Resumes Tory Nair, Career Advisor Career Development Center, B-119 (773) 442-4685

Parts of a Resume Name and contact information Objective (optional) Qualifications summary/professional profile (optional) Education and relevant coursework Work experience Internship experience Volunteer experience Extracurricular activities/honors/awards Computer skills Language skills Additional sections for related information

The Length Debate How long should a resume be? Answer: It depends! 1 page 2 pages Doesn’t matter It depends Answer: It depends!

Formatting Margins: ¾ to 1” margins Consistency: Font: Dates on right side How list work experiences Fonts/formatting Font: 10-12 point font “Professional” font – Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, others Name & headings should be bolded, larger font size to stand out

Formatting Additional Formatting: Important tips: Use special formatting (bold/italics/underlines) sparingly Colors – black font is best in most situations No pictures or graphics! Important tips: List bullets in order of importance Do not need to include references on resume Make sure it looks ok when converted to a PDF file or being sent via e-mail Avoid templates!

Chronological vs. Functional Resumes What is a chronological resume? Lists work, internship, and volunteer experience in reverse chronological order (most recent to oldest) What is a functional resume? Highlights skills and qualifications vs. experiences Order of relevancy vs. chronological

Chronological vs. Functional Chronological Resumes (Use this style if you want to…) Functional Resumes Stay in the same career field Enter the job market Emphasize past growth and career development Return to the job market Show an established career progression Change careers Identify related skills within industry De-emphasize frequent job changes Highlight skills directly related to the job Highlight transferable skills from unrelated industries NOTE: Can also use the “combination” format – there’s no one right way!

Contact Information What’s wrong with this header? “Snooki” Polozzi 100 S. jerzeeee st Jersey Shores, Nj 07480 Cell: 123-4567 hottiefromnj@yahooo.com No nicknames! Check your grammar! Do not need to write “cell,” just include one number Use a professional e-mail address Watch for typos!

Contact Information How it should appear: Nicole Polozzi 100 S. Jersey St. Jersey Shores, NJ 07480 (555) 123-4567 npolozzi@yahoo.com Professionalism reminders: Use a “professional” e-mail address, check it often Make sure your voicemail message is appropriate Yes, include your mailing address!

Education Section Should include: Current institution and location – write it out! Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL NOT Northeastern University (Boston), NEIU, NorthEastern… Graduation date Degree obtaining, including major(s) and/or minor(s) Master of Arts in Counseling NOT “MA” or “Masters” or “Masters of Arts” GPA (if a 3.0 or above) Can include GPA in different ways (e.g., major GPA vs. cumulative/overall GPA) Previous institutions (for Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science) Can include: relevant coursework here

Education Section - Examples EDUCATION Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL May 2014 Master of Arts in Counseling North Park University, Chicago, IL May 2011 Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Education Section - Examples EDUCATION Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL Master of Arts in Counseling May 2014 Bachelor of Arts in Psychology May 2011

Work Experience Include: Use bullet points for easy reading Name of employer Location (city, state) Dates of employment Position title Use bullet points for easy reading Action verbs should start each bullet point Content should be specific and in order of importance (as related to position description) Include skills, achievements/accomplishments vs. job duties or responsibilities Watch tenses! Present tense for current jobs Past tense for previous jobs Be consistent in formatting! Can have a separate section for “relevant” work experience

Work Experience How far back should you go? If you have more years of experience, include up to last 10 years If you have less years of experience, include all relevant and/or recent experiences Can include relevant skills section Does not have to be exactly related, but try to pull out transferable/related skills Should appear in reverse chronological order (chronological resumes) Read job descriptions for clues!

Additional Experiences to Include Internships Can list among rest of work experience, but stands out if it has its own section/heading Format and write similarly to work experience Can list on resume as soon as you start! Volunteer/Community Service Work Leadership/Student Organizations Any experience is “good” experience, paid or not!

Phrases to Avoid in your Resume “Team player” “Responsible for…” “Hard-working” “Strong communication skills” “Proven track record for success” Demonstrate your skills by using specific details: Show, don’t tell!

Additional Sections for Resumes Computer skills Write out Microsoft Office products (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, Outlook, Publisher) Include any specific knowledge of social media, software, hardware, coding, programming, and so on Foreign language ability Be careful with use of “fluent” or other words to describe extent of knowledge/use in conversation Activities (extracurricular activities, campus involvement) Honors/Awards Any additional experiences you feel are relevant, unique DO NOT include hobbies, interests! DO NOT include “references available upon request”

On a Separate Page… 3-4 professional references Name Contact information Phone, e-mail address Relationship to you and/or position title DO NOT include personal (family, friends) references unless asked to do so! Make sure your references have agreed to do this for you!

Hints, Tips, & Tricks Tailor your resume to the position Place sections in order of relevance and importance Save your resume with your name in the file name (e.g., “Tory Nair Resume.doc”) Can also add the position title (e.g., “Tory Nair Career Advisor Resume.doc”) or company (e.g., “Tory Nair ALA Resume.doc”) Save one file for every position, along with a master On new versions of Word, you can “save as” a PDF. Many employers prefer this.

LinkedIn – Your Online “Resume” http://www.linkedin.com Can list this on your resume, but not necessary Import your resume for your profile One of the first things that comes up when someone searches for you online Use it to connect to others and to research companies, people LinkedIn workshops

Come in for a resume critique! Drop-in hours Mondays and Wednesdays 1-3pm (Building B, Room 119) Appointments Monday-Friday Monday-Wednesday hours: 8:30am-7pm Thursday-Friday hours: 8:30am-4:30pm

Career Development Center – Additional In addition to resume and cover letter critiques, we also assist with: Preparing for interviews Writing thank-you letters Applying to graduate school Deciding what to do after graduation Applying for internships and full-time positions Negotiating salary and navigating job offers Additional questions regarding your career search! We host many events, coordinate on-campus interviews and job fairs, and post jobs, internships online (CCN)!

Questions? Career Development Center B-119 773.442.4680 http://www.neiu.edu/careerservices Tory Nair – v-nair@neiu.edu