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BEST PRACTICES FOR RESUME WRITING
Megan Costello // @meggo_costello
Today
¨ Intros: Me and You ¨ Warm-Up:
¤ What are you hearing? ¤ What am I hearing?
¨ Digging in: ¤ Skills-Based Resumes ¤ Examples and Best Practices ¤ Power Verbs ¤ Design Principles
¨ Resources ¨ Wrap-up
About me
About you
• What are you hearing? • My market research*
*Asking the Internet
Warm-up
Let’s talk about resumes.
What do you hear?
Here’s what I hear
3 thoughts: You + the resume
1) “My manager perspective: grades don't matter as much as you hope they do. I want to see what you've DONE. Experience matters a lot more to me than whether you closed with a 3.7 or a 4.0, so be active and involved. Then demonstrate on your resume (or cover letter) the correlation to the job you’re applying for.”
2) “Ditch the ‘objective’ line on the resume, and outline your objectives in the cover letter. The goal is to get you an interview - the successful resumes are ones where I can get enough of a picture of a person that I say ‘I want to know more.’”
3 thoughts: You + the resume
3) Keep a list of all your accomplishments and big projects. Include as many tangible results as possible such as budget, reach, engagement. Screenshots of everything.
3 thoughts: You + the resume
Bonus thought:
“Be curious. Your ideal job might not exist yet.
Never stop learning. LinkedIn FTW!”
Let’s dig in
Skills based
¨ “Marketing vehicle” ¨ 360 degree view ¨ Easily digestible ¨ Connects the dots ¨ Easily read by a computer ¨ Easily adaptable for each
new job
What is it?
¨ “A very succinct, well-organized and easy-to-read bulleted list,” – Me ¤ Your name ¤ Skills summary ¤ (Sometimes a) Skills list ¤ Professional Experience ¤ All the other goodies
(360 degree view à EXPERIENCE)
Let’s walk through better examples
¨ Sample 1 ¨ Sample 2 ¨ Before and After
¤ http://www.megan-costello.com/samples/
Your Name Here
Let’s think like a skills-based resume
¨ Marketing Specialist: http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/WebListing/Unclassified/PVLSummary.aspx?pvl_num=82241
¨ Online Account Manager: https://www.zendesk.com/company/careers?jvi=oLDR0fwZ,Job
¨ Trainer: https://careers.epic.com/Home/ViewPosition?id=167
What else goes in it?
You: A 360 degree view
¨ Volunteer Experience ¨ Leadership ¨ Education ¨ Certifications ¨ Languages ¨ Technical Skills ¨ Publications, Conferences, Trainings ¨ Honors, Awards
What defines, explains, and elevates your experience?
Pulling it together with power verbs
Power verbs à your best friend.
¨ “Wrote a newsletter article.”
OR ¨ “Composed, proofread and edited an
annual print newsletter sent to 55,000 constituents in Wisconsin Representative Megan Costello’s Fifth District.”
Example: Power verbs at work
¨ Strengthened classroom management skills and time management proficiency
¨ Established a thorough understanding for child developmental stages
¨ Mentored two Purdue Art Education students every semester
¨ Designed six lesson plans weekly that included art history and art production
¨ Planned and coordinated art projects that integrated multiple grade
Power verb resources
¨ L&S Career Services: http://careers.ls.wisc.edu/documents/Power_Verbs_8.12.pdf
¨ University of Northern Iowa: http://www.uni.edu/careerservices/students/rcl/docs/actionverbs.pdf
¨ And so many more online!
Design principles
Design principles
¨ Pleasing and attractive: “Do you want to read it?”
¨ Typography: font, size, color, accessibility
¨ PDF please! ¨ Use footers to your
advantage ¨ Margins at 1 (maybe .9) à
don’t cheat! ¨ Use real estate, but don’t
cram
The objective
Me vs. “the Objective”
¨ It’s already known. ¨ Use your cover letter. ¨ Doesn’t help pass the
30-ish second scan. ¨ You have limited real
estate, use it wisely.
Last thoughts
¨ Keep a list of your achievements and accomplishments.
¨ Edit, revise, update à often! ¨ Screenshot. Save! ¨ LinkedIn. ¨ Think digitally à LI, blogs,
websites, portfolios? Pinterest?
