1. Resume Writing

2. 4 Rules of Resume Writing
Relevance - make your resume relevant
Read the job posting carefully
Visit employer’s website and take a look at their mission statement and values
Only include information on your resume that is relevant to the posting
Modify your accomplishment statements to reflect the qualities they are looking for
Accomplishment-Based – show the “best you”
Everything on your resume should be accomplishment-based
Done mostly through the accomplishment statements
Ask yourself if it reflects an accomplishment that you have achieved

3. 4 Rules of Resume Writing (continued)
3. Easy to read
Make sure the employer sees all the important information
Make your resume easy to read
Headings that are bolded or underlined will create easy to read sections
Use bullets when possible instead of writing things out in longer paragraphs
4. Esthetically Pleasing
Your resume should be organized and concise
Make information easy to find
Pick up your resume and check to see if it’s nice to look at
Is there enough white space? Is the information spread out on the page, or is it squished into one small column?
Get a friend or relative to look it over for a second opinion

4. Parts of a Resume
Contact Information
Ensure your contact information is complete, accurate and professional. Include:
Your full name in a larger and bolded font at the top of the page
Your complete mailing address (street, city, province and postal code)
Your phone number with area code
Your address (ensure it is appropriate – i.e. if your address is you probably don’t want to include this)

5. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Objective (OPTIONAL) An objective is only required if a job posting says that you are not allowed to send in a cover letter with your résumé. All the information included in an objective should be in your cover letter, and you don’t want to make it redundant. If you do include an objective it should be very specific to the job posting. It should include the name of the position (ex. Sales Consultant), employer name, job reference number and where you found the job posting.

6. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Profile/Highlights of Qualifications/Summary of Skills
This section can be given many titles: Summary of Qualifications, Profile, Summary of Skills, Highlights of Qualifications. This section should include a short list (4-5 points) of the skills, personal characteristics and qualities you will bring to an employer.
This section should be modified for every job you apply to. The skills you include will differ depending on what the requirements are in the job posting.

7. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Experience   
Most people include “Employment Experience” and “Volunteer Experience”, but there are other ways to organize these sections that might be more useful to you such as:
Employment Experience
Career Related Experience
Professional Experience
Relevant Experience
Other Experience

8. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Experience (continued)
What information must I include?
Position title
Complete name of the company or organization you worked for
The city and province (or state) where you worked
The years of employment
Accomplishment statements

9. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Accomplishment Statements
Written in a bulleted list below each experience
2 - 3 of these statements for each experience
Describe not only your duties at the job, but what impact you had
An effective way to write your statements is using the CAR method
C = Challenge (what you did)
A = Action (how you did it – what skills did you use?)
R = Results (how it helped)
How it helped them (ex. the company, patient, coworkers)
What you learned (transferable skills)

10. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Accomplishment Statements
Think of these questions when considering your results:
What results did I achieve?
What difference did I make to the business or organization?
What new ideas did I come up with?
What problems did I help solve?
Did I speed up the process?
Did I increase the accuracy of the results?
Did I reduce costs involved?
Did I boost revenues or profits somehow?
What feedback did past customers or supervisors provide? Quote an appraisal if possible.

11. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Transferable Skills
Problem-solving
Communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Organizational skills
Conflict resolution
Leadership
Any specific skill you used that would be applicable to the new job (ex. knowledge of POS sales system, experience working with children with disabilities)

12. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Challenge
Action
Result
Accomplishment Statements (continued)
Examples of Accomplishment Statements
“Reorganized office files using a colour coding system that resulted in improved efficiency by 5%”
“Served food in a fast-paced environment by communicating effectively with co-workers which enhanced my time-management skills”
When you are done, each experience you have listed should look like this:

13. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Education and Training
All the formal and informal training and education you have completed
List the name of the diploma or certificate you received and the name and location of the school
Begin with the highest level of educational achievement
If you attended university or college, there is no need to also list your high school education, unless you have completed a special program in high school (such as the International Baccalaureate Programme)
Any awards, entrance scholarships won based on grades, or Dean’s List standings can be written underneath as a bullet point
If you have taken courses that would be relevant to the position you are applying for, you can list 3-4 under the degree as well

14. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Education and Training (continued)
If you have multiple certifications (WHMIS, First Aid, CPR, special vehicle licenses) it might be more beneficial for you to create an entire “Certifications” section. If you only have one, it can go in your “Education” section.

15. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Volunteer Experience
Include relevant activities that could be discussed with a potential employer
Volunteer work or work in the community may have given you valuable experience or skills applicable to a new position of interest
This section can give the employer a clearer understanding of who you are as a person and if you will make a good fit with the company or organization
List the name of the organization, the name of the position you held, and the dates you were involved in the organization
Include 2-3 Accomplishment Statements

16. Parts of a Resume (continued)
References
References do not need to be sent to an employer with your résumé unless specified in the job posting
If the posting does not ask for you to send references you do not need to include it in your résumé
Do not write “References Available Upon Request” on your resume – the employer knows that they can ask you for them
When you are invited to an interview, bring a printed list with 3 references to the interview with you
Your printed list of references should be written on the same header as your resume

17. Parts of a Resume (continued)
References (continued)
Who You Should List as References
Choose professional rather than character references
Employers, supervisors and professors/instructors who know you and your work habits make the best references
Include the names, titles, addresses, phone numbers and addresses of your references
Always ask permission before including any information on your reference sheet. You may also want to consider giving your references a copy of your résumé so they will be prepared to talk to employers

18. Parts of a Resume (continued)
Important Hints
Your resume should be 1 full page or 2 full pages – you don’t want a resume that is a page and a half long
Make sure you do not repeat information
If your resume is 2 pages long, the second page must include the same header as the first page, except it only needs to contain your name, address and “Page 2/2”