School of Business Administration At Portland State University Writing a Business Resume That Gets Read! Jim Bombino SBA Career Services—SBA 240 (503)

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Some BAD resumes Several ways to really present the wrong image  Bad Layout  Irrelevant information  Poor Proof Reeding  Too much information!

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Eight Keys To Getting Noticed 1.Pick the Chronological format (?) 2.Design a good layout 3.Target your Audience 4.Talk about skills related THIS job! 5.QUANTIFY!!! 6.Be Specific 7.Be Honest 8.PROO-FREAD!!! (get it?)

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Two Basic Layouts Chronological  Lists jobs in chronological order  Lists specific tasks and skills relevant to this job Functional  Skill-based resume  De-emphasizes companies & dates  Separately lists job titles, companies, dates at the bottom

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Chronological  Relevant course projects and/or work history.  It is easy to read and understand.  Most commonly used (about 95%).  Refer to sample (packet)

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Functional  Without relevant coursework or work history.  Returning to work or changing careers.  Less widely used….some employers view with skepticism.  Think we’re trying to hide something!

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Relevant Skills Skills you developed in: Related work or internships Class projects or assignments!!! Work in other fields (transferable skills) Other activities—e.g.  volunteer work  student organizations  sports

School of Business Administration At Portland State University YOUR RESUME SHOULD CONTAIN THESE ELEMENTS:  Header  Objective  Profile or Summary  Education  Course Projects  Written as “accomplishment statements”  Work History  Written as “accomplishment statements”

School of Business Administration At Portland State University OTHER IMPORTANT INFO TO CONSIDER:  Other relevant experience?  Student activities?  Volunteer or charity work?  Awards or honors? –GPA above 3.0 –Dean’s List –Scholarships

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Quantify,Quantify,Quantify!!!!! How Much…  Money did you raise for your student organization or charity?  Did sales increase? How many …  People did you supervise?  Customers did you serve?  Attendees came to the student organization event?

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Accomplishment Statements Look Like This:  Analyzed financial data for 2 billion dollar sportswear company resulting in cost savings of 10-20% in first year.  Created marketing plan for beverage industry increasing visibility of products.  Performed cost/benefit analysis for apparel company resulting in savings of $10-15,000 in first six months.

School of Business Administration At Portland State University HERE’S THE “FORMULA” Strong verb (or verbs)—e.g.“Assisted”  Plus Object—e.g.”30-40 customers”  Quantify(?)—e.g.”daily”  Plus Result—e.g.”contributing to improved customer satisfaction ratings of 10-15%.”

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Finished product: “Assisted customers daily contributing to improved customer satisfaction ratings of 10-15%.” Now, isn’t that easy?

School of Business Administration At Portland State University EXERCISE: Write an accomplishment which begins… Communicated…… Prepared…… Researched…… Analyzed…… Organized…… Created…… Refer to your action word list. (handout)

School of Business Administration At Portland State University YOUR JOB IS: 1.Determine who’s reading this? 2.The “economical use of words” 3.Use the most powerful/descriptive words without exaggerating. 4.Use ONLY information relevant to THIS job/internship?

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Be Specific What…  Skills did you use?  Results did you have?  Tasks/Processes did you perform? Where…  Business setting?  Retail environment?  Office setting? Whom… Did you supervise? How many? Did you assist?

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Be Honest Do Not:  Overstate your responsibilities. “Managed HR functions for a staff of 300.” Do:  Be honest and accurate. “Coordinated and organized HR filing project for more than 300 student workers resulting in improved access to personal data.”

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Format your Resume Effectively Most important content should be in the first third of the page (20 seconds average reading time). Use the white space- too much or too little can detract from your message. Create Balance- your resume should not be lopsided or bottom heavy. Be consistent – don’t change fonts or headings; don’t use italics!

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Target Your Audience Review job announcement. USE THEIR LANGUAGE (keywords)!!! Skills, knowledge and achievements which MATCH the position in the top 1/3. Use only RELEVANT EXPERIENCE. If it’s FLUFF, take it out!

School of Business Administration At Portland State University PROOF-RED! Use spell check Do not rely solely on spell check! e.g.--misspelled or wrong company name --misspelled contact name --real-words but not the RIGHT real (Have others review it—”fresh-eyes”) Put it aside and come back to it later.

School of Business Administration At Portland State University Your major “We believe that you should choose a major that truly reflects something that you are passionate about. It should lead to a profession that you can willingly and with joy spend one-half of your waking hours pursuing.” Dr. Will Keim, Ph.D. Curtis Zimmerman The Character Institute—Mason, OH

School of Business Administration At Portland State University SBA Resources Individual Resume review: Fran Moga—(503) Jim Bombino—(503)