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Résumé Writing Birmingham City Career Development Conference
Birmingham Education Foundation and Birmingham Rotary Club
+Purpose of a Résumé
Your résumé is the first chance you have to make an impression on a future employer. It should convey to the reader your education, commitment, skills and interests.
While résumés should be formal, they should also be eye-catching and unique and convey your personality through subtle manipulations of font and style.
+Résumé Components
n Your résumé should include the following information, when applicable:
n Identification and contact info n Education n Volunteer experience n Work experience n Computer skills n Honors or affiliations
n Optional: n Objective statement n References n Special Skills and abilities, such as mastery of foreign
languages
+Characteristics of Successful Résumés
n Focus on skills. Uses action words to define the responsibilities of your job-related experience.
n Managed staff n Counted money n Oversaw accounts n Translated documents n Planted trees
n Make your résumé easy to read and understand: n Minimize use of abbreviations n Use headings, italics and bolding effectively and appropriately n Bullet points n Use color sparingly
+More Characteristics of Successful Résumés
n List items in chronological order
n Tailor the résumé to the specific job for which you are applying
n Commit to a design that is visually powerful and free of gimmicks
n Fit information into one page, or at most 2 pages
n Check to ensure language is grammatically correct and free of spelling errors
n Use a formal/traditional style
+What Not To Do On Your Résumés
n Do not include a picture of yourself; this puts employers in an awkward position of being unintentionally non-objective and many will just toss them out immediately
n Do not use non-traditional fonts; stick to the basics: n Serif fonts: Times New Roman, Cambria n Non-Serif fonts: Arial, Calibri
n Do not use images, especially clip art: n Images may be appropriate for certain jobs, especially those in
design-oriented fields
n Do not be overly wordy
+How to Make Your Résumé Stand-out
n Use an unusual but readable layout
n Maximize use of headings, through bold, italics and controlled use of color
n Vary use of fonts – but no more than two
n Include a personalized branding logo
n Tailor the résumé to fit the job that you are applying for, both in content and style
Remember, you only have about 10-20 seconds to make an impression on your reader. You must grab his/her attention in a positive way to get his/her to read your full résumé.
Please email your completed résumés to