Learn how to build a resume that stands out.

1. DYNAMIC RÉSUMÉS

3. As a working professional, you don’t want your resume
to look like this…

4. Dale Terry
2015—forever WritersDomain—Freelance Writer
• Write articles on topics ranging
from dentistry to rotary lobe
pumps.

5. In order to land private clients or move into your
“dream job,” you need to TELL YOUR STORY rather
than just list stuff you’ve done.

6. And a dynamic
resume is the tool to
help you get there.

8. Résumé
a

9. A resume is not an all-inclusive
autobiography. Its purpose is to
highlight your relevant
accomplishments.

10. Basics

11. Be careful of “this is how to do a
resume.” Everyone will tell you
exactly how to make the best
resume. There’s no magic bullet, but
there are effective principles.

12. personal info

13. You’ll find that the WD guidelines are very
applicable in a few different ways. Keep
this in mind as you go through this
presentation.

14. WD guidelines
→ Organization
→ Headers
→ Consistent tense
→ Parallel
→ Consistent tone/voice
→ Succinct
→ White space/scannable
→ Proofread

15. Sections

16. OBJECTIVE
Just get rid of this section. This
may have helped guide you when
creating a resume for a class, but
if you’re submitting a resume to
an employer, clearly your
objective is to get a job with that
company. The resume is not the
place for personal statements and
10-year plans.
Exception: resumes for grad
school. Schools may want to see
what your plan is.

17. PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE
Rank by recency and within that
recency rank by relevancy.
Tailor to job needs
Describe past functions and
titles in the language of your
target industry
Don’t exaggerate
Highlight specific skills pertinent
to the position. Leave some for
the interview (but not anything
important).
*Write for the job you want

18. VOLUNTEER
Recent
Relevancy not as vital
Show involvement
Show diversity
You can split paid and volunteer
experience, or you can just have a
section titled “Experience” and
group them together. The latter
option may be preferable for
those who do not have strong
professional experience yet.

19. EDUCATION
Degree(s)
Years
School(s)
Emphasis: maybe
Classes: no
Associates: no (unless it’s
your highest degree)

20. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
If it’s relevant, then
definitely include it. If it’s
not, include it only if very
notable.
Recent
Short explanation if needed

21. SKILLS
Once again, watch your wording.
“Proficient in” is not necessary. If
you’re not proficient, then don’t
put it on your resume.

22. ACCOUNT FOR GAPS
Gaps in professional
experience are a compelling
reason to include volunteer
work on a resume. It helps
clear up if you spent the last
year playing Word of
Warcraft in your parents’
basement or if you built
houses in Haiti.

23. WORD CHOICE
• Responsibilities
include/responsible for
• Results-oriented
• Creative
• Seasoned x
• Passionate (we’ll see on
FB/Instagram)
• Guru/expert/ninja
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong words
• Buzzwords/keywords that relate
to the job position
• Industry language
• Be smart

24. WORD CHOICE
• Responsibilities
include/responsible for
• Results-oriented
• Creative
• Seasoned x
• Passionate (we’ll see on
FB/Instagram)
• Guru/expert/ninja
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong words
• Buzzwords/keywords that relate
to the job position
• Industry language
• Be smart

25. Format

27. Have a pattern and a style. Don’t
use Times New Roman or Calibri.
Those are default fonts. At least
go to the effort of choosing a
different (professional) font.

28. Let’s look at an example

29. This resume…
is well organized
has white space
has clear sections
…and is bleeding boring.

30. Think about this like the articles
you write: your information is
good and your format is
professional. But does it look like
all of the other dentist resumes
the employer has seen?

31. That said, your resume
doesn’t have to be intense.
Perhaps in the graphic
design industry, you need
something like this to
compete. But in the general
world, this is overkill.

32. Rather, find a happy medium of
different and simple. Both of the
following examples have a bit of color,
a different organization, and can be
done in Microsoft Word. And they
don’t look like the 100 other resumes
on your potential employer’s desk.

35. Just remember your
AUDIENCE

36. What would you want to look at and
what will set you apart?

37. Make your content
→Engaging
→Unique
→Content-filled
→Error free

38. Think about the delivery. If you’re
emailing, send a PDF. That way
formatting will be preserved.
Exception: if your potential
employer specifies a file type, use
that file type.

39. If you are submitting an
electronic version, don’t copy and
paste your resume. You need a
different version that specifically
works electronically. Formatting
rules are all different and you
want to use keywords that
someone using ctrl + F can find.