “resume” in templates until you find one you like.  “Resume” and “Basic Resume” are really simple, great options