Resume Writing

July 18, 2009

Resume Writing Topics

Resume Writing Documentation

• Resume Components• Resume Format & Examples• Tips & Guidelines

Importance of a Resume• Represents your abilities and

accomplishments

– 75% of your resume should be your accomplishments– 25% should be your job

description/actual job functions

• Gets you the interview!

Resume Components:

• Heading• Career Summary• Employment Information• Education• Continuing Education• Technical/Computer Skills• Certifications• Professional Affiliations• Military Service• Awards/Achievements

Resume Format Tips and Guidelines

• Type Style: Arial or Times New Roman• Fonts: 11 or 12; 10 is too small; 14 is too large• Avoid lines, graphs, boxes, italics and bold• Use bullets rather than sentences/paragraphs• No period is required• Use 4 – 6 bullets for Career Summary• Use 6 - 8 bullets for current position• Use 4 - 6 bullets for previous positions• Prioritize bullets• 1 to 2 page maximum length

Heading• Information To Include:

– Name– Home or work address– Two telephone numbers – if possible– Email address

• Tips To Remember:– Use the name you go by; legal name not

required– Identify phone numbers and email addresses,

if listing more than one

Heading Example

Ann Smith1313 Mockingbird Lane

Plano, TX 75024

972 555 1212 (work)

972 515 1314 (home)

ann.smith@tx.rr.com

Career Summary

• Purpose:– Serves as a “mini-resume” by highlighting an individual’s most

marketable skills– Entices the reader to read further– "Opens doors” for new opportunities and gets you the interview!

• Tips To Remember:– 1st sales point about you!– State professional skills only– Avoid personal description, i.e., dependable, ethical, hard-

worker– Use verbs to describe your professional attributes

Career Summary Example• Bilingual in English/Spanish• Coordinate extensively with customers, vendors and internal

company personnel• Experienced in department start-ups, high-growth operations and

restructuring• Mid level manager with broad-based and progressive experience in

Customer Service, Project Management and Human Resource• Proven ability to troubleshoot and resolve software and hardware

issues• Effective in training, evaluating and directing associates in various

environments• Adept at building customer relationships, developing process

improvements, problem solving and risk management• Proficient in MS Excel, Access, Word

Employment Information

Information To Include:

• Company name, city, state• Job titles • Employment dates (month and year)• Job description (in bullet format)• Show 10-15 years of work history

Employment Information Example

ABC, Atlanta, GA Jan 1995 - PresentTechnical Customer Support Rep Mar 1998 -

Present• Provide desktop, midrange, and mainframe technical support for 60+

information analysts• Diagnose technical problems, manage dispatch requests, and escalate

according to procedures• Perform root cause analysis and recommend corrective action to promote

operational stability and service excellence• Process and administer security access for employees

Administrative Assistant Jan 1995 – Mar 1998• Maintained managers’ P&L and created variance explanations• Developed presentations for executive manager’s meetings using

PowerPoint

Bullet Information • Prioritize bullets; most emphasis on current role• Use verbs to begin each bullet; (omit responsibilities,

duties included...)• Accomplishment or achievement statement vs. a job

description• 75% of your resume should be accomplishments• 25% should be job description/job function

• Do not write in paragraph format; use concise statement format

• Do not use a “period” at the end of the bullet

Education

• Pertains to college or technical degrees pursued

• Information to Include:– Name of school attended– Location– Degree achieved/in progress or hours completed to

date

• Tips To Remember:– Do not include dates or reference high school

education– List education towards the bottom of resume unless a

recent graduate (usually <1 yr.)

Education Example

University of North Texas, Denton, TXMaster of Business AdministrationExpected completion date December 2009

University of Texas, Austin, TXB.S. EconomicsGraduated with Honors

University of California, Santa Barbara, CACoursework included Marketing, Communication, History

• OR semesters attended • OR number of credits achieved

Technical/Computer Skills

• Beneficial to those in a technical field or those pursuing a technical position

• Critical in key word searches

• Tips To Remember:

– List only skills considered strong and most marketable

Technical Skills Example

• Network/Operating: UNIX, Novell MVS/XA

• Languages and Software: Cobol II, C++, AJAX, Visual Basic.Net, SQL, HTML, Dreamweaver

• Applications: SAP, PeopleSoft (version), PowerPoint, Excel, Word

• Databases: MS Access, Oracle 8i, Dbase

Continuing Education• Information To Include:

– Professional classes– Seminars / Workshops– Specialized training Continuing Education

Access (2009)Visual Basic 5.0 (2008)Oracle (2007)Adobe Photoshop (2006)

•Tips To Remember:

- Include only professional related information- Use only recent dates (within five years)

Certifications

Purpose: Shows dedication and interest

Certifications

PHR (Professional Human Resource)OCP (Oracle8i Professional)PMP (Project Management Professional)CPM (Certified Purchasing Management)CB (Certified Bookkeeper

• Tips To Remember:

- Spell Out Acronyms - Omit potentially controversial references

Professional Affiliations

• Purpose: Shows your dedication to your field • Professional Affiliations

• ISM (Institute for Supply Management)• APA (American Payroll Association)• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)• Toastmasters

• Tips To Remember:– Spell out acronyms– Omit potential controversial references

Military Service

• Purpose: Highlights special skills and achievements

– Military Service Example

– U.S. Air Force-Honorable Discharge

List any relevant experience and/or training completed while serving in the military

Awards/Achievements

Purpose: Shows recognized success throughout career

Awards/Achievement Example

Awards

Award for Excellence (2008)

Outstanding Employee Performance (2007)

Stefanie Gutierrez

5400 Legacy Drive

Plano, TX 75024

972-605-6979 (work)

972-605-0490 (home)

stefanie.gutierrez@eds.com

CAREER SUMMARY

• Technical team leader for 8 years assisting and directing multiple employees• Extensive experience in database management• Strong System Life Cycle skills (definition, analysis, technical design, construction,

testing, implementation, and production support)• Adept in training new employees

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

ABC Corporation, Atlanta, GA

Jan 1995 - PresentTechnical Customer Support Rep• Provide desktop, midrange, and mainframe technical support for 60+

Information Analysts• Process and administer security access for employees• Diagnose technical problems, manage dispatch requests, and

escalate according to procedures• Perform root cause analysis and recommend corrective actions to

promote operational stability and service excellence EDUCATION

University of North Texas, Denton, TX

BS: Expected completion December 2009

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Network/Operating: Windows 95/98/2000, DOS, UNIX, Novell, MVS/XA, TCP/IP, OracleLanguages: Cobol II, C++, Java, Visual Basic, VBScript, SQL, HTMLHardware: IBM, Sun, HP

Resume Writing Tips and Resume Writing Tips and GuidelinesGuidelines

• Don’t list your sex, weight, marital status, children– No personal information

• Omit the phrases “responsibilities or duties include• Don’t use slang or company jargon; think key word searches• Don’t use first person or third person; no pronouns• Be sure bullet verbs are in the correct tense• Use quantities whenever possible• Ensure information presented is accurate and honest• Current position should contain 6-8 bullets• Former positions should contain 4-6 bullets• Recommended resume maximum is 1-2 pages • 2nd page should have Name & Page 2 on top• Have someone else proofread!!!