Because You Are the Best: Developing Résumés and Interview Skills Dr. Maria Benzon Mbbenzon.wikispaces.com

Setting a Purpose Rate the quality of your resume. 0 = non-existent 1 = started, but not willing to show 2 = decent, willing to show 3 = pretty confident, ready for the job interview Think-Pair-Share – What is a concern you have with regard to resumes? – What do you hope to get out of this session?

Agenda Résumés Writing (45 min) Compare/Contrast Résumés Use ResumeCompanion.com Action vs. Passive Verbs MS Word Formatting Résumés Checklist

Compare/Contrast Résumés What is similar in the résumés ? What is different in the résumés ? What do you like? What do you not care for? Share Out: Person who Sat Down First at the Table

Overview of Résumés Chronological Resume Characteristics Specifics of each job (dates, duties, employer) and educational experience Presented in reverse chronological order (recent listed first) Advantages Easy to read, write and follow Emphasizes continuity and career growth Disadvantages Dependent on past experiences Functional Resume Characteristics Focuses on strengths and skills areas and de-emphasizes positions and dates Skills presented in categories before the Work History section Advantages Maximizes impact in important job duties without “paid” experience More flexibility in organizing information (e.g. interests, skills) Disadvantages Plays down direct job-related experience with specific employers Confusing for employers to read

“I don’t know what my job title was.” Solution: ResumeCompanion.com

“I don’t know what my job responsibilities were.” Copy & Paste…. Don’t buy the resume!

Passive vs. Action Verbs Examples with Passive VerbsExamples with Action Verbs "Was the boss of a team of six service employees" CONCISE: 10 words (wordy) FOCUS of VERB: was COMMUNICATION: Non-action verb carries no inherent meaning "Supervised a team of six service employees" CONCISE: 7 words (concise) FOCUS of VERB: supervised COMMUNICATION: Action verb communicates the point immediately and strongly "Did work with an athletic trainer on heat therapy treatments" "Assisted an athletic trainer with heat therapy treatments" "Used new technology to increase learning" "Introduced new technology to increase learning" "Utilized lesson plans to lead weekly science-based classes" "Developed lesson plans to lead weekly science-based lesson plans

Action Verbs THINK-PAIR-SHARE On 1 post-it note, write as many synonyms of the word(s) as possible in 1 minute. Compare ideas with a partner. Volunteer to share list. Leadership Skills Communication Skills Teaching Skills Organization Skills Technical Skills Creative Skills Awards

Action Verbs Leadership Skills Communication Skills Teaching SkillsTechnical SkillsResearch Skills Organizational Skills Creative SkillsAwards Administered Appointed Approved Assigned Attained Authorized Chaired Consolidated Contracted Controlled Converted Coordinated Decided Delegate Developed Directed Eliminated Emphasized Enforced Enhanced Established Handled Headed Hired Hosted Improved Incorporated Increased Initiated Managed Addressed Advertised Arbitrated Arranged Articulated Authored Clarified Collaborated Communicated Condensed Conferred Consulted Contacted Conveyed Convinced Corresponded Debated Defined Described Developed Directed Discussed Drafted Edited Explained Expressed Influenced Interviewed Mediated Participated Adapted Advised Assisted Clarified Coached Communicated Conducted Coordinated Counseled Critiqued Demonstrated Developed Diagnosed Enabled Encouraged Ensured Evaluated Explained Focused Guided Helped Individualized Informed Instilled Instructed Motivated Persuaded Set goals Supported Tutored Adapted Applied Assembled Built Calculated Computed Conserved Constructed Converted Designed Determined Developed Engineered Installed Maintained Operated Overhauled Printed Programmed Regulated Remodeled Repaired Replaced Restored Solved Specialized Standardized Studied Upgraded Utilized Analyzed Collected Compared Conducted Critiqued Conducted Detected Determined Evaluated Experimented Explored Formulated Gathered Identified Inspected Interpreted Interviewed Invented Investigated Located Measured Organized Researched Reviewed Searched Solved Surveyed Systemized Tested Approved Arranged Catalogued Categorized Charted Classified Coded Compiled Corrected Distributed Filed Generated Implemented Incorporated Inspected Monitored Operated Ordered Organized Prepared Processed Registered Reviewed Routed Scheduled Submitted Standardized Systematized Updated Validated Acted Adapted Composed Conceptualized Created Customized Designed Developed Directed Displayed Entertained Established Fashioned Formulated Founded Transformed Illustrated Initiated Instituted Integrated Introduced Invented Modeled Modified Originated Performed Photographed Planned Revised Shaped Achieved Completed Exceeded Pioneered Resolved Restored Succeeded Surpassed

MS Word Formatting VIEW TAB Show/Hide: Ruler REVIEW TAB Track Changes Display for Review – Final Showing Markup – Original Showing Mark-up PAGE LAYOUT TAB Margins HOME TAB Paragraph – Show/Hide – Alignment: Left/Center/Right/Justify – Bullets – Indent: Increase or Decrease Indent – Line Spacing Tabs – Left/Center/Right/Decimal – First Line Indent – Hanging Indent Font – Effects: Small Caps – Effects: Superscript – Character Spacing: Spacing --> Expanded or Condensed (points)

Show-Hide Ruler Adjust Margins MS Word Formatting: View & Page Layout Tabs

Track ChangesDisplay for Review Final Showing Mark-Up Original Showing Mark-Up MS Word Formatting: Review Tab

MS Word Formatting: Home Tab

MS Word Formatting: Tabs

Sample Formatting: Tabs

MS Word Formatting: Indents First Line IndentNo Indent

MS Word Formatting: Fonts Font Effects: Small CapsSpacing

Evaluate Résumés w/ a Checklist  Use 12-point font (no less than 10). Avoid fancy fonts.  Use a standard margin width of.75 to 1 inch.  Align dates to the right margin (right justified).  Use a single space after section headings and within sections.  Use a double space between sections.  Check spelling. Avoid abbreviations.  Use consistent format for headings. (Ex: “bold” or “underline." Do not use both or mix.)  Use consistent format for dates. (Ex: “ ” or “June 25, 2012.” Do not mix).  Align and indent bullets consistently throughout the résumé.  Begin each bullet with an action verb.  Use a consistent verb tense and grammatical structure in all bulleted lists.  For cardinal numbers, spell out “one” through “nine.” Use Arabic numbers for 10 and above.  Use consistent format for ordinal numbers. (Ex: “6th” or “sixth.” Do not use mix.)  List experience and education in reverse chronological order.  Do not exceed one page for professional résumés. (References go on separate document.)  Do not exceed two pages for teaching résumés.  Include your name and page number on the second page. (No selfies.)  Teaching résumés use the following headings and heading order: Education, Certification, Teaching Experience, and References. (Additional headings: Highlights of Qualifications, Objective, Volunteer Experience, Related Experience, Honors, Technology Skills, Language Skills) Work w/ Table for 5 min Share Out Results: Who Sat Down Last at the Table