Résumé Writing Workshop David E. González BSEE | MBA | MSPM Chair of IEEE Foothill Section

Areas We Will Cover Hands-On Workshop What is a Résumé? Why Start Now? What goes into a Résumé? Key Terms to Understand Which Format Works? Examples of Résumés Summary Extras

What’s A Résumé? "to sum up“ – But What? Why Do You Need One? resume. n. also résumé, 1804, "a summary," from French résumé, noun use of past participle of Middle French resumer "to sum up“ – But What? It’s a “Living” Document – It evolves as your education and career grows. You’re never done A Way to Market Yourself – Education, Skills, etc. It’s How You Get Your Foot In The Door Your Story…

Why Start Now? I Got Plenty Of Time… A Résumé is like studying for an Exam… Clarity of Telling Your Story is Essential Have As Many People Look at Your Résumé Ideally you want REMEMBER: Since Your Résumé is a “Living” document, the earlier you start and keep refining it – the more polished it will be

What Goes into a Résumé? Going Old School Your Contact Information Objective* or Professional Summary Education (include GPA) Relevant Coursework Skills Engineering Projects (past or present) Work Experience Honors, Awards, and/or Activities (like IEEE) Keep Résumé to One Page without over crowding Objective: Typically objective statements are more general. An objective statement tells an employer what you are looking for, and that is about it. Sometimes seen as outdated. Ex: “Seeking an internship in the Biomedical Field.” Professional Summary: Allows you to tell an employer what you can do for them, rather than what you want. More space to discuss your skills, and build up yourself. Avoid pronoun usage (No “I am a … “ or “My skills …”) No more than 40-50 words Ex: “Knowledgeable Biomedical Engineering graduate student with strong foundational understanding of engineering principles and design methods seeking an internship opportunity to enhance my understanding of orthopedic bioengineering.” We Will See Sample Résumés later to see how it all fits

What Goes into a Résumé? Going Old School Size Font: 10-12 points Type Font: Arial, Verdana, Margins no smaller than 0.5” Attention to Details Entries in Reverse Chronological Order Do not place dates in left-hand margins Consistency with conjunctions in whole Résumé Use Action Verbs when describing you activities SPELLING &B GRAMMAR COUNTS! We Will See Sample Résumés later to see how it all fits

Key Terms To Understand Why The Words Make a Difference One trick to have the “Right” words to put in your Résumé is to study the job posting. It’s important to research the Company, but also the line of business that the company works in Learn their Key Words (Buzz Words) and embed in many areas in your Résumé Know acronyms and spell them out at least once then use freely

Which Résumé Works Best? It Depends Who You Are Talking To… The classical Résumé format I presented works well with Baby Boomers – We are old and don’t like change Be Flexible & Adaptive is Important Your Résumé changes with each job Your Approach needs to Change too More you Practice the Better you get Consult an Old Guy Younger people are less into the Classical Résumé

Examples of Résumés Good? BAD? UGLY? OR

Examples of Résumés Good? BAD? UGLY? OR

Examples of Résumés Good? BAD? UGLY? OR

Examples of Résumés Good? BAD? UGLY? OR

The EXTRA What Happens After …

Extra Okay Now They Have Your Résumé Scan for 6 secs. Okay Now They Have Your Résumé Many Human Resource (HR) have automated electronic scanning to filter out Résumés, even before a hiring Manager sees it The commonly used tools/technology they use is Optical Character Recognition (OCR) that is designed to look specifically for “KEY WORDS” There is also Human-scanning once it gets to the Hiring Manager. He/she will spend anywhere from 6 – 20 seconds One trick to have the “Right” words in your Résumé is as easy as looking at the job posting. Your Résumé Got Them Interested Now Comes The Next Part…

Extra Preparation is Key Treat it like a major school project Practice Makes for A Good Interview Preparation is Key Treat it like a major school project Do your research & find out as much as you can Look for resources to help: professors, IEEE professionals, etc. Learn the “Buzz” words associated with business & field Visit the company’s website Google the company Practice your interviewing skills with someone Practice in front of the mirror The more Interviews you go on the better interviewee you’ll become

Extra First Impressions Your dress, body language, posture says a lot about you Your Handshake and eye contact are important The Kadence of you speech is important (slow & controlled) Interviews will be sizing you up even before you talk Keep a positive and happy attitude & relax Be confident with your answers and if you don’t say you don’t know – don’t BS

Extra If it’s on your Résumé – It’s Fair Game Your Resume Needs to Align with what you know Don’t exaggerate or make up things on your Résumé If it’s on your Résumé – It’s Fair Game

Extra How Should You Dress>

Extra How Should You Dress>

Extra The Interview Interviews can be just one visit or some can be up to 4-5 visits Interviewers can be just one person – usually hiring manager, or Interviewers can be made up of a panel of people (4-5) Hiring Manager Technical Interviewer Human Resource person Line or first level supervisor Sometimes they bring in a team member They will usually ask to talk about yourself and why you want to work for their company At end of the interview they sometimes allow you to ask them questions about whatever you wish to ask.

Extra The Interviewers Programmer Manager Supervisor HR & FRANK Engineers

APPENDIX

Action Verbs Teaching Skills assembled operated Etc. built overhauled Calculated Computed designed devised engineered fabricated maintained operated overhauled Programmed remolded repaired Solved upgraded trained Etc.

Action Verbs Research Skills clarified interpreted Etc. collected critiqued diagnosed evaluated examined extracted identified inspected interpreted interviewed investigated organized reviewed summarized Surveyed systematized Etc.

Action Verbs Communication Skills addressed arbitrated arranged authored corresponded developed directed drafted edited enlisted formulated influenced interpreted lectured Mediated moderated motivated negotiated persuaded promoted publicized reconciled recruited Spoke translated wrote

Action Verbs Management Skills administered conducted developed increased produced scheduled analyzed consolidated directed organized recommended strengthened assigned attained chaired contracted coordinated delegated evaluated executed improved oversaw planned prioritized reviewed supervised

Action Verbs Administrative Skills approved arranged catalogued Classified collected compiled dispatched executed generated implemented inspected Monitored operated organized prepared processed purchased recorded retrieved Screened specified systematized tabulated validated