1. Resume Workshop

2. What is a Resume? Purpose: Definition: your competencies
A description of who you are:
your competencies
accomplishments
future capabilities
A marketing tool
Purpose:
Applicant’s perspective-
Get the attention of a prospective employer
Get an interview
Reviewer’s perspective:
Communicate value
Applicant screening

3. Quick Question
An interviewer will spend, on average, ___________, screening any one individual resume.
A. 1 minute
B. 3 minutes
C. 5 minutes
D. none of the above

4. Do Your Research! Know yourself… Know the employer Experiences Skills
Strengths
Interests
Future goals
Desired type of job
Know the employer
Mission or Vision
Distinctive services or features
Applicant “fit”
Culture
Target your resume.

5. A GOOD RESUME = CONTENT The type of information you choose to
put on your resume.
FORMAT
The way you arrange this information.
APPEARANCE
How this information is presented aesthetically.

6. CONTENT

7. Content: Guidelines
Think about the qualities, skills and experiences you want your audience to know about.
Relevant experiences can be both paid and unpaid.
You can make custom categories and headings to suit your needs. -

8. Contact specifics: Amanda Smith One e-mail address
A phone number with professional voic
Your current address
Example:
Amanda Smith
12234 Main St.
Hometown, VA 00011
(540) -

9. Objective Statements – Yes or No?:
Writing Objective Statements:
Focus on how you would benefit employer or grad school- not how they can help you.
Don’t be vague.
Be concise and direct.
Target your objective to each specific employer.
Key ingredients to a successful objective statement:
Name the job/position for which you are applying.
Note how your skill set is a match.
-“To obtain a position in marketing, that will use utilize my communication skills and sales ability”.
Avoid phrases like “looking to build my skills and advance my body of knowledge.”
Avoid phrases like “seeking a challenging position with potential for growth and advancement.”

10. What’s wrong with this picture?
Let’s look at the samples.

11. Educational Background:
JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY, Harrisonburg, VA
Bachelor of Business Administration, May 2008
Hospitality & Tourism Management Major
Overall GPA – 3.1; Major GPA – 3.6
(Usually don’t need to list High School at all.)
Relevant Coursework
Bulleted list of 6-8 courses OR
Description of 2-3 major projects
Academic honors, special certifications, endorsements, etc.

12. Experience:
Start with your title, the organization, location, and time frame.
Each relevant position should have a list of your accomplishments.
Start with a verb in the past tense.
Avoid “duties include” or “responsible for”.
Quantify, be descriptive, and identify strengths.
Example: “Edited a monthly newsletter for the department, streamlining office communication."
-Don’t have to list every job- be selective.
-Past tense does not have to be the only tense used though- some people like to use the present tense for positions that they are in currently.
-A paragraph description is also appropriate if desired (a bullet list is not mandatory).

13. Skills: Technical Skills: Foreign Language Skills:
Computer programs/software/languages.
“Familiar” or “proficient”?
Foreign Language Skills:
“Basic understanding”, “conversant” or “fluent”?
Lab/Scientific Skills:
Equipment you can use, processes you can perform.

14. References: “References available upon request” at the bottom?
When to provide references
What to include for each reference
include the person’s name, title, organization, contact information, and relationship to you.

15. FORMAT

16. Chronological Format
Organizes information around dates, stating what you did and when.
Work history is typically related to the job objective.
Jobs/experiences are listed in reverse chronological order.
Titles and organizations are emphasized.
Accomplishments are highlighted.
Most commonly used and probably what most people are used to seeing.
When the names of previous employers are important to highlight.
When you are applying for positions within the same field as your previous work experience and you want to show continuity and career growth.
When prior job titles are impressive and give credibility to your qualifications.

17. Chronological Resume
Make sure to note the nice communication coursework piece!

18. Functional Format
Organizes information around functional headings, highlighting major areas of accomplishments and strength.
Allows you to organize content in an order that most supports the objective; not bound by dates.
Titles and work history are secondary.
Draws on all sources of experience- volunteer, activities, courses, work and signifies each as equally important.
-Often good for college students who may not have specific related experience.
When you want to emphasize capabilities and skills not used in recent work experience.
To illustrate your TRANSFERABLE SKILLS.
If your experiences are characterized by limited career growth, unrelated experiences or a variety of part-time jobs unrelated to your objective.

19. Functional Resume

20. Combination Format
Combines the best aspects of both the chronological and functional.
Emphasizes skills, accomplishments, interests, and work experience relative to the objective.
When to use the Combination Format?
Use when you want to emphasize previous activities and or experience while also highlighting transferable skills.

21. Combination Resume

22. Combination Resume

23. APPEARANCE

24. Appearance Don’t use a template. Print on a laser printer.
Be consistent with heading style and margins.
Font: no smaller than 10 point.
Margins: no smaller than 0.5 inches.
Paper choice matters.
Check for spelling and grammatical errors.
Use one font style and size (except for your name).
Fill the page.
Try to stick to 1 page in most cases.
Paragraphs vs. bullets.
Use bullets, not dashes. -

25. A Few Final Guidelines… Do’s
Revise your resume often. Have a variety of people give you feedback.
If a position is still in progress, indicate so:
“Fall 2006-present”.
Vary your verbs.
Talk about the big picture, i.e. what impact your action had on the organization.
Proofread beyond spell check.
-Consider reading your resume backwards from bottom to top to check for spelling errors.
-Feel free to use my “Entertained the pubic.” example of a misspelling not caught by spell check (TNH)
-Organize headings based on order of importance, but “objective & education” most often come first

26. A Few Final Guidelines……
Don’t include hobbies.
Don’t use “I”.
Don’t describe duties in paragraph form - use bullets.
-Also don’t use other pronouns
-Again, a paragraph may be an option for some people, but most people choose to use bullet formats because they are easier to read and write.
-Why not to be wordy: Employers spend an average of seconds reviewing each resume.

27. COVER LETTERS

28. Key Elements:
Contact Information
Content
Purpose of Letter
Special Skills
Follow-up Intent