PRESENTED BY: BILL MINNICK, DIRECTOR NW CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER Résumé Writing 101
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PRESENTED BY:BILL MINNICK, DIRECTOR
NW CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Résumé Writing 101
WHAT IS A RÉSUMÉ?
The resume is a selling tool…Your resume has to sell you in short
order…The most effective résumés are clearly
focused and address the employer’s stated requirements for the position…
You will need INFORMATION to write a good résumé…
POINTS TO CONSIDER
People don’t read résumés Use action verbsDon’t worry about punctuationEmphasize skillsRésumés should be one pageExpand on relevant experienceSlant your résumé to the type of job you
are applying
Recruiter Pet Peeves about Resumes
Spelling errors, typos and poor grammar Too duty oriented – reads like a job description
and fails to explain what the job seeker’s accomplishments
Missing or inaccurate dates Missing contact Info, inaccurate, or
unprofessional email addresses Poor formatting – boxes, templates, tables Long resumes – over 2 pages Long, dense paragraphs – no bullet-points Personal info not relevant to the job Misleading Information- especially in terms of
education, dates and inflated titles
Recruiter Pet Peeves about Resumes
Poor font choice or style Pictures, graphics or URL links Not easy-to-follow Resumes written with 1st or 3rd person
references Burying important info in the resume
TYPES OF RÉSUMÉS
CHRONOLOGICAL RÉSUMÉ
CHRONOLOGICAL RÉSUMÉS
Lists your experiences in reverse chronological order with most recent first!
Major categories include:EducationSpecial SkillsRelated or Relevant ExperienceAwards/ActivitiesReferences
CHRONOLOGICAL RÉSUMÉ
Most Commonly UsedPreferred by EmployersHighlights Positions, Jobs, Leadership RolesEmployers can “track” your record
Sections of the Résumé
Heading
Body
Extra-Information
Heading
Name and contact information2 addresses are fineDo not use labels: “phone” and “email”Make it look balancedUse a professional email address
Examples of Good Headings
J ohn Doe (712) 707-7000 101 7th Street SW Box 000 Orange City, IA 51041 [email protected]
Finda Job Current Address Permanent Address 123 Main Ave. SW 4321 E. Hammond Orange City, Iowa 51041 Tulip Town, Michigan 48864 (712) 987-6543 (517) 456-7890
Georgia Warren [email protected]
School Address: 101 7th Street Box 000, Orange City, IA 51041 (712) 555-1001
Home Address: 2627 Valley View Drive, Any Town, IA 51111 (712) 366-1212
Examples of some not so good headings
STUDENT M. GRAD E-mail: [email protected]
Current Address (to 5/10/00) Permanent Address Northwestern College Rt. 10 Box 111 RSC/NWC Box 1234 Smalltown, MN 56789 208 8th Street SW Phone: (320) 321-4321 Orange City, IA 51041 Phone: (712) 737-7000
Super Dooper Student
710 S. Colorado Apt. # 00 Orange City, IA 51041
712-737-0000
Notta Smarta Student 987 S. Main Street Apartment # 111
Somewhere, IA 51001 (712) 123-4567
Body
The most significant/relevant information should be listed on the top half of resume
Categories: Education, Skills, Related Experience
Do not use paragraphs Use bullet points with action verbs Related experience should have: Title,
dates of service, organization, city and state
Examples of Good Body Content
Some not so good examples
Objective To apply the classroom knowledge in a real world setting.
Experience 2002-2003 CPA Office Orange City, IA
Accountant
Complete Corporate Tax returns for a variety of corporations.
Prepare year end entries and prepare financial statements.
Experience with Word, Excel, UnilLink, and Lacerte.
1998-2002 Pro Golf Club Orange City, IA
Cashier//Cart Washer
Developed valuable people skills by dealing with members and visitors.
Helped balance the daily receipts.
Education 2000-2003 Northwestern College Orange City, IA
Working toward B.A. degree in Accounting and Business Administration.
Cum GPA: 3.5/4.0
Accounting Major GPA:3.61/4.0
Bus. Admin. GPA: 3.76/4.0
Participate on the men’s golf team.
Specialized Courses
Intermediate Accounting I, II
Cost Accounting
Auditing
Computer Science I
Business Law
Speech
Business Ethics
Macro and Micro Economics
Interests spending time with my wife, golfing, walking with my wife and dog, water skiing, camping and hunting
WRITING AND PUBLISHING EXPERIENCE Features Editor for the Beacon (weekly college newspaper) August 2003-May 2004
Cooperatively responsible for executive decisions made by the editorial staff Developed, wrote and assigned weekly features; edited articles; designed and laid out
pages
Beacon News Editor January-May 2003 Arranged, wrote and assigned news articles; designed and laid out pages for
publication
Selection staff for the Spectrum, the college literary journal 2004 WORK EXPERIENCE
Research Assistant, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA April 2004-Present Research, study and conduct interviews for Communication Department Chair and
English professor’s project entitled, “Negotiating the Personal in Poetry and Fiction Writing Courses.”
Peer Tutor, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA August-December 2003 Junior lecturer and discussion leader for the freshman seminar
Teacher’s Assistant Northwestern College, Orange City, IA August 2002-May 2004 Conducted research and provided office management for college professor
Grant Writing Assistant, Lilly Grant Proposal Planning Committee April-September 2002 Brainstormed with faculty, staff and other student members to research and write
initiatives for the Lilly Grant Proposal, which brought in $2 million to Northwestern College
Student Manager of Catering, Northwestern, Orange City, IA August 2001-May 2002 Managed catered events and mealtimes in the cafeteria; trained and supervised student
workers COMPETENCIES
Desktop Publishing: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe PageMaker and Adobe InDesign Microsoft Software: Word, PowerPoint, Access and Excel Black-and-White Photography: conversant with darkroom procedures Languages: English and Hindi
Extra-Information
Work HistoryReferences-Available upon Request
The purpose of a cover letter
Explain why you are sending a résumé
Don’t send a résumé without a cover letter (unless you are explicitly asked to do so.)
Don’t make the reader guess what you are asking for; be specific: Do you want a summer internship opportunity or a permanent position at graduation? Are you inquiring about future employment possibilities?
Tell specifically how you learned about the position or the organization
Through a flier posted in your department, a specific directory in the Career Development Center, or their website
A family friend who works at the organization It is appropriate to mention the name of
someone who suggested that you write.
Convince the reader to look at your résumé
The cover letter will be seen first. Therefore, it must be very well written and targeted to that employer
Call attention to elements of your background
EducationLeadershipExperience—that are all relevant to the
position you are seeking. Be as specific as possible, using examples
The Cover letter Reflects:
AttitudePersonalityMotivationEnthusiasm Communication skills
Provide or refer to any information specifically requested in job advertisement
availability date Special skills
Cover letter writing tips
Personalize the letter Be natural Be specific and get to the point Be positiveBe confident, but not arrogant Be efficient Type and sign your letter Be available-Indicate how you will follow upProofread -Don’t depend entirely on the spell-check
function of your computer
Generic cover letter example
Avoid I-I-I
Focus less on you (I) and more on the results you can deliver.
If you do nothing else, try replacing the words "I", "me" and "my" with "you" wherever possible. This
will put the emphasis back where it belongs -- on the employer and his/her problems.
Note the number of times "I" and "my“ appear: "I am enclosing my resume for your review because I am very interested in obtaining a
full-time position as an Investment Banking Analyst at Ace Financial. I am well qualified for this position. In addition to the strong quantitative and analytical skills I have developed as an undergraduate economics major and in my work experience, I have a proven ability to stay focused for long hours under pressure."
There are five instances of "I" and two of "my.“
Now, here’s that same cover letter, revised to focus more on the reader:
"I am applying for the position of Investment Banking Analyst where my combination of economics training and high-tech experience will add value to your operations. You will gain from my strong financial background, which includes a recent bachelor’s degree in economics, coupled with experience researching and trading securities as a successful investor resulting in returns of 200%.“
Just one "I" and two "mys" -- a 57% reduction. With "you" and "your" thrown in twice for good measure.
Cover Letter with “I”
Corrected Cover Letter
Now What???
Develop a first draft of a résuméMyNWC-Career Development
Contact the CDC and make an appointment to review your résumé
Email your résumé prior to the appointment
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