Charting Your Career Path Writing an Effective Resume Interviewing Strategies MCC.UE Spring 2012

Purpose of a Resume??? Highlight skills and experiences Overview of background Land an interview

Basic Concepts Marketing Tool – Know your customer – Know your product Tailor Content – To industry – To position – To company Focus on skills and accomplishments – Avoid list of tasks, responsibilities

Basic Do’s… Use same font type throughout Use same font size throughout Keep to one page Use at least ½-inch margins Use good quality resume paper List contact information at top of page List jobs and internships in reverse chronological order CAPITALIZE, bold, and italicize for emphasis Lead each bullet with strong active verbs

and Don’ts Underline, shadow, make text boxes or use color Include age, gender, religion, political affiliation, marital status, health status, social security number List nationality or visa status Use first person pronouns (I, my, me) Include salary expectations or history List courses Use passive phrases (Responsibilities included…, Duties involved…, Assisted in…) Indicate that “References are available upon Request” Use pre-formatted resume templates!!!

Skills Valued by Employers Communication Honesty/Integrity Interpersonal Motivation/Initiative Strong Work Ethic Teamwork Analytical Flexibility/ Adaptability Computer Detail Oriented NACE’s Job Outlook 2004 Survey

Standard Sections Personal Contact Information Education – Honors/Awards – Activities – Academic Team Projects Experience (paid and unpaid) Skills – Computer – Language Interests/Personal

Personal Contact Information Joe Smith 123 W. 3rd Street, New York, NY  Mary Smith School Address: 123 W. 5th Street, New York, NY Permanent Address: 456 South Park Street, New York, NY 

Education EDUCATION New York University, New York, NY May 2008 Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Cumulative GPA: X.XX Concentration in XXX (or Dual Concentration in XXX and XXX) Honors/Awards/Activities Peer Advisor Microsoft Scholarship Award Member, American Marketing Association Academic Team Project (s) Stock Portfolio Project Researched… Identified…

A Word about GPA… Must accurately reflect your current academic standing at ALL times Cumulative GPA ≠ Major GPA ≠ Concentration GPA Resume – CareerNet – Applications … Falsification can have very real consequences!!

Experience Develop strong Accomplishment Statements – RAP Results that you achieved based on the… Action you took in response to the… Project or Problem you faced (Result + Action + Problem)

Accomplishment Statements What did I do to accomplish the task? How did I do it? (Be specific.) Why did I do it? (Identify the purpose.) What happened after I did it? What did I improve? What was the impact? (Quantify, quantify, quantify.)

Example Problem: Company experienced consumer complaints from valued customers (more than 20/month) Action: Established “hotline” to handle customer inquiries Implemented customer complaints handling software to track and resolve complaints Result: Decreased customer complaints by 33% and product returns by 45% PAR (Accomplishment Statement):  Established “hotline” to manage customer inquiries; decreased complaints by 33%  Implemented software to track and resolve customer complaints; resulted in 45% decrease in product returns

Experience … EXPERIENCE New York University, New York, NY August 2005 – Present Information Services Consultant  Provide personal assistance to more than XXX students, faculty and staff ….  Developed call sheet to provide more efficient response time to customer inquiries; saved XX per call/inquiry ABC Company, New York, NY May 2005 – August 2005 Sales Associate  XXX SKILLS Computer: Microsoft Office – Excel, Word, PowerPoint, ACT! Language: Fluent in Spanish INTERESTS Scuba diving, furniture refinishing, gourmet cooking

First Draft Focus on CONTENT… Not Format! Proofread – Bare  Bear – Form  From – Complied  Compiled Ask someone else to look at it

Assignment First Draft Due: February 14 – Bring copy to class for peer feedback Schedule appointment for conference re resume, if necessary Second Draft Due: February 20 – Submit to Prof Final due: One week after feedback received from prof