Writing center resume
- 1. Developing Your Resume The Writing Center at Los Angeles Valley College
- 2. What is the purpose of a resume? A resume functions a letter to a targeted reader and the purpose is to facilitate a conversation (the interview) with a potential employer. A resume as an advertisement for yourself, where you can highlight all of your relevant accomplishments. It’s your entry ticket for the a possible interview
- 3. Common Resume Formats Chronological Functional Combination
- 4. Chronological Resume A chronological resume is advantageous when Your recent employers and/or job titles are impressive You are staying in the same career field Your job history shows progress This is the format preferred by many employers Sample Resume: Download example
- 5. Functional Resume A functional resume is advantageous when There are gaps in your work History You are changing careers Your career growth in the past has not been continuous and progressive You have worked in several unrelated fields/ work has been free-lance or temporary in nature Sample Resume: Download example
- 6. Combined Resume A combined resume is advantageous when when your work experience includes a variety of career fields and you have gaps in your employment history. This format is ideal for individuals with diverse experiences that do not add up to a clear cut career path or individuals who wish to enter a field very different from what their previous experience reflects. Sample Resume: Download example
- 7. Typical Resume Contents Header with contact information Objective (optional) Education: For degrees in progress: “Anticipated Completion Date ____” Experience Skills Activities Honors
- 8. Arguments against stating an Objective Recruiters and hiring managers don’t like resume objectives because they focus on the needs of the job seeker rather than the needs of the potential employer. “ Seeking a software engineer position with a progressive employer where I can contribute to the development of new technologies and work with bright, committed people.” This may be honest but it is irrelevant to the reader, who does not care what you want and only cares what you have to offer. Instead of an objective, use a positioning statement that clearly and concisely explains what you have to offer: Taken from Louis Fletcher’s “Top ten Resume Tips”
- 9. Arguments against stating an Objective Position Statement: “ Senior Software Engineer with 10 years experience developing leading-edge technologies.” Now the reader can immediately see your value. (For even greater impact, tailor this statement for each position to highlight the match between the company’s needs and your skills.) Taken from Louis Fletcher’s “Top ten Resume Tips”
- 10. Know your Audience Customize your resume to the position. Carefully review the language from the job posting and work this language into your position statement and other areas of the resume.
- 11. Resume Writing Steps Target your job. Choose a format. Draft your resume. Edit and critique.
- 12. Resume Do’s Consider page length: less than five years one page and more than five years two pages Use adequate white space. Use consistent format. Use bullets instead of paragraphs. Use all caps and bold to make important words stand out. Determine appropriate keywords from job descriptions Make headers & contact info larger. Write in third person without “I” or “Me” Choose an easy-to-read font. Arial, Times New Roman, Palatino, Tahoma or Verdana No less than 11 points for smaller fonts Larger fonts can be 10 points
- 13. Resume Blunders Spelling, typos or poor grammar (proof backwards) Using cliches like “self-motivated” Instead, demonstrate these qualities through powerful Action-Benefit statements (showing that your action had a positive benefit). For example: Designed and implemented employee evaluation protocols. Poor presentation (poor formatting, too wordy or poor paper selection) Unprofessional e-mail address Using underlining/italics , which can cause problems for resumes that are scanned
- 14. Resume Blunders Using colored or printed paper Including hobbies (unless relevant to job) Including personal information (religion, marital status, etc.) Putting the word “Resume” at the top Including salary information Including reasons for leaving jobs Including references on the same page as the resume
- 15. Additional Resources Writing Center Resume Handout Additional Action Verbs for resumes Resume Worksheets Guide for writing descriptive bullet points
Editor's Notes
- #2: Welcome to Resumes that ROCK! I’m Laura Allen. I work in the State 4-H Office and have been in the Human Resources arena for a number of years. During my time at MSU, I’ve had 9 promotions. I have always had a passion for topics related to career development and resumes is one of them. If you don’t have one already, consider your resume file folder today the one you’ll use to build on throughout your career. As you learn new skills or move in and out of various positions, add notes to the file as reminders for updating your resume. All career-minded individuals will want to have an up-to-date resume even if they aren’t currently active in a job search. Most of the handouts we’ll use today are used by the experts at MSU’s Career Services and Placement. Much of the information I’m sharing today is located in “Career Passport” though it contains much more than tips on resumes. Today we’ll focus on how to create a resume that showcases your abilities and experiences. Let’s get started!
- #3: Your resume is your opportunity to be in the spotlight – unfortunately, hiring managers report (not publicly, of course) on the average they spend less than 2 minutes reading a resume. Your job is to make the most of that tiny window of opportunity to sell yourself to the employer. Remember that you’re marketing yourself; so while the integrity of the document is a must, the resume must present your best experience and detail your relevant skills and competencies. Amazing Resumes – page 4 Not Selling Yourself – too negative Good Selling – turning negatives into believable positives Bad Selling – over the top, unbelievable and undesirable Avoid the Wild and Crazy attention getting resume – recruiters dislike them. Keep your resume in good taste. Just like our musical tastes differ – you might like rap, reggae or rock and I might like smooth jazz. Things that are unusual will attract attention – but, if you don’t know how the reader will react, why run the risk of rejection unnecessarily?
- #4: Refer to the sample resumes Use the Fill-In Resume Worksheet & Critique Form from CS &P Chronological Traditional resume preferred among conventional or conservative employers Combination – Amazing Resumes call it “The Hybrid Resume” More contemporary – blend of functional and chronological Amazing Resumes – page 70 – The Structured Interview Resume –very different – lays out questions with answers
- #5: Recruiters are looking for a good “fit” when they look at your resume. Whenever possible, get a copy of the position description for the job you’re applying for. You can tailor your resume to emphasize your skills and experience for that particular position. Thank goodness for technology – it makes it easy to create several versions of your resume. Think about what the employer is looking for and then reflect that in your resume. Get as much information about the job and the company as you can, i.e job advertisement, position description, a friend in the company, the media, gossip and rumor, someone already doing the job or something similar. Best published source of information about what specific jobs are like is the Occupational Outlook Handbook, by the US Department of Labor – you can find this info online, too, at www.bls.gov/oco or the book I have “Best Jobs for the 21 st Century.” Has more than 500 position descriptions. A companies annual report can tell you a lot – it can tell you about future projects the company may be involved in, who their clients and competitors are. WIIFFT – “What’s in it for Them?” – keep this in mind – understanding the benefits of having you as an employee
- #6: Recruiters are looking for a good “fit” when they look at your resume. Whenever possible, get a copy of the position description for the job you’re applying for. You can tailor your resume to emphasize your skills and experience for that particular position. Thank goodness for technology – it makes it easy to create several versions of your resume. Think about what the employer is looking for and then reflect that in your resume. Get as much information about the job and the company as you can, i.e job advertisement, position description, a friend in the company, the media, gossip and rumor, someone already doing the job or something similar. Best published source of information about what specific jobs are like is the Occupational Outlook Handbook, by the US Department of Labor – you can find this info online, too, at www.bls.gov/oco or the book I have “Best Jobs for the 21 st Century.” Has more than 500 position descriptions. A companies annual report can tell you a lot – it can tell you about future projects the company may be involved in, who their clients and competitors are. WIIFFT – “What’s in it for Them?” – keep this in mind – understanding the benefits of having you as an employee
- #7: Recruiters are looking for a good “fit” when they look at your resume. Whenever possible, get a copy of the position description for the job you’re applying for. You can tailor your resume to emphasize your skills and experience for that particular position. Thank goodness for technology – it makes it easy to create several versions of your resume. Think about what the employer is looking for and then reflect that in your resume. Get as much information about the job and the company as you can, i.e job advertisement, position description, a friend in the company, the media, gossip and rumor, someone already doing the job or something similar. Best published source of information about what specific jobs are like is the Occupational Outlook Handbook, by the US Department of Labor – you can find this info online, too, at www.bls.gov/oco or the book I have “Best Jobs for the 21 st Century.” Has more than 500 position descriptions. A companies annual report can tell you a lot – it can tell you about future projects the company may be involved in, who their clients and competitors are. WIIFFT – “What’s in it for Them?” – keep this in mind – understanding the benefits of having you as an employee
- #8: HANDOUT – CS & P Fill in Resume Worksheet and Critique Form It’s time to draft your resume text!
- #9: HANDOUT – CS & P Fill in Resume Worksheet and Critique Form It’s time to draft your resume text!
- #10: HANDOUT – CS & P Fill in Resume Worksheet and Critique Form It’s time to draft your resume text!
- #11: Recruiters are looking for a good “fit” when they look at your resume. Whenever possible, get a copy of the position description for the job you’re applying for. You can tailor your resume to emphasize your skills and experience for that particular position. Thank goodness for technology – it makes it easy to create several versions of your resume. Think about what the employer is looking for and then reflect that in your resume. Get as much information about the job and the company as you can, i.e job advertisement, position description, a friend in the company, the media, gossip and rumor, someone already doing the job or something similar. Best published source of information about what specific jobs are like is the Occupational Outlook Handbook, by the US Department of Labor – you can find this info online, too, at www.bls.gov/oco or the book I have “Best Jobs for the 21 st Century.” Has more than 500 position descriptions. A companies annual report can tell you a lot – it can tell you about future projects the company may be involved in, who their clients and competitors are. WIIFFT – “What’s in it for Them?” – keep this in mind – understanding the benefits of having you as an employee
- #12: These are the basic steps. Once you’ve targeted a particular job to apply for, then you choose the resume format, draft the resume, edit and critique and PROOF, PROOF, PROOF!
- #13: Use the bullets or other symbols to highlight accomplishments. This breaks up the key information and pulls out selling points that could be missed otherwise. Try to refrain from using “I,” “the,” and “an.” Proofread with a ruler to carefully proofread each line. Reread the resume from the bottom up to prevent skipping over the same mistake. Be consistent with the chosen format throughout the entire resume. Use the same line spacing, headline font, font size, etc. Leave a one inch margin on all 4 sides – this provides more space for an interviewer to write in notes and it give the resume a very organized appearance. Once your resume is complete, have it critiqued – remember you’ve been looking at it for a long time Ask the person: Do you have any ideas on how to make this a stronger document? Or Could you look for any errors in this? Or Does this look well-organized and is it easy to follow? Not – How do you like this? Take feedback in stride and incorporate only those items you feel are appropriate. It is your document. Ask more than one person to look it over – a variety of opinions is best.
- #14: Remember a resume is also a documentation of your written communication skills – make sure it is error-free. Avoid resume templates – people who review LOTS of resumes can spot them. Take the time to create an “original” that tells your story. Review it for “extra” words – something I’m famous for and have to do with everything I create – even this PowerPoint! Print your resume on a laser printer only – remember it may be copied and you want the quality to be good. Don’t use unusual fonts that may be hard to read – even if you like the looks of them – KEEP IT SIMPLE
- #15: Remember a resume is also a documentation of your written communication skills – make sure it is error-free. Avoid resume templates – people who review LOTS of resumes can spot them. Take the time to create an “original” that tells your story. Review it for “extra” words – something I’m famous for and have to do with everything I create – even this PowerPoint! Print your resume on a laser printer only – remember it may be copied and you want the quality to be good. Don’t use unusual fonts that may be hard to read – even if you like the looks of them – KEEP IT SIMPLE
- #16: Remember a resume is also a documentation of your written communication skills – make sure it is error-free. Avoid resume templates – people who review LOTS of resumes can spot them. Take the time to create an “original” that tells your story. Review it for “extra” words – something I’m famous for and have to do with everything I create – even this PowerPoint! Print your resume on a laser printer only – remember it may be copied and you want the quality to be good. Don’t use unusual fonts that may be hard to read – even if you like the looks of them – KEEP IT SIMPLE