1. Personal Statements, CVs and Resumes

2. Personal Statements

3. What is a Personal Statement? A Personal Statement is a Statement of Purpose (SOP) essay that is part of your application to graduate school. It’s a personal summary to help you stand apart from the competition.

4. Writing a Personal Statement Answer these questions: 1.What do you want to study? 2.Why do you want to study it? 3.What experience do you have in this field? 4.What do you plan to do with your degree once you have it? But remember: Even though the questions are similar, each University has its own requirements!!

5. How to write a Personal Statement: Research each University Know your audience – What do they want to know about you? – What personal qualities do they value? – What type of student are they looking for? Read the personal statement guidelines (ex: Word Limit) and answer their question(s) Tell a story with a beginning, middle and end!

6. Show, Don’t Tell: Show your personality. Show them your desire to attend that program of study. Demonstrate your ability to write! Explain through example. – Don’t say directly, for example, that you’re a persistent person; you must demonstrate it.

7. Basic Parts of a Personal Statement: Introduction (one paragraph) – Catch the reader’s attention – Tell what program you are applying for Body (two-three paragraphs) – Educational/Work background – Personal experiences – Reasons for wanting to attend the school and future plans with the degree Conclusion (one paragraph) – Restate key points from the body paragraph – Emphasize what you will do with the degree

8. Techniques to Make it Strong Find natural transitions that connect each part of your essay to the next Connect all your examples and life events to the central theme of your statement Catch the readers attention at the beginning Do not use vague ideas, be detailed! Check and check again: Grammar and Spelling!!

9. How to Make it Personal Add: – Cultural understanding(s) – Educational challenges and personal hardships – Community, Military or Volunteer Service(s) – Experiential Learning(s) Set yourself apart Tell them why you want to go to THAT school Show off your individuality Demonstrate why you are special!!

10. Submission There may be two options – Online submission – Hard copy submission When you submit online. Some formatting may be lost. This will not count against you.

11. Try to Avoid: Clichés Talking about money as a motivator Complaining about your life Poor grammar and spelling Talking negatively about the school

12. RESUME

13. Resume A document used for marketing your skills, experience, education, and accomplishments to potential employers. It should be constructed in a way that answers one main question: “What can you do for me?” Your resume should be: Easy to scan quickly, while simultaneously containing enough pertinent information that will reveal essential details about you and your skills. Make sure you are listing your experience and responsibilities using active power verbs.

14. Power Verbs Planning: – Prepared, Formulated, Administered, Researched… Organizing: – Coordinated, Facilitated, Implemented, Secured… Executing: – Administrated, Completed, Distributed, Carried out… Supervising: – Analyzed, Developed, Maintained, Updated… Leading: – Managed, Directed, Supervised, Initiated… Problem Solving: – Analyzed, Determined, Investigated, Solved… Quantitative: – Budgeted, Multiplied, Maximized, Reduced… Communicating: – Consulted, Clarified, Explained, Critiqued… Helping: – Coached, Provided, Enabled, Assisted, Advised… Getting Results: – Expanded, Ensured, Increased, Advanced…

15. Types of Resumes Chronological Functional Combination

16. Chronological This type of resume focuses on work experience and skills developed through jobs, volunteer experience, and internships. Jobs are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent first. This format usually works best for college students who are applying for internships and post graduation employment. It also works well for those applicants who have experience closely related to their career goals.

17. Functional This resume format highlights the professional skills you have used throughout your experience and that qualify you for the position you are applying for. It downplays employment titles and dates. It is very useful for those who do not have much related work experience or who are making a dramatic career change.

18. Combination This format combines both the chronological and functional formats to create a resume that highlights your most related experiences and skills. It allows the reader to quickly scan for related experience and is a good option for current students or recent graduates who may have a variety of experiences.

19. Categories Identification – your name, address, the phone number to best reach you at, and an email address – If you are in the process of moving, list two addresses. Objective – This category is optional, but may be helpful when looking for a specific job or internship. – It usually identifies the position you want, or the field you wish to enter, and the skills you have to offer that the employer. – Objectives should be brief, yet very specific, and should be changed for each specific position for which you apply. – Do not use vague objectives such as: a full-time position in a business setting.

20. Summary of Qualifications/Qualification Highlights – This category highlights your strengths and gives the employer more specific, concise information about your qualifications and skills as they pertain to the position and the career field for which you are applying. – This category is an alternative if you are not including an objective. Education – For most current students as well as most recent graduates, the education section should appear before work experience. – It is usually recommended to list your degree first, then the college. – Generally it is not advisable to list high school information on your resume after your sophomore year in college. – In addition to your degree and college, include your major(s), minor(s), GPA if 3.0 or higher, and special course projects you completed that support your career goals. – Study abroad experiences are typically included in this section also. The goal of this category is to be concise yet informative.

21. Experience – Include your work experiences (paid, unpaid, part- time, full-time, summer and internships). – Depending on a person’s content in this category, some find it most helpful to divide their Experience category into two categories such as Related Experience and Additional Experience. – Generally, list work experiences by indicating your job title first, then the organization, city and state of the company you worked at, and the dates you worked. – If the place of employment seems more important than your job title, you may want to list that first.

22. – Highlight key information by using action verbs to describe your experience. – Use statements, generally not complete sentences, to describe your duties, skills, and accomplishments. – When possible, be sure to state the result of your efforts and use numbers and percentages to help you do this. Examples: – Developed customer friendly order forms that increased order accuracy, efficiency, and processing time by 30 percent. – Assisted over 100 clients in developing and maintaining life skills which resulted in greater client independence. – For functional or skill-focused resumes, list approximately three skill areas that you are strong in and that relate to the career field for which you are applying. Then use resume statements, such as the ones listed above, to describe how you have demonstrated each skill.

23. Additional Categories – Whether you use these will depend on your particular achievements and experiences as well as how important they are likely to be to a potential employer. Computer Skills – Included in this would be current technologies, hardware, software, and computer languages you have learned and used.

24. Special Skills – This may include language skills and certifications. Honors and Activities – This category is great for students who have been quite successful academically and/or been active in campus life. Volunteer Activities – List your volunteer and community involvement experiences. – Most employers view this category as being very positive.

25. Leadership and Extra-Curricular Involvement – List any experience in which you had a leadership role and also list your additional college and campus activities. – Employers like to see that you were involved throughout your college career. References – “References available upon request” is unnecessary to include. (It only serves as space filler.) – Most employers assume you will provide them with references if asked.

26. Basic Guidelines to a resume: Try to keep your resume to one page unless you have significant related experience. Use a 10 to 12 point size, plain font such as Times New Roman. Place your most impressive and relevant information on the upper half of the page. Use action oriented statements led with verbs to describe your responsibilities and accomplishments. State GPA if 3.0 or higher. Use consistency in your style and presentation of information. Print your resume on quality resume paper and do not staple multiple pages. Check for spelling and grammatical errors. Tailor your resume to “fit” each position.

27. Curriculum Vitae (CV)

28. CV(s) A curriculum vitae (CV) is often used in academic settings in place of a resume. It’s an overview of your life's accomplishments, most specifically those that are relevant to the academic realm. In the United States, the curriculum vitae is used almost exclusively when one is pursuing an academic job. The curriculum vitae is a living document, which will reflect the developments in a scholar/teacher's career, and thus should be updated frequently.

29. What your CV Should Include Your CV should include your name and contact information, an overview of your education, your academic and related employment (especially teaching, editorial, or administrative experience), your research projects (including conference papers and publications), and your departmental and community service. You should also include a reference list, either as part of your CV, or on a separate page.

30. Determining the order of your Information: Be sure that the information that will be most helpful in determining your qualifications for the job for which you are employing comes before information that will be less helpful. If you are applying at a research university – research projects, conference presentations, and especially publications become very important. If you are applying to a liberal arts college or community college that strongly emphasizes teaching – then showing your teaching background is of paramount importance.

31. How is a CV different from a resume? Unlike a resume, which is typically a page-long snapshot of relevant work, education, and volunteer experiences, a CV is a longer portrait of a person’s academic work, including research projects, presentations, publications, honors, awards, and so on. The most noticeable difference is the length. Entry level resumes are usually limited to a page. CVs, however, often run to three or more pages. – (Remember, however, that length is not the determinant of a successful CV. You should try to present all the relevant information that you possibly can, but you should also try to present it in as concise a manner as possible.) A more subtle but equally important distinction is that whereas the goal of a resume is specific to the job you apply to, a CV does not change much – it should only be updated.