Writing an Effective Resume

Writing an Effective Resume

Writing Consultant PresentationINST205: Job Prep 1Bellingham Technical College


Why you are writing

Organization

Presentation

A resume gets you an interview

The employer will:

Find out which applicants are suitable

Choose a small number of candidates to interview

Include interesting and unique information

Attempt best effort to make a first impression

No chance to explain if you do not get an interview

Reviewer spends 10 to 15 sec.per resume

Stand out from the crowd


Why you are writing

Organization

Presentation

Summary of sections

NameAddress, telephone number, e-mail addressObjectiveEducationExperienceAchievements and awardsSkillsProfessional affiliations Publications or projects

Optional

Objective

One or two sentences

Type of position (part time, full time, summer internship)

What position would you like to find?

Emphasize how you will use your skills, not what you want to gain

Use the objective to stand out

Do not be needy:Objective: To obtain a position that will allow me to advance my potential while seeking new challenges.Objective: To obtain a position that will utilize my skills and let me continue to update my knowledge in the instrumentation field.

Show what you will contribute:Objective: An entry-level position as an instrumentation technician, where strong work ethic, instrumentation knowledge, and good communication skills are needed.Objective: To add value, technical diversity and a positive energy to the workplace.

Education in reverse chronological order

Include schools attended beyond high school

List major and minor(s), supply interesting details

For BTC, put the expected date in parentheses:

Bellingham technical College AAS - Instrumentation and Control Technology(Anticipated graduation: June 2013)

Include special or interesting aspects of your program

Experience also in reverse order

Dates of employment (2003–present)

Name and location of the company (Con Edison, Brooklyn)

Add specific detail that shows your organization, cooperation, responsibility with action

Calling this section Experience allows you to include jobs for which you were not paid. Include:

military service internships volunteer positions

Achievements and awards

Dean’s list

Scholarships

Grants

Prizes

Nominations

Professional societies

Significant accomplishments

Committees and leadership roles

Use the skills section

Software programs and proficiency (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, FrontPage, AutoCad …)

Programming languages (include Visual Basic, HTML, PHP, …)

Abilities (based on experience)

Languages and language ability

• Troubleshooting, repairing, calibrating, tuning and aligning controllers • Troubleshooting, calibrating and making field repairs to control valves • Troubleshooting, calibrating and making field repairs to positioners • Troubleshooting, calibrating and making field repairs to actuators • Troubleshooting and repairing level measurement equipment• Troubleshooting transducers

Instrumentation Skills Section (0)

• Troubleshooting and repairing vibration measurement instrumentation • Understanding of proper application of pressure rated piping/tubing fittings • Troubleshooting, calibrating, configuring and repairing electronic transmitters • Troubleshooting, calibrating, configuring and repairing DCS systems • Overhauling, repairing and calibrating displacer level controls • Using pressure test equipment

Instrumentation Skills Section (1)

The Skills Section This is where you emphasize your

technical skills Fill some skills in as a class

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The Projects Section

Each project should have at least two bullets (focus on outcomes)Fill some projects in as a class 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.


Why you are writing

Organization

Presentation

Create an effective layout

Try to interest your reader visually

A clean, professional format with a little style

Extra white space makes it easy to read – set margins

Limit font to two choices

For text: a serif font like Times

For headings: Arial or Helvetica are good choices to add visual interest

Don’t choose non-standard fonts like or

Font size should be 11 or 12 point

Write concisely and vigorously

A focused, targeted resume is best: Avoid the temptation to go more than one page

Delete obvious information in order to highlight your unique qualities

Find specific, dynamic verbs: Use present (or past) imperatives

Include each verb only once

Consult online lists of “resume action words”

Make lists parallel

Was responsible for staff of ten

Present reports to consultants

New reporting system was developed

Leader of monthly staff meeting

Coordinate monthly review

Make lists parallel

Managed staff of ten

Presented reports to consultants

Developed new reporting system

Led monthly staff meeting

Coordinated monthly review

Use brief style like presentations

Omit articles (a/an, the)

Use more lists than sentences

Arrange information in columns

Keywords(1)

Class participation, Instrumentation key words.1.2.3.4.5.6.

Keywords – Student Derived

Resume Formats - Chronological

Highlight your work experience in reverse chronological order

Be sure to not leave gaps

The most widely used format for working professionals

Cut off

Resume Formats - Functional

Highlight specific skills for which the market has high demand

Seldom used by new graduates

Frequently used to change jobs or careers

Again, cut off

Resume Formats - Combinational

Highlight specific work experience

Highlight marketable skills

Use reverse chronological order

The best resume style for most college students

I would prefer bullets

This is Meagan Bryson’ssuggested layout

M Bryson

Standard Resume Sections

Header Objective Education Honors/Activities Work Experience Relevant Courses Skills Projects

Move toward bottom

The order can be switched

Supporting Documentation – Cover Letter (1)

Why do I need to write a cover letter? Use the cover letter to focus attention on elements of

your background that are particularly relevant to the company

Letter acts as your verbal introduction to the employer 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 …” “Dr. Wagner at UW – Eau Claire suggested that I …” “As you may recall, I spoke with you briefly at …” If unsolicited, indicate why you are interested in the

company


Highlight your skills Use two to three paragraphs to given in-depth

description of your selling points Each paragraph should be stand alone (could be

moved to different location in text) Close with a promise of action

If possible, indicating that you will be contacting them in the near future to set up a mutually acceptable meeting time or to further discuss your qualifications

Nice if you can say “during my Winter Break, between December 28 and January 12, I will be in Minneapolis. I will contact your office when I arrive to arrange a possible meeting time”


Supporting Documentation – References

Prepare a separate reference sheet Use same paper as the resume itself Bring reference sheet (and resume) with you to any

interviews, job fairs, career breakfasts, … Do not mail reference sheet with resume and cover

letter 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 their names Be prepared to give supporting materials – courses,

projects, … Ask again if it has been a while

Scannable Resumes Most large employers will scan your resume into a central

database Tips to assist the scanning process

Don’t use italics, underlining, or graphics Use bold only for headers Use “scanner-friendly” fonts (Serif or Sans Serif

fonts) Times New Roman, Courier, Helvetica, or Arial

are good examples Font sizes of between 9 and 12

Use black ink on white background Tips to assist the retrieval process

Most lookup is keyword-based Samples: Unix, C++, Java, hardware, networking,

trouble-shooting, testing, security, data mining, …

Tips on Delivery of Your Resume

Posting Online “rules” are still emerging Common mistake – formatting that doesn’t 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 don’t shoot for the moon

Emailing your resume Attach resume as a PDF document (or Word document)

75 – 80% of companies are running Windows Also include text version in the email message

Attachments can get dropped or filtered Test before deploy

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

Miscellaneous Tips (1) Act like a professional

Avoid cutesy or inappropriate graphics, images, formats, …

One page only You are a fresh graduate, don’t assume that the

one-page rule doesn’t apply to you! Stick to the truth

Don’t sprinkle buzzwords in that you really don’t understand

It speaks volumes about your character when you can’t explain your own resume

Focus on achievements and results Laundry lists of duties are not impressive

Miscellaneous Tips (2) Use easy-to-read language

Winston Churchill - “Use short, old words.” Get the words and punctuation correct

Errors and “broken English” are the kiss of death Follow the instructions

If the company asks for specific information, then give it to them

Follow up If you said you would call, then call

Maintain a consistent writing style Avoid “To apply …” then “Applying …”

Avoid the use of “I” or “my”

Miscellaneous Tilts Focus on you and your needs

Employers have better things to do than hear about you

They want to know “what can you do for me” Use templates to construct your resume

Give cookie-cutter look Lacks flexibility to your “silver bullet”

Use superlatives to emphasis your work Great performance as … Stick to the facts and figures – not an evaluation of

yourself Use long flowing sentences

Short and to the point Sentence fragments are fine if they are

understandable – BUT NOT IN THE COVER LETTER!!!!!

Don’t Make These Famous Mistakes

“Education: Curses in liberal arts, curses in computer science, curses in accounting”

“Personal: Married, 1992 Chevrolet”

“Proven ability to track down and correct erors.”

“Disposed of $2.5 billion in assets”

“Accomplishments: Oversight of entire department”

Cover Letter: “Thank you for your consideration. I hope to hear from you shorty!”

Good Examples (1)

Good Examples (2)

Final thoughts …

Choose the correct tense and use it consistently

Do not ask for a particular salary

Be accurate and honest

Print it out! Do not attempt to proofread on screen


Why you are writing

Organization

Presentation


Mahalo, Jeanne Young

On-Line Resources www.collegerecruiter.comwww.collegerecruiter.com www.developercareers.comwww.developercareers.com www.writinglettersandresumes.comwww.writinglettersandresumes.com www.professional-resumes.comwww.professional-resumes.com www.1stresumes.comwww.1stresumes.com www.a1resumes.netwww.a1resumes.net http://www.localjobnetwork.com/radio/play?rp_id=191

Title: Minding Your P's and Q's - The 1-Page Job Proposal

Featured Guests: Joanna Riley Weidenmiller & Tim Muma (20 minutes)

www.10minuteresume.comwww.10minuteresume.com www.crsresume.comwww.crsresume.com www.resumeservice.comwww.resumeservice.com

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Another perspective On the key sections:

The Header Section The first line should be your name

Larger than the largest font used in body Avoid using decorative fonts Don’t use black or gray shaded backgrounds Exclude titles Mr., Mrs., Ms., …

Include contact address Permanent address Current address

Include your email address Use your UWEC email address Don’t use “BIGBOY@HOT_MAIL.COM”

Include your phone number Change the message machine to be appropriate

The Objective Section

Considered optional but I strongly suggest including it Make statement clear, concise, and to the point

Bad: “I want to get a job” Weak: “To attain an internship in the computer

industry.” Good: “To attain an internship 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 …”

I prefer objectives from the company’s perspective “To attain a web application programming position

where knowledge of Java and the Struts framework will add value the overall development process.”

The Honors/Activities Section

Should only contain honors and awards earned during your time in college

You can include academic or extracurricular items I prefer only academic or service-related items

Include a brief description if not self-evident from title “Award given to top performer on the capstone exam”

Don’t include hobbies or activities not related to the job or your story Good to include leadership positions in

Instrumentation organizations Good to list membership in Instrumentation

organizations Don’t include volunteer work unless there is a direct and

positive link with the job or your story

This section should scream “I am a leader”This section should scream “I am a leader”

The Work Experience Section

Dedicated to most recent and relevant employment Format

Employer and location on the first line Don’t need name of supervisor, complete address, or contact

information Position and time-span on the second line

Use only year, not month and year (avoids time gaps)

Each position should have at least two bullets Explain role and contributions Don’t emphasize duties but rather emphasize outcomes

“Increased efficiency of … by 20%” “Improved user navigation experience on …”

Descriptions should be consistent in wording Watch the tense

Current job uses present tense Former jobs use past tense

Employers wantproblem solvers

The Relevant Courses Section

The keyword is relevant courses Don’t include Math99 Don’t include Psychology Focus on unique courses Computer Security

Pressure and Level Measurement Temperature and Flow Measurement PID Control Loop Tuning Data Acquisition Systems

Employers will assume you have had the rest

Bad resumes

Bad Examples (1)

Bad Examples (2)

Documents

Writing an Effective Resume