Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 1 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Building Your Resume from the Ground Up David McMahon ’69 Assistant Director Experiential Education

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 2 The First Question “Why Should I walk away from my Customer to Interview You?”

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 3 Purpose of a Resume A Marketing Tool: To convince an employer To call you For an interview You’ve got 30 seconds!!!

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 4 Resume Myths “Don’t need one until I’m ready to look for a job.” “I can use one standard resume for the rest of my life.” “I’m too young, there’s nothing to put on a resume.” “My resume will get the job for me.”

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 5 Steps to Building a Resume Laying the foundation. Building the resume. Finishing the resume.

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 6 Laying the Foundation Assess Yourself on Paper What are your Objectives? –Kind of job you are looking for and when you are available What have you accomplished? –Skills, Abilities, Work Experience, and Extracurricular Activities/Leadership

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 7 What Makes a Good Employee?? 1.Integrity -Ability to work with people -Responsibility -Judgment -Motivation to succeed -Work ethic -Intelligence -Creativity/enthusiasm -Communications skills 10. Technical competence Laying the Foundation

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 8 Laying the Foundation What Resume Format is most appropriate? –Chronological Organized by date in reverse date order Most commonly used type and more acceptable by employers –Functional Grouped by status areas Useful for employment gaps Less acceptable by employers –Combination Chronological/functional types combined

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 9 Building the Resume Personal Data Section Objective (Optional) Education Section Work Experience Activities and Honors Do Not List References

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 10 Building the Resume College Address 219 Routt Blvd. College Station, TX Permanent Address 299 James Way Houston, TX Jake Blue 219 Routt Blvd. College Station, TX Jake Blue Example #1 Example #2 Personal Data Section Examples

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 11 Building the Resume Objective (Optional) –COOP, Intern, Full-time? Operations, Business, Sales, Design, R&D, Consulting? –COOPs and Interns – start date Education –Major, GPR, Graduation Date Work Experience –Job Title, Company Name, Location, Dates of employment –Job Description – Statements (not sentences) –Using action words and showing results –Be Positive, Be Concise, Be Persuasive

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 12 Building the Resume Activities and Honors –Student/Professional organizations –Leadership positions –Scholarships,Dean’s List, etc. –Foreign languages, international experiences References –Do not list on resume –Bring separate page when you are interviewed

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 13 Building the Resume Present most marketable information first Use brief, descriptive phrases No personal pronouns Use action verbs to describe experiences and accomplishments Be Positive Be Truthful You Have the Right to Remain Silent

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 14 Finishing the Resume Be Concise Avoid Personal Pronouns Use action words Show results Top Heavy Reader Friendly

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 15 Finishing the Resume Avoiding common mistakes –Spelling and grammatical errors. –Formatting, fonts, length, paper quality. –Translate “Aggie speak” to business English –LIES –Too long Don’t include references.

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 16 Finishing the Resume Use white or off-white paper (checkout resume paper at area copy centers, i.e. Kinkos, Copy Corner, or Graphics Center on campus) Use 8 ½ x11-inch paper Use a font size of 10 to 14 points Black ink only Use non-decorative typefaces Choose one typeface and stick to it Avoid italics, script, and underlined words No horizontal or vertical lines, graphics, or shading Do not fold or staple your resume If you must mail your resume, put it in a large envelope

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 17 Finishing the Resume Resume Critique and Advice –Career Advisor –Academic Advisor –Mentor –Roommate –Employer

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up Page 18 In Conclusion…. Laying the foundation… Building the resume… Finishing your resume… Congratulations, You Did It!