Resumes

C. Edge

Spring 2009

What is a resume?

It is a summary of you.

It is a collection of carefully selected information about you, presented as concisely and neatly

as possible, with the goal of convincing an employer to invite you for an interview.

What goes on a resume?

your career objective

your work experience

your education

your skills.

Why do I need one?

To get a job, silly!!!

The human resources department has to eliminate prospective employees—they do

this by reading resumes.

They may spend less than 20 seconds reading each one.

Yours has to make the cut.

What kind of resumes get eliminated?

Messy ones.

Long ones.

Ones that are hard to read.

Flashy ones.

Here is an example of a good resume.

A GOOD RESUME HAS FIVE ESSENTIAL PARTS:

A clearly stated JOB OBJECTIVE.

The HIGHLIGHTS OF QUALIFICATIONS.

A presentation of directly RELEVANT SKILLS and EXPERIENCE.

A chronological WORK HISTORY.

A listing of relevant EDUCATION and TRAINING

Do I have to include an objective?

Yes, to indicate the kind of job you are seeking.

Job Objective

To write this, ask yourself these questions:

WHAT do I want to do?

FOR WHOM or WITH WHOM do I want to do it?

WHERE do I want to do it?

AT WHAT LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY?

What do I put for education? I’m just in high school!!!

That’s fine.

List the last grade you completed or the grade you will have completed at the time of the job opening.

Education and Training

Schools you attended, with dates, degrees honors.

Personal study in your field (classes, workshops, and other informal ways you have learned).

Any other credentials or certificates

Work Experience

Start with the job you have now or your most recent job and work backwards.

Include employer, city, state, your job title, and the dates you worked there.

Explain what you did that made you valuable.

Subjects are WEAK.

Use verbs to start your statements.

Example: Was asked to balance the cash drawer. (Weak) Balanced the cash drawer. (Strong)

Should I explain why I quit?

NO.

and…

Don’t bring it up unless the interviewer asks.

Should I include volunteer experience, hobbies, or interests?

Not unless they have specifically helped you prepare for the new job.

Paid and unpaid work goes under Experience.

Hobbies and interests go under Personal.

Can I exaggerate a little?

NO!!!

The truth comes out eventually.

Exaggeration can cost you your job.

References?

Only list references on your resume if they will make a good impression and help you get the

job.

Ask the reference first to make sure they will do it for you.

Since you won’t have a lot of experience or education, references are a good thing.

But, choose wisely.

Good choices:

A coach

A teacher

An administrator

A preacher

(DO NOT USE A RELATIVE!!!)

5 MISTAKES TO AVOID

Vague objective statement.

Too short or too long.

Using personal pronouns and articles.

Listing superfluous information.

Typos.

How do I get started?

Self-assessment list at least 10 skills which you have developed in each

of the following areas: education/work/internships or volunteer/extracurricular use action words to create one-liner summaries circle each of the skills noted in part (a) that you would

like to use in your employment. If there are other skills you would like to add, do so now. Then, rank them in the order you most would like to use them.

make a list of what you would consider your five greatest accomplishments in your life.

Sell yourself—create a good first impression by highlighting appropriate skills and abilities to the position you are applying for.

Use active language—use action verbs to spice up your resume (example—assisted, developed, promoted, trained, monitored, prepared, produced, directed, etc.)

Be consistent—choose a pattern of spacing and a format, and stick to it

Present information in reverse chronological order—list education and work experience starting with the most recent first and then going backwards.

Check for grammar—misspellings and poorly constructed sentences communicate negative impressions about a candidate.

Ensure that your resume is neat and visually appealing!!!

Here is my current resume.