Resumes-Make em’ Sizzle!

What Makes A Good Resume?

RESUME

• Consider yourself a product• You are tying to sell your “product” to

employers• Package your product well• show how much you are worth to their

company

WHAT IS A RESUME

• A resume is your calling card• A resume highlights your experience, skills and

accomplishments• A resume motivates an employer to interview you.• A resume communicates your value to an employer

The interview gets the job, the resume gets you the interview!

CRITICAL CATEGORIES

• Contact information• Career (Job) Objective/Statement• Education• Work Experience• Volunteer Experience• Skills and Abilities• Activities• Reference Statement

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Name (largest font)• Address, City and State• Telephone Number• Cell Number• Email Address

• You may want to open an email account specifically for job search. Use appropriate language in the email address. Using your name is appropriate.

• Example: mssmith@yahoo.com

CAREER OBJECTIVE/STATEMENT

• The objective is your marketing slogan-short powerful and descriptive• Keep it short, clean, one powerful sentence

• Just as important as resume-take time to develop it well

• Should tell the reader what you will add to their company or do for them• Seeking to utilize four years cashier

experience, handling high volume cash flow

Sample Objectives• Express your objective in a concise

manner using as few words as necessary

• Use adjectives to describe your work style• Dependable High School cashier• Animated and hard working student who• Vibrant and inventive high school student

EDUCATION• State graduation date or anticipated

graduation date.

• If you attended more then one school list most recent education first.• Do not list middle school

• GPA (if 3.0 or greater)

• Academic honors and relevant classes• Ex: applying to receptionist position-list

computer classes taken or planning to take

Work Experience• Most recent employment first

Include:• Job title• Name of company and city/state• Do not list address or telephone

number• Dates of employment (month/year)• List duties performed/skills learned

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE• Use Volunteer Experience relevant to the

job you are seeking• List duties performed/skills learned

Example:

Vet Tech applicant who volunteered for an animal shelter

Example: management applicant who was president of his class or school group

SKILLS & ABILITIES• Describes accomplishments/skills

acquired through work, school, or other activities.

• Should be relevant to the job you are seeking.

• Tailor your resume to each job that you apply for to ensure your resume shows you have the skill the employer is seeking.• Pick the skills out from the job description

Create your own sizzle sheet

• Create “sizzle sheet” of skills and accomplishments• Be specific with numbers where possible• Start each sentence with a powerhouse

word• DO NOT EXAGGERATE OR LIE

Sizzle Sheet examples• Skill 1: People

• Read to, and play checkers with elderly at nursing home weekly• Helped raise $680 for Students against Drunk Driving• Average, but enthusiastic baseball team member

• Skill 2: Writing• Wrote a 12-page paper• Published in School newspaper• Presented and wrote a 12 minute slide presentation• Researched and wrote an extensive persuasive Research Paper

receiving an “A”• Skill 3: Speech

• Member of Debate club 3-years• Received 1st place at Regional competition• Delivered _____ number of speeches

• Sill 4: Computers• Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook• Type 60+WPM• Repaired teachers broken computer• Earned an “A” in all computer classes

RESUME FORMAT

• Chronological• Most people utilize this format. It follows

your work history backward from your current job, listing employers, dates and job responsibilities.

Chronological Resume

Patricia Jones 1523 15th Street, Apt A8 Washington, DC 20005

202-555-1852

OBJECTIVE: A professional sales position in information processing, where administrative and technical experience, initiative and interpersonal skills can be used to maximize sales. EDUCATION: B.A. in Communication, 1996

George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Courses in interpersonal communication, psychology and public speaking.

Worked full- time, earning 100% of education and personal expenses.

EXPERIENCE: MCT Corporation, Washington, DC, 1989 to present. Office

management and material production responsibilities. Gained proficiency operating in both workstation and central data processing environments.

Complete familiarity with several word processing systems. Planned and reorganized word processing center. Initiated time and cost studies, which saved company $30,000

in labor costs.

Sears Roebuck & Co., Washington, DC, 1989-1988. Sales Associate. Promoted improved community relations with company. Resolved customer complaints. Reorganized product displays. Handled orders.

TECHNICAL SKILLS:

Five years of experience in operating Mag card and high-speed printers: IBM 6240, Mag A, I, II, IBM 6640, and Savin word processor.

Resume Format• Functional

• For someone who has held many jobs or has developed skills the Functional Format is more useful.

• A Functional resume is created without employment dates or company names.

• This format concentrates on skills and responsibilities

Functional Resume ______________________________________________________

PATRICIA JONES 1523 15th Street, Apt. A8 Washington, DC 20005

202-555-1852

OBJECTIVE: A professional sales position in information processing, where administrative and technical experience, initiative and interpersonal skills can be used to maximize sales. SALES/CUSTOMER RELATIONS:

Promoted better community relations between business and community.

Solved customer complaints. Recruited new clients. Reorganized products display. Maintained inventory. Received and filled orders.

PLANNING/ORGANIZING: Planned and reorganized word processing center. Initiated time and cost studies, which saved

company labor cost and improved efficiency of personnel.

Developed and reorganized technical reference room.

Created new tracking and filing system.

TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE: Five years of experience in both workstation and

central data processing environments. Complete familiarity with several word

processing systems.

EDUCATION: B.A. in Communication, 2006 George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.

Courses in interpersonal communication, psychology and public speaking.

Worked full- time, earning 100% of educational and personal expenses.

DO’S OF RESUME WRITING• Format:

• One page-very important• Short phrases, not complete

sentences• Indented or bulleted statements• Bolding, different size fonts• Your name should be largest font on

page

DO’S OF RESUME WRITING

CONTENT:• 90% to 100% of content should relate

to your objective• Action verbs should maintain consistently

intense• Proofread for grammar and spelling (have

someone with good grammar skills do this for you)

• Do not include hobbies unless they relate to your objective

RESUME DON’TS

• Don’t list references

• Don’t list gender or personal information

• Don’t include salary information

Now Stand for Think on Your

Feet