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Building A Better Resume'
- 2. What is a Résumé “A résumé is a robust and complete synopsis that articulates your skills, responsibilities, and accomplishments that catches the eye of the decision maker in 7-10 seconds.” ~Tony Sok Staffing Consultant
- 3. Formatting a Résumé • Customize a résumé for each position you’re applying for −Match position needs or requirements with proven skills • Format −Chronological, the most common −Skill-focused or functional • Results oriented, describing how well you perform tasks
- 4. Formatting a Résumé • Include accurate titles, skills, education, and dates • Keep it relevant, clean, and simple • Use easy-to-read type: Times New Roman or Arial • Be consistent with abbreviations and formatting • Keep your résumé on one page, with references on a second page
- 5. Chronological Résumé Contact information Most recent work experience Earliest training Professional Summary Education Skills summary
- 6. Functional Résumé Contact information Profile Skills summary Work experience summary Capabilities Job history Education
- 7. Résumé: What to Include • The basics: – Name – Mailing address – Email – Phone number with area code • Write a career summary or profile that highlights what you can offer the employer. • Employment history; include your last three to five jobs • Specific results. Don’t just describe what you did, but how well you did it.
- 8. Résumé: What to Include • Skills: – Computer hardware and software – Certifications – Languages • Accomplishments: – Awards – Significant milestones • Education • Volunteer work, internships, co-ops
- 9. Use action verbs: present tense for current jobs, past tense for previous jobs. Résumé: What to Include
- 10. Résumé: What to Leave Out • Age, marital status, children, health, physical size • Picture of yourself • Reason for leaving previous jobs • Salary requirements, unless requested • Grade point average and time spent in school • Names of references – make their contact information available on a separate page • Use of the pronoun “I”
- 11. Advice from the OWL • Purdue University hosts an Online Writing Lab (OWL) that offers advice on résumé writing • The quadrant test - Divide your résumé in half horizontally and vertically, put your most important information in the top left quadrant, next is top right • Use columns or a table to format information • Using serif or sans-serif font • 20-second test
- 12. Font Choices San Serif Arial Calibri Franklin Gothic Tahoma Times New Roman FrankRuehl Cambria Serif
- 13. Résumé Formats • Word Document and PDF • A plain text version of your résumé • A PDF version of your résumé with keywords in the metadata – Consider sending both versions of your résumé
- 14. Proofreading Musts • Don’t use the words I, me, or myself. • Start sentences with a verb. Use descriptive verbs in your résumé and clarify results. • Proofread for typos and grammatical errors. • Ensure your email address and phone numbers are correct.
- 15. References • www.LifeClever.com – 7 Deadly Sins of Résumé Design • http://Owl.English.Purdue.edu • Movin’ on Up blog – Blog.ExpressPros.com • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUPBTXAzL0Q
- 16. Tony Sok Express Employment Professionals Tony.Sok@expresspros.com (952)915-2022
Editor's Notes
- Resumes can make or break a job search. It’s a critical element in getting an interview, which is a necessary step in landing the job. Building your résumé is a critical part of your job search, and a well-written résumé can help you land your interview. Depending on the position and business, recruiters can receive 25 to 2,000 applications per job. So, let’s take a look today at some tips to help your résumé stand out.
- Your résumé is one of the most critical parts of getting you an interview and job. Tailor your résumé for each job you’re applying for. Highlight your skills in regards to the needs of the position as you understand from the job listing or company/industry. This is where research comes in. Get a detailed job description, and find out all you can about the company. You have two option in general for format: Chronological: most recent job and going backwards. List duties and length of time for each position. Include any training and education. This is the most popular format. Functional: emphasis on achievements and skills over employment history. Begin with your objective, and then list a summary of your skills, followed by a list of jobs you’ve held. Your résumé should be results-oriented in describing how well you performed your previous job tasks. This can be a useful format if you have little experience or have been unemployed for a length of time.
- Be accurate. Providing misleading information can hurt the rest of your career. Be honest about experiences, dates, titles, skills, and education. Make sure your information corresponds with your profile on job boards and social media sites like LinkedIn. Make sure the skills you’re describing are relevant to the job you’re applying for. Keep the format clean and simple. Use Times New Roman or Arial font. Be consistent with abbreviations and spelling, but try to diversify vocabulary. For example, don’t repeatedly use the same word. Keep your résumé to a single page, with references available on a second page.
- As I mentioned, the chronological résumé is the most common and features: Professional Summary The most recent work experience first Education Skills summary
- The functional résumé is skills focused. It’s commonly used when you want to focus on skills and qualities versus a timeline. As mentioned this format works well for recent graduates and those re-entering the workforce, to minimize employment gaps, and when the most recent job isn’t relevant to the job being applied for. It points out what you can do more than what you’ve done and features: A professional profile summary Skills listing Work experience, capabilities Brief work history
- Deciding what to include is the next step in building your resume. Name, email, telephone number with area code, LinkedIn profile information. Write a career summary or profile that highlights what you can offer the employer. Employment history – your last three to five jobs Remember: it isn’t necessary to list every job you’ve ever had or every task in every job you’ve had. Employers are interested in transferable job skills from your recent jobs, covering a time period of no more than 15 years. Don’t just describe what you did, but how well you did it: results. Achievements such as: 200 sales calls weekly brought in an additional 30 clients for the company in the Hamilton surrounding area. (QUANTIFY)
- Demonstrate your skills and experience through an ability to set and meet goals. Be able to communicate this effectively and efficiently. List specific skills, highlight computer hardware and software skills, certifications, and languages. Accomplishments – include awards received and cite specific career milestones. Education – list degrees and certifications. Include volunteer work, relevant internships, or co-operative roles that contribute to your development.
- Use action verbs to describe the who, what, where, when, why, and how of your previous job responsibilities. ie. Maintained employee records Use present tense for current jobs, and past tense for previous jobs (as seen in the chart). Be consistent in verb usage, and have multiple people proof-read for grammar. No one will want to hire you to represent their company or organization if you do not represent yourself well. Your résumé and cover letter is often a potential employer’s first and only impression of you.
- What should you leave off a résumé: Age, marital status, children, health, physical size Picture of yourself Reason for leaving previous jobs Salary requirements Grade point average Hobbies Names of references – make their contact information available as a separate page Use of the pronoun “I” – is too informal Instead of “I ran the front desk and coordinated all incoming phone calls” write, “As front office coordinator, responsibilities included receiving and administering over 600 incoming calls weekly, among other clerical tasks.”
- Purdue University hosts a collaborative Online Writing Lab referred to as OWL and one topic of information is résumés. The quadrant test involves dividing your résumé in half vertically and horizontally, creating four quadrants. Read the top left quadrant first to make sure your most important information is there, then the top right column next. People scan résumés and their eyes flow around, so viewing it in this format helps to ensure your résumé is glance worthy. Using columns or a table (without borders) can also help break up information into an easy flow and quick-read format. Serif fonts include the short stems on the ends of the stroke, like Times New Roman. Sans-serif fonts do not have stems. It’s believed that American audiences are used to serif fonts and their eyes will flow with them. Keep serif fonts at 10 points or more. Sans-serif fonts are normally used for headlines and titles and eyes stop with them, keep them at nine point size or more. Be consistent with your font styles throughout your resume. Examples of san serif fonts are Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, and Charcoal. Serif fonts are Times New Roman, Garamond, Palatino, and Courier. Have someone read your résumé for 20 seconds and ask them what they’ve learned. When recruiters are screening résumés, you often only get 20 seconds. So make sure your format and emphasis is geared for that.
- Resume Formats is a great place to use layout tools like the different fonts, columns, and a quadrant layout. It’s recommended that you use paper with a plain smooth finish and a weight heavier than copy paper but not as heavy as cardstock. A light cream color can work, but steer clear of colored paper. When submitting your résumé online you’ll need to: Create a plain text version of your résumé. In Word, you can go to File, Save As, Plain Text, or just format your résumé with a two-inch right margin and then save it and type in .txt at the end of the file name. To format accordingly, open the .txt version with Notepad or TextEdit and left align the text, replace the bullets with asterisks or plus signs, and capitalize the section titles. When uploading your résumé to career sites you can: Create a PDF version of your résumé, with keywords in the metadata. Adobe offers a tool that allows you to create a PDF for $10 a month. Go to https://createpdf.adobe.com. Once you’ve converted your résumé into a PDF, access the advanced menu, and set your keyword in the document metadata. Ultimately formatting your resume is a personal choice. However, it would be in your best interest to send both versions when applying.
- Don’t use the words I, me, or myself Instead of starting sentences with pronouns, use a verb. Throughout your résumé, use descriptive verbs and clarify results. For example, say, “Streamlined shipping process saving the company over $6,000 a quarter.” Proofread for typos and grammatical errors, and then ask someone else to look over it as well. Chances are, you’ve been working on your résumé for a while so it may need a fresh set of eyes to catch the errors. Ensure your e-mail address and phone numbers are correct. You don’t want an employer to get a wrong number when they call to set up your interview.
- At lifeclever.com you can find the “7 deadly sins of resume design” and learn the dos and don’ts of resume building.
- Finding a job isn’t impossible. But to find the right job, you’ve got to do a little prep-work. We have **** minutes left, so I’d like to open it up for Q & A. AFTER Q&A: Once again, thank you for coming today. If I can assist you in any way with your job search, please feel free to contact me.