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Resume Writing Training March 3 , 2010. Program Objectives. RESUME WRITING Gain a thorough understanding of what recruiters look for in a resume Understand the basic sections of a resume and how they should represent you
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Program Objectives RESUME WRITING • Gain a thorough understanding of what recruiters look for in a resume • Understand the basic sections of a resume and how they should represent you • Learn how to create a well-written resume that showcases your strengths, skills and experience
Why Fret Over Your Resume? • Recruiters use your resume for two reasons: • SCREEN OUT candidates • Identify the BEST MATCHED candidates Some Helpful Statistics • 80% of candidates are screened out at the resume review stage • Recruiters spend less than 20 seconds reviewing a resume • 85% of professionals who review resumes glance at the current job title first
Resume’s Ultimate Objective To win the interview! By … • Presenting a powerful overview of your experience • “Selling” your qualifications • Demonstrating your writing abilities and professional depth • Showing that you take action to stay current within your profession and industry
Resume “Building Blocks” • Heading • Objective Statement or Professional Summary • Employment History • Education • Professional Development and Training • Other Sections may include: Skills, Professional Affiliations, Publications/Presentations, Relevant Activities and Interests
Heading • Name • Mailing Address • If you have a temporary living situation, you may want to consider including both your temporary and your permanent address • Telephone Number(s) • Make sure those are numbers you check regularly and that the message you record for your voicemail is professional • E-mail Address • Again, make sure that the e-mail address you provide is professional and one that you check regularly
Heading Format Examples Your NameStreet Address City, State, Zip Phone Number(s) E-mail Your Name Street Address City, State, Zip Phone Number(s) E-mail Your Name E-mail Phone Number(s) Address till <applicable date>:Permanent Address: Street Address Street Address City, State, Zip City, State, Zip
Objective Statement • Your current employment goal – focusing on the short term • Sharpens the focus for the reader and sets the tone • Convincing, direct statement of how you can benefit your future employer • Defines: specific position/industry you are seeking, specific skills/qualifications you posses that are relevant to the position • Recommended in the cases of: career change, specific requirements or limitations or less than three years of professional experience
Objective Statement Examples • Company change Highly experienced sales professional with comprehensive strategic planning and execution skills, and $8 million in new client revenue added in 2 years, seeking a field sales position in the OTC industry to add similar or greater value. Career change Accomplished manufacturing supervisor seeking to leverage background in people management, customer orientation, productivity and quality management in an entry-level customer service position. Career advancement IT Professional with eight years of project coordination, programming and lead rollout execution seeking management opportunity and team-building potential within a corporation or small business requiring in-house technical facilitation.
Professional Summary • States the specific position desired and why you are qualified for that position • Highlights specific expertise and how they can benefit the future employer • 3 or 4 sentences that reflect: a clear summary of your skills, experience and accomplishments, description of qualifications using industry specific keywords, proof of your ability to deliver what the future employer needs • Recommended in the cases of: seasoned professionals (5+ years of experience) and candidates with noteworthy accomplishments
Professional Summary Examples Bilingual Operations Manager with 15 years experience, an MBA and expertise in warehousing, purchasing, facilities planning, staff management and cost control. Proven ability to provide the highest level of corporate services while consistently reducing expenditures by establishing competitive bidding processes leading to overhead costs reductions of 25% to 40%. Results-oriented software developer and consulting project manager with six years experience at Big 4 firm. Experienced OO developer with particular expertise in Java and Extreme Programming (XP). Innovative problem solver, able to see the business and technical sides of a problem. Proven leadership, negotiation and problem resolution skills. Published author and frequent conference speaker at industry conferences.
Objective Statement Professional Summary Should I use one, both or none? • Use one but not both • Which one you use greatly depends on: • Where you are at in your career progression (e.g., entry-level or experienced) • What are the objectives you want to accomplish in your next move (e.g., advance in your current field, make a career change) • Whichever you do not use, you can incorporate that information on your cover letter; e.g., • If you do not include a professional summary on your resume, you can discuss your accomplishments and personal characteristics that uniquely qualify you for the position you are applying for on your cover letter
Employment History What it is • A list of: • positions you have held and/or currently hold • the companies within which you held those positions and the location • your tenure in each of those positions • your roles, responsibilities and accomplishments while in each of those positions What it does • Outlines what positions you held, what skills you used and gained in those positions and your achievements in each of those positions • Provides evidence that you actually did what you said you did in your professional summary Format • The format of how you present your work history can vary so try different styles to see which works best for clarity and ease of presentation
Tips … to keep in mind while listing companies, positions & dates Companies You Worked For • For smaller or less well-known companies or to provide some context to your experience, you may wish to include an “employer summary statement” (i.e., a short sentence about the employing company) • If you left a company because they went out of business or your department was downsized, etc. reflect this on your resume Positions Held • Start with your most recent position and work your way back in chronological order • Include functional, common job titles – your position needs to be understood by the outside world Dates of Employment • When recording dates, employers prefer to see month and year
Tips … to keep in mind while writing your position descriptions • Do not write them to read like job descriptions • Keep it simple but remember that you are not there to answer any questions • Use paragraph form and provide a high-level overview of responsibilities held while in the role • Write in past tense for previous positions and in present tense for current position
Tips … to keep in mind while writing your accomplishments • This is the place to brag! Consider the smartest way to show how well you did something and what you contributed to the company • Use the SAR (Situation – Action – Result) approach in describing accomplishments • Start with an action word and end with a result • Use quantifiable data when possible - #s and %s will help you draw well-deserved attention to your accomplishments • Highlight any technologies that you have used and the scope of your experience with them • If you were in charge of a special project, describe the project and what the outcome of the project was • When you list your accomplishments, answer the question: So What?
Employment History Example Executive Assistant Apr. 2004 – Oct. 2008 Managed all administrative tasks, including scheduling meetings, conference calls and arranging travel for the VP of Sales and 30+ field sales representatives. Assisted in the development of sales reports and presentations. Handled incoming communications and responded to requests for information with discretion. Accomplishments • Developed an innovative records management system to process travel-related accounting documentation which resulted in expediting reimbursements by 5 business days • Managed and maintained files and filing system; designed and reorganized filing system allowing sales reps to locate files without assistance and significantly reduced number of lost and misplaced files • Answered more than 200 telephone calls per day for eight sales reps using the Acme 5000 Deluxe Telephone System • Typed 90 wpm without errors; helped others complete typing assignments, and substituted for office staff on vacation or maternity leave
Education What it is • A list of educational credentials What it includes • Institutions attended and locations • Degrees and dates awarded • Major and concentration • Any awards or scholastic achievements/honors Format • Listed in reverse chronological order • Listed as one of the last sections of your resume
Additional Sections Professional Development & Training • A list of any programs/training you have completed (other than formal education) • Includes course/training title, who conducted it and course content and date(s) Skills • A list of: • Computer languages and software applications/programs • Languages (other than English) and level of fluency • Laboratory and research skills, analytical skills and/or management skills not mentioned elsewhere Professional Affiliations • List of professional associations, committees and community involvement, especially if relevant to the target position and key work issues • Highlight any leadership roles or positions held
Additional Sections (cont.) Publications/Presentations • Highlights your published work and/or major presentations (if you have a lot of credits, summarize your work) • Include stellar critiques or comments, if applicable Activities and Interests • Only include this section if your activities/interests are directly relevant to your career interests and the target position
Formatting How your resume looks is as important as what it contains! Font • Don’t use … • a font smaller than 10 pts – it is hard to read • large fonts – they waste space • fancy fonts – they may be distracting and hard to read • flowery or fancy bullets • Do use … • a font of 14 or 16 pts for section headings and your name • the same font throughout your resume • standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial or similar
Formatting (cont.) How your resume looks is as important as what it contains! Margins and Spacing • Leave white space – crowded text is difficult to read • Aim for 1-inch side margins and slightly smaller top and bottom margins • Left justify the entire document • Use a uniform style, keeping the sections lined up and consistent • Use tabs, not spaces, to move across the page Pages • Keep it within 2 pages • If 2nd page is too short (less than 1/3 of a page), condense it to 1 page • Include your name and page number on the 2nd page
Guiding Thoughts • Resume wording precedes resume formatting • Clear, clean and crisp wording and format • Spell check AND proofread • “Reality” check • Keywords are key • Customization of information • Less is more • Don’t forget the file name!
