Another Look At Your Resume

Prepared by: Ralph Bell

The Resume is not your biography. It is a

prospectus for the future!

The Resume has one purpose…to get you a job

interview.

Your resume should:

• Be eye-appealing

• Highlight strengths and minimize weaknesses

• Be logically displayed for a brief 30-

second review

Resume BuildingResume Building

Step 1: PREPARING A RESUME

Analyze yourself and your background Identify those to whom you will submit

your resume ( your readers) Organize and prepare the resume

Preparing a Resume Analyze your Background

Experience Education & Training Profession & Personal Skills Personal Traits

Preparing a Resume

Experience Comes in Many Forms

Paid jobs Part-time and seasonal work Volunteer activities Research Applied Unique offices held Community project

Preparing a Resume

Ask Yourself

What did I do on that particular job? What experience did I gain? Why was I hired for the job? What special skill did I learn on that job? Was I promoted or given more responsibility? What special traits were required? (initiative,

leadership, ability to work with details, ability to work with people)

Preparing a Resume

Analyzing Educational Background

Colleges and dates attended Degree and dates awarded Major and minor subjectsCourses taken or skills pertinent to the job you are

applying for Internships, work-study programs, co-opExtracurricular activities Scholarships/AwardsSpecial training courses

Step2: ORGANIZING THE RESUMEBegin Your Resume with…

Formal Name: Centered or at the far left margin, in Capital letters or bold type

Address: campus and permanent Telephone number: campus and

permanent Email Address

Organizing the Resume

Objective

Objective - concise statement of the work you want to do ( This section in not necessary if you include a cover letter)

Example Obtain a summer internship in the

engineering technology field to utilize my technical management and organizational skills.

Organizing the Resume

Where To Go After Objective?

Choice one: Education

This is done if you have little or no relevant work experience

Choice two: Work Experience

If you have relevant work experience, you should chose to lead with this

Organizing the Resume

Education Section

Name of school, city, state, degree, major/concentration, date of graduation, GPA (if above 3.0 on a 4.0 scale)

Relevant Courses Example Thermodynamics, Statistics, Physics, AutoCAD,

Process Planning, Technical Writing Honors & Award Example Deans list 19xx-20xx, Scholarship Awards, etc.

Organizing the Resume

Work Experience

List full-time, part-time, Co-Op, Internships, Volunteer Jobs, Summer, etc.

Include :

- company name,

-city, state,

-job title,

- beginning/ending dates of employment,

- responsibilities/ accomplishment

Organizing the Resume

Community & Campus Activities

Prove to the employer that you can “play” hard as well as work hard!

Examples:

- Special Olympics Youth Basketball Coach

1996 to present- Northwest Special Recreation Association

- Participate in Softball & Basketball leagues

Organizing the Resume

Special Skills & Reference

Special Skills : what separate you from the pack?

Foreign language skills, computer skills etc. References Available Upon Request? ?

Leave it off. Takes up precious room where you can sell yourself. We all know you have references who will put in a good word.

Step 3. Resume Writing Checklist

Do…

• Prepare and edit resume on a computer-

• Be concise, keep it to one page (with few exceptions)

• Write with your audience in mind

• Be positive, emphasize strengths

• Be creative but keep it professional

• Spell out everything, omit abbreviations

• Relate information to career objective. Does your resume have a definite focus?

Resume Writing Checklist(Cont’d)

Do… Use active language Is your resume easy to read? EDIT and PROOFREAD. Check for misspellings, verb tense,

punctuation and grammar Did you give it to someone else to critique and proofread? Be open-

minded about constructive criticism Use an attractive layout. Make sure it is visually appealing and has

adequate white space Be consistent with spacing patterns, capitalization, punctuation, order

of information presented and format of highlighting Use laser or jet printer on quality paper

Resume Writing Checklist(Cont’d)

Don’t … Don’t use the pronoun “I.” Don’t include age or date of birth, height, weight, marital

status, race religion, or political affiliations. Don’t explain why you left your jobs. Don’t include salary information unless specifically

requested. Don’t include references on the resume itself. If

submitting, provide on separate paper with person’s name, title, employer, address, phone number, and e-mail address

Putting IT All Together!

To See Sample Resumes:

Click here