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Tips on Resume Writing
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:: Preparing a resume ::
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A resume is a one or two page summary of your skills, accomplishments,
experiences, and education designed to capture a prospective
employer's interest. Thermoses of a resume are to secure
an interview. It is the primary tool of your job search
and may take several drafts to prepare effectively. This
article is designed to assist you by offering suggestions
and guidelines for you to use as you construct, write and
print your resume.
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::
Building An Effective Resume ::
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:: Self-Assessment
Before you can write an effective resume, you must first
be able to identify your skills and abilities as well as
your special needs relating to the work environment, salary,
geographic location, and people environment. This step will
help you to develop a career objective. The following exercises
will help you identify some things about yourself, which
you may want to express in your resume.
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| :: Self-Assessment Exercise
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* List at least 10 skills which you have developed in each
of the following areas: Education/Work/Internships or Volunteer/Extracurricular.
Use action words to develop one-liner summaries.
* Circle each of the skills noted in part
A that you would like to use in your employment. Are there
other talents you possess that you would like to use on
the job? If so, add them to the list of circled skills.
Now rank these skills in order of those you most want to
use.
* Make a list of what you consider to be
5 great accomplishments in your life. What personal qualities
helped you reach each goal?
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| :: Career Exploration |
Collecting information regarding the required skills and
qualifications of occupations, which interest you, is an
extremely important step. This information will help you
decide if and how these requirements relate to your own
skills and needs. Using the books available at your institution's
career center or making an appointment with a counselor
can be helpful in identifying and exploring careers and
can also help you in developing a career objective.
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:: Writing The Resume ::
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| As you organize
your resume, keep in mind the needs of the employer who
will be reading it. Consider what s/he is looking for in
a candidate and make it easy for the reader to pick out
those skills by selecting appropriate categories, using
underlining, boldfacing or capitalizing and presenting relevant
experience and skill areas higher on the page. Competencies
Sought by Employers illustrates common transferable skills
and qualities.
Keep in mind the following suggestions as you begin
developing your resume:
* Sell yourself. Create a good first impression by highlighting
skills and abilities appropriate to the position.
* Use active language. Check out our on-line
list of action words to spice up your resume. Articulate
marketable skills acquired through your positions.
Examples: Salesperson, Smith Shoe Store, and Portland, Maine.
Assisted clients with selection of shoes, developed and
promoted special marketing events, trained new employees,
monitored cash. Store increased in sales by 7 percent in
6-month period.
* Be consistent. Choose a pattern of spacing,
an order of information presentation or a format of highlighting
and be consistent throughout.
* Present information in reverse chronological
order within categories. List education and work experiences
starting with the most recent first.
* Check for grammar. Misspellings and poorly
constructed sentences communicate negative impressions about
a candidate.
* Ensure that your resume is neat and visually
appealing. Choose high quality paper in white, off-white
or other conservative colors. Have the final version professionally
reproduced.
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:: Make Your
Resume Unique :: |
Feel free to develop your own categories to highlight your
special relevant experiences and skills. It is frequently
useful to separate your related or professional experiences
from your other work experience by creating separate categories
for these content areas. In this way, you can call more
attention to your relevant skills by putting them in categories
closer to the top of the resume so they are read first.
Examples:
* Related Experience
* Related Courses
* Community Volunteer Work
* Workshops & Conferences Attended
* Technical Skills
* Special Skills
* Computer Skills
* Certificates
* Travel
* Leadership
* Accomplishments
* Professional Memberships
* Language Proficiencies
* Additional Information
* In place of Related Experience you might wish to indicate
your field of experience in the category heading.
* Business Experience, Engineering Experience, Human Services
Experience, Sales Experience, etc.
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::
Resume Content Areas ::
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| The
following categories can be used as guideline to assist
you in organizing a resume. In constructing a rough draft,
do not be concerned with length. Remember, categories may
be omitted or added in later revisions. There is no absolute
correct way to organize your resume. Creativity is encouraged.
The following are descriptions of the basic categories of
the standard resume:
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Name, Address and Telephone::
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Present yourself with the name you use in your personal
and business life (nicknames should be avoided). If you
have a campus address that does not apply during vacations
or after graduation, you should present both a college and
permanent address. Use your parents' home address, a post
office box, or someone who will know where to contact you
at all times. Also, always include phone numbers with area
codes. If you have an e-mail address, you might want to
include that as well.
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:: Objective or Profile ::
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The
objective is one of the most important parts of a resume
and should not be overlooked. It informs potential employers
that you are moving in a certain direction, relates your
work preference(s), and serves as a focal point from which
to review and analyze your resume. It should be brief, clearly
stated, and consistent with the accomplishments and demonstrated
skills as documented on your resume. If you are considering
more than one professional goal, you should consider developing
more than one resume, each presenting a different objective.
Examples:
* Position within a financial institution requiring strong
analytical and organizational skills. The profile is an
alternative to an objective statement. It gives you the
opportunity to present your strengths at the very beginning
of the resume.
* Profile Marketing...Finance...Management
* Eager to contribute to the growth of
a progressive company with quality products or services.
* Qualified by business education, customer service and
administrative experience.
* Professional appearance and advanced interpersonal communication.
* Highly motivated, strong work ethic; available as needed
for training, travel, overtime, etc.
* Financed 80% of college tuition and expenses; additional
20% through scholarships.
* In writing the major areas of your resume,
it is important to emphasize your abilities and accomplishments
more than past duties. You may also want to indicate how
well you performed. This will help infuse personal qualities
such as character and personality into your resume.
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:: Education ::
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| This
category is particularly important if you have not had a
great deal of work experience. Remember, your most recent
educational experience should be listed first. Include your
degree (A.S., B.S., B.A., etc.), major, institution(s) attended,
date of graduation, minors or concentrations, and any special
workshops, seminars, related coursework or senior projects.
A G.P.A. of higher than a 3.0 (either overall G.P.A. or
G.P.A. in major) should also be noted here.
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::
Work Experience ::
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Many students have limited paid work experience,
but have been involved in volunteer, internship, practicum
or student teaching work experiences. The important point
to the employer is what your skills are and what you can
do on the job. Be sure to include all significant work experience
in reverse chronological order. Note to teacher candidates:
be sure to include your student teaching experience on your
resume.
You should include: (1) the title of your
position, (2) name of organization, (3) location of work
(town, state), and (4) dates (ex. Summer 1994; 1994-95 academic
year) you should describe your work responsibilities with
an emphasis on achievements using action words to communicate
your skills. List the most important and related responsibilities
first. Identify the most relevant work experiences and describe
them fully. Be brief with the irrelevant experiences or
omit them. It is sometimes useful to divide your work experience
into two categories: Relevant Experience and Other Experience.
You may want to add that work was performed to earn a certain
percent of college expenses. Example: Earned 75% of college
expenses through the following part-time jobs.
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::
Additional Information ::
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This
category is useful for displaying information that doesn't
fit in any other category. Although Interests, Computer
Knowledge, and Activities can be separate categories, especially
if they are very strong, they can be listed here as well.
Languages spoken, or any extra, relevant bit of information
can be placed here as well.
Interests: This is sometimes
used to evaluate your suitability to a geographic area or
to understand your "personality type". Include
this section if you have available space. Include social
or civic activities, health and fitness or sports activities,
or hobbies, which indicate how you spend your leisure time.
Computer Knowledge: If using computers is a necessary skill
for the job you are seeking, be sure to highlight your knowledge
in this section. Example: Software: Lotus, dBase III, WordPerfect
5.1, Microsoft Word, Excel, SAS, Real World Accounting Hardware:
IBM 3090 Mainframe, AT&T 386, IBM PC, Macintosh Activities,
Honors, and Leadership are also important categories to
include. If the activities involved work responsibility,
note it in some detail. The employer is interested in the
skills you have developed whether through volunteer or paid
experiences. If you were elected to offices or committees,
mention it. Recognition and demonstration of leadership
roles are valuable.
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References ::
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Be sure
to ask individuals if they would be willing to be a reference
for you prior to mentioning their names to prospective employers.
Names of individuals are not usually listed on the resume
(unless there is space available at the end), but you should
prepare a typed list of three references to provide at the
interview. This list should include name, title, employer,
address, business and home telephone number. You may also
state at the bottom of your resume "References furnished
upon request."
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