What is a Resume?

…a brief, one to two-page written summary that communicates to the reader your unique combination of… Skills Experience Abilities

It is an Advertisement of the Job Seeker…YOU.

How is a Resume used by YOU? To highlight your unique and

relevant skills, and your relevant experience.

Helps you get an interview by making a good first impression.

Useful for job fairs.

How is a Resume used by an EMPLOYER? Like an application, it is used to

screen out most job seekers. Helps them find people who are

worthy to interview. Quick way to see who possess the

skills their organization/company desires.

Basic Resume Facts

Employers review resumes on average, for 15 seconds.

2 out of 100 resumes will result in an interview.

Things to notice about Resumes Resumes are NOT long.

Keep them around 1 page Do not write paragraphs Get to the point

Writing A Job Objective

Get out a piece of paper…

Objective Statement

1-3 sentence summary of your area of expertise and career interest.

Relate your existing skills directly to the job you are seeking.

Demonstrate what you can do for the company rather than what they can do for you.

Why Write One?

A good objective will… Emphasize key qualifications, skills

and/or goals Help your readers find what they

need to know quickly Make a good first impression

Q: Is this a good objective statement? An internship allowing me to utilize

my knowledge and expertise in different areas.

Objective Statement

Avoid overgeneralized statements: A position allowing me to

utilize my knowledge and expertise in different areas.

Avoid statements that focus only on what a company can do for you: A position where I gain

experience in working on mathematical problems.

Make the statement as specific as possible: A position which

allows me to apply my background in engineering and high performance computing to mathematical problems.

A good objective statement answers these questions. What position are you applying for? What are your main qualifications? What are your career goals? On your sheet of paper, answer

these.

For Practice, fill in the parts in brackets To utilize my [qualifications,

strengths, or skills] as a [position title] A position as a [position title] for

[company name] allowing me to develop my [qualifications, strengths, or skills]

An opportunity to [professional goal] in a [type of organization, work environment, or field]

Resume Do’s

Be neat, clean, and concise. (Few words as possible) Resumes must be typed. If it is barely two pages, knock off the

least important information. This is a summary of your

accomplishments, not an autobiography.

Resume Do’s

Use nice paper Paper with a little weight to it Paper should be white, off-white, or light

gray…NO COLORS Appearances count

The appearance of anything representing you will also say something about you.

Sloppy resume…sloppy employee

Tips To Start Writing A Great Resume 1) START

Use italics and bold lettering to highlight key points

Be creative but not crazy There is no right way to write your

resume

Tips…

2) JUSTIFY YOUR TEXT Don’t just use left align. Justify your text

to make it easier to read and follow.

Tips…

3) CHOOSE A COMMON FONT Times New Roman, Arial, and Verdana

Tips…

4) DO NOT USE THE WORD “I” Start each sentence with a

powerful verb. For example:

 Organized annual student essay and reports for marketing

Implemented production bonus incentives…

Tips…

5) Print resume and read it WORD FOR WORD. Use spell check and grammar check but

DO NOT RELY ON IT!!! Spell check and grammar check is their

for a reason but it doesn’t always catch the mistakes!

Tips…

BE CONSISTENT If you use 4/2009 for the date once, then

don’t use another date in a different form, for example

4/2009 and April 2009

Tips…

USE KEYWORDS. Will receive a handout…

Tips…

DON’T LIE Or sneak keywords on your resume.

Example…