w w w . a p e x s y s t e m s i n c . c o m Career Services Workshop – Part II Resumes – Creating a Professional Marketing Piece w w w . a p e x s y s t e m s i n c . c o m

Agenda Advice for structuring your resume Key content to include How to market yourself better through your resume How to QA your resume 5+ Best Practices related to resume writing Our Goal? Provide you 2 suggestions you can immediately implement to enhance your resume! One of the biggest challenges a candidate faces is marketing their skill set. More times than not, you have the skills to do the job you’re applying for. However, you might hit a roadblock in getting selected for an interview if your resume doesn’t effectively communicate those skills. We hope to provide guidance today on how you can effectively communicate the skills you have to land an interview for the jobs you’re targeting!

Content to Include Name, Location and Contact Information Summary / Overview / Highlights Accomplishments Experience Title Company Dates of employment Project/s Responsibilities Technologies Certifications and Education Don’t focus on what the company does. Focus on what you did and how you contributed to the company. Project details is a great way to communicate your contributions!

Optional Sections Technical Skills Summary Awards Clients / Industry Experience Volunteer Activities / Community Service Affiliations / Groups Interests Links to: LinkedIn Profile, Social Media, Blog, Portfolio, Presentations, Publications, and/or Website What else could differentiate you from other candidates? What else have you done, or are you involved with, that can help you STAND OUT?

Resume Organization, Presentation, and Formatting Prioritize content Save formatting enhancements for what you want to emphasize Ensure resume is reader friendly. Have a comfortable mix of white space and words Outline vs. Paragraph form 1 - If you haven’t served the employer’s needs in the first page, the others probably will not be read. Ask yourself: “What accomplishments am I most proud of? What technical skills, and other skills, do I have that are in demand? What other experience and skills do I have that differentiates me amongst others? Consult with other people on these questions too, and jot down some thoughts. Then, make sure the 1st page of your resume encompasses many of these skills/attributes. 2 - which allows you to differentiate between job duties and accomplishments, and shortens the resume into more readable chunks of information. 4 - If the resume has too many words and not enough white space, the resume will look too cluttered. It won’t be “reader friendly.” White space helps guide the eye from one key section to another. 5- Keep the noise to a minimum – To much clutter will distract the reader. 6- Bullet Points over Paragraphs (the vast majority of hiring managers I have polled have said this is  much easier to read and digest) 7 - I tend to reserve bolding for Section titles and position headers (Italics are my least favorite as it tends to strain the readers eyes) Bullet points are more reader-friendly than paragraphs!

Resume Formatting – Consistency Ensure consistency in regards to: Line spacing, horizontal spacing, and character spacing Past vs. Present tense Indentation Bolding, Italicizing, Underlining, Font Type/Size - DON’T OVER DO IT Font (Arial 10 or Times New Roman 11 or 12 are most common)

Resume Best Practices #1 and #2 Display Certifications & Advanced Degrees Add Tagline

Best Practice #3 – Add Technical Skills Summary Add your major technical competencies in an organized manner! Only add technologies you can speak to!

Best Practice #4 – Brand & Market Yourself 4. Adopt a sales and marketing mentality when writing your resume! What is your brand? What traits do you want to come to an employers mind? Your resume should serve as an advertising channel for you! Strengths should be prioritized, well pronounced and woven throughout your resume like a theme! Does your resume act as your 30 second elevator pitch? Your ‘Brand’ is one of your top differentiators. A strong Brand will make you a desirable candidate to employers. Put some thought into how you want to be perceived. Focus on at least 2-3 major qualities you want to incorporate into your Brand. EX. ‘Desired Brand:’ technically competent; solution-oriented; on top of technical trends; resourceful; business savvy; good customer interfacing skills Ensure you’re advertising yourself, skills, the value you can bring to a team and company, achievements, etc…

Resume Best Practice #5 – Enhance UI 5. Layout is incredibly important! The initial impression must be inviting, attractive and professional! Avoid a sloppy, crowded, busy or loud resume.

Resume Best Practice #6 – Use Action Verbs Use active verbs and phrases to bring resumes and cover letters to life Built Implemented Improved Lead Configured Created EX. “decreased processing time by 22%” vs. “processing time was decreased by 22%” decreased processing time by 22%” is more powerful and concise than “processing time was decreased by 22%”

Best Practice #7 – Focus on last 8-10 years Summarize any dated experience that’s not relevant. Don’t feel the need to include all the details from 10-15+ years ago. Don’t include details of previous experience that doesn’t relate to what you’re targeting.

Best Practice #8 – Add Community Involvement User Groups Affiliations Nonprofit / Community Service Online Communities GitHub Stack Overflow MSSQLTips Can also help you connect and relate to a potential hiring Manager! Community involvement, including both technical communities and philanthropies/nonprofits, always is viewed positively!

Best Practice #9 – Optimize your Resume If you want to be found, make yourself findable! Ask yourself: What criteria / buzz words might a Recruiter use to find a candidate like myself? Then, include those buzz words!

Need help getting started? Use a Resume Builder! We recommend Live Career’s Resume Builder! http://www.livecareer.com/

Questions on Resumes?