Resumes

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Resumes Cover letters

• Sandy Brown
• Career Services Center
• Old Main 280
• [phone]
• www.careers.wwu.edu

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LETS FACE IT

• There is a lot of conflicting advice out there
  about resume writing
• While there is no format that will work for every
  employer we have included the most popular
  guidelines that are generally accepted by most
  employers

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What is the purpose of a resume?

• The resume is a tool with one specific purpose
  to win an interview
• It convinces the employer that you have the
  experience and the skills
• It isnt a history of your past, a personal
  statement or self expression.
• It IS marketing your skills for future potential

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Target Your Resume!

• Research companies
• www.workforceexplorer.com
• Research positions
• WorkSource.com
• Onet
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
  (bls.gov)
• Network
• Information interviews

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WHAT IS A TARGETED RESUME?

• keywords and content will match you with the
  job, industry, career field, and employer.

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Resume Formats

• Chronological or historical
• Highlights past job titles,
  accomplishments
• Works well if you have relevant
• professional experience
• Combination Resume
• Emphasizes skills and related job titles
• Relevant experience can include volunteer
  class projects/courses
• Skill-based (Functional)
• Emphasizes skills rather than job titles
• Works well if you have limited relevant
  job history or are changing careers.

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Resume sections

• Qualification Summary-what is it?
• A brief paragraph or bullets that showcases your
  most effective skills and experience as they
  pertain to the position.
• declares what you can do for the targeted
  company

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Education and Training

• If youve just graduated from college or an entry
  level candidate with little professional
  experience-your education should be presented
  immediately after the Qualifications Summary
• You could include
• GPA-(if 3.5 or above)
• Awards/scholarships
• Deans list
• Course work relevant to job search

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Continued

• If youre a professional with five or more years
  of experience, education should be listed last on
  your resume.
• Include all specialized training that is
  transferable to the position!

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Professional experience

• Can be showcased in the three formats
• Chronological- providing work history dating back
  from the present- most common
• Combination- stressing what you know in one
  section, while providing work history in
  another-one of the most popular
• Functional- you are stressing what you know over
  where you gained your experience.

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More!

• Begin with action verbs (see pg 20 of green
  packet), avoid phrases like responsible for or
  duties included
• Emphasize accomplishments and skills
• Quantify what youve done- (i.e- number of
  employees supervised, savings as a result of your
  actions) be specific!

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Highlight your skills and accomplishments

• List your job title, company name, location and
  dates worked
• Under each job, list problems you solved, issues
  you addressed, accomplishments you achieved,
  skills you gained or used
• List other skills youve gained or used in school
• AS IT PERTAINS TO THE POSITION!

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ONE, TWO, THREE

• Skills and accomplishments
• EXAMPLE
• BARISTA (TITLE)
• Provided excellent customer service in fast paced
  setting serving 200 customers per day
• Developed efficient strategies for organization
  of work station
• Created client base of over 50 customers for
  returning business

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Formatting for maximum impact

• 20 second rule
• Easy to read fonts-Arial
• Use bold or italics sparingly
• Effective use of white space
• Prioritization of data

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LETS TALK ABOUT E-RESUMES

• e-resumes are delivered electronically -- via
  e-mail, submitted to Internet job boards, or
  residing on your own Web page.
• More than 80 percent of employers are now placing
  resumes directly into searchable databases and an
  equal percentage of employers prefer to receive
  resumes by e-mail

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FORMATTING

• text-based (ASCII, Text only), you might also
  want to have a Rich Text (RTF) version and a
  scannable version.
• Your e-resume must be loaded with keywords!

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STILL CONFUSED?

• You must tailor your e-resume to each employer's
  or job board's instructions.
• Some employers want your resume as an attachment,
  usually as a Word document (but if no format is
  specified, and you can't find out, RTF is the
  safest bet).
• Others want your resume as text pasted into the
  body of an e-mail message. Still others want you
  to paste your resume into an online form!

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Recruiter "Pet Peeve" Survey - ResumeDoctor.com
undertook the immense project of conducting a
survey of over 2,500 recruiters / headhunters
throughout the US and Canada to find out their
"Pet Peeves" with resumes

• 20. Burying the important info in the resume
• 19. Gaps in employment
• 18. 1st or 3rd Person - Resumes in either 1st
  or 3rd Person
• 17. Not easy to follow summary
• 16. Pictures, Graphics or URL links no recruiter
  will call up
• 15. Resumes sent in .pdf, .zip files, faxed, web
  page resumes
• 14. Font choice poor font choice or style
• 13. Objectives or meaningless introductions
• 12. Lying, misleading (especially in terms of
  education, dates and inflated titles)
• 11. Employer info not included and/or not
  telling what industry or product candidate worked
  in

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Recruiter "Pet Peeve" Survey - by
ResumeDoctor.com

• 10. Personal info not relative to the job
• 9. Unqualified Candidates Candidates who apply
  to positions they are not qualified for
• 8. Paragraphs Long paragraphs.not
  Bullet-points
• 7. Long Resumes too long
• 6. Functional Resumes as opposed to writing a
  Chronological Resume
• 5. Poor formatting boxes, templates, tables,
  use of header and footers etc.
• 4. Contact Info none or inaccurate contact
  info or unprofessional email addresses
• 3. Dates not included or inaccurate dates
• Too Duty Oriented reads like a job description
  and fails to explain what the job seekers
  accomplishments were and how they did so
• 1. Spelling Errors, Typos and Poor Grammar

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Cover Letters!

• Types of Job Search Letters
• Cover Letter or Letter of Application
• Letter of Inquiry
• Networking Letter
• Thank you Letter

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Writing Effective Cover Letters

• A cover letter should complement, not duplicate
  your resume
• explain the reasons for your interest in the
  specific organization and identify your most
  relevant skills or experiences
• express a high level of interest and knowledge
  about the position.

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Reality check!

• Cover letter should be about how you meet the
  employers needs
• be able to articulate your personal value
  skills you bring to the position

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Format Three Paragraphs Keep it short and
simple. A. Introduction ? Why you are
writing (application, referral, inquiry) ?
Where you heard about the opening ? Capture
their interest B. Body ? Share
your interest in why you want to work for the
company ? Tell the employer what
you can for him/her ? Give
concrete examples from your experience that
directly relate to the needs listed in the job
announcement ? Show how
your education is related to this field
C. Closing ? Be direct. Ask for an
interview ask for a spot on the Team
? State how and when you will follow up
be specific. ? Give dates and
times you are available ? Include
your phone number in the body of the letter
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NEED MORE HELP?CAREER SERVICES CENTER

• Individual coaching
• Personal Assessments
• Workshops
• Career fairs other special events
• Career Library

• Job internship listings
• Candidate referral
• Mock interviews
• www.careers.wwu.edu
• On-campus recruiting

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