8- Lecture Eight - Resume

7/30/2019 8- Lecture Eight - Resume

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Faculty of BusinessStudies

MBA ProgramBusiness

Communication

Sudan International

University


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LECTURE Eight

Selling yourself: resume

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In this Lecture you will learn:

1. What is a Resume?

2. Types of Resumes3. Standard Resume Sections

4. Supporting Documentation


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What is a Resume?

A marketing tool

A sell ing too lthat allows you to highlight to an employer

how you can contribute to the company.

The f i rs t impressiona potential employer has of you.

Request for an interview

Purpose of the resume is to get you an interview.

Must capture the readers interest and attention.

Must convince the employer that you have the ability to

fill their position.

Yourbigpicture

A snapshot of what you bel ieve are your most

important experiences and qualifications.

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Types of Resumes

A Paper Resume

Should be clean, concise, professional, and pleasing tothe eye

Use bullets & bolding

An Electronic Resume

A plain text resume for on-line submission

Typically must conform to employer specifications

An HTML Resume

Typically includes links to homepage, images, Avoid this type of resume

Most people dont want an employer walking around in

their homepage

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Standard Resume Sections Header

Objective

Education

Honors/Activities

Work Experience Relevant Courses

Skills, abilities

Projects

There in no fixed style of

writing a resume

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The Header SectionThe first line should be your name

The full, legal name should be written.

It is normally centered on the page.

Larger than the largest fon tused in body

Avoid using decorative fonts

Dont use black or gray shaded backgrounds

Exclude titles Mr., Mrs., Ms.,

Do not provide information concerning your age, marital status orchildren ; unless asked.

Include contact address Permanent address (on the r ight hand co lumn)

Current address (on the left hand co lumn)

Include your email address Use a professional email address (und er cu rrent add ress)

Dont use BIGBOY@HOT_MAIL.COM

Include your phone number

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Th Obj ti S ti


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The Objective Section

The career objective should be related directly to the

job for which you are applying.

Make statement clear, concise, and to the point. Avoidusage of pronouns such as I and my in your

objective.

Bad: I want to get ajob Weak: To attain an position in the computer

industry.

Good: To attain a challenging job in the computer

industry working with database or network security.Avoid being overly specific to single company

To attain a position at 3M Pharmaceuticals working

on

Use objectives from the companys job Advertizement

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The Honors/Activities Section

Should only contain honors and awardsearned .

It is preferred on ly academ ic or service-

related items

Dont include hobbies or activities not

related to the job or your story.

Dont include volunteer work unless there is

a direct and positive link with the job or your

story.

This section is o tional

This section should scream I am a leader

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The Work Experience Section

Dedicated to most recent and relevant

employment

Format

Employer and location on the first line

Dont need name of supervisor, complete address, or contact

in format ion

Position and time-span on the second line Use only year, no t mo nth and year (avoids t im e gaps)

Each position should have at least two bullets

Explain role and contributions

Dont emphasize duties but rather emphasizeoutcomes

Increased efficiency of by 20%

Improved user navigation experience on

Watch the tense

Current job uses present tense

Former jobs use past tense

Employers wantproblem solvers

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Some candidate may not have any work

experience. In such cases they can be

innovative and use headings such:

language proficiencies,

computer competency,

special skills,

professional memberships,

and various accomplishments.

The candidate can think of any number of categories

and use the one that is most suitable and is able to

create an impact.10


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The Relevant Courses Section

The keyword is relevant courses: example ofcom puter science graduate

Dont include Foundations of Computing

Dont include Algorithms and Data Structures

Focus on courses the are either unique or wouldnormally be considered elective

Computer Security

Computer Graphics

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Networks

Database Systems

Data Mining

Employers will assume you have had the11


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The Skills Section

This is where you emphasize your technicalskills.

Not all resumes carry a section on skill. if you feel

that some of the acquired skills can be suitablystated under various heading, proceed confidently.

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The Projects Section

Used correctly, this section can set you apart from other

new graduates.Most new grads dont get the opportunity to use this section.

Show any lengthy, impressive, or relevant projects to

which you have made real contribution.

Each project should have at least two bullets (focus onoutcomes).

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Letter (1)

Why do I need to write a cover letter?

Use the cover letter to focus attention on elementsof your background that are particularly relevant to

the company.

Letter acts as yourverbal int roduc t ion to theemployer.

Send it to a person, not a place.

Avoid To Whom It May Concern,

Worst case Dear Recruiter:

First sentence should tell why you are writing

I am writing in regard to your posting listed on

As you may recall, I spoke with you briefly at This is with reference to our advertizement No.123

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(2)

Highlight your skills

Use two to three paragraphs to given in-depth descriptionof your selling points.

Each paragraph should be stand alone (could be moved

to different location in text).

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The features that need to be kept in mind at the

time of writing application letters are as follows: Make your letter individualistic.

Highl igh t speci f ic trai ts .

Catch the readers attention.

Innovate and apply strategies in the opening

paragraph.

Why shou ld the reader read he let ter and on the

basis of that short l is t me as ne of the sui table

candidates?

Highlight your educational/professionalqualifications.

Susta in interest by spel l ing out your strongest

qual i f icat ion. The strongest point in favor of the

candidate is h is on -job exper ience; which should be16


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Supporting Documentation ReferencesUnless the employer asks for references, do not mention them.

Prepare a separate reference sheet Use same paper as the resume itself

Do not mail reference sheet with resume and cover letter

Bring reference sheet (and resume) with you to any

interviews

Reference sheet is a stand-alone document Should include your Header from the resume

Try to arrange contact information in pleasing fashion

Use professional references only Pick individuals that think highly of you

Pick individuals that are familiar with your work

Always ask your references before using their17


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Tips on Schnabel Resumes(1)

Most large employers will scan your resume into

a central database

Tips to assist the scanning process

Dont use italics, underlining, or graphics

Use bold only for headers

Use scanner-friendly fonts Times New Roman, Courier, Helvetica, or Arial are

good examplesUse black ink on white background

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(2)Posting Online

Common mistakeformatting that doesnt make the trip

Convert to text only

Use PDF if allowed

Proofread carefully after conversion

If they ask about salary, leave it empty

If they force salary, be honest but dont shoot for themoon

Emailing your resume

Attach resume as a PDF document (or Word document)

75 80% of companies are running Windows

Test before deploy

Send to friends, ask them to print it and send it back to you

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Resume Writing Tips (3)A recent pol l of technical recrui ters and hir ing

managers asked for the top things they see onresumes and cover letters that make them less

interested in speaking w ith a candidate. These make

great examples of hownot to w ri te you r resum e.

1. Use of the current "tense" in all jobs on the resume.2. Writing the resume or cover letter in the third person.

3. Too many grammar and spelling mistakes.

4. Use of tiny fonts (10 pt or less) so as to cram as much

information into the resume as possible.

5. Photos on resumes (this is a cultural preference).

6. A listing of their personal interests and activities.

7. Sending a resume attachment named 41808res.doc - use

your name or descriptive label.20


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Resume Writing Tips

9. Writing the resume using table formats (columns).

10. Using a resume that is password protected (without sending the

password).

11. Including references - but not professional ones - just friends

and co-workers.

12. Having no contact information on the resume or including a

phone number that is no longer valid.13. When a candidate's email address is not appropriate for the

work environment. Example: [email protected]

14. Resumes that are too long. Most seem to feel that general

descriptions pertaining to work history for the last 10 years issufficient.

15. Resume stuffing, for example, listing of every software

application you've ever touched as a "skill".

16. Education written so its not clear if the degree was obtained.

17. Job hopping, which could be contract positions but it's not21


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Tips For Cover Letter SuccessThe fol lowing t ips are key in making a compel l ing

statement explain ing why a potent ia l employer or

Recrui ter should call you for an in terv iew.

1. Maintain consistency throughout all your career documents

by utilizing the same heading and font as your resume.

2. Keep the cover letter to one page, be creative yet succinct

and do not duplicate wording from your resume.

3. Make sure that the skills, knowledge and experience

mentioned in the cover letter is found in the resume and can

be defended at an interview.

4. Research the company using the Internet to strengthen your

candidacy by alluding to how your skills relate to the job and

the companys mission/vision and how excited you will be to

work for the employer.

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Tips For Cover Letter Success6. Explain the purpose of your letter. For instance, are you

writing as a result of: A referral from a contact? (If so,

mention the persons name). An advertisement? To entice

interest in your expertise? Connecting with a professional

Recruiting service? Actively seeking a new challenge?7. If sending via hard copy, avoid using coloured paper. If

sending electronically, avoid incorporating shading and

underlining which can cause problems when scanned.

8. Be prepared! Always send a customized cover letter toaccompany your resume.

9. Proofread for spelling and grammar before signing and

sending the cover letter.

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Good

Examples

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Bad Example

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THE END

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Documents

8- Lecture Eight - Resume