CREATING RESUMES

WHAT IS A RESUME? A resume is the summary of your education, employment history, skills, and accomplishments. It is the “story of you.” It is also a “ living ” document, because it will change every time you acquire new knowledge, a new skill or a new job. The purpose of a resume is to give a prospective employer a snapshot of what you have done and what you have the ability to do. When combined with a cover letter, it becomes an effective marketing tool – one that is marketing YOU!

A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION A resume should make a good first impression and make the employer want to know more about you. How can you accomplish this? Make it short – it should be no more than one or two pages..

A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION (CONTINUED) Organize it – the information should be coherent and presented in an attractive and tidy way. Focus it for the employer – show how your skills and accomplishments can benefit an employer. Have proof – be able to prove every statement about yourself with a specific, recent example.

THREE MAIN TYPES OF RESUMES Chronological – lists education, skills, and experience in reverse chronological order (the most recent experience first), with the focus on relevant experience. Skills-based – List skills and talents in order of importance. This form is more suited to those with limited experience. Combination – The most common format – combines prominent skills and relevant experience, with the most recent history presented first.

FORMATTING HINTS FOR WRITING YOUR RESUME Creating a good resume starts with gathering all the information an employer will want to know about you. Once that is done, the writing begins. Here are a few things to keep in mind: A resume must be typed and easy to read. Do not include your race, birth date, or Social Insurance Number (SIN)

FORMATTING HINTS FOR WRITING YOUR RESUME (CONTINUED) Important information should stand out and be easy to find. Avoid lengthy paragraphs – use bullets to highlight information Make it perfect! Have someone proofread it for spelling or grammatical errors

FORMATTING HINTS FOR WRITING YOUR RESUME (CONTINUED) Do not handwrite corrections on the final copy. Use action words or verbs (e.g. coached, designed, built, organized) to describe your skills and experience.

WHAT IS A RESUME OBJECTIVE? A resume objective is similar to a ‘topic sentence’ for your resume. It should be no more than 2-3 sentences long and it should tell a prospective employer exactly why you are looking for work. Your resume objective should answer the following: 1.What job are you applying for? 2. Other than money, why are you looking for work? What skills do you want to use or develop? 3.What is your long term career goal?

EXAMPLES OF RESUME OBJECTIVES To utilize and further develop my strong communication and customer service skills. In the future I hope to become a hotel manager. To gain a better understanding of sales and marketing by working as a sales clerk at Roots. My future goal is to pursue a career in business.

EXAMPLES OF RESUME OBJECTIVES (CONTINUED) To gain work experience and provide excellent customer service in retail sales. My long term goal is to complete a degree in science. To obtain employment as a server and utilize my strong interpersonal and organizational skills. In the future, I would like to open my own restaurant.

COLLECTING ALL YOUR INFORMATION Before creating a resume, you have to collect the information you will use to create a resume. Gathering the information before sitting down to write your resume will help you create an effective, concise, informative marketing tool to sell your talents, skills, and abilities. Use the Resume Guide to gather information.