Resume Writing

1. Resume Writing

2. Agenda • What is a Resume? • Format Tips • Recommended Sections • A Note on Cover Letters

3. What is a Resume ? • Concise marketing tool • Summary of education, skills, experience, honors, activities • Has one specific purpose: to get you an interview • Be honest

4. Format • Co-op Handbook (Chapter 3) • The 10 second scan • Should be neat, clean and attractive • Paper of good quality • One page unless you have considerable experience

5. Format • Use normal typeface • Font size • End punctuation not required • Avoid too much special formatting • Do not use graphics • Write in consistent style

6. Format • Use bullets rather than paragraphs • Use approximately 1 inch margins • Make sure resume is visually appealing • Avoid excess white space • Incorporate white space between sections to facilitate skimming

7. Format • Spell check • Proofread • Get friend, family, professor and/or career services to critique • Co-op advisor must review resume before applying for jobs on P2D2 • Update each semester

8. Format • DO NOT Include: • Your Picture • Age, Race, Religion, Marital Status • DO Include: • High School Info • Hobbies and Leisure Activities • If they demonstrate leadership, civic responsibility, etc. • Citizenship Status • If you have a foreign name and want to convey that you are a US Citizen or Permanent Resident

9. Format • Chronological • Discussed in next slides • Functional • Good for individuals with diverse experiences that don't add up to a clear-cut career path or for new grads with limited experience • Use Skills Clusters • For example: Leadership • Selected as president-elect of Omicron Delta Kappa honorary and vice president of Phi Eta Sigma honorary • Acquainted new students with campus as orientation leader • Served as president of residence hall on Residence Hall Council • Functioned as vice president for intellectual development and assistant recruitment chair for social sorority • Combination

10. Recommended Resume Sections • Contact Info • Objective • Education • Skills • Experience • Honors and Activities

11. Contact Info • Place contact info at top • Avoid nicknames • Include local and permanent address • Make sure telephone number is correct including area code • Do NOT use a work number • Professional voicemail • Choose professional e-mail address

12. 1. Contact Info Example George P. Burdell georgeburdell@gatech.edu Campus AddressPermanent Address 999999 Georgia Tech Station 1234 Peachtree Place Atlanta, GA 30332 Macon, GA 30334 404-999-9999 770-123-1234

13. 2. Objective “To obtain a co-op position related to mechanical engineering for spring or summer 2007” • Tells employer type of position you’re seeking • On a co-op resume, it’s not necessary to be specific unless: • Wish to target specific industry (automation, automotive, manufacturing, etc.) • Wish to do specific type of work (design, coding, testing, etc.) • Avoid long, uninformative objectives: • To utilize my education and experience in a creative setting to positively affect the bottom line of the company.

14. Education • Recent education before experience • Reverse chronological order • Include expected graduation date • Overall GPA • Possibly major GPA • Academic honors

15. 3. Education Example Education Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 9/2005-present • Candidate for Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering (May 2010) • Overall GPA, 3.13/4.0 • President’s Scholar: Georgia Tech’s foremost merit-based scholarship, awarded to approximately 3% of entering freshmen each year Northwest Area High School, Macon, GA 9/2001-5/2005 • Overall GPA, 3.6/4.0 • National Honor Society • Accelerated Learning Program

16. Skills • Software, Programming Languages • “familiar with”, “experience with”, “proficient in”, “knowledge of” • Foreign Languages • “Fluent”, “Conversational”, “Ability to speak and write” or list # years of study • Hardware and Technical Skills • Soldering, Lab Equipment, Power Supplies, Circuits • Certifications • *Soft Skills • Leadership, Communication, Organization, Team-Building • Best to demonstrate concretely in Experience and Honors & Activities sections

17. 4. Skills Example Skills • Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) • Experience with Java, C++ and MATLAB • Ability to speak and write Spanish (4 years of study) • Experience with HTML and web design • Knowledge of hardware/software installation and maintenance • Experience with engine repair and network design • Ability to learn new material quickly with little supervision

18. Experience • Include all experience: • Non-technical experience is relevant because it shows responsibility and people skills • Include internships, volunteer experiences, community service, summer jobs • Start each bullet with an action word • Coordinated, created, designed, organized, etc. • Do not use pronoun “I”. It is understood you are the subject of the sentence.

19. Experience • Reverse chronological order • Focus on accomplishments • Be specific • Use numbers and statistics: • “Increased sales 17%”, “Raised productivity by 23%” • Use industry jargon • Read trade magazines, join professional organizations • Highlight soft skills • Communication skills, team work

20. 5. Experience Example Experience Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA Teaching Assistant 9/2005-present • Teach two-hour lab on fluid mechanics to thirty students • Hold weekly office hours and grade lab reports Southern Landscaping Company Norfolk, VA Landscaper Summer 2004 • Performed routine lawn maintenance for approximately ten residential customers per week • Planted new shrubbery and flowers at various commercial sites including nursing homes, elementary schools and community centers • Received ‘Landscaper of the Summer’ Award DJ Dynamite Hampton, VA DJ and Owner 1/2002-5/2004 • Conceived and created my own DJ business which had over 25% repeat clientele • Provided DJ services at over one hundred weddings, bar mitzvahs, and parties

21. Honors and Activities • Clubs and Sports • List office and leadership roles (captain, committee chair, president, secretary, founder) • Volunteer Work • Hobbies including music, writing, etc. • Awards or Scholarships • Memberships in professional organizations (IEEE, SWE, NSBE, ASME) • Spell out acronyms

22. 6. Honors and Activities Example Honors and Activities • Member of Georgia Tech Crew Team (2005-present) • Secretary of Mechanical Engineering Student Faculty Committee (2005-present) • Habitat for Humanity Volunteer (Spring 2006) • High School Student Council Member (2001-2003), Vice President (2004) • Guitar Lessons (2002-2004) • Editor of The Gazette, High School Newspaper (2004) • Church Mission Trip to El Salvador (2002) • Tai Kwando, Earned rank of Brown Belt (2000-2002)

23. A Note On Cover Letters • Cover Letter Uses: • Explain why you’re interested in particular company/position • Tells employer how you’re qualified for that position • Highlights aspects of your experience • Can explain things that resume can't • Acts as window into your personality • Samples in Co-op Handbook and on the internet

24. DoPP Contact Info Located in Savant Building 631 Cherry Street, 1st Floor Corner of Cherry St. & Ferst Dr. near Tech Tower www.profpractice.gatech.edu 404-894-3320