How to Create a Resume
How
Do I Begin?
Self Assessment
It is
important that your resume is reflective of your personal skills and
strengths. To write a good resume, you need to spend some time
thinking about the skills you have that would make an employer want to
hire you. These skills can vary according to the job you're applying
for. Think about how you would answer the following question if asked
by an employer: "Based upon your past work experience, class projects,
or other activities, why are you the most qualified person for this
job?" Your answer to that question is the message that you need to
communicate in your resume. On your resume, be sure to highlight the
areas where you've demonstrated skills that employers place the
highest priority on: verbal and written communication skills, teamwork
skills, organizational skills, interpersonal skills, analytical
skills, computer skills, and motivation/initiative.
If you feel that
you do not have any strengths or skills, then you need to seriously
work on developing some before sending your resume to employers! If
you do not have a lot of relevant work experience, you should try to
obtain an internship (even an unpaid one) or volunteer your time for a
campus or off-campus organization. Create opportunities in which you
will be able to develop the main skills that employers desire.
What
Style of Resume is Recommended?
A popular style of resume is the Combination Resume. Job seekers
using this style of resume will include an overview or summary of
qualifications at the beginning, in which they stress their skills and
characteristics appropriate for the position, but they revert to the
reverse chronological style for the remainder of the document. This
overview section is used to "set the scene" so that the resume is read
from a particular perspective. This is useful to strongly stress
certain areas.
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Resume
Pointers
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- Visual
effect is important!
- Content
should be solid.
- Professional appearance.
- Quantify when possible.
- Employ
white space.
- Use
action verbs!
- Use
technology effectively.
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- Show
results of your actions.
- Print
on good quality paper.
- Be
brief but informative.
- Accuracy is critical!
- Proofread and proofread again! And then have someone else
proofread it!
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What to Include
What
kind of Personal Information should be included?
Include your name, address, phone, and e-mail address if desired. A
permanent address and/or telephone number where you can also be
contacted after you graduate is especially important during your
transition from college to your new location.
What
tips do you have for writing the Objective Statement?
Although having an objective is optional, most employers prefer that
you have an objective on your resume. The objective should enable them
to quickly see what type of job you would be interested in at their
company.
What the
objective should communicate:
The position you are applying for. If you are unsure of the exact
position or are using the resume at a career fair, it should specify
the general area that you're interested in (e.g., human resources).
You may also choose to refer to the main skills that you would apply
in that position.
What to do if
considering different jobs:
If considering going into two different areas (e.g., sales or computer
programming), you'll want to have two different resumes, with
different objectives on each, that emphasize your skills and
experience for that area.
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Some
Sample Objectives:
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- An entry
level position in marketing management in a large East Coast
company in the consumer products industry.
- Utilize
my organizational and interpersonal skills as a Project Manager
- An entry
level position in the newsroom, leading to writing, reporting,
or producing of broadcast news.
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How
do I list my Education?
By listing your college education, employers will assume that you have
graduated from high school or completed your GED, so do not include
high school information. When you list your college information, be
certain to include your degree, the name of college, major(s), minor(s),
emphasis, date of graduation, and your GPA if it is above a 3.0. Write
your G.P.A. as out of a possible 4.0 (e.g., GPA: 3.83/4.0.) If you are
a transfer student, include your information from previous colleges as
well in the same fashion.
How
important is it to include Computer Skills?
In this day and age, employers want to know what computer skills you
have. List software you know as well as hardware.
Listing Experience
Relevant
Experiences:
Begin with experiences that relate to your job objective. Use bullet
points to highlight your major accomplishments and tasks in each
position you held. Begin each phrase with an action verb, NEVER
starting the phrase with "Responsible for…" Emphasize what you did in
each position that would relevant for the job you're applying for. As
much as possible, quantify what you did (e.g., "surpassed sales goal
by 10%"). Think of the following areas:
- Internship(s):
Describe your key accomplishments and responsibilities, the type of
environment you were in, experience with computers,
industry-specific tools, etc.
- Part-Time
Work or Summer Jobs: Consider what skills you gained from these
experiences, rather than what duties you had. Consider the
environment and transferable skills. For example, if you had three
part-time positions and they all involve sales or customer service,
highlight the fact that you are successful in sales or customer
service in three different industries, each of which requires a
different base of knowledge.
- Volunteer
Experience:
These experiences can be very valuable as they show your commitment
to helping others; they can also show your leadership skills.
-
College-Related Activities: Include descriptions of skills you
have gained and used in various leadership positions on campus or
otherwise. Leadership skills are among the top skills sought by
employers. A prospective employer wants to hire a total person and,
therefore, will be interested in your activities outside the
classroom. List scholarships by name, Dean's List, positions in
organizations, and sports, with dates following each.
- Class
Projects:
If you have limited work experience, list class projects you've
completed (e.g., developing a website) that would be relevant for
the job you're targeting.
| On your
resume, you should have around 5-6 headings. These are the key
sections you need to have on your resume: |
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Objective,
Education, Work Experience, Activities, Awards
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- The
actual headings you use depends on what best fits the
information you're presenting. For example, if you have a few
awards, list those under a separate section. If you only have
one honor (e.g., Dean's List), that can be put under your
education.
- Instead
of using the general heading "Work Experience," it can be much
more effective to use a heading that is specific to the area
you're going into (e.g. "Teaching Experience" or "Public
Relations Experience").
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Ideas for Using Action Verbs on Your Resume
Communication
or People Skills
addressed, arbitrated, arranged, authored, briefed, communicated,
composed, contacted, convinced, described, developed, directed,
documented, drafted, edited, enlisted, formulated, influenced,
informed, interpreted, interviewed, lectured, marketed, mediated,
moderated, motivated, negotiated, persuaded, presented, promoted,
publicized, published, reconciled, recruited, reported, spoke,
summarized, translated, wrote
Creative
Skills
acted, composed, conceived, conceptualized, conducted, created,
designed, developed, directed, established, fashioned, founded,
illustrated, improvised, instituted, integrated, introduced, invented,
originated, performed, planned, revitalized, shaped
Financial
Skills
accounted for, adjusted, administered, allocated, analyzed, appraised,
audited, balanced, budgeted, calculated, computed, controlled,
developed, financed, forecasted, managed, marketed, monitored,
planned, procured, projected, purchased, reconciled, researched
Management
or Leadership Skills
administered, analyzed, appointed, approved, assigned, assumed,
attained, chaired, contracted, consolidated, consulted, delegated,
designated, determined, developed, directed, evaluated, executed,
formulated, managed, organized, oversaw, planned, prioritized,
produced, recommended, recruited, scheduled, supervised
Organizational
or Detail Skills
approved, arranged, catalogued, classified, collected, compiled,
consolidated, dispatched, distributed, enlisted, executed, expedited,
generated, implemented, inspected, monitored, operated, organized,
prepared, processed, purchased, recorded, revamped, revised,
retrieved, scheduled, screened, specified, systematized, tabulated,
updated, validated
Research
Skills
acquired, analyzed, calculated, clarified, collected, compared,
conducted, critiqued, diagnosed, designed, determined, evaluated,
examined, extracted, formulated, identified, inspected, interpreted,
interviewed, investigated, located, modified, organized, processed,
reviewed, researched, summarized, surveyed, systematized
Results
achieved, accelerated, accomplished, attained, awarded, completed,
contributed, decreased, eliminated, enlarged, established, expanded,
improved, increased, initiated, introduced, launched, pioneered,
recognized as, reduced, resolved, selected as, succeeded
Teaching
Skills
adapted, advised, applied, clarified, coached, communicated,
coordinated, developed, enabled, encouraged, evaluated, explained,
facilitated, guided, implemented, incorporated, informed, initiated,
instructed, integrated, modified, motivated, persuaded, reinforced,
set goals, stimulated, taught, trained, tutored
Technical
Skills
assembled, built, calculated, computed, designed, devised, engineered,
fabricated, maintained, operated, overhauled, programmed, remodeled,
repaired, solved, trained, upgraded
.
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