Promote yourself through pertinent, unique details that stand out.- Relate your skills and achievements to the job.
Focus on the organization where you want to work.
Get your foot in the door.
These are some objectives of a resume, and an effective resume can do all those things.
But remember, no single resume is a cure all. To have this effective resume you need to:
tailor it for the organization and the job you want,
gear it toward a specific goal,
make it original, and
be willing to prepare a resume to fit each organization and each job.
Before you actually write your resume, consider who will be reading it. Generally speaking, it will be someone who is busy with many details and probably has a number of other resumes to read. You need to design your resume to get that reader’s attention. Give your audience something to remember you by—“The woman who….” or “The man who….” This is one place not to be humble. Think of all your good points and use them to Promote yourself.
Resume Sections
Personal data: Resumes generally use your full name. Does that mean full middle name or just your initial? It is up to you; it is your resume. To be sure that the prospective employer can contact you, both college and permanent addresses are usually included. Also, be sure to include the following:
dates you will be at college and permanent addresses,
the telephone number at each address, and
an email address that you can access at either location.
your personal website address if any
Use only your local address on your resume. It may look like this:
Career Objective: Relate this section directly to the job you want and make sure you tie in the skills you have acquired from particular jobs, outside activities, or your education. Avoid general statements like “opportunity for advancement” or “to acquire people skills.”
Examples:
A position involving the development of management information systems on mini- or microcomputers leading to responsibilities as a systems analyst.
A summer internship with a construction company that requires skills in field engineering, cost controlling, planning, scheduling, and estimating.
Education: Pay attention to placement of information on the page. Use special type or underlining to highlight the features you think are most important. What aspect do you want to emphasize: your degree?
your college? your GPR?
your college? your GPR?
Example: of standard entry
Texas A&M University
Bachelor of Science, May 2001
Major: Civil Engineering; GPR: 3.7/4.0
Texas A&M University
Bachelor of Science, May 2001
Major: Civil Engineering; GPR: 3.7/4.0
Same information, different emphasis:
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, May 2001
Texas A&M University, GPR: 3.7/4.0
You may also include significant courses. Recruiters already know the basic courses taken in your major, so list the course work that is different or the few high-level courses that are really important.
Listing special projects sets you apart and is especially interesting to employers. It may be a research project done for a class or as an outside project. Describe it briefly, giving the most important facts.
Work Experience: Short sentences will highlight your job skills, allowing the employer to picture you as an active person on the job.
List job titles, places worked, and dates.
Use action verbs to describe the work you did.
Example :
Research Analyst
Jon Dear, Inc.; Waterloo, Iowa; Summer 2001
Research Analyst
Jon Dear, Inc.; Waterloo, Iowa; Summer 2001
Supervised 13 assistants gathering information on cows' eating habits
Researched most recent information on cows' nutritional needs
Analyzed data to determine how to reduce number of feeding hours while maintaining nutritional quality
Note: Highlighting job titles is one standard way to arrange the work experience section. However, if your jobs have been for companies that carry a lot of clout in your field, you may want to begin with and highlight the company name.
Skills: Not all resumes include a skills section, but this is a good way to emphasize the skills you have acquired from your various jobs or activities.
List any jobs, club activities, projects, special offices you have had.
Think of skills you have developed from these experiences, i.e., sales: count cash, communicate with customers; Greek house president: lead meetings, negotiate disagreements.
Group your skills under 3-5 basic skills categories that relate to the job you are seeking and use these as skill headings.
List your skills with significant details under the appropriate major heading.
Arrange your skills for their best presentation with headings in order of importance and skills under each heading in their order of importance.
Make sure that you relate all headings and skills to the job you want.
Examples :
Management
led committee to prepare and establish new Memorial Student Center Constitution
evaluated employees' work progress for monthly reports
Communication
wrote weekly advertisements for MSC to appear in Battalion
conducted monthly club meetings for 35 members of MSC OPAS
Programming
analyzed and designed a program to record and average student grades
designed program to record and update items of fraternity's $85,000 annual budget
College Activities: This section points out your leadership, sociability and energy level as shown in your different activities.
List organizations in order of importance.
Add any official position you have had.
Choose activities that support your job objective.
References: List these on a separate sheet of paper that matches your resume. Include the name, address, and, if available, phone number and email address of each reference; then add a sentence that tells your connection with that person. You are not required to include references with your resume, so you may simply add the statement: References available upon request. This sentence allows you to be selective as to who gets your list of references.
Resume Styles: Now is the time to decide the organizational style you want to use for your resume: targeted, functional, chronological, or imaginative. The style you choose depends upon what you want to highlight.
Targeted resumes: Targeted resumes show qualification for one specific job; however, their use is limited to one particular job. Use this kind of resume when you have paid or unpaid experience that relates to the job you want. Begin each entry with your job title highlighted by underlining or boldface print.
List experience in order of importance regardless of chronological sequence.
Make special note of increasing responsibilities, either through job titles, or through descriptive details.
Functional resumes: Functional resumes emphasize specific skills; however, they do not show professional growth.This resume style is especially useful when the skills you've acquired through activities, jobs, or experience are more impressive than the jobs you've had. It uses the SKILLS section described earlier in order to highlight your skills.
Relate your skills headings to the job you want.
Arrange skills and headings in order of importance.
Chronological resumes: Chronological resumes are traditional, acceptable, and show professional growth; however, your special capabilities and accomplishments may be lost, and gaps in your employment history are more obvious. This resume style will highlight your employer's name, so use it if you have worked for an important company, like IBM, but had an unimpressive job title, like asst. clerk.
Begin each entry with the employer's name and your dates of employment.
Use borders or special pictures you create yourself.
Putting It All Together
Now you're ready to play with your resume information to make it work for you, here are some points to remember:
Now you're ready to play with your resume information to make it work for you, here are some points to remember:
Sections: Move sections around to emphasize your important facts. Ask yourself:
Is your work experience more important then your education?
Are your college activities more important than your past jobs?
Space Use: Use "white space" to make your resume look good. First impressions count, so make yours a good one. It can make the difference between the interview file and the circular file.
Headings: Use different kinds of type, underlining, bold face, all capital letters and indention to show your organizing ability.
Length: Many companies prefer one-page resumes; however, this may vary according to your field and career objective. Find out from contacts in the industry or the Career Center.
Color: Some companies prefer resumes on white paper only; however, use your own judgment. Your resume is a representation of YOU.
Color: Some companies prefer resumes on white paper only; however, use your own judgment. Your resume is a representation of YOU.
Now you've got the basics. You're ready to set up the facts and then play with the sections to make your resume a winner. With a high-quality, professional resume, you'll be able to do all the following:
Catch the reader's attention
Give pertinent details
Promote yourself and
Get your foot in the door
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