Resume Writing and Behavioral Interviewing A Guide to Getting Yourself Noticed by an Overworked, Over-scheduled, Over-committed, Has No Assistant, Answers Her Own Phones and Gets 100 s a Day Company Recruiter

What Goes Into a Resume? Who am I – Contact Information What I Want – Objective/Summary What I’ve Done – Past Work Experience What I Know – Skills/Education and Professional Designations

What Goes Into a Resume? A thorough explanation of your skills and experience that are relevant to the position you’re applying for Any potential “preferred” skills and experience you have Job history and education Special assignments and projects Key accomplishments

Resume Format Describe your experience in concrete words rather than vague descriptions Write in the present tense for current position and past tense for previous jobs Provide specific dates of employment (month and year) The chronological format is recommended Use bullets

Resume Format Be concise and truthful when describing your experience Limit the use of acronyms or jargon Use 10 to 12-point STANDARD FONTS Include all of your contact information, including home and cell phone Use your legal name, rather than your nickname

Please Don’t: Use vertical lines, shadows, or graphics Use a two or three column format Limit yourself to one page Use personal pronouns (I process claims, I respond to customer inquiries…) Write your cover letter in your resume

Please Do: Check dates for accuracy Chek for speling or gramaticle misteakes Review, Review, Review!! Have someone else look it over Review it again!!

The Behavioral Interview It’s the “new trend” in interviewing Past performance is the most accurate predictor of future performance Demonstrates knowledge, skills, and abilities Demonstrates competencies 40% of all organizations use behavioral interviews* *SHRM website

Competencies A Company Might Want to Determine Problem solving and decision making Collaboration and relationships Customer focus Business influence and execution Communicating for results Ethics and compliance

The Behavioral Interview Format “Tell me about a time when…” Be detailed and specific in your response You should develop your answers before you go in for the interview – Internet research Your response should demonstrate your past performance The response format: Describe the situation, tell about the action you took to resolve it and what was the end result

Questions to Ask at the End of the Interview Come prepared with questions Ask about training Job expectations – What is a typical day on the job like? When will a decision be made?

REMEMBER: Arrive at least minutes early Dress for success Be prepared Sell yourself Don’t talk too much Smile and be mindful of your body language Ask questions

Questions?