Resume Writing

4 Rules of Resume Writing Relevance - make your resume relevant Read the job posting carefully Visit employer’s website and take a look at their mission statement and values Only include information on your resume that is relevant to the posting Modify your accomplishment statements to reflect the qualities they are looking for Accomplishment-Based – show the “best you” Everything on your resume should be accomplishment-based Done mostly through the accomplishment statements Ask yourself if it reflects an accomplishment that you have achieved

4 Rules of Resume Writing (continued) 3. Easy to read Make sure the employer sees all the important information Make your resume easy to read Headings that are bolded or underlined will create easy to read sections Use bullets when possible instead of writing things out in longer paragraphs 4. Esthetically Pleasing Your resume should be organized and concise Make information easy to find Pick up your resume and check to see if it’s nice to look at Is there enough white space? Is the information spread out on the page, or is it squished into one small column? Get a friend or relative to look it over for a second opinion

Parts of a Resume Contact Information   Ensure your contact information is complete, accurate and professional. Include: Your full name in a larger and bolded font at the top of the page Your complete mailing address (street, city, province and postal code) Your phone number with area code Your e-mail address (ensure it is appropriate – i.e. if your e-mail address is lazyguy@hotmail.com you probably don’t want to include this)

Parts of a Resume (continued) Objective (OPTIONAL) An objective is only required if a job posting says that you are not allowed to send in a cover letter with your résumé. All the information included in an objective should be in your cover letter, and you don’t want to make it redundant. If you do include an objective it should be very specific to the job posting. It should include the name of the position (ex. Sales Consultant), employer name, job reference number and where you found the job posting.

Parts of a Resume (continued) Profile/Highlights of Qualifications/Summary of Skills This section can be given many titles: Summary of Qualifications, Profile, Summary of Skills, Highlights of Qualifications. This section should include a short list (4-5 points) of the skills, personal characteristics and qualities you will bring to an employer. This section should be modified for every job you apply to. The skills you include will differ depending on what the requirements are in the job posting.

Parts of a Resume (continued) Experience    Most people include “Employment Experience” and “Volunteer Experience”, but there are other ways to organize these sections that might be more useful to you such as: Employment Experience Career Related Experience Professional Experience Relevant Experience Other Experience

Parts of a Resume (continued) Experience (continued) What information must I include? Position title Complete name of the company or organization you worked for The city and province (or state) where you worked The years of employment Accomplishment statements

Parts of a Resume (continued) Accomplishment Statements   Written in a bulleted list below each experience 2 - 3 of these statements for each experience Describe not only your duties at the job, but what impact you had An effective way to write your statements is using the CAR method C = Challenge (what you did) A = Action (how you did it – what skills did you use?) R = Results (how it helped) How it helped them (ex. the company, patient, coworkers) What you learned (transferable skills)

Parts of a Resume (continued) Accomplishment Statements Think of these questions when considering your results:   What results did I achieve? What difference did I make to the business or organization? What new ideas did I come up with? What problems did I help solve? Did I speed up the process? Did I increase the accuracy of the results? Did I reduce costs involved? Did I boost revenues or profits somehow? What feedback did past customers or supervisors provide? Quote an appraisal if possible.

Parts of a Resume (continued) Transferable Skills   Problem-solving Communication skills Interpersonal skills Organizational skills Conflict resolution Leadership Any specific skill you used that would be applicable to the new job (ex. knowledge of POS sales system, experience working with children with disabilities)

Parts of a Resume (continued) Challenge Action Result Accomplishment Statements (continued) Examples of Accomplishment Statements “Reorganized office files using a colour coding system that resulted in improved efficiency by 5%” “Served food in a fast-paced environment by communicating effectively with co-workers which enhanced my time-management skills” When you are done, each experience you have listed should look like this:

Parts of a Resume (continued) Education and Training   All the formal and informal training and education you have completed List the name of the diploma or certificate you received and the name and location of the school Begin with the highest level of educational achievement If you attended university or college, there is no need to also list your high school education, unless you have completed a special program in high school (such as the International Baccalaureate Programme) Any awards, entrance scholarships won based on grades, or Dean’s List standings can be written underneath as a bullet point If you have taken courses that would be relevant to the position you are applying for, you can list 3-4 under the degree as well

Parts of a Resume (continued) Education and Training (continued)   If you have multiple certifications (WHMIS, First Aid, CPR, special vehicle licenses) it might be more beneficial for you to create an entire “Certifications” section. If you only have one, it can go in your “Education” section.

Parts of a Resume (continued) Volunteer Experience   Include relevant activities that could be discussed with a potential employer Volunteer work or work in the community may have given you valuable experience or skills applicable to a new position of interest This section can give the employer a clearer understanding of who you are as a person and if you will make a good fit with the company or organization List the name of the organization, the name of the position you held, and the dates you were involved in the organization Include 2-3 Accomplishment Statements

Parts of a Resume (continued) References   References do not need to be sent to an employer with your résumé unless specified in the job posting If the posting does not ask for you to send references you do not need to include it in your résumé Do not write “References Available Upon Request” on your resume – the employer knows that they can ask you for them When you are invited to an interview, bring a printed list with 3 references to the interview with you Your printed list of references should be written on the same header as your resume

Parts of a Resume (continued) References (continued)   Who You Should List as References Choose professional rather than character references Employers, supervisors and professors/instructors who know you and your work habits make the best references Include the names, titles, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of your references Always ask permission before including any information on your reference sheet. You may also want to consider giving your references a copy of your résumé so they will be prepared to talk to employers

Parts of a Resume (continued) Important Hints   Your resume should be 1 full page or 2 full pages – you don’t want a resume that is a page and a half long Make sure you do not repeat information If your resume is 2 pages long, the second page must include the same header as the first page, except it only needs to contain your name, e-mail address and “Page 2/2”