 Role of the Resume  Types of Resumes  Resume Formats  Resume Sections  Additional Documentation  Miscellaneous Tips

 A marketing tool  Your first tool for building a career  The first impression a prospective employer has of you  A selling tool that allows you to highlight to an employer how you can contribute to the company  Request for an interview  Purpose of the resume is to get you an interview  Must capture the reader’s interest and attention  Must convince the employer that you have the ability to fill their position  Your “big picture”  A snapshot of what you believe are your most important experiences and qualifications

 A Paper/PDF Resume  A printed resume for use at job fairs, conferences, …  Should be clean, concise, professional, and pleasing to the eye  Use bullets, bolding, and indentation  Take this resume with you on job interviews, career fairs An Electronic Resume  A plain text resume for on-line submission  Typically must conform to employer specifications

 Highlight your work experience in reverse chronological order  Be sure to not leave gaps  The most widely used format for working professionals

 Highlight specific skills for which the market has high demand  Seldom used by new graduates  Frequently used to change jobs or careers

 Highlight specific work experience  Highlight marketable skills  Use reverse chronological order  The best resume style for most students

 What Is Your “Story”?  What slant can you take on your resume?  Do you want to emphasize internship experience?  Do you want to emphasize work experience?  Do you want to emphasize course work?  Do you want to emphasize project experience?  Do you want to emphasize personal traits?  What is unique or interesting about your HIGH SCHOOL experience?

 Recommendations:  If you have an interesting internship – emphasize it – if not get one!  Most high school students have interesting project experience  Build on your elective education!!!  Demonstrate leadership, communication, cultural awareness

 Header  Objective  Education  Honors/Activities  Work Experience  Relevant Courses  Skills  Projects

 The first line should be your name  Larger than the largest font used in body  Avoid using decorative fonts  Don’t use black or gray shaded backgrounds  Exclude titles Mr., Mrs., Ms., …  Include contact address  Permanent address  Current address  Include your address  Use your personal address  Don’t use  Include your phone number  Change the message machine to be appropriate

 Considered optional but it is strongly suggested to include it  Make statement clear, concise, and to the point  Bad: “I want to get a job”  Weak: “To attain an internship in the computer industry.”  Good: “To attain an internship in the computer industry working with database or network security.”  Avoid being overly specific to single company  “ To attain a position at 3M Pharmaceuticals working on ……. …”  Objectives derived from the company’s perspective  “ To attain a web application programming position where knowledge of Java and the Struts framework will add value the overall development process.”

 Should only contain honors and awards earned during your time in high school or after  You can include academic or extracurricular items  Include a brief description if not self-evident from title  “Award given to top performer on the capstone exam”  Don’t include hobbies or activities not related to the job or your story  Good to include leadership positions in Student Service Organizations  Good to list membership in Student Service Organizations This section should scream “I am a leader”

 Dedicated to most recent and relevant employment  Format  Employer and location on the first line  Don’t need name of supervisor, complete address, or contact information  Position and time-span on the second line  Use only year, not month and year (avoids time gaps)  Watch the tense  Current job uses present tense  Former jobs use past tense

 The keyword is relevant courses  Include the highest attained level of courses  Don’t include basic courses: Algebra 1, Freshman English  Focus on courses the are either unique or would normally be considered an elective for the job that you are applying  Food Service & Hospitality  Child Care  Animation  Computer Applications  Medical Assistant  Retail Sales

 This is where you emphasize your technical skills  Food Service & Hospitality  Remarkable knowledge of sanitation principles applicable to food serving, kitchen maintenance, and cleaning of food eating areas.  Set up serving area and serve a wide variety of food items.  Child Care  Uncommon knowledge of child cognitive, social, and skills development methods and techniques.  Exceptional knowledge of play, reading, and quiet- time activities for children.  Nursing Assistant  Experienced in obtaining patients’ vital signs; performs and maintains accurate medical record keeping.  Relate very well with others at all levels including patrons, patients, professionals, children and students.

 Used correctly, this section can set you apart from other new graduates ◦ Most new grads don’t get the opportunity to use this section  Show any lengthy, impressive, or relevant projects to which you have made real contribution

 Why do I need to write a cover letter?  Use the cover letter to focus attention on elements of your background that are particularly relevant to the company employer  Letter acts as your verbal introduction to the employer  Send it to a person, not a place  Avoid “To Whom It May Concern,”  Worst case “Dear Recruiter:”

 First sentence should tell why you are writing  “I am writing in regard to your posting listed on …”  “Dr. Wagner at UW – Eau Claire suggested that I …”  “As you may recall, I spoke with you briefly at …”  If unsolicited, indicate why you are interested in the company  Highlight your skills  Use two to three paragraphs to given in-depth description of your selling points  Each paragraph should be stand alone (could be moved to different location in text)

 Prepare a separate reference sheet  Use same paper as the resume itself  Bring reference sheet (and resume) with you to any interviews, job fairs, career breakfasts.  Use professional references only  Pick individuals that think highly of you  Pick individuals that are familiar with your work  Always ask your references before using their names  Be prepared to give supporting materials – courses, projects, …  Ask again if it has been a while