HOW TO WRITE A RESUME

http://www.tamuk.edu/csc/studentservices/HOW_TO_WRITE_A_RESUME.ppt

Are There Any Absolute Rules of Resume Writing?

• Yes, but only a few! Almost every rule you have ever heard can be broken, if you have a very good reason.   Some rules, however, are absolutes, including:

– No typing errors

– No errors in spelling

– No lying or grandiose embellishments

Are There Any Absolute Rules of Resume Writing?

– No negative information should be included

– Include only relevant information

– Never be more than two pages long

What Are the Sometimes Breakable Rules of Resume

Writing?• Resumes should be about one page, however this is not an

absolute rule. You may go to two pages IF:

– you have the right combination of experience and education.

– you have 5-10 years of experience

If you cannot fill two entire pages, you should condense it to

one page.

How Do I Get Started? 

1. Get a job announcement or description for the job, you are seeking

2. Gather together job descriptions from your past positions.

3. List what things friends/relatives/peers come to you for help with. This may assist you in identifying strengths you would not otherwise recognize in yourself.

What Must I Have on My Resume?  

• Name

•  Address

•  Phone number

•  Objective

•  Education

•  Profile or Summary of Qualifications

•  Experience

What Else Can Be Included on My Resume?

• Licenses/Certifications

• Accomplishments/Achievements

• Affiliations/Memberships

• Activities and Honors

What Should Never Be on My Resume? 

• Height, weight, age, date of birth, place of birth, marital status, sex, race, health or social security number

• The word "Resume" at the top! • Any statement that begins with "I" or "My" • Reasons for leaving previous job(s) • Picture of yourself • Salary Information for previous positions or Salary

Expectations • Reference names• Religion, church affiliations, political affiliations

Do I need an OBJECTIVE? 

• YES, it tells the reader why you are sending the resume, i.e., what position or type of position you are seeking.

• It should be very brief, does not need to be a complete sentence.

• An objective is like the thesis statement of your resume. Everything you include after it should support it!

• Ideally target your objective to include job title desired, position level, and/or school name. If you are sending this resume for a specific position at a specific school - SAY IT HERE!

• Use the objective to tell what you can do for the school, NOT what you want the school to do for you… no statements like: to gain valuable experience, etc.

Summary of Qualifications / Profile / Skills Section

• This is where you showcase for the employer what you have to offer - keeping in mind what the job entails.

• You won't put every single skill, experience, or attribute you possess here, focus on what you can do to successfully perform the job.

• Tailor this section to reflect what the employer is seeking, different positions will warrant that you create different qualifications sections.

• These are brief statements of your experience, training and/or personal abilities which summarize your skills, abilities and experience.

• Qualifications are more experience-based whereas Profiles are more personal attributes

Developing a Summary of Qualifications / Skills / Profile -

STEP ONE• Begin by identifying your strengths, skills, abilities gained

through past employment or campus organization or classroom experience. 

• List job duties, one at a time, from past jobs • From these duties, identify what transferable. Remember,

typically an employer doesn't want to know what you did for someone else. S/he wants to know what you can do for his/her organization.

• If there was a result (an accomplishment) related to the job duty, put it in. This information may or may not be included in the Summary area, but would probably be used under the specific job to illustrate your on-the-job success in the Work History section of the resume.

Developing a Summary of Qualifications / Skills / Profile -

STEP TWO

• Now that you know what you can do, it is time to identify what the employer needs

– This can typically be determined by thoroughly reading the job description and/or position vacancy announcement. Look at job duties, position requirements and preferences, desired traits, knowledge/skills/abilities.

Developing a Summary of Qualifications / Skills / Profile -

STEP THREE

• Employer Skills Match - develop your Qualifications or Skills section by matching up what the employer needs with what you can provide.– These are brief statements of your experience, training and/or personal

abilities.

– They should highlight what you have to offer an employer (based on what the position requires.)

– Begin each with an action verb or number, being sure to choose different words to begin each statement.

• Subheadings can be used, if appropriate, i.e., computer skills, customer service skills, etc.

How Do I List Jobs Within the Experience Section?  

• Job listing should be in reverse chronological order (your most recent job is listed first.)

• Listing must include name of company, city and state. Do not list street addresses, supervisors, telephone numbers or reason for leaving.

•  Dates of employment are required. Be sure to include month and year. 

• There is no rule about which jobs you must include. Use your discretion and include everything needed for the employer to make a good decision about whether or not to interview you.

• Another approach might be to only include the relevant positions you've had and name the section Related Experience or Relevant Work History or something similar.

How Do I List Jobs Within the Experience

Section?• List a job title so the employer has an idea of the work you

performed. If you didn’t have an official title, choose one that best describes what you actually did at this job.

• Typically job duties should not be included here unless they are highly relevant to your objective. Even then do not include duties which are implied by your job title or alluded to in the Summary of Qualifications or a Profile section. However, job accomplishments SHOULD be listed as bullet statements under each position as applicable.

I Need My Resume to Distinguish Me From Everyone

Else, How Do I Do That?

• Spend some time up front to determine what you have to offer and what you are worth to an employer.

• DON'T use the resume wizard or template from your word processing software or copy the samples from this workshop! This document needs to be uniquely you - you don't want to look like anyone else's.

• Answer the question, "Why am I more qualified than the next guy?" Then develop your resume to reflect that.

• DON’T try to distinguish yourself by fancy fonts, clipart or non-traditional papers. That is not the interest you want to capture!

What Are the Type/Design Details I

Most Need to Know and Follow? 

• Make use of your word-processor's style elements. Use bold, italics, different font sizes, upper-case and small capitals lettering for emphasis and to direct the reader's eye.

• Type should be between 10 & 12 pt. We suggest using a professional, readily-available font such as Times New Roman, Arial, Bookman, Trebuchet, Lucida Sans, Garamond, Verdana or Courier. 

• Be consistent with headings (size, boldness, etc.) and body text

(indented, not indented, tabs right-justified, tabs left-justified, etc.)

What Are the Type/Design Details I

Most Need to Know and Follow? 

• Make sure your resume looks good! Don’t have all the text on the left side of the page and lots of blank space on the right. Use white space, but also spread out your information in an aesthetically pleasing way.

• Use bullets to draw the reader’s eye. But don’t bullet everything! Use them to highlight the strong points of your resume such as the Qualifications or Profile statements.

What About Paper? 

• Use resume paper. This can be purchased by the sheet at a print shop or by the box at any office supply or discount store.

• Don’t get fancy – plain white or off-white (cream, ecru, etc.) is your best bet.

• As noted earlier, don’t go with any bordered or themed paper. You want the attention on your resume content not on it’s vehicle!

When & Why Do I Need a

Cover Letter?• Any time you send your resume to an employer it should be accompanied by a cover letter.

• A cover letter acts as an introduction for your resume.

• A cover letter also stands as a sample of your writing skills, so be sure to make it the best possible sample you can.

• If you are sending your resume via email - the cover letter is the email message itself. Then attach the resume following the employer's instructions