Writing a Business Resume That Gets Read!

Writing a Business Resume That Gets Read! Jim Bombino SBA Career Services—SBA 240 (503) 725-3746 bombinoj@sba.pdx.edu

Some BAD resumes • Several ways to really present the wrong image • Bad Layout • Irrelevant information • Poor Proof Reeding • Too much information!

Eight Keys To Getting Noticed • Pick the Chronological format (?) • Design a good layout • Target your Audience • Talk about skills related THIS job! • QUANTIFY!!! • Be Specific • Be Honest • PROO-FREAD!!! (get it?)

Two Basic Layouts • Chronological • Lists jobs in chronological order • Lists specific tasks and skills relevant to this job • Functional • Skill-based resume • De-emphasizes companies & dates • Separately lists job titles, companies, dates at the bottom

Chronological • Relevant course projects and/or work history. • It is easy to read and understand. • Most commonly used (about 95%). • Refer to sample (packet)

Functional • Without relevant coursework or work history. • Returning to work or changing careers. • Less widely used….some employers view with skepticism. • Think we’re trying to hide something!

Relevant Skills • Skills you developed in: • Related work or internships • Class projects or assignments!!! • Work in other fields (transferable skills) • Other activities—e.g. • volunteer work • student organizations • sports

YOUR RESUME SHOULD CONTAIN THESE ELEMENTS: • Header • Objective • Profile or Summary • Education • Course Projects • Written as “accomplishment statements” • Work History • Written as “accomplishment statements”

OTHER IMPORTANT INFO TO CONSIDER: • Other relevant experience? • Student activities? • Volunteer or charity work? • Awards or honors? • GPA above 3.0 • Dean’s List • Scholarships

Quantify,Quantify,Quantify!!!!! • How Much… • Money did you raise for your student organization or charity? • Did sales increase? • How many … • People did you supervise? • Customers did you serve? • Attendees came to the student organization event?

Accomplishment Statements Look Like This: • Analyzed financial data for 2 billion dollar sportswear company resulting in cost savings of 10-20% in first year. • Created marketing plan for beverage industry increasing visibility of products. • Performed cost/benefit analysis for apparel company resulting in savings of $10-15,000 in first six months.

HERE’S THE “FORMULA” • Strong verb (or verbs)—e.g.“Assisted” • Plus Object—e.g.”30-40 customers” • Quantify(?)—e.g.”daily” • Plus Result—e.g.”contributing to improved customer satisfaction ratings of 10-15%.”

Finished product: • “Assisted 30-40 customers daily contributing to improved customer satisfaction ratings of 10-15%.” • Now, isn’t that easy?

EXERCISE: Write an accomplishment which begins… • Communicated…… • Prepared…… • Researched…… • Analyzed…… • Organized…… • Created…… • Refer to your action word list. (handout)

YOUR JOB IS: • Determine who’s reading this? • The “economical use of words” • Use the most powerful/descriptive words without exaggerating. • Use ONLY information relevant to THIS job/internship?

Be Specific • What… • Skills did you use? • Results did you have? • Tasks/Processes did you perform? • Where… • Business setting? • Retail environment? • Office setting? • Whom… • Did you supervise? • How many? • Did you assist?

Be Honest • Do Not: • Overstate your responsibilities. “Managed HR functions for a staff of 300.” Do: • Be honest and accurate. “Coordinated and organized HR filing project for more than 300 student workers resulting in improved access to personal data.”

Format your Resume Effectively • Most important content should be in the first third of the page (20 seconds average reading time). • Use the white space- too much or too little can detract from your message. • Create Balance- your resume should not be lopsided or bottom heavy. • Be consistent – don’t change fonts or headings; don’t use italics!

Target Your Audience • Review job announcement. • USE THEIR LANGUAGE (keywords)!!! • Skills, knowledge and achievements which MATCH the position in the top 1/3. • Use only RELEVANT EXPERIENCE. • If it’s FLUFF, take it out!

PROOF-RED! • Use spell check • Do not rely solely on spell check! e.g.--misspelled or wrong company name --misspelled contact name --real-words but not the RIGHT real (Have others review it—”fresh-eyes”) • Put it aside and come back to it later.

Your major • “We believe that you should choose a major that truly reflects something that you are passionate about. It should lead to a profession that you can willingly and with joy spend one-half of your waking hours pursuing.” • Dr. Will Keim, Ph.D. • Curtis Zimmerman • The Character Institute—Mason, OH

SBA Resources • Individual Resume review: • Fran Moga—(503) 725-3710 franm@sba.pdx.edu • Jim Bombino—(503) 725-3746 bombinoj@sba.pdx.edu

Writing a Business Resume That Gets Read!