RESUME

WORKSHOP

Designed and created by Talia Wesley for FRG at March ARB, CA.

Revised JULY 2013

RESUME ESSENTIALS

Before you write, take your time to do a self-assessment on paper. Outline your skills and abilities as well as your work experience and extracurricular activities. This will make it easier to prepare a thorough resume.

1 - Name, address, telephone, e-mail address, web site address

All your contact information should go at the top of your resume.

Avoid nicknames.

2 - Use a permanent address. Use your parents' address, a friend's address, or the address you plan to use after graduation.

You have the option to leave out your street address due to privacy and security concerns.

3- Ensure to separate your name from your address since your name is your product name such as GUCCI or PRADA and ensure to have a size at least 20

3 - Use a permanent telephone number and include the area code. If you have an answering machine, record a neutral greeting. Make sure to identify what type of number you use: Example: Home or Cell Phone number.

3a- If you are in need of a Google Voice Number, please create one (it’s for free)

http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

Add your e-mail address. Many employers will find it useful and it will show employers that you are computer literate. (Note: Choose an e-mail address that is professional.)

Include your web site address, video resume or LinkedIn affiliation only if the web page reflects your professional ambitions.

THE CONTENT OF YOUR RESUME

An objective is a short but powerful statement, which will show potential employers the value that you will bring to

the company!

1-Be specific about the job you want. For example: To obtain an entry-level position within a financial institution requiring strong analytical and organizational skills.

2-Tailor your objective to each employer you target or every job you seek.

Example:

OBJECTIVE

A Core Competency based resume focuses on highlights of your employment background that provide valuable experience in the specific area of competencies an employer is looking for. Once you review an ad for a job description look for

the keywords and skills identified and tailor your resume accordingly. An outstanding core competency based resume always considers the needs of the

employer first instead of just listing previous work experience.

1. What are your strengths? The sooner you discover them the more productive you will become in your career. This will also allow making your job search more in tune with what you do best instead of applying to something that isn't the best fit.

2. How do your strengths provide value to the position that you are applying for? This immediately helps the employer identify how well you will fit into their organization.

3. Identify your skills and create a bulleted list which will become your Core Competencies. This is a bold highlight of competencies to be further discussed in your list of responsibilities for previous positions that you have held.

CORE STRENGH / SKILLS

Log on to O*NET and follow the

Pages 11 – 16 to find the

CORE STRENGH / SKILLS

According to your occupational

Background.

See examples ………….

CORE STRENGH / SKILLS

Showcasing key skills and accomplishments at the top keeps the hirer reading, allowing more time to sell attributes.

Let's start by understanding what kinds of accomplishments or achievements are important to employers and hiring managers:

The “buying motivators" - these are the contributions that you have made in your career that would encourage a hiring company to "buy" you or in other words hire you.

Simply – Understand that every company listens to the same radio station WIFI - What's In It For Me.

Here are a few other examples of buying motivators:

Facilitated the company to save money or reduce costs.

Implemented processes that saved time or increase work productivity.

Improved company's competitive advantage in the marketplace

Enhanced corporate image or building company's reputation in its industry

Grew new product sales 100% in 120 days and sustained 20% annual sales growth

ACCOMPLISHMENTS /

ACHIEVEMENTS

Example

ACCOMPLISHMENTS /

ACHIEVEMENTS

If you are prior military, I recommend that you post your military training as one of your key selling components. Your military service has provided you with training and work experience that is very useful to many employers. Leadership training, the ability to conform to rules and structure, working as a team leader or member and knowing how to work under pressure to meet deadlines are your strongest assets.

Here are a few other examples of buying motivators (Accomplishments for Military):

US-Army (US-Air Marines, US-Air Force, US-Navy) 10+ years' experience

Overseas experience: indicates mobility and adaptability

Facilitation (how many times a year and many thought) – Shows leadership and Knowledge

Level of security clearance: indicates completion of background check

Foreign language skills: language, written or verbal level of fluency

Awards and Decorations: indicators of leadership and success

Annual performance reports: documented work efforts

Soft and hard skills: leadership and project management (respectively)

In addition to resume content, remember to include military service records like your DD214 (discharge documents) and DD 2586 (Verification of Military Experience and Training). These documents add more substance to your resume.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR

SERVICE MEMBERS

Example

ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR

SERVICE MEMBERS

Briefly give the employer an overview of your professional background.

Use action words to describe your job duties. List your last job first!

Use ONET to receive your “Key Words”

As a general rule of thumb, include only the past 10 years

While there may be no absolute rules as to what you should or shouldn't be included on a résumé, remember that the ultimate goal is to present oneself as the best possible candidate for the position at hand.

Always look to the information given in the job description for guidance

# 1 Why work history

# 2 Giving employers what they want

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is a database of occupational

requirements and worker characteristics. It describes occupations in terms of the skills

and knowledge required how the work is performed.

All terms and information in O*NET is packed with all the “Key Words” that you are able to use in your resume.

O*NET database has information for more than 900 occupations!

O*NET information links directly to other labor market information, such as wage and employment statistics!

The O*NET database files are

available for free!

O*NET Career Exploration Tools are a

set of career exploration and assessment

tools that help individuals (workers and

students) identifying their work-related

interests and abilities, so that they can

explore occupations that match their

interests, abilities, and preferences.

Who is using O*NET?

People changing jobs, HR Managers,

Dislocated Workers, Career Coaches,

Business forecasters and many more!

O*NET

Please click on Find Occupations

O*NET

Write in your occupation in the field: Keyword or ONET code

We have entered the occupation for “Sales”

O*NET

Our Occupation is “Sales” that we have entered, pick your occupation that

you have worked in and click to continue!

O*NET

We are going to select as an example “Sales Manager”, and cut and

paste the “TASKS” portion in our resume

O*NET

Please cut and

paste this portion,

which is packed with

key words!

O*NET

Please highlight text and

copy the section that applies

to your occupational back

ground, and transfer it to

your resume!

Please paste the copy in your Employment History section: Remember to complete this section in past-tense, since you are no longer working for that company!

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Education (required)

Summarize your educational achievements (colleges attended, locations,

graduation dates, certificates, academic majors, minors, and course

concentrations).

Start with most recent degree awarded and work backward in time unless

you are a recent graduate ( 3 years or less work experience).

You do not need to list high school except it is relevant (recent graduate),

or if school is particularly well observed.

GPA is optional. Include it if you feel it will enhance your resume.

If a recent graduate, you may wish to include relevant coursework or

training workshops attended if this improves your credibility.

EDUCATION

Training Include all specialized training you have received from your last employer

which is transferable to your new job target. If you have not attended college, definitely include all specialized training in your target field, even if the

training lasted a few hours or one day. Hiring managers generally prefer to see some post-secondary education.

Example Training:

Phone Answering Techniques

Customer Service Skills Training

Cash Register Training

Machine Operator & Safety Training, Forklift Training, Quality Control, Safety & Hazmat Training , First Aid Training

TRAINING

EDUCATION / TRAINING

Example

“Honors” and “Awards” are the great ways of expressing the important achievements and recognitions given to you by your past employers. Mostly, your resume is a subjective representation of your skills and abilities. An “Award” or “Honor” is the proof of your success and adds solid objective to your resume. Your achievements should be listed throughout the resume; however, if you want to draw special attention towards these achievements, you can list them in 'Awards and Honors' section.

Here are some popular recognition:

PEER-TO-PEER RECOGNITION: It’s an employee-owned program, and for which individuals can be recognized through a program. The recognition is being giving for:

Good Citizenship - Collaboration / Helping / Mentoring /Bright Idea / Creativity - Honoring the creative problem solver / Above and Beyond / Modeling superior service / Unsung Hero – and much more.

SERVICE AWARDS! Recognition for dedicated and long-term employees.

SPOT RECOGNITION! Managers' kits with award certificates, reward coupons, appreciation cards to instantly appreciate employees.

AWARDS

AWARDS ON YOUR RESUME

Example

Language Skills (optional) If you speak more than one language then you should consider including language skills in

your resume to stand out. Make certain you accurately present your skill level for both written and verbal

Member Associations (optional) If you belong to organizations that are relative to the industry or job you are applying for, you may choose to include these in your resume. The general rule is, include this section if

you feel it will strengthen your application.

Civic Participation (optional) When most people think of volunteering, they think about building houses or serving soup

to the homeless (which are both great activities). But there are a countless of volunteer opportunities which allow during unemployment to use the skills to help organizations in

need. Employers love to see volunteer work on a resume, it shows that the candidate is concerned with more than just money, and that he/she already has experience using their skills to make a positive impact in a community based organization. So be sure to include the experience on your resume and use it as a talking point when applicable in interviews.

OPTIONAL SKILLS

Example

References or Recommendation Letters (optional)

This is entirely optional. If you choose to include references, make sure they are aware that they may be contacted by a recruitment agent and inform them as to the type of job you are applying for. It is good practice to send a copy

of your resume to your reference to remind them of the activities you performed and responsibilities you had whilst working for them. This is

strongly advised in the time since employment with your reference is 1 year or more in the past.

General rule: “References” or “Recommendation Letters” are available upon request”

REFERENCES

REFERENCES

Example

Resume Checkup

Run a spell check on your computer before anyone will read your resume

Get a friend (an English major would do nicely) to do a grammar review

Ask another friend to proofread. The more people who see your resume, the more likely that misspelled words and awkward phrases will be seen (and corrected).

Design

These tips will make your resume easier to read and/or scan into an employer's data base:

Use a font size of 12 to 14 points

Use non-decorative typefaces

Choose one typeface and stick to it

Avoid italics, script, and underlined words

Do not use horizontal or vertical lines, graphics, or shading.

FINAL TOUCHES ON YOUR RESUME

We do additionally require to register with CalJobs: http://www.caljobs.ca.gov/

RivcoJobs: https://www.rivcojobs.com/

and to post your new resume on those

sites today to ensure maximum exposure for employers in the Riverside County and

within our business solution!

PLEASE POST YOUR RESUME ….

CONGRATULATIONS