Developing a Winning Resume

Developing a Winning Resume

Ann Marie DinkelTraining and Operations

Consulting Services

Why A Resume

• Introduction– Screening criteria– Contact information

• Establish professionalism

• Addendum to a form application

• To add to personnel files

• Confidence booster

What is a Resume?

• A one or two page summary of education, skills, accomplishments, and experience

• Outline your achievements briefly and concisely

• Appropriate to your situation and do exactly what you want it to do

What is a Resume?

• A marketing tool that helps get an interview

Advertisement

• If you buy this product, you will get these specific benefits

• Presents you in the best light

• Shows you have what it takes to be successful in the position

Personal Commercial

• A one-of-a-kind marketing communication

• Purpose is to get your foot in the door

• What is your 30 second commercial?

Personal Commercial

• A title, if it clearly defines what you do

• The most important thing someone needs to know about you

• Something they can associate with your name or face in the future

• Pare it to the bone

My Personal Commercial

• I am a consultant in animal facility management and provide training for all groups involved in the use of laboratory animals. My services are customized to organizational needs, because no two facilities have exactly the same problems, but we all have the same general concerns of increased regulations, tight staffing and increased workload.

What It Isn't

• A history of your past

• A personal statement

• Some sort of self expression

A Good Resume

• Visually interesting to the reader • Stimulate interest in meeting you and

learning more about you • Inspire the prospective employer to pick

up the phone

How?

• Review, summarize, and present your experiences and achievements on one page

Self-Assessment

• Outline your skills and abilities as well as your work experience and extracurricular activities

• Pages will be the raw material from which you craft your resume

Targeted

• A resume should be targeted to your goal, to the ideal next step in your career

• Get clear what your job goal is, what the ideal position or positions would be

• Identify the key skills, areas of expertise or body of experience the employer wants

• Gear the resume structure and content around this target, proving these key qualifications

Focus On The Employer's Needs, Not Yours  

• What does the employer need?• Will you fit into the team?• What abilities will be valuable to the

employer? • What would make someone the perfect

candidate? • What would set a truly exceptional candidate

apart from a merely good one?

Types of Readers

• Skimmers– look for key words– 15 second test

• Skeptics– Evidence and details– Convince them

Writing for Both

• Organization and page design

• “What makes the perfect candidate?”

Putting it Together

Layout

• Contact information

• Objective

• Work experience, reverse order

• Education

• Volunteerism

• Honors or awards

Just the Facts

• Avoid nicknames • Use a permanent address • Use a permanent telephone number with area

code• If you have an answering machine, record a

neutral greeting • Add your e-mail address (Note: Choose an e-

mail address that sounds professional) • Include your web site address only if the web

page reflects your professional ambitions

Experience

• Experience before education….usually

• Exceptions: – A new degree– If you are a student– A very impressive degree

Work Experience

• Briefly give the employer an overview of work that has taught you skills

• Include:– Title of position, – Name of organization – Location of work (town, state) – Dates of employment

• Describe your work responsibilities with emphasis on skills and achievements.

Action Words

• Accurate power words

• Begin with a verb

• Design, oversee, develop, translate, train, establish, participate, manage, present, investigate, implement, realign, serve

Education

• List education in reverse chronological order, degrees or licenses first

• Certificates and advanced training

• Set degrees apart so they are easily seen

Publications

• Include only if published

• Summarize if there are many

Professional Affiliations

• Current

• Relevant

• Impressive

• Focus on leadership roles

• Subtle way to provide additional information

Awards

• If the only awards received were in school, put these under the Education section

• Mention what the award was for

The Summary

• Several concise statements of the most important qualities, achievements and abilities you have to offer

• The most compelling demonstrations of why they should hire you

• A brief opportunity to telegraph your most sterling qualities

• Allows you to state your skills, values, interests, and other pieces of information that is most relevant to the position

Objective or Summary

• Be specific about the job you want. For example: To obtain an entry-level position within a financial institution requiring strong analytical and organizational skills.

• Tailor your objective to each employer you target/every job you seek.

References

• Include or not?

Resume Formats

• Chronological

• Functional

• “Combined" Chronological - Functional

Chronological

• Traditional resume structure• The Experience section is the focus of the

resume– each job is described in some detail, – no major section of skills or accomplishments at

the beginning of the resume. • Primarily used when you are staying in the

same profession• Recommended that it always have an

"Objective" or "Summary," to focus the reader

Functional

• Highlights major skills and accomplishments• Focuses the reader to see clearly what you

can do • Target the resume into a new direction or field

Functional

• This format is often used in the following instances:

• "Older workers", since it minimizes dates • "Career changers", since it outlines

transferable work skills • Recent graduates who don't have a lot of

professional experience in their field, but DO have relevant coursework or training.

• "Returning employees" after an absence from the workforce, since it minimizes dates

Combined

• Includes elements of both

• A shorter chronology of job descriptions preceded by a short "Skills and Accomplishments" section or

• A standard functional resume with the accomplishments under headings of different jobs held

Visual Impact• The resume is visually enticing

– Simple clean structure– Easy to read – Symmetrical – Balanced

• There is uniformity and consistency in the use of italics, capital letters, bullets, boldface, and underlining

• First impression is most important. • Remember to think of the resume as an

advertisement

Visual Presentation

• Make it look great

• Conservative typeface

• Good paper

• 8/1/2 x 11 white

CV vs. Resume

• CV• Longer• Detailed• Academically

oriented

• Resume• Short• Highlights• Experiential

Which to Use

• In the United States, a curriculum vitae is used primarily when applying for academic, education, scientific or research positions

• Used as part of fellowship or grant applications

• In Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or Asia, expect to submit a CV rather than a resume

CV Contents

• Personal/Contact Information • Academic Background• Professional Licenses/Certifications • Academic/Teaching Experience • Technical and Specialized Skills • Professional/Academic Honors and Awards• Research/Scholarly Activities • Foreign Language Abilities/Skills

Cover Letters

• Complements, not duplicates the resume

• Adds a personal touch to facts

• Creates a first impression

• Expresses a high level of interest in the job and knowledge of the position

Just Out of School?

• List education first

• Include the degree earned, institution and major/minor

• List relevant course information

• Honors

• GPA?

Volunteer Work/Community Service

• Presentation important• What did you learn?

Volunteers

• Experience and involvement count

• Use a word other than volunteer– Title of your position– Achievements– What you learned or mastered

• Helpful for new entries into the workforce

What to Omit

• Age

• Personal circumstances– Marital status and children

• Hobbies

• Reason for leaving a job

Cautions

• SPELLING

• MAKE NO ERRORS!

• Acronyms

Impact of Technology

• Changes the idea of “catchy resume”

• Visual impact can be lost

• Follow instructions for formatting

• White space helps

• Bright white, standard size paper with black ink is best

Review

• Clear

• Concise

• Targeted

• Professional, professional, professional

• A resume needs to be free of glaring grammatical and spelling errors

Resume Resources• www.10minuteresume.com• www.jobweb.com• http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/ecep/resume/

– (resume tutor)• http://www.virtualville.com/employment_agen

cy/resume_writing.html#8• www.jobstar.org• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hype

rtext/ResumeW/org.html• http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumes/• http://www.resumania.com/