Resume Writing for the Fresh Graduates Azli Nawawi Mohd Azlis Sani Md. Jalil

This will happen when your resume is just ORDINARY.. You can look in the picture that your resume will be stacked with others if your resume is just plain ordinary.. So, by attending this course, I hope that you can open your mind to something different and I will show you how some simple acts of “common sense” can make your resume stand out from the crowd.. In other words, to be seen is to be different in a good way

An outstanding resume will attract the attention of prospective employers. Higher chance to get a job. A resume should be brief, strong and “punchy”. The job market nowadays is very challenging. So you resume needs to “lift” you up from the crowd.

Contents Introduction to Resume Writing a Good Resume Do’s and Don’ts in Resume Writing Writing Cover Letters

Contents Writing a Good Resume Do’s and Don’ts in Resume Writing Introduction to Resume Writing a Good Resume Do’s and Don’ts in Resume Writing Writing Cover Letters

Introduction to Resume Topics covered: Why a Resume is Important? Differences between Resume and CV

Why a Resume is Important? The first layer of your first impression. A bad resume will bring you down. The first step to attract your prospective employer. Good resume = Employers will be waiting for you..

Differences between Resume and CV Resumes are much shorter than CVs (<=2 pages). Resumes only highlight your skills and accomplishments. CV is suitable for providing more details. Used in the field of education, medicine, research and science.

Activity 1 Take some time to define your Career Plan. Some points to help: What subject do you love most? Any software you interested in? What is your dream job? Any field of Mechanical Engineering that grab your attention? Tips: To get your dream job, your resume should tailored in the way to bring you there. The instructor should guide the students in defining their Career Plan. This step might be good for them as it helps the students to “set” their mind on which field of Mechanical Engineering that they want to pursue. From here, they will tend to visualize which type of resume format that is suitable for their career plan. It is very good if they can define their passion. This activity will take almost 1 hour with a class of 20 students.

Contents Introduction to Resume Writing a Good Resume Do’s and Don’ts in Resume Writing Writing Cover Letters

Writing a Good Resume Topics covered: Resume Structure Useful Tips for Writing a Resume

Resume Structure Resume objective Career summary Professional experience (include achievements) Education Affiliations (professional & community) Technology skills Honors and awards Publications Public speaking Teaching experience Foreign language and travel Personal information

A good one-page resume A good one page resume format

Useful Tips for Writing a Resume Tailored to the type of job you are seeking. Highlight the qualifications which seem relevant to the job. Describe about the experience that will add value to the job. Networking card strategy (excellent for capturing the attention of employers).

Very simple Highlight only the good qualities The objective of your job searching can be added

Useful Tips for Writing a Resume (cont.) Relate your experiences to the job that you wanted to apply. It shows your understandings about the job. Use any document editing to develop a “catchy” and easily readable one page resume. Write your name and page number on the second page (if you have a 2nd page).

Contents Introduction to Resume Writing a Good Resume Do’s and Don’ts in Resume Writing Writing Cover Letters

Do’s and Don’ts in Resume Writing Topics covered: Do’s Don’ts

Do’s Perfection is mandatory. A resume should be unique. Focus on your dream job. Write “around” it. Less is more! (your boss is a busy guy) Include relevant info. (Degree, attended courses and seminars, classes, workshops and certificates). The list of references should be written in a separate page.

Do’s (cont.) Use the suitable font (Size 11 or 12 is okay. 10 is too small). Use a good quality paper.

Don’ts Don’t write too much about your past. Do not confess everything in your resume. Do not write a general resume that you tend to send to all employers (Be unique!). Do not write the description of your previous jobs but focuses more on the achievements. Do not write about the descriptions that you do not like to do from the previous job.

Don’ts (cont.) Do not write in paragraph. Use bullet points Which one is easier to read?

Don’ts (cont.) Do not include private information such as the salary history, personal and family information, your account number and others. Avoid lying in your resume! (It is not worth it).

Activity 2 It is time to write your own resume! You can kick-start by answering these questions. Please take your time! Q1. My job objective (Position you are looking for). Q2. The skills required to perform my job objective (List 2 or 3 skills).

Contents Introduction to Resume Writing a Good Resume Do’s and Don’ts in Resume Writing Writing Cover Letters

Writing Cover Letters Topics covered: Tips to Write a Cover Letter The Format of a Cover Letter Intro: A cover letter is crucial for describing the reasons for you to send the resume. It also highlights some brief and value-added points about you. In the same way as the resume, the cover letter should be brief and “punchy”. Another friendly “tone” of your writing in the cover letter is also desirable by some employers. It will not make your letter looks like a computer generated message.

Tips to Write a Cover Letter Do not be too formal with your words. Use your own friendly words. Do not go overboard with your words (Be friendly but show some respect). Use words that show your confidence and sincerity. Make sure that your grammar, spelling and sentence structure is perfect.

Tips to Write a Cover Letter (cont.) Send the cover letter to a proofreader or to a friend who is good in English (for the checking purpose).

The Format of a Cover Letter To be continued in the next slide

The Format of a Cover Letter (cont.)

Activity 3 By referring to the cover letter format, you can start writing your own cover letter. Remember, use friendly words. Do not bore your boss. If your English writing is not as good, you can write in Malay and then translate the letter to English language..

Concluding Remarks A unique and job-specific resume is an important tool for job hunters. A resume is an attention grabber. So it should be brief and “punchy”. A good cover letter is crucial because it is the companion to your resume. It can also highlights some the accomplishments that make the bosses think that you’re the one who fits for the job!

The teaching module is available for download at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ia6k2jqk1nufib8/Writing%20a%20Resume_actual%20module.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263679592_Resume_Writing_For_the_Fresh_Graduates?ev=prf_pub

Further Reading [1] D. F. Noble, Gallery of best resumes: a collection of quality resumes by professional resume writers, 4th ed. Indianapolis: Jist, 2007. [2] W. S. Enelow, 100 Winning Resumes for $100,000+ Jobs: Resumes that Can Change Your Life: Impact Publications, 1997. [3] P. Kolin, Successful writing at work: Cengage Learning, 2012. [4] S. Ireland, The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume, 2nd Ed. ed. Indianapolis: Macmillan USA, Inc., 2000.