Resumes and Beyond…

What Will a Resume Do For Me?

•Ultimate goal: To gain an interview!

•A marketing tool to answer the employer’s question:

What can you do for me?

What do employers look

for when reviewing resumes?

RESUME STYLES

Chronological • Lists work experience beginning with the most recent

• Highlights career growth and development

• Emphasis placed on duties and responsibilities related to each job

Functional • More focus on qualifications and less on

past employers or job progression

• True functional resume contains no dates

• May be beneficial to someone just entering the job market with little work experience or not wanting to make their age obvious

Combination• Focus is on the skills and abilities that

you have gained that would relate to the job you are applying for

• Combines the flexibility and strengths of the chronological and functional resume formats

Scannable Resumes

• Text Based-no bullets or symbols

• Employers use a database to quickly and efficiently match job openings with qualified applicants

• Employers search by using keywords or phrases that describe the skills and education required for the position

How Do You Paste Your Word Resume Document Into a Website Resume Box for

Online Applications?

http://www.sutteronestop.com/pdf/ScannableResumeInstructionsSamples.pdf

The Nuts and Bolts of Your Resume

• Font: Traditional business style-Arial, Courier, Times New Roman

• Point size of letters should be 11 or 12 for most text and 14 or 16 for headings

• Bolds, italics, underlines, bullets and capitalizations should not be used often

Content of Your Resume

• Name

• Phone Numbers

• Email

• Education

Resume Don’ts• Personal information such as height, weight,

age, date of birth, marital status, sex, race, health, or social security number

• The word “Resume” at the top of the page • Statement of when available• “I” or “My” statement s• Reasons for leaving previous positions• Photographs • Graphics

More Resume Don’ts• Exaggerations/Lies• Jargon/Slang• Abbreviations not easily identified• Salary History or Salary Expectations• Inaccurate dates of employment• Reference Names• Religion, church affiliations, political

affiliations

Transferable Skills• The skills you have acquired throughout your

life-jobs, volunteer work, classes, hobbies, sports, parenting-that can be used in your next job

• Think of everything you have done in terms of how it is transferable to the job you are applying for

• To know what skills to emphasize:• Research the company and the job of interest

Soft Skills

• Skills related to your attitudes and behaviors that will show your potential for growth and team work skills (personality and social characteristics)

• “People Skills”-not technical skills

• Employers want to know: Do you “work and play well with others?”

What is a Summary of Qualifications?

• Three or four brief statements that say why you are the right candidate for the job you are applying for

• Statements should include experience and skills (transferable and soft) that relate to that particular job expressing your value to the employer

Accomplishment Statement

• Highlights experience you have had in your work or volunteer activities where you were successful

• Informs an employer of actions you took to handle a situation and the results that you achieved

References

• Don’t bother with generic “letters of recommendations”

• Never list names of references on your resume

• Use good judgment when choosing references

• Get permission• Collect all the details for each reference• Keep you references informed• Thank your references

Applications

• Read and follow directions carefully• Have your own black ink pen• Always carry a copy of your resume• Fill in all spaces; use N/A if it does not

apply• Salary-use “company policy”,

“negotiable”, “flexible”

Applications

• Be positive on all employment information-include gaps in employment and reasons for seeking employment

• Always state specific job title instead of putting “anything”

• Always go dressed as if you would be interviewed

• Review for accuracy

• Do not put “see resume” on employment history section-complete all information requested!

Tips for Ex-Offenders• The first question most often faced on an application form is:

“Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If yes, give details.”

• Recommended best response: Be truthful by putting “yes” and then follow up by putting “will provide details at the interview.”

• Include a reference who can testify to how you have turned your life around-such as a prison minister, education officer, parole officer, psychologist

• Seek jobs with employers who are known to work with ex-offenders

Cover Letters• Any time you send your resume to an

employer it should be accompanied by a cover letter

• Acts as an introduction for your resume

• A sample of your writing skills

• Should not repeat what is in your resume

Cover Letter Tips

• Target the letter to the specific job

• Business letter format

• Send to appropriate person

• Use as a tool to highlight skills

• Check spelling and grammar

Tips for Individuals with Disabilities

• Volunteer activities can lead to paid employment and can provide good work experience to be included on your resume

• Consider staffing agencies to obtain work history and experience

• Identify the most critical work-related barriers to employment to assist in deciding what jobs to apply for

• Identify your strengths and focus on jobs in which you can use these strengths to benefit the company you are wanting to work for

Career Ready 101 • Keytrain Career Skills :

• Effective Resumes (Writing an Electronic Resume)

• The Application Process (Applying Online)

• Finding Your Career: Writing a Resume

www.careerready101.com/

National Career Readiness Certificate

• Nationally recognized certificate that allows an individual to show employers that he or she has the basic skills they are seeking

• Needs to be referenced on resume in Education section

• Three skill areas: • Reading for Information • Applied Mathematics • Locating Information

• Skill levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum

• Keytrain Practice

Online Resources

• www.quintcareers.com

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu

• www.rileyguide.com

• http://careeronestop.org

QUESTIONS

WRAP UP/REVIEW

What’s Next?Developing Your Resume in the

Action Lab

www.onetcodeconnector.org

AB&T WISHES YOU MUCH SUCCESS