Writing your own Résumé Lecture 12

Yesterday Résumés What is a résumé? Preparing your résumé Type of résumés What to include/omit

Today Making your own résumé Sections to include How to write each section Print and e- résumés Editing and finishing your résumé

Today Structured written summary of experiences, skills, education and activities that make you qualified for a job Think of it like a sales message.

Format There is no perfect résumé format What we will learn today are guidelines and one successful approach Don’t take these as rules!

Résumés We are going to create an entry level résumé Entry level = lowest level Use this résumé style to get your first job

Sections Name Address Objective Summary Education Experience Activities/skills/awards

Name This is the first thing on your résumé Think of it as your title It is usually centered May be emphasized with big font, bold font, or underlines.

Address The next thing on your résumé. For employers to contact you What to include:

Address Full street address (city, country, and postal code) Phone number (home and cell) Email (professional)

Address For students, include: Temporary address (school) Permanent address (home)

Objective This is where you list exactly what you want What kind of job? Where? When? What kind of company? Big? Small? Change this section for each different job

Objective This is where you list exactly what you want What kind of job? Where? When? What kind of company? Big? Small? Change this section for each different job

Objective “Accounting position at a large company in Beijing” “Assistant manager job at a small bank in Shanghai” “Teller position at a large bank in Zhumadian”

Summary 2-4 lines stating your most impressive qualifications for the specific job Academic achievements, jobs held, awards won, positions held, skills, etc. Use this to grab the reader’s attention

Summary ``Banking internship at City Bank” “Fluent written and spoken English” “Proficient in MSOffice, Java, HTML” “2 years of student council”

Summary Have no more than 4 and no less than 2 statements Otherwise, leave it out!

Education Include degree name, university name, location, expected graduation date, GPA, honours and awards You may include a list of relevant courses

Education GPA = grade point average. The average grade of all classes you have taken. In the United States, it is based on a 4 point scale in the following way

Grade Point Average A = 4.0 A- = 3.7 B+ = 3.3 B = 3.0 B - = 2.7 C+ = 2.3 C = 2.0 C - = 1.7 D + = 1.3 D = 1.0 D- = 0.7 F = 0

Education You can calculate your GPA on this scale. 75% = 3.0 Only include the GPA if it is above 3.0 If you leave it off, employers will assume it is below 3.0

Education You may also include any other formal courses and test scores IELTS, TOEFL, etc.

Education If your degree is not completed, simply say “expected graduation date” Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Expected Graduation: June 2011 Huang Huai University, Zhumadian, China Current GPA: 3.4/4.0

Experience In this section include any jobs, volunteer work, or clubs that are relevant for the desired position You may have one heading “experience” or more: “related experience”, “volunteer experience”, “other experience”, “organizations”

Experience Write all the details of the job (position, company, dates, location) Then a brief description of the job, followed by specific accomplishments

Experience Job title, dates held, company name, location Brief description of job Accomplishment 1 Accomplishment 2

Experience Lecturer, Sep. 2009 – present, HHU, Zhumadian, China Teach business communications to 2nd year students Won teacher of the week award twice

Experience List your most recent job in each category first, then move chronologically Use past tense verbs for jobs held previously Use present tense for jobs currently held

Experience Use action verbs for emphasis Created, assisted, developed, managed, directed, launched, raised, solved, saved, etc. Avoid weak statements by using these and other action verbs

Experience List specific accomplishments Whenever possible, quantify your accomplishments (use numbers) Don`t use personal pronouns (I, we, me) TOO WORDY

Activities/skills/awards On this, the final section, list any activities, awards or skills that could not fit into the experience section Language skills, computer skills, clubs, activities, community awards etc.

Activities/skills/awards For activities, list position, group, and years “President, Student Council, 2008-2009” “Member, Accounting Club, 2007-2009”

Activities/skills/awards For skills, simply list them: “Fluent Korean” “MSOffice, Java, HTML” “Piano virtuoso”

Activities/skills/awards For awards, list the award and the date: “Cochrane Award for Business Communications, 2009” “Lewis Award for Community Service, 2007”

Activities/skills/awards You may list all these together by including all three in the heading

Completing your résumé You want your résumé in two forms: Printed résumé – to drop off in person and to send in emails Text only résumé – to post on websites and job boards

Printed Resume Use plenty of white space Use lists to make it more readable Use one kind of bullet points (-, *, etc) Use headings for sections

Printed Resume Use one kind of font Use a traditional font 10-12 font size for résumé (slightly bigger for name) Align text properly

Printed Resume Print on high quality paper Print with a high quality printer Never fold your résumé

Printed Resume For emails, use a standard format PDF is the best Word Document is also good

Text only résumé When applying to jobs online, you may have to use a text only résumé Use CAPITALS for headings Use dashes (-) for lists

Text only résumé Include keywords for search programs Management, computer skills, fluent Korean, creative, flexible, leadership, team player, etc.

Remember! A résumé is never complete! Always be updating your résumé

Remember! There are no specific guidelines Write your résumé in the way that you think best highlights your qualifications Be clear, direct, and convincing