RESUME WRITING Presenting Yourself on Paper

1. RESUME WRITINGPresenting Yourself on Paper By: Ali Dastangoo Alireza Vahdatpour Mohammad Khabbazian

2. Agenda • Purpose and Impact of a Resume • General Guidelines • Various Formats • Scannable Resumes • Email & Electronic Submissions • Key Components • Optional Categories • Resume Check List • Cover Letters/ Thank You Letter • Follow Up

3. Purpose and Impact • Marketing Tool • Designed to create a favorable first impression • May get you an interview, won’t get you the job! • Personal Account of Your: • Education and Training • Experience • Skills and Abilities

4. Purpose and Impact • Provides an accurate, concise, and original presentation of who you are • Resource for employer at interview • Remember: Employers spend 4 - 5 minutes at most reviewing a Resume. Make each word count!

5. General Guidelines • Length • Generally one page (especially recent grads) • Two pages with extensive related experience • Layout • Direct reader’s eye using headings and layout • Choose standard font in 10-14 point size • Use appropriate color & high quality 8 1/2 x 11 paper, one-sided only!

6. General Guidelines • Layout continued • Leave ‘white space’ for uncluttered look • One inch margins on all sides is standard • Be consistent with: • indentations • capitalizations • font • spacing

7. General Guidelines • Content • Proofread! Don’t rely on Spell-check • grammar • spelling • typographical errors • punctuation • Stress accomplishments and results • Tailor contents to each position (e.g. rewrite Objective/revise Skills section)

8. General Guidelines • Omit information which could be used in a discriminatory way • Leave all these things off your CV: • Marital status - Description of health • Citizenship - Age - Irrelevant awards, publications, scholarships, associations, and memberships • Recreational activities or hobbies • Travel history - Previous pay rates • Reasons for leaving previous jobs • The words “References available upon request.”

9. Resume Formats • CHRONOLOGICAL FORMAT • Easy to read, most commonly used • Presents education and work experience in reverse chronological order • Very effective if majority of education and work experience is related to objective

10. Resume Formats • FUNCTIONAL FORMAT • Focuses on skills and abilities, not dates of employment • Lists skills you’ve demonstrated which are required for a particular job • Allows you to emphasize skills gained through volunteer work and extra curricular activities • Often used by career changers, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars

11. Resume Formats • COMBINATION FORMAT • Uses elements of Chronological and Functional • Emphasizes skills and abilities • Provides job/experience descriptions • Effective when job objective has multiple components (e.g. research and management, marketing and administrative)

12. Resume Formats • TECHNICAL FORMAT • Used as a term to describe a resume prepared for technical positions (e.g. computer science or engineering) • Can use any format; emphasizes technical skills such as specific computer languages, laboratory skills, etc. • List GPA if 2.5 or above

13. Resume Formats • CURRICULUM VITAE • Used by individuals seeking teaching and/or research positions in a post-secondary institution or high-level research industry • Often two or three pages for master’s or doctoral degree candidates • Specific “CV” workshops are offered through the Internship & Career Center

14. Scannable Resumes • Uses nouns indicating specific job functions, skills, responsibilities (see detailed job description to select key words to use) • Use “key words” associated with position you are seeking. Include terminology of the business or industry • Do not fold, bend or staple resume. Mail in a large, flat envelope

15. Scannable Resumes • Forget “fancy fonts”, flashy graphics  and colored paper • 10 - 14 point size, standard font • white, off-white, 8 1/2 x 11 paper • avoid shading, graphics, bolding, italicizing, and underlining

16. Scannable Resumes • Avoid: • Bullets • Lines • Columns • Brackets

17. E-mail and Electronic Submission • Maintain professional tone • Use professional sounding email address (not tweetybird@wherever.com!) • Be specific in subject header • Follow employer directions carefully! • Avoid use of characters and symbols • Use left-justified format

18. E-mail and Electronic Submission • Do not underline, bold, or italicize text • Use “standard” font, such as Arial or Times New Roman • Use hard return to insert line, not word wrap • Sign your email with your full name • Proofread and use spell-check before sending • Do a ‘trial send’ to yourself or a friend to see how your resume looks after sending

19. Resume Components • What goes where?

20. Resume Key Components • TITLE BLOCK/HEADING • The identification “Resume” at the top of the page is unnecessary. • Your name • Address, including postal code • Daytime telephone number(s) - don’t forget area codes • Email address - ONLY IF YOU CHECK DAILY! • Cell phone or pager number(s)

21. Resume Key Components • Example: Ali Kuchulu 210, Azadi Avenue Tehran, Iran, 34512

22. Resume Key Components • OBJECTIVE • Gives resume focus, credibility and direction • Be concise and logical - develop different resumes for different types of jobs • Avoid cliches such as “like working with people” • Emphasize short term aspirations • Considered by some to be optional

23. Resume Key Components • OBJECTIVE continued • May be oriented to: • A degree • A position • A field • Skills • …

24. Resume Key Components • Example: • Computer Engineering internship which will use my design skills. • A position in software design, development, and testing. • Pursuing graduate studies toward PhD Degree in Electrical Engineering field with special interests in Wireless and Digital Communications, Information and Coding Theory.

25. Resume Key Components • EDUCATION • List highest degree first, followed by other degrees received • Degree level • Major(s), minor(s) and emphasis if applicable • If your major/degree is relevant, list that first; if not, emphasize university name , then list major. • Sharif University of Technology

26. Resume Key Components • EDUCATION continued • Date to be conferred • GPA if 3.0 (16/20) or higher • NOT necessary to include High School degree!

27. Resume Key Components • EDUCATION continued • Lower division students seeking an internship should consider • listing class standing first • followed by major(s), minor(s) and emphasis if applicable • then listing Bachelor’s degree expected in month and year

28. Resume Key Components • Example: Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering, May 2002 Sharif University of Technology Overall GPA: 17.80/ 20.00 Major GPA: 18.00/ 20.00

29. Resume Key Components • EXPERIENCE • Summarize significant full and part time positions • Include relevant volunteer work or internships • Volunteer experiences may be incorporated into Career Related Experience or listed separately under heading: Community or Volunteer Experience. • Highlight responsibilities, skills developed, and accomplishments • List job title, employer, city, state, and dates of employment, followed by description

30. Resume Key Components • EXPERIENCE continued • Present information in reverse chronological order • OR • Create special sections (e.g. Related Experience, Research Experience) • Use action verbs and sentence phrases, NOT complete sentences • Always put verbs in the past tense even though you may be currently performing these duties.

31. Resume Key Components • EXPERIENCE continued • May include significant academic assignments and relevant extra-curricular activities • List accomplishments and contributions you have made • Quantify accomplishments, if possible

32. Resume Key Components • Example:

33. Optional Categories • SKILLS • List skills you can perform with little or no direction • Computer - list hardware, software, and operating systems • Laboratory - list techniques, procedures and/or equipment • Language - indicate fluency level, specify if you can read/write/speak the language

34. Optional Categories • SKILLS continued • Research - list research skills with which you are familiar • General skills, including communication (written and verbal), problem-solving, managerial, etc. • Presentations • Others specific to the job • Skills are often underestimated by students!

35. Optional Categories • Example

36. Optional Categories • Publications • List articles published and those accepted for publication • Include in Experience section • Qualifications or Skills Statement • If major is not obviously related to job objective, this provides an opportunity to tie everything together

37. Optional Categories • Example

38. Optional Categories • Licenses, Certifications, Credentials, Training • Related items only (Olympiads, Languages, Computer Abilities, etc.) • Professional Affiliations • List memberships and offices held

39. Optional Categories • Example

40. Optional Categories • Honors/Awards/Hobbies/Interests • Avoid listing those which may be controversial • References • Usually state “References Provided Upon Request” as last line of resume • Ask permission before listing someone!

41. Resume Review Check List • Does your resume look appealing? • Is it clearly labeled, using appropriate headings? • Does it highlight your skills and abilities? • Have you had it critiqued by others? • Have you triple checked for accuracy?

42. The Cover Letter

43. The Cover Letter • Should be customized for each position • Establishes personal contact • Should be addressed to a specific person, using name, and title • In salutation, never use first name! • Use “Dear Recruiter” if no name is available • Use same paper, font and format as resume • Keep letter to one page in length

44. The Cover Letter • Use standard business format • Emphasize how your skills, education, experience can benefit the employer • Close by indicating your interest in the position and follow-up plans • Don’t forget to sign the letter!

45. The Cover Letter • Paragraph one • What position are you applying for and how did you find out about the position? • Paragraph two • Why do you want to work for this particular employer, and why should employer hire you? • Paragraph three • What’s your next step going to be? Indicate how you will follow through or express desire for an interview.

46. Thank You Letter

47. Thank You Letter • After an interview, write a brief follow-up letter. • Few people interviewed take the time to send such a note • reinforce your value to the company or organization • Correct any misunderstandings • Add forgotten points

48. Follow Up • Teacher Resume Writer Booklet, Available at: • http://www.k12jobs.com/resumes/Teacher_resume_writing.pdf • Resume, Curriculum Vitae and Cover Letter examples can be found online at: • http://ucdavis.placementmanual.com/resume/index.html • Thank you from:

49. Q&A