1. Page 1 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Brad Collet Assistant Director Experiential Education

2. Page 2 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up The First Question “Why Should I walk away from my Customer to Interview You?”

3. Page 3 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Purpose of a Resume A Marketing Tool: To convince an employer To call you For an interview You’ve got 10 seconds!!!

4. Page 4 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Steps to Building a Resume Laying the foundation Building the resume Polishing the resume

5. Page 5 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Laying the Foundation Assess Yourself on Computer/Paper Personal Inventory-what have you done/accomplished ? Skills, Abilities, Work Experience and Extracurricular Activities/Leadership What are your Objectives? Kind of job you are looking for and when you are available

6. Page 6 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Laying the Foundation What Resume Format is most appropriate? Chronological Organized by date in reverse date order Most commonly used type and more acceptable by employers Functional Grouped by status areas Useful for employment gaps Less acceptable by employers Combination Chronological/functional types combined

7. Page 7 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Building the Resume Tell the Employer…… The Mostest, The Fastest

8. Page 8 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Building the Resume Personal Data Section Objective Education Section Work Experience Skills Activities and Honors Work Authorization (Int’l Students) Do Not List References

9. Page 9 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Personal Data Section Examples Example #1 Ima T. Aggie 1234 High St. 4321 West Way College Station, TX 77840 Kingsland, TX 78639 (979) xxx-xxxx ita@tamu.edu (325) xxx-xxxx Example #2 Ima T. Aggie 1234 High St. College Station, TX 77840 Home: (979) xxx-xxxx Cell : (979) xxx-xxxx ita@tamu.edu Building the Resume

10. Page 10 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Personal Data Section Examples Example #3 Ima T. Aggie 1234 High St. (979) xxx-xxxx College Station, TX 77840 ita@tamu.edu Example #4 Ima T. Aggie 1234 High St., College Station, TX 77840  ita@tamu.edu  (979) xxx-xxxx Building the Resume

11. Page 11 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Building the Resume Objective Type of Job - CO-OP, Intern, Full-time? Specific Ideas, Not Vague and Fluffy Operations, Business, Sales, Design, R&D, Consulting? CO-OPs and Interns – start date Education University, Location, Graduation Date, Degree in Major, Minors, Certificates, Major GPR, Overall GPR % Paid by Work, Scholarships, Loans Senior Design Project, Study Abroad, Graduate Research, Related Coursework

12. Page 12 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Building the Resume Work Experience Job Title, Company Name, Location, Dates of employment Job Description – Statements (not sentences) Using action words and showing results Be Positive, Be Concise, Be Persuasive Activities Professional/Student organizations Leadership positions Skills Computer software/systems, foreign languages Security clearance

13. Page 13 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Honors Scholarships,Dean’s List, etc. Work Authorization “Eligible for Optional Practical Training (or Curricular Practical Training)” Bottom of resume References Do not list on resume Bring separate page to interview Building the Resume

14. Page 14 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Building the Resume Present most marketable information first Use brief, descriptive phrases No personal pronouns Use action verbs to describe experiences and accomplishments Be Positive Be Truthful You Have the Right to Remain Silent

15. Page 15 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Polishing the Resume Be Concise Show results Top Heavy Reader Friendly

16. Page 16 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Polishing the Resume Avoiding common mistakes Broad generalization statements Spelling and grammatical errors 2013 CareerBuilder found 58% of resumes have typos Formatting, fonts, length, paper quality Translate “Aggie speak” to business English Don’t overdue it Can’t explain every statement Too long No picture Don’t include references

17. Page 17 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Polishing the Resume Use white or off-white paper (checkout resume paper at area copy centers, i.e. Kinkos, Copy Corner, or Graphics Center on campus) Use 8 ½ x11-inch paper Use a font size of 10 to 14 points Black ink only Do not fold or staple your resume If you must mail your resume, put it in a large envelope

18. Page 18 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Employer Comments  Stick to 1 page. We had several students give us 2 (and in one case 3) page resumes. After 8 years in the industry, I can still highlight all necessary and pertinent information on my resume in a single page.  Clearly state GPR. Several students played games with the GPR by giving us only their in-major GPR because the overall was significantly lower. Another presented only the last 2 years because the first two years were very bad. Some gave no GPR. It does not reflect well on students to manipulate their resumes in this fashion before we even interview them. Employers who went to A&M can very easily review an A&M transcript and see who is playing games.

19. Page 19 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Employer Comments  Several of the students had not updated their "Job Objective" knowing that the interview that our company conducted was for a sales position. Examples were: A manufacturing career; Plant flow organization.  One person did not spell check their resume.  Another, the formatting was off and not consistent.

20. Page 20 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up In Conclusion…. Did You Tell the Employer The Mostest, The Fastest ??????

21. Page 21 Internships/Co-ops Brad Collet Assistant Director Career Center

22. Page 22 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Why Work Before Graduation? Employers expect it! Increases your marketability! Confirm choice of major and identify career options Increase understanding of classroom theory and real world applications Earn $$$ Gain useful employment contacts & Networking Develop confidence and professional skills

23. Page 23 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Characteristics of Internships and Co-ops CO-OPs Typically multiple semesters Always paid Receive academic credit Full-time student status No Readmission No loan payments INTERNSHIPS Usually one summer semester Paid or volunteer Academic credit decided by Department May/may not retain FT student status

24. Page 24 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Hiring Trends 85% of employers have said they only hire candidates who have had meaningful experiential learning opportunities (Gardner, 2009) 57% of internships were converted into jobs in 2009 (Internships.com) 80% of jobs/internships are never posted, they are filled through networking (NACE, 2009)

25. Page 25 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Available Resources for Finding Internships/Co-ops HireAggies.com Career Fairs Networking

26. Page 26 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Resources Available on HireAggies.com FIND JOBS On-Campus Recruiting Job Postings/Listings Career Resources (left hand margin) Career Shift Internships.com Going Global

27. Page 27 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Screen shot of Aggienetwork.com

28. Page 28 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

29. Page 29 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Finding Opportunities Through Using the Career Fair Career Fair Preparation Find list of attendees (sec.tamu.edu) Determine companies to talk to Research companies Overview of company Products/Projects/Services Ask/Answer 2 questions Why interested in company? Why are you a strong candidate? Career Fair Presentation

30. Page 30 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Finding Opportunites Through Networking Aggienetwork.com (Association of Former Students) Create an Account with AFS Find an Aggie Advanced Search Options Career Tools Effective Networking LinkedIn 80% of jobs/internships are never posted, they are filled through networking (NACE, 2009)

31. Page 31 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

32. Page 32 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Utilize ALL Resources On Campus Interviewing Departmental Advisors/Faculty Internet Job Search Student Organizations LinkedIn Professional Organization Conferences, Websites, Publications Former Students Inside Contacts, Family, Friends Former Employers Area Chambers of Commerce

33. Page 33 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Go for it!! Questions? contact the Career Center at Hire Aggies.com or (979) 845-5139