The Right Resume

Purpose To market your relevant skills, knowledge and accomplishments To obtain a job interview To target a career field To address needs of employer

What Does A Good Resume Do? Provides information about you, not your work history Focuses on the future Focuses on achievements or accomplishments Documents & prioritizes skills you enjoy using

A Good Resume Should… Highlight skills & accomplishments that meet employer qualifications Include only relevant information & experiences Focus, Focus, Focus

Contents Of A Resume Contact Information Job Objective Keyword List Highlights of Qualifications Accomplishment Statements Chronologically By Skill Areas Combination Work History Education & Training Special Characteristics or Qualifications

Types Of Resumes Chronological - information is organized by job titles & presented in chronological order Functional - information is organized by skills or functions Combination Executive Accomplishment - list of impressive career achievements Curriculum Vitae Resume Letters

Chronological Resumes - Uses Call attention to a very stable & impressive work history Call attention to consistent upward mobility and promotions in your chosen career Use if remaining in same career field Use if applying for a position in a very conservative field Use if employer would be more comfortable with a traditional resume

When Not To Use Chronological Changing career fields Frequent changes in employers De-emphasize age Recent absences from the job market or gaps in employment

Functional Resumes - Uses Making a career change/re-entering job market Job titles don’t do justice to your accomplishments & responsibilities Focusing on skills useful to future job rather than on past job content Best accomplishments & most impressive work experience are not drawn from the most recent jobs but from farther back in time

Functional Resumes - Uses continued Your work history is complicated or has long stretches of unsalaried periods Most impressive skills came out of volunteer or otherwise unpaid work Past career growth has not been continuous & progressive. Variety of unrelated work experiences Work has been free-lance, consulting, or temporary in nature

When Not To Use Functional Little work experience or leadership experience Want to emphasize promotions & career growth Working in highly traditional fields, such as teaching, accounting & politics, where employers should be highlighted.

Combination Resumes Combines elements of chronological and functional Presents patterns of accomplishments & skills in categorical sections Includes brief work history and education summary

Use Combination Resumes You have had several very different kinds of jobs, each one illustrating only ONE of several skills to be used in your new career Past jobs are familiar to the public so job-description information is not important You want to put equal emphasis on the jobs held in the past, and on the skills to be applied to the new job You want to make it very obvious where each of the accomplishments occurred

Contact Information Name at top of each page Address – street address, city, state & zip code Telephone numbers Fax number E-mail ( if checked regularly)

Job Objective Purpose - Inform employer of your career goal and targeted interests. - Describe focus of job search Contents of Objective Type of position Level of position Type and style of organization Skills/Qualifications you bring, emphasize what you can contribute

Job Objective First information to appear after contact Objective gives resume FOCUS and makes it more powerful and effective Objective - necessary or not? You decide!

Highlights Summarizes the most important skills, experience & personality traits you have to offer for a specific job.

Highlights continued Questions to ask yourself: Why do you think you’d be a good candidate for this job? What do you have to offer the employer? How much experience do you have and what are your credentials? If you don’t have credentials or experience, then how do you know that you’d be good at this?

Highlights continued What does the employer need to know about you, to realize you’re the right one to hire? What can you say about yourself, in about fifty words, that would get the employer excited about you? Make answers into a series of about five powerful statements and place beneath the job objective

Accomplishment Statements History of significant achievements work hobbies volunteer projects school activities extracurricular activities travel life experiences

Accomplishment Statements continued For each accomplishment create a list of: chronological activities transferable & specialized skills results Quantify “Blow your own horn!” Tailor to specific job Provide unique commentary on who you are & what you can do

Accomplishment Statements Content Incorporate action verbs & use the active voice when describing your experience Use “keywords” appropriate for optical scanners Avoid using the personal pronoun “I”

Examples of Action Verbs abstracted augmented accelerated authorized accepted avoided accompanied awarded accomplished balanced achieved bargained acquainted based acquired bought acted briefed adapted broadcast added broadened addressed brought adjudicated budgeted adjusted built administered calculated advanced called advised canceled For a complete list of Action Verbs see the Word document on our Employment website!

Accomplishment Statements Content Incorporate action verbs & use the active voice when describing your experience Use “keywords” appropriate for optical scanners Avoid using the personal pronoun “I” Use numbers & percentages whenever possible to demonstrate your performance on previous jobs

Accomplishment Statements Content continued Include quotes relevant to your performance Eliminate any negative references Do not include names of supervisors Be consistent in how you handle each description or summary Put most important information first Account for major time gaps

Education If education relates to objective and is within the past three years, it should be the first section Otherwise it should follow the work experience or relevant skills section

Fastest Way to Improve Any Resume Provide how you performed each job in a unique way Identify what you accomplished that nobody expected or asked of you Explain what you are most proud of in each job Distinguish what set you apart from others who held the same position

Improving Any Resume continued Determine what your coworkers and supervisors will remember or miss about you Describe the significance or beneficial outcome you contributed Use plenty of action verbs Be concise, to the point and clear Don’t use narrative form for sentences Emphasize your benefits for a potential employer Make the resume visually pleasing and easy to read

Steps in Resume Writing Self-assessment Documentation Research Development of goal statement Description of accomplishments Selection of other supporting data Selection of format and typing Proofreading Reproduction

Pitfalls to Avoid Too long or too short Poor layout & physical appearance Misspelling, bad grammar Poor punctuation Lengthy phrases, sentences, paragraphs Too slick, “gimmicky” Poorly typed & reproduced Irrelevant information Doesn’t convey accomplishments Text doesn’t support objective Use of abbreviations

Functional Skill Headings Choose skill headings which match skills needed for job objective Under each skill heading choose four or five accomplishments which demonstrate your expertise in that skill area

Examples of Skill Headings Accounting Acquisition Administration Advertising Advising Budgeting Business Management Career Development Communication Community Affairs Construction Consulting Counseling Crisis Intervention Culinary Arts Customer Service Data Processing Design Engineering Evaluation

Functional Skill Headings continued Facilities Maintenance Finance fundraising Graphic Design Human Resources Instruction Investigation Investment Legal Market Research Needs Analysis Office Support Operations Organizations Planning Presentations Problem Solving Product Development Program Development Project Management

Additional Acceptable Contents Awards Publications Community service Credentials Professional affiliations Internships Relevant course work Hardware/Software Equipment Languages Presentations

Scannable Resumes Machine reads resume and creates a database of applicant’s relevant skills, degrees and achievements in form of key words Employer then searches by key words

Effective Scannable Resume Keep it simple Standard serif and sans serif fonts work best Use sizes between 10 and 14 Use boldface for emphasis or ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, avoid italics and underlining Avoid use of vertical or horizontal lines Avoid graphics, shading or shadowing

Effective Scannable Resume continued Do not compress or expand the space between letters or lines Do not double space within sections Submit an original printed on a laser printer Describe your skills and accomplishments in key word phrases Use the language of your profession

COVER LETTERS

Definition Letter or note that must always accompany a resume whenever the resume is not delivered by you, in person, directly to the employer.

TIPS Cover letter should not be generic, customize the letter and resume to the job Before writing your cover letter ask yourself: Why do you want to work for that particular company? What do you know about the company, and how did you hear of them? What do you know about the position you’re applying for? How could you help that particular company reach its goals?

Guidelines Research the employer’s organization and personalize each letter Highlight one or two of your most significant accomplishments or abilities to show you are an above average candidate Be brief, demonstrating you understand the value of the reader’s time Use polite formal style that also demonstrates confidence in yourself and respect for the employer Make your tone, content and expectations positive Use active voice and powerful action verbs

Guidelines continued Group similar items together in a paragraph and organize paragraphs so that they relate to each other logically Back up general statements with specific facts or examples Avoid jargon and cliches Check spelling and grammar carefully Never misrepresent yourself by overstating your experience or skills

How To Write a Good Cover Letter Address your letter to someone who has the authority to hire you Using your research about the company/organization write with their point of view in mind Set yourself apart Be specific Take the initiative about the next step Be brief

Employment Portfolio A complete and permanent collection of your work history & a cumulative record of accomplishments Living Document Documents the scope & quality of your experience & training Demonstrates your skills & abilities

Organizing Your Portfolio Determine the skills & experiences you have that relate to needs of the employer Establish what you have done to exhibit those skills Make sure presentation is professional Place similar information together Label different sections

Portfolio Contents list of names, titles, addresses, & telephone numbers of persons to be used for references certificates of special training samples of work; programs of event you planned, photos of projects you completed, etc. samples of your writing newspaper clippings copy of resume fact sheet updated application forms letters of recommendation list of experiences that do not fit into resume letters of commendation, awards, & honors personnel actions - SF 50s, performance evaluations (JF-50) college transcripts

TIPS Obtain letters of recommendation before leaving a position. Obtain letters to verify volunteer work & community involvement HAND CARRY YOUR PORTFOLIO WHEN TRANSFERRING OR LEAVING POST BECAUSE OF EVACUATION!!!

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