This presentation was delivered to a group of college student interns at a brown bag session in April 2015.

1. BEST PRACTICES FOR
RESUME WRITING
Megan Costello // @meggo_costello

2. Today
¨ Intros: Me and You
¨ Warm-Up:
¤ What are you hearing?
¤ What am I hearing?
¨ Digging in:
¤ Skills-Based Resumes
¤ Examples and Best Practices
¤ Power Verbs
¤ Design Principles
¨ Resources
¨ Wrap-up

3. About me

4. About you

5. • What are you hearing?
• My market research*
*Asking the Internet
Warm-up

6. Let’s talk about resumes.
What do you hear?

7. Here’s what I hear

8. 3 thoughts: You + the resume
1) “My manager perspective: grades
don't matter as much as you hope they
do. I want to see what you've DONE.
Experience matters a lot more to me than
whether you closed with a 3.7 or a 4.0,
so be active and involved. Then
demonstrate on your resume (or cover
letter) the correlation to the job you’re
applying for.”

9. 2) “Ditch the ‘objective’ line on the
resume, and outline your objectives
in the cover letter. The goal is to get
you an interview - the successful
resumes are ones where I can get
enough of a picture of a person that I
say ‘I want to know more.’”
3 thoughts: You + the resume

10. 3) Keep a list of all your
accomplishments and big
projects. Include as many tangible
results as possible such as budget,
reach, engagement. Screenshots of
everything.
3 thoughts: You + the resume

11. Bonus thought:
“Be curious. Your ideal
job might not exist yet.
Never stop learning.
LinkedIn FTW!”

12. Let’s dig in

13. Skills based
¨ “Marketing vehicle”
¨ 360 degree view
¨ Easily digestible
¨ Connects the dots
¨ Easily read by a computer
¨ Easily adaptable for each
new job

14. What is it?
¨ “A very succinct, well-organized and
easy-to-read bulleted list,” – Me
¤ Your name
¤ Skills summary
¤ (Sometimes a) Skills list
¤ Professional Experience
¤ All the other goodies
(360 degree view à EXPERIENCE)

16. Let’s walk through better examples
¨ Sample 1
¨ Sample 2
¨ Before and After
¤ http://www.megan-
costello.com/samples/

17. Your Name Here

18. Let’s think like a skills-based resume
¨ Marketing Specialist:
http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/WebListing/
Unclassified/PVLSummary.aspx?
pvl_num=82241
¨ Online Account Manager:
https://www.zendesk.com/company/careers?
jvi=oLDR0fwZ,Job
¨ Trainer:
https://careers.epic.com/Home/ViewPosition?
id=167

19. What else goes in it?

20. You: A 360 degree view
¨ Volunteer Experience
¨ Leadership
¨ Education
¨ Certifications
¨ Languages
¨ Technical Skills
¨ Publications, Conferences, Trainings
¨ Honors, Awards
What defines, explains, and
elevates your experience?

21. Pulling it together with power verbs

22. Power verbs à your best friend.
¨ “Wrote a newsletter article.”
OR
¨ “Composed, proofread and edited an
annual print newsletter sent to 55,000
constituents in Wisconsin Representative
Megan Costello’s Fifth District.”

23. Example: Power verbs at work
¨ Strengthened classroom management skills and time
management proficiency
¨ Established a thorough understanding for child
developmental stages
¨ Mentored two Purdue Art Education students every
semester
¨ Designed six lesson plans weekly that included art
history and art production
¨ Planned and coordinated art projects that integrated
multiple grade

24. Power verb resources
¨ L&S Career Services:
http://careers.ls.wisc.edu/documents/
Power_Verbs_8.12.pdf
¨ University of Northern Iowa:
http://www.uni.edu/careerservices/students/
rcl/docs/actionverbs.pdf
¨ And so many more online!

25. Design principles

26. Design principles
¨ Pleasing and attractive: “Do
you want to read it?”
¨ Typography: font, size, color,
accessibility
¨ PDF please!
¨ Use footers to your
advantage
¨ Margins at 1 (maybe .9) à
don’t cheat!
¨ Use real estate, but don’t
cram

27. The objective

28. Me vs. “the Objective”
¨ It’s already known.
¨ Use your cover letter.
¨ Doesn’t help pass the
30-ish second scan.
¨ You have limited real
estate, use it wisely.

29. Last thoughts
¨ Keep a list of your
achievements and
accomplishments.
¨ Edit, revise, update à often!
¨ Screenshot. Save!
¨ LinkedIn.
¨ Think digitally à LI, blogs,
websites, portfolios? Pinterest?

30. mlcostello@gmail.com
@meggo_costello
linkedin.com/in/mlcostello
Thank you!