How to Write an Effective Resume Path Ways to College and Career- Workshop 3

RESUME You are in high school, why would you need a resume? How can you use having a resume to your advantage at this point in your life?

Resumes/Essays  You have a year to mentally prepare for your essays.  What do you do in the meantime?  Write your resume!  A resume will be a great building block for you college or career applications- and a lot of the information can easily transfer  It will be useful for Job Shadowing, Internships or getting a summer job

What is a Resume?  A resume (also spelled résumé) is a brief document that summarizes your education, employment history, and experiences that are relevant to your qualifications for a particular job for which you are applying. The purpose of a resume (along with your cover letter) is to get an interview. Research has shown that it takes an average of ten (10) interviews to receive one (1) job offer, so your resume needs to be persuasive and perfect.  Given this, your resume must be reader-centered and persuasive.  The general purpose resume usually contains four sections:  Contact  Personal Objective Statement  Experience  Education  Honors, activities, and outreach

Where Do You Start?  What do your future employers/schools want to know about you?

What to Include on Your First Resume  Positive personal characteristics  Technical and computer skills  Coursework relevant to your desired position  Educational accomplishments (include your GPA if it’s over 3.0)  Skills and experience gained during internships or summer jobs  Other related accomplishments (awards, recognition, winning competitions etc.)  Work History (include unpaid work if it relates to your target positions)

What to Include on Your First Resume continued  The key is to emphasize those things that demonstrate your value, and to leave out the things that don’t. For example, if you are looking to work in a Doggie Daycare your pet sitting experience will be important - but the fact that you have won awards for in Track won't! Don't include hobbies unless they directly relate to your goal.

Your Resume-Layout and Design

Resume Design  You have less than 20 seconds to make a good impression with your resume. How do you do that?

Writing the Contact Section of Your Resume  This section of your resume is definitely the easiest to write, but you do have a few options for design and content.  What is a contact information section?  Unlike other sections of your resume, this section does not have a special heading like "Contact Information." Instead it simply lists the information below at the top of the page:  Your full name  Your address  Your address  Your phone number(s)

Designing Your Contact Information Section  Here are some specific design options:  Use page design strategies to present information in a usable format. For example, to help readers find desired information, you should place your name in a larger font size, center it, boldface it, or anything to make it stand out.  You may want to add a graphic element such as a horizontal line to help section off your contact information. Make sure the visual does not distract from your textual information.  Coordinate with your cover letter. One way to make your application documents a professional package is to match your cover letter and your resume.  Make sure to use the same fonts (size also) for both documents.

Using Fonts  Size: how big is big enough?  Two major kinds:  Serif  Sans serif  Text highlighting: bold, italics, caps, underline, special effects

Write Your Personal Objective Statement

Why Write One?  Emphasize key qualifications, skills and/or goals  Help your readers find what they need to know quickly  Make a good first impression  Relate company goals to personal goals

Q: Is this a good objective statement? An internship allowing me to utilize my knowledge and expertise in different areas  Well-written but raises too many questions  For example: What kind of internship?  What knowledge?  What kinds of expertise?  Which areas?  How will you contribute to this company?

Your Experience

What is an Experience Section?  A section that demonstrates your most relevant experience in work or activities.  Other common names: Professional Experience, Work History, Field Work, Volunteer Work, etc.  Special names: Technical Experience, Supervisory Experience, Aviation Experience, etc.

Informing to Persuade  Provide information to help persuade prospective employers that your experiences make you qualified for the job and that you align with the organization’s goals  Help your resume stand out from others in the stack  Construct your professional identity

What Goes into This Section?  Company or organization and location (city, state)  Position title  Dates of employment or involvement  Descriptions of responsibilities, duties, achievements, etc.  Use action verbs to describe duties!

Getting Started… List your past and present experiences. Include:  jobs  volunteer positions  appointments  assistantships  internships  any activities that used the same duties or qualifications that may be used in the job you’re applying for

Describing Experiences  To tailor the content of this section, circle each item that is…  Related to your career goals  Asked for in job ads and descriptions  Choose one experience you circled and describe briefly

Developing Your Descriptions Example Before:  planned activities Questions asked: What kinds?, How?, When?, For Whom? After:  planned arts, crafts, activities, and exercises weekly for physically-challenged children

Developing your descriptions  Use varied action words to describe experiences  Answer the journalistic questions:  Who?…With whom did you work?  What? …What duties did you perform?  Where? …Where did your job fit into the organization?  Why? …What goals were you trying to accomplish?  When? …What timelines were you working under?  How? …What procedures did you follow?

Try to see your experiences as a professional would UNDERSTATED  Answered phone  Wiped tables PROFESSIONAL  Acted as liaison between clients and legal staff  Created healthy environment for customers and maintained positive public image

What is an honors and activities section?  A section that emphasizes your participation in relevant activities and any honors you have received  Other names  Awards  Memberships  Volunteer Work

Exploring content possibilities  Extracurricular activities  Awards, prizes, and special honors  Memberships in clubs and organizations  Volunteer activities

What is an education section?  A section that emphasizes your educational background and formal training.  This section is usually towards the bottom of your resume when you are in high school.

Proofread with a magnifying glass  Triple-check for accuracy  Get help from fresh eyes  One typo will cost you an interview!

The 20-second Test  How do you know when you have successfully created an easily read resume that allows employers to process information quickly?  Try having someone perform the 20-second test on your resume. Simply time your reader for twenty seconds as he or she reads your resume.  What all did he or she learn about you? If your reader noticed within twenty seconds what you want employers to learn about you, then most likely you have created an effective resume. If not, try moving important information to the first quadrant, checking that you have used fonts consistently.

Homework Assignment  Write your resume using the guidelines that we have discussed today.  Have someone do the 20 second test on your resume. Edit it according to their feedback.  Turn it in by (date 2 weeks from today)