Industry Focused Resume and CV’s

Summer Seminar Series for McCormick Graduate Students

June 22nd, 2011

McCormick Office of Career Development

2133 Sheridan Road, Ford Engineering Design Center

Main Phone: 847-491-3366

www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/co-op

Agenda

• Objectives – Enhance understanding about resume content

– Address your concerns and questions

• CV versus Resume (Differences)

• Resume Formats & Considerations

• Examples & Peer Review

What are the differences

between a resume and CV?

Resume

Length: One to two pages

Content: Brief education background,

related experience, skills

Purpose: Industry applications

• Brief, Concise, and Specific

• Industry “Speak”

– Strong Action Verbs

– Concise Bulleting

– Quantifiable Outcomes

– Discuss Impact

Reason: “Snap Shot”

CV

Length: Two or more pages

Content: Educational and academic

background, teaching and research

experience, publications, presentations,

awards, honors, affiliations

Purpose: Academic, research, science,

or international applications

Reason: More detailed synopsis

Converting a CV into a Resume

• Tailor it to the position

• Who is your intended audience? – Translate your academic experience to a non-academic audience

• Use bullet points, action focused verbs and

emphasize outcomes and accomplishments

• Emphasize skill-sets

• Quantify

How long should my resume be?

• It depends upon the position

– No more than two pages

– For some research positions, keeping the resume to two

pages is desired

– One page for most consulting/business related positions

Resume Formats

• Chronological

– Works well for new graduates

– Reveals employment or education gaps

• Functional (Skills Based)

– Highlights qualifications, skills and related

achievements

– Combination

– Combines aspects of both chronological and functional

formats

Functional (Skills Based)

• Career Changers

• Little Experience

• Large Gaps in Work

History

Sample Resume Source: Vault.com “Killer

Cover Letters and Resumes”

Resume Considerations

• Information to Avoid – Social security number, Salary history, Religion, Physical Characteristics,

Race, national origin, ethnicity, Test scores

• Avoid logos

• Use 10-12 point font

• Use headers for two page resumes

• Print on resume paper

• Grammatically perfect

• Clean and concise

Reviewing Real Examples

• Evaluate strengths and areas of improvement

• What would you modify, if anything?

• Open discussion

• Thank you for those contributing their resumes

Your Resume Themes

• Too much information

• Too much of a focus on test scores,

awards/honors, publications

• Difficult to ascertain skills and experience for a

non-technical reader

• Generalities/Purpose

Real Examples

Real Examples

Real Examples

Real Examples

Real Examples

Real Examples

Peer Review