Developing an Effective RESUME

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Developing an Effective RESUME!

• Presented By
• NSU
• Career Services

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Resume Formats

• When creating your resume, you can choose from
  three main formats
  
• 1.) Chronological
• 2.) Functional
• 3.) Combination

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CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME FORMAT

• The chronological format describes each
  educational and work experience.
  
• Education and work experience are listed in
  reverse chronological order.
  
• Dates including month and year must be included.
• Advantages
• Emphasizes career growth
• Highlights your job title
• Is the easiest resume format to read
• Best used when job history shows growth
• Best used when your career direction is clear and
  is directly in line with your work history.
  
• Do not use a chronological format when
• Your work history is spotty
• Changing career goals
• Gaps in employment

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BEGIN WITH YOUR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

• Expected at the top of the resume
• Use your full name
• List how you can be reached
• Provide campus and permanent address if
  necessary
  
• Include home and work numbers and a professional
  e-mail address
  
• Exercise caution before including your mobile
  phone number if you answer it in unprofessional
  places
  

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CAREER OBJECTIVE

• An objective is a statement indicating what kind
  of position you are looking for and what you want
  to do for the organization.
  
• An objective gives direction and focus to the
  resume.
  
• Including an objective is optional.
• A resume without an objective has broader
  applicability.
  
• State your objective in the cover letter in order
  to personalize the resume to each situation.
  
• Objectives can be stated by
• Position sought
• Skills you wish to use
• Functions desired
• Industry specifications
• A combination of the above

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EDUCATION

• List institutions in reverse chronological order
• High school is irrelevant once you possess more
  education
  
• Place activities and honors under education
  rather than in a separate section if they are
  few
  
• As experience relevant to the job objective
  increases, education becomes less important. In
  this case, experience is typically listed before
  education on the resume.

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EXPERIENCE

• Experience should be listed in reverse
  chronological order and should include the
  following information
  
• POSITION TITLE, ORGANIZATION NAME, CITY, STATE,
  DATES EMPLOYED (Include months unless this shows
  big gaps of unemployment )
  

Using bullets, describe your experience and
highlight responsibilities Make sure you use acti
on verbs Avoid repetitive statements like respon
sibilities included
This section can include experience gained from
jobs, volunteer work, class projects or any other
time when you have demonstrated or learned skills
or abilities.
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EXPERIENCE

• You may separate your experiences with different
  headings if you would like to highlight some of
  the following

Education related experience Additional training,
seminars, or workshops Internships or practica
Part-time work or Other experience Other ad
ditional headings will follow
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ADDITIONAL RESUME SECTIONS
Professional Certificates/Licenses
Skills or Abilities Clinical or Specialized Exper
ience Publications/Theses Major Accomplishments
Additional Training/Assistantships Membership/Af
filiations Honors/Awards/Fellowships/Grants Volu
nteer Experience Language or Computer Skills Com
munity Service Research Experience Continuing Ed
ucation
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• Chris Smith
• ? 123 Broward Boulevard ? Ft. Lauderdale, FL ?
  12345 ? 954-555-5555 ? smith_at_aol.com
  
• SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• Eight years experience in the Marketing and
  Advertising industry
  
• Excellent interpersonal and professional skills
  with clients, management, staff, public, and
  media
  
• Successfully developed marketing research for
  consumer needs and demands
  
• Development and participation in presentations
  and marketing plans
  
• EDUCATION
• Master of Science in Business Administration, May
  2002
  
• Nova Southeastern University, Wayne Huizenga
  Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship,
  Ft. Lauderdale, FL
  
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration,
  May 1994
  
• Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Deans List 1992-1994
• EXPERIENCE
• Bradford Department Stores, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

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FUNCTIONAL RESUME FORMAT
The functional format is prepared to highlight
the qualifications and skills of an individual.
2-5 main skill areas are highlighted
Advantages De-emphasizes jobs Decreases responsi
bility repetition best used for career changer U
sed to highlight transferable skills
Effective when you want to play up a particular
skills strength Allows the individual to de-empha
size positions not related to career goals
Do not use a functional format when you have p
erformed a limited number of functions
When you want to emphasize promotions
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GORDON SUMNER 6789 Peters Drive Ft. Lauderdale
, FL 33324 [phone] sumner_at_ncs.nova.edu
MANAGEMENT Hired telephone consultant engineers
, training them in technical and interpersonal
communications. Successfully expanded this group
from three to fifteen. Developed career path stra
tegy and created charts with management for
levels ranging from Telephone Consultants to
Project Engineer. TRAINING Trained over 150 pe
ople, over ten months, including Senior
Executives, Critical Care Area Managers, Sales
Personnel and Field Engineers.
Established task analysis and course objectives
for these trainees. Applied critical judgement an
d professional competence in instructing over 85
field personnel in various locations.
ADMINISTRATION Handled inventory of Technical E
ducation Department. Organized information for bu
dget and delivered to management.
Supervised small group responsible for
maintaining logistics for telephone central
operations. Developed telephone call sheet format
s that were later computerized, resulting in
failure analysis reports now use nationwide.
TECHNICAL Instructed staff on mini and micro co
mputer-controlled biomedical instrumentation.
Developed troubleshooting procedures and charts
on assigned instrumentation for customer and
field service manuals. Served as national technic
al backup to service engineers on existing and
developmental instrumentation.
Performed the operational maintenance,
troubleshooting, repair, retrofit and updating of
in-house production and customer education
instrumentation. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Techn
ical Instructor, South Florida technical Products
Corporation, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
1992 - Present Software Engineer, Smith Compute
r Company, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
1990-1992 EDUCATION BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN COM
PUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS Nova Southeastern Unive
rsity, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, May 1992
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Combination Resumes

• Combines a reverse chronological work history
  with a preceding work summary or outline of
  functional skills related to your career
  objective.
• Advantages
• Emphasizes relevant job skills and qualifications
  at the beginning of the resume
  
• Recommended for transitionary job seekers
• Can re-order your work experience under section
  headings such as Related Experience and Other
  Experience
  
• Same disadvantages as functional resumes

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REBECCA CALDERWOOD 714 East 9th Street Astoria,
New York 11222 Phone [phone] E-mail
RCalderwood_at_msn.com
HEALTHCARE ADMINSTRATOR / PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Experienced administrator with a proven ability
to run successful programs. Proficient at
setting, expecting, and achieving high standards
of quality. Currently direct a facility regarded
as a model program. Respected leader with
excellent team building, communication, and
interpersonal skills.
 EDUCATION  

Master of Science in Health
Administration, Hunter College, New York, NY
1990 Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Union Colleg
e, Schenectady, NY, 1984   EMPLOYMENT   Heartl
and Agency, Woodside, NY Director, 1990 to presen
t Administer program that serves adults with disa
bilities. Manage 5 million in funding. Oversee
more than 50 management, clinical, and direct
care staff members. Devise systems for
admission, discharge, organization, and staffing.
Monitor all facets of the 20,000 square foot
plant and comply with OSHA standards. Ensure
compliance with NYS OMRDD Part 690, 633, 635,
and 624 policies. Key Accomplishments       
   Fostered an environment of teamwork and
cooperation that boosted staff morale.
         Initiated a recruitment campaign that
increased consumer enrollment from 73 to 129.
         Undertook a classroom reorganization
project that improved quality services and
increased consumer independence.
         Developed a positive relationship with
other departments so that all programs work
toward common goals.          Set-up and chair t
he interagency Human Rights and Informed Consent
committees.          Selected to direct a satell
ite program for geriatric consumers.
  United Samaritans, Flushing, NY Program Coordi
nator, 1985 to 1990 Managed department that recei
ved more than 2 million in funding. Hired,
supervised, and evaluated professional and
support staff. Supervised the work activities of
350 consumers in the Extended Rehabilitation
Department. Acted as Director of Rehabilitation
in her absence. Key Accomplishments       
   Secured three new agency programs by
responding to Request for Proposals.
         Prepared statistical reports and
handled external audits for all programs.
         Devised consumer satisfaction survey
that sparked improvements in programming.
         Promoted from Case manager and
maintained a large caseload as Coordinator.
  COMPUTERS   Advanced user of WordPerfect, Mic
rosoft Word, RR Relational Report Writer, Lotus
1-2-3, SPSS, and Microsoft Publisher. Train
colleagues on how to use a computer and provide
technical guidance. Experience with installing
network systems and computer hardware.
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RESUME TIPS

• Resume Length
• Dont make your resume too long
• 1 page preferred. If you extend to 2 pages,
  include your name and page number on all
  subsequent sheets.
  
• Paper Size
• Use standard size paper (8½ x 11)
• Paper Color
• Choose white or ivory colored paper
• Font
• Font Times (New Roman) preferred
• Font Size 12 points preferred, minimum 10.5
• Exception Your name can be up to 16 points
• PROOFREAD
• SPELL CHECK
• UPDATE

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Cover Letter Writing

• Contents of a Cover Letter
• Tips and additional pointers
• Sample Cover Letters

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Contents of a Cover Letter

• Introduction
• Tell them who you are
• State how you heard about them and why you are
  interested
  
• Body
• Sell yourself and you abilities
• Highlight key points of your resume relevant to
  the position your applying for
  
• Explain how you intend to contribute to their
  organization
  
• Closing
• Make it action-oriented
• State how they can reach you
• Thank the employer for their time and
  consideration

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John Balance
178 Green Street Arkadelphia, AR 71999
[phone]
March 12, 2002   Pat Cummings Human Resources D
irector Any Corporation 1140 Main Street Pine B
luff, AR 71601   Dear Ms. Cummings   I am res
ponding to your recent request in the Arkansas
Democratic-Gazette for a Business Consultant. As
you can see from my current background and
educational experience, I am a qualified
candidate for this position.   Currently, I am a
faculty member in the Department of Management
and Aviation Science at Henderson State
University. I am also engaged in several
temporary assignments involving the installation,
conversion, and maintenance of automated
accounting systems, troubleshooting, and
training. I have working knowledge of, and have
taught several applications and operating
systems. This includes, but is not limited to,
the use of electronic spreadsheets (1-2-3, Excel,
Quattro, etc.), and word processing and
accounting (Peachtree, AccPac, Great Plains,
MYOB, Quicken, Quickbooks, One-Write Plus, etc.)
in Windows, Mac, and traditional DOS (IBM/PC)
environments.   In strategic market development,
the ability to assess customer needs relative to
overall market conditions and to respond to them
rapidly is critical for successful business
development. Let me provide you with innovative
approaches to getting the job done based on
action, not words.   I would like the opportunit
y to help you increase your value-added services
and profitability. I look forward to discussing
this further.   Sincerely,     John Balance
    Enc. resume
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Tips and Additional Pointers

• Proofread
• Check for spelling and grammatical errors
• Keep it to one page
• Make sure it is typed
• Match stationary
• Highlight your skills
• Tailor your cover letter (and resume) to the
  employer- This will involve some time and
  research, but it will make your packet stand out.

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Thank You

• Office of Career Services
• [phone]
• career_at_nova.edu
• www.nova.edu/career