1. Resume/CV Workshop for STEM Majors
Creating Branding Materials that Work for You
Melanie Coulson
John Birch
www.trinity.edu/career
careerservices@trinity.edu
210.999.8321

2. Fun With
Numbers

3. According to the Department of
Education…
Stem Jobs are growing at 1.7
times the rate of non-STEM
jobs, and the U.S. is simply not
producing enough candidates to
fill them

4. According to the Department of
Education…

5. According to the Department of
Education…
Only 16% of high school students
are interested in pursuing STEM
careers

6. According to the Department of
Education…
Among those who do go on to
pursue a college major in the
STEM fields, only about half
choose to work in a related
career

7. According to the Department of
Education…
The U.S. ranks 25th
in
mathematics and 17th
in science
among industrialized nations

8. According to The Department of
Commerce…

11. So, Why Pursue a
STEM Degree?

12. The material is Interesting and
intellectually exciting

13. According to the Department of
Commerce…
STEM
Occupations are
projected to grow
by 17.0 percent
from 2008 to
2018, compared
to 9.8% growth for
non-STEM
occupations

14. According to the Department of
Commerce
STEM workers command higher wages,
earning 26 percent more than their non-
STEM counterparts

15. According to the Department of
Commerce
STEM degree
holders enjoy
higher earnings,
regardless of
whether they work
in STEM or non-
STEM occupations

16. Freedom to
explore
multiple
career paths

18. Major Skills
• Creativity & Curiosity
• Analytical & quantitative abilities
• Statistical awareness
• Working independently and on
teams
• Written & Oral Communication
skills
• Efficiency
• Problem Solving
• Logical Thinking
• Detail-oriented
• Follow-through skills
• Computer Literacy
• Interpreting data
• Critical Thinking
• Testing
• Organizational skills
• Multi-tasking

19. Marketing Your
Brand

20. Branding
…a promise, a pledge of quality. It is the
essence of a product, including why it is
great, and how it is better than all
competing products. It is an image. It is
a combination of words and letters,
symbols, and colors.
(QuintCareers.com)

21. Online Marketing Tools
Résumé or CV
ePortfolio
LinkedIn
Twitter
Blogs

22. Résumé
A marketing tool to promote your…
• Degree
• Experience
• Skills
• Community involvement
• Projects
• Honors, etc.

23. Résumé
• Reflect your key competencies
• Leadership
• Organization
• Facilitation
• Problem solving
• Cultural Adaptability
• Professionalism
• Technology Adept

24. Your Résumé is a Marketing
Tool
Applications
– Jobs/Internships
– Graduate School
– Scholarship
On-campus
recruitment
Career
management
• Interview prep
• Networking
• Elevator speech

25. Developing a
Résumé

26. Requirements
• Contact information
– Name
– Address
– Phone number
– Email address

27. Requirements
• Education
– Name of institution
– Location
– Graduation date
– Degree
– Major
– GPA (if above 3.0)

28. Requirements
• Experience
– Position title
– Organization
– Dates (month & year)
– Location
– Accomplishment statements

29. Optional
• Summary of Qualifications
–Similar to accomplishment
statements but more general, e.g. strong
interpersonal communication skills, experienced in the
effective retail management
• Objective
–BRIEFLY describes type of desired
position

30. Optional
• Awards
• Activities
• Skills
–technical and/or language
• Relevant Coursework
– not a transcript but a SHORT list of
courses relevant to the position
• Research

31. Optional
Four P’s
Projects (academic, work, community)
Presentations
Publications
Professional Associations

32. Inapropriate Information
• Personal information
– Irrelevant hobbies
– Social security number
– Birth date
– Age
– Pictures
• High School information

33. Inappropriate Structure
Multiple…
Bullet styles
 Bullet levels
 Bullet Colors
Font sizes and styles
1st
person narrative (e.g. my, me, I)

34. Accomplishment Statements
• Begin statements w/ action verbs
• Use different verbs for each statement
• Use professional terms
• Communicate positive
accomplishments
• Quantify when possible
• Describe what and how

35. Statement Example
“Created a survey”
Vs
“Created a survey to measure social
adaptability and related measures of
participants of varying income levels”

36. Statement Example
“Collaborated with nonprofit company to
produce a short video”
Vs
“Collaborated with nonprofit micro
financing company to produce a short
video to promote and celebrate
business partners”

37. Statement Example
“Conducted a literature review”
Vs
“Conducted a literature review on social
class and interpersonal behavior,
money priming and autonomy”

38. Statement Example
“Train production team members”
Vs
“Train production team members on
extensive use of field equipment for
shooting and editing news packages,
interviews and features”

39. Common Mistakes
• Use of periods
• Exclusion of degree
• Too much or too little spacing
• Font size too large
• Exclusion of current commitments
• Not using action verbs
• Date range instead of graduation date

40. Common Mistakes
• Not creating separate section for
multiple research
• Separating volunteer from
extracurricular activities
• Including high school information
• CV versus Résumé
• Excessive use of font elements, e.g.,
bold, caps, AND underline

41. Common Mistakes
• Use of a template – rarely done well
• Structural inconsistency, e.g. bullet
styles and sizes, alignment
• Not including months in date ranges

42. Résumé Reviews
• Walk-in hours: M/W/F 1:30 - 4:00 pm &
T/TH 10:30 am – 1:00 pm
• Appointments: Mon-Fri, 8:30am-
4:30pm
– Call 210.999.8321 to schedule appt.
– Save time – email Résumé prior to arriving:
careerservices@trinity.edu

43. Developing a
Curriculum Vitae

44. Requirements
• Contact information
– Name
– Address
– Phone number
– Email address
– Name and page numbers on all pages
(except 1st
)

45. Requirements
• Education
– Degree earned
– Year awarded or expected date of award
– Name of Institution
– Location of Institution
– Name of Thesis or Dissertation
– Name of Advisor or Committee

46. Education
Ex.
M.A. in American History, 1996
Columbia University, New York, NY
Master’s Thesis: “The Use of Video in Presidential Campaigns”
Committee: Profs. Michael Jackson, Demi Moore, and Sting
B.A. in History and Journalism, 1994
Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
Undergraduate Honors Thesis: “Rhetoric of Clinton Campaign”
Advisor: Rock Hudson

47. From this point on you have more
latitude in shaping the
organization of your CV. You
should be guided by your
strengths, requirements for the
job, and conventions of your
discipline.

48. Requirements
• Honors/Awards (Grants, Fellowships
and Patents)
• Research Experience
• Teaching Experience
• Publications and Presentations
• Related Professional Experience
• Languages

49. Research Experience

50. Teaching Experience

51. Teaching Experience

52. Teaching Experience

53. Publications & Presentations

54. Optional
• Memberships of Professional
Organizations
• Scholarly Associations
• Travel or Study Abroad

55. Résumé vs. CV
Résumé
• Brief summary of your
skills and experience
over 1 or 2 pages
• Highly customizable:
tailored to each
position
• No particular format
rule
CV
•More detailed; can
stretch well beyond 2
pages
•Static: any changes will
be in the cover letter
•Clear chronological order
covering one’s entire
career

56. When to Use Which
• Résumé is the preferred application
document in the US and Canada
• Americans and Canadians typically only use
a CV when applying for a job abroad or if
searching for an academic or research
oriented position
• Some countries only use the CV
• Still in other countries the terms Résumé and
CV are used interchangeably

57. Related
Tools

58. Building a Professional Network
Using LinkedIn and Other Social
Media

60. Special Thanks To
Dr. Michele Johnson
Dr. Cabral Balreira
Dr. Kevin McIntyre
Dr. Jennifer Steele
Dr. Wilson Terrell

61. Contact CAREER SERVICES:
www.trinity.edu/careers
careerservices@trinity.edu
210.999.8321