5. Resume Preparation

A.      The Basics

The Purpose of a Resume

The purpose of a resume is to lead to an interview, to get you in front of people so you can sell yourself in person. It is an important component of the job search and, because it is the first impression a prospective employer has of you, it should present you in a positive light.

A resume is a Sales Brochure: YOU are the product it is trying to sell. Each sales brochure is designed for the specific product (e.g. Corvette vs. Honda Accord). Your resume should be the same. The resume should also be flexible and customized for the position you are applying.

A resume should be a brief summary of what you have done in the past, including your skills, experience and education. It implies what you can do in the future. It is also a reminder. After the interview, an impression of you remains. The resume should support that personal impression.

The resume is typically looked at, initially, for no more than 30 seconds due to time constraints and the sheer volume of resumes received. Therefore, it should contain only information relevant to the job in a format that allows the reader or database query to easily discern your match to the position.

What should a resume contain?

Resumes should contain the following sections providing they are appropriate and supportive of the desired position:

·        Heading

·        Summary of Qualifications

·        Employment History and Accomplishments

·        Education

·        Professional Development and Training

·        Skills

·        Professional Associations

·        Honors and Awards

All information should be relevant to the job and should not include information that includes race, religion, national origin, marital status, age, etc.

 

Resume Do’s and Don’ts

Do

Don’t
  • Keep it to 1 – 2 pages (2 or more pages is OK, if you have a lot of experience)
  • List your references on your resume (have a separate reference list)
  • Only include 10-15 yrs of experience (unless prior experience adds relevant value)
  • Include personal information like age, race, health, marital status, etc. (can be used against you)
  • Include a summary which incorporates your objective
  • Include an objective (either too vague or too specific)
  • Use action verbs
  • Use "responsible for" (action verbs are stronger)
  • Use bullets, bolding, and capitals to highlight significant information
  • Use italics or unusual fonts (may not copy or scan properly)
  • Format your resume with margins and white space
  • Exaggerate or misrepresent yourself or your qualifications
  • Use past tense for prior positions
  • Include any negative information or weaknesses
  • Use 10-12 pt. size and a standard font (i.e. Arial, Times New Roman, Courier)
  • Try to be fancy or creative, unless you are applying in a creative field
  • Use a laser quality printer

·  Use "I", "We", "They" (these are implied)

·  Use good quality, neutral colored paper

·  Reasons for leaving companies (save for the interview)

·  Proofread very carefully!

·  Use the Microsoft Word Resume Template (not the best format)

·  Upload your resume and examine how it looks online; make appropriate revisions and insure page breaks remain appropriate

·  Use fancy fonts and typefaces or format features that are not preserved in upload

 

Writing the Resume

Think Before You Write

Before you begin writing, take time to think about the following:

·        What is the company really looking for? Check the specific requirements in the advertisement, or, if you can get one, the job description. Use your networking contacts to find out if there are any "hidden" needs that the company isn’t advertising. Research job listings for similar positions to learn other requirements.

·        How you can summarize your qualifications

·        What Quantifiable Results and Accomplishments you have from previous work experiences, particularly as they match the company’s specific needs

·        What types of relevant professional training and development you have had

·        Membership with any professional associations that are related to the position for which you are applying

·        Any work related honors and awards you have achieved

·        How you can summarize your qualifications

Listed below are some examples of types of questions you may ask yourself to assist you in thinking of your past experiences and accomplishments.

·        What roles and responsibilities did I have?

·        What outcomes did I achieve?

·        Did I introduce a new method or system?

·        Did I save money or time on behalf of the organization? (How much?)

·        Did I do something to increase production? (How much?)

·        Did I develop new techniques?

·        Did I do something to improve quality or service?

·        Did I avoid, minimize or manage a significant risk or liability to an employer?

Look at past performance reviews for accomplishments identified by previous bosses. Think of projects you’ve been on and what the results were. How about promotions, bonuses, pay raises, were they the result of your accomplishments?

This thought process is the most time consuming and most important step. The identification of your skills and accomplishments not only allows you to write an effective resume but also will start the preparation necessary to create a strong impression in the interview.

Structure--Definition of Sections

In general, resumes should contain certain vital information including:

·    Heading:          

Name

Address

Phone Number(s) (home, work, cell, pager)

E-mail address (if you have one that you check regularly, and only one)

(The purpose is to make it easy for the recipient to contact you; be as inclusive as possible with contact info.)

·        Summary of Qualifications:

A statement summarizing experience, areas of expertise, technical or professional skills, accomplishments, traits, and any distinctions. It outlines key information that is detailed in the body of the resume. The summary incorporates your job objective and should be focused on that objective.

·        Work Experience:

Company names, years employed, and job titles should be included as well as a very brief description of the company under the company’s name. Include a summary of your responsibilities; focus on those that would be of interest to the next employer. Make sure you list any special accomplishments and quantifiable results that demonstrate what you have done. These accomplishments are possibly the most important part of the resume because it separates your resume from everyone else’s and is the proof that you can do the job. Focus should be directed toward the needs of the position you are applying for.

·        Education:

A summary of your educational background including your degree(s), university name(s), city/state. Don’t include your year of graduation unless you are a recent graduate when you can add Graduation Date or expected date and GPA. List degrees in reverse chronological order.

·        Professional Development and Training (optional):

List additional training or courses that support and are relevant to your job objective.

·        Skills:

Technical/computer skills, office equipment, other job-related skills, language skills.

·        Professional Associations (optional):

Include memberships and offices held in professional associations, boards, and community activities that support the job applied for and are work related.

·         Honors and Awards (optional):

Educational honors, employment awards, and community recognition. Only include these if they would make you stand out and are work related.

·        Accomplishments

Use Numbers to Give Your Accomplishments the Attention They Deserve

 If you were an employer looking at a new college graduate’s resume, which of the following entries would impress you more?

·         Wrote news releases.

·         Wrote 25 news releases in a three-week period under daily deadlines.

Clearly the second statement carries more weight. Why? Because it uses numbers to quantify the writer’s accomplishment, giving it a context that helps the interviewer understand the degree of difficulty involved in the task.

Numbers are powerful resume tools that will help you draw to your accomplishments the attention they deserve from prospective employers. With just a little thought, you can find effective ways to quantify your successes on your resume. Here are a few ways to do just that:

Think Money

For-profit and nonprofit organizations alike are and always will be concerned about money. So as you contemplate your accomplishments and prepare to present them on your resume, think about ways you’ve saved money, earned money, or managed money in your internships, part-time jobs and extracurricular activities so far. A few possibilities that might appear on a typical college student’s resume:

·         Identified, researched and recommended a new Internet Service Provider, cutting the company’s online costs by 15 percent.

·         Wrote prospect letter that has brought in more than $25,000 in donations so far.

·         Managed a student organization budget of more than $7,000.

Think Time

You’ve heard the old saying, "Time is money," and it’s true. Companies and organizations are constantly looking for ways to save time and do things more efficiently. They’re also necessarily concerned about meeting deadlines, both internal and external. So whatever you can do on your resume to show that you can save time, make time or manage time will grab your reader’s immediate attention. Here are some time-oriented entries that might appear on a typical college student’s resume:

·         Assisted with twice-monthly payroll activities, ensuring that employees were paid as expected and on time.

·         Attended high school basketball games, interviewed players and coaches afterward, and composed 750-word articles by an 11 p.m. deadline.

·         Suggested procedures that decreased average order-processing time from 10 minutes to five minutes.

Think Amounts

It’s very easy to neglect mentioning how much or how many of something you’ve produced or overseen. There’s a tendency instead to simply pluralize your accomplishments -- e.g., "wrote news releases" or "developed lesson plans" -– without including the important specifics -- e.g., "wrote 25 news releases" or "developed lesson plans for two classes of 20 students each." Don’t fall into the "no figures included" trap. Instead, include amounts:

·         Recruited 25 members for a new environmental organization.

·         Trained five new employees on restaurant operations procedures.

·         Introduced 17 service-improvement proposals

The more you focus on money, time and amounts in relation to your accomplishments, the better you’ll present your successes and highlight your potential -– and the more you’ll realize just how much you really have to offer prospective employers. Add it all up, and you’ll see that playing the "numbers game" is yet another way to convince employers that you should be a part of their equation for success.