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Resume Writing. Suddhodan Baidya Oct 5th, 2011. What is a Resume?. Resumes are a catalog of your skills, experiences, and education A honest representation of you A document that shows your qualifications for the job you are applying for. Goals of a Resume.
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Resume Writing Suddhodan Baidya Oct 5th, 2011
What is a Resume? • Resumes are a catalog of your skills, experiences, and education • A honest representation of you • A document that shows your qualifications for the job you are applying for
Goals of a Resume • Capture the attention of the person looking at the resume, “sell” yourself to the employer • A potential employer takes less than 20 seconds to choose whether your resume should be considered for further review • The visual impact of your resume is almost as important as the words written on it • Give the employer a reason to ask you for an interview
Effective Resume Writing • Clarity • Accurate Information • Use simple words • Write in point form instead of sentences and paragraphs • Use 1” borders on Letter size paper
Effective Resume Writing • Consistent • Use the same font throughout the resume • Use the same size font (12) except for Headings • Use the same tense e.g. present tense for current jobs, past tense for previous jobs • Arrange information logically and in order
Effective Resume Writing • Concise • Be focused and truthful • Use specific descriptions of your duties • Highlight information in your resume that best matches the requirements of the job description • Keep resumes to appropriate length 1-3 pages
Resume Formats • Chronological (or Time Oriented) • Most recent experience shown first • Use when you can clearly show you can show growth and development in your career ladder and want to proceed to the next step • Usually a good first resume to work on • Disadvantage: • More difficult to highlight what you did best
Resume Formats cont… • Functional (or Relevant Skills) • Identify and highlight specific skills (3 to 6) • Use if you are changing occupations • If there are gaps in your work history • If you worked in the same job for an extended period of time • A recent graduate with no experience but have knowledge and skills • Disadvantage: • Difficult to distinguish which skill was obtained at which employer
Resume Formats cont… • Combination (Functional/Chronological) • Highlight specific skills in a chronological order • If you have a variety of job titles and positions • If you have the same job title for a number of different employers • Disadvantage: • You may be repeating the same information on your skills and work history sections • Usually results in a longer resume
Essential Pieces of a Resume • Heading – Full Name, Full Address, Phone Number, Email Address • Skills and Experience (Work/Volunteer) • Education & Training
John Smith 3615 West 4th Avenue Vancouver, BC V6R 1P2 604 – 456 – 7890 jsmith@yahoo.ca The Heading Do not include: Pictures, SIN, marital status, weight & height, the title RESUME or CV, religion, salary expectations - do not belong on your resume
An Objective • Job Objective: Should be Clear, Concise & Relevant to the position you are applying for. • Objective: Premier with over 20 years of community leadership • Objective: Project Manager with 10 years experience leading innovative ventures
Highlights/Summary of Qualifications • Your Highlights should include: • 5 to 7 points that clearly and briefly matches your skills with the employers needs • Pay special attention to the Duties of the job posting • What makes you unique • Personality qualities that is important for the opening
Highlights/Summary • Employers tend to hire people on the following criteria points listed below: - Attitude – Reliable/Dependable - Communication Skills - Team Player - Flexibility, willing to have an open mind and learn new skills - Ability to solve problems
Skills Section • Used for Functional and Combination Resumes • Recognize 3 - 6 skill sets for the job (i.e. management, customer service, technical/computer, organizational, administrative, communication) • List relative points under each skill set • Do not use personal pronouns like “I” or “my” • Use strong ACTION words like Coordinated, Organized, Managed, Directed, Conducted
Transferable Skills • Take inventory of your skills • What are transferable skills? • Any skills that you have gained through any activity in your life that can be moved and applied to a new occupation • Activities include: jobs, education, sports, hobbies, etc
Work Experience • List your work experiences from most recent to your very first paid job after you left school • Job Title, Company Name, Location, Dates • State what you did in that position relevant to the job applying for in Chronological and Combination resumes: • Increased revenue, projects worked on, customer satisfaction, reduced costs • Add an accomplishment/achievement section to highlight something significant
Education & Training • Formal education up to and including University • Degree/Diploma/Certificate/etc and major/minor/honor, Educational Institution, Location, Date • Any education or training that you took on your own or provided to you by your employer • Any specialized courses that are required by your profession or association • Highlights in coursework relevant to position
Volunteering • Volunteer experience is work experience without a wage • Arrange experience in chronological order • Highlight skills and knowledge relevant to job posting
Optional • Awards & Achievements • Related to the job opportunity • Shows your abilities in the industry • Publications • Interests & Hobbies
References • “References are available upon request” • this is understood and may be left out • Ask for reference from your previous (volunteer) supervisor/manager • Make sure they will give you a good reference • Remind your reference after you forward their name to an employer • Avoid surprises!
Resume Tips • Research the job before writing your resume and target the resume to the job • Use numbers whenever possible (how many staff you supervised, how many computers in the network) • Remove irrelevant information • Use tabs whenever possible • Do not draw lines – use the border function
More Tips • Use headers to put your name and page number • Make sure you send it in .doc format instead of .docx • Print a copy and look at it, is it visually appealing? • Proofread Carefully! Get a second person to proofread, then a third person. • Put your resume through Words’ spell-check but do not rely on it! Check every red/green underline. • five common words you don't want on your resume
Thank You • Thank you for attending this seminar • We are requesting your feedback on what we can do to make this a better seminar • We ask you to complete the evaluation sheet and write any comments
Suddhodan Baidya S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Settlement Services E-mail: suddhodan.baidya@success.bc.ca Phone: 604-408-7274 ext. 2046 Address: 28 West Pender Street Vancouver, BC V6B 1R6 The Presenter’s Contact Information