1. WRITING A GOOD RESUME 12 th grade Literature

2. TITLE  Occasionally included, not necessary  Used to get employer attention right from the get go.  Examples:  Admin.  Good: Secretarial Position Wanted  Better: Admin Assistant—MS Office Expert  Sales  Good: John Doe for Hire  Better: Top-Ranked Pharma Sales Rep, 5 Years  Skilled Trades  Good: Brick Worker  Brick and Stone Mason—6 Yrs. Exp.

3. OBJECTIVE  The professional goals or career objective.  Make it brief and to the point, if the employer can’t identify it quickly, they won’t read it.  Examples:  Experienced food worker pursing upward mobile position.  Tips for writing an Objective Statement:  Focus on how you would benefit the employer, not how the employer would benefit you.  Don’t be vague. Steer clear from statements that say nothing substantial about your career.  Keep it concise and targeted. The best resume objectives contain a desired job title or target.  If you are looking for multiple jobs with different career goals, write different resumes for each career goal.

4. EXPERIENCE (WORK EXPERIENCE)  Ditch the Job Description  Prove Your Value  Emphasize your positive results and potential value  Quantify the Results  Significantly increased revenues and grew client base between 2005 and 2008  Increased revenues from $250,000 in 2005 to $1.5 million in 2008 and tripled client base from 2,500 to 7,000  Are you up to PAR?  PAR = Problem Action Results  Lead with Your Work’s Outcomes  Reversed an annual $2 million decline in market share by streamlining the benchmark process and building a top-flight sales team.  Make it Readable  Target Your Experience to Your Goal  Use Power Words  Avoid dull or stale phrases such as “responsible for” and “duties include”  Be Honest

5. EDUCATION  Place education before experience if you are a recent graduate or have fewer than 5 years of work experience.  List your GPA if it is 3.0 or higher; consider including a lower GPA if you are in a very challenging program. Add your major GPA if it is higher than your overall GPA.  Include Honors if you excelled in your program.  New grads with little related work experience may use the education section as the centerpiece, showcasing academic achievements, extracurricular activities, special projects, and related courses.  Include your high school or GED info if you don’t have college credits

6. SKILLS  Showcase marketable skills  Three types of skills  Job-Related  Transferable  Adaptive – hardest to substantiate; work style  Remember to include your skill level and years of experience  Select 10-15 of your strongest, most desirable skills. Keep it short and sweet or it won’t get read.  BE HONEST

9. WHAT NOT TO DO!