What will an effective resume do for you

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What will an effective resume do for you..

• It should reveal your individual strengths and
  personality not just your work history..
• It should focus on the direction you want to go
• It should also prioritize and accentuate the most
  relevant pieces of your background
• It also translates and summarizes your most
  important assets for employers.

2
Selling Your Product

• Job search is a sales marketing endeavour
• You are the product, you are the salesperson
• Know your product
• Create a match between the benefits of your
  product and prospective employers

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Resume Defined

• a formal written communication, used for
  employment purposes, notifying a potential
  employer that you have the skillscredentials to
  meet specific job requirements.
• A successful resume is a marketing tool that
  demonstrates that you can solve an employers
  problemsmeet specific needs andwarrant an
  interview in anticipation of being hired (Betrus
  Block, 199711 101 Best Resumes)

4
Resume Writing Process

• Broad Inventory
• Collect Facts
• Identify your Skills
• Identify your unique contributions
• Organize and prioritize
• Decide on format and layout

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Skills Inventory

• 3 categories
• Job-related skills (i.e. Financial controllers
  work with data and info.)
• Transferable skills (valued by many orgs. i.e.
  creating, problem-solving)
• Self-management skills (describe attitude and
  work ethic i.e. persistent, adaptable)

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Resume Styles

• Targeted used when you know the industry you
  want to work in and what you want to do
• Inventory used when you are open to a number of
  options or are unable to define what you want to
  do used to showcase your marketable skills

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Resume Formats

• Chronological
• Most popular
• Chronicles your work history from most recent job
  to earlier jobs
• Appropriate when on-going progression in same
  type of work with no obvious gaps

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Resume Formats contd

• Functional
• Highlights skills and achievements vs. where and
  when you did them
• Preferred approach when you want to shift careers
  and dont want to be seen as last job title you
  had

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Functional contd

• Suitable if youve done various jobs across
  different areas and appears that there is little
  consistency
• Appropriate when gaps exist in work history ie.
  Due to travel, caring for sick relative etc.
• Jobs and dates are listed, but only on second page

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The 5 Ps of Resume Writing

• Packaging
• Positioning (of Information)
• Punch, or Power of Information
• Personality
• Professionalism
• (Betrus Block, 199717-19)

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Packaging

• Includes paper, graphics, font etc.
• Usually on white, ivory or grey paper
• Spell check, proofread again and again!
• Make it stand out from the crowd, but keep it
  PROFESSIONAL

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Positioning of Info

• A.k.a., organization of data
• Make info easily accessible to reader
• Ensure that reader is able to quickly see
  significant information

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Punch or Power of Info

• Most important of 5 Ps
• Matches skills, abilities qualifications to
  employers needs hireability
• Try to anticipate hiring criteria
• Emphasize specific accomplishments i.e. successes
  results

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Personality

• Hiring managers want people with personality!
• Used exciting vocabulary to convey personality
  i.e. ignited vs. increased a catalyst forvs.
  being responsible for
• GET A THESAURUS!

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Professionalism

• The way you present yourself to a hiring manager
  tells the employer how you will represent their
  company
• Suggestions 1) Include a personalized cover
  letter 2) Send resume in flat envelope, not
  folded 3) Send by express mail 4) Follow-up phone
  call to ensure resume has arrived

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Anatomy of a Resume

• Five Primary Sections Include
• Heading
• Introduction
• Employment Section
• Education
• Misc. Sections

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1. Heading

• Name, address, phone (home cell), email address
• Do NOT include a work
• Repeat contact info at top of each page
• 2 styles a) centered b) creative (anything not
  centered)

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2. Introduction

• Sets the tone, ignites interest
• Answers the qs What do you want to do? What
  can you do for my company?
• This info is delivered in 3 ways
• Title (i.e. accountant)
• Objective
• Summary/Profile

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Objective vs. Summary/Profile

• Objective tell the employer what you want,
  focusing on your wants and needs.
• Dont use if it limits your scope
• Ex. An active administrative role in Health Care
  of Education with emphasis on community outreach
• Dont use objective if it sounds fluffy

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Summary/Profile

• Written from the employers perspective
• Tells employer what you can DO for them vs. what
  you WANT from them
• All points must be proven in body of resume
• Lists 3 5 highlights of your achievements and
  qualifications
• Should precede your work history

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Summary/Profile contd

• Inspires the reader to carefully review the rest
  of your qualifications.
• Ex. A motivated and skilled individual with sales
  and training experience, certified in the travel
  industry, with more than 8 years experience.

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Ex. Summary/Profile

• Effective problem solver using excellent written
  and verbal communication skills
• Excellent track record for generating overall
  cost reduction and operation efficiency
  improvements
• Strong leadership skills while advancing a team
  player approach.
• Confident, professional communicator with
  outstanding presentation skills
• Special talent for identifying clients needs and
  presenting effective solutions

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3. Employment

• Will not be the focus for recent grads but
  becomes most important section
• Highlights professional careers, experience,
  qualifications, achievements
• For each employer include name of org, city/prov
  where you worked, dates of employment,
  titles/positions held

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Employment contd

• Include 3 pieces of info for each job
• Basic responsibilities and/or industry-specific
  information
• Special skills required to perform resp.
• Specific accomplishments
• Ex. Revenue increases, productivity improvements,
  reducing employee turnover etc.

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Use Power Words/Phrases

• Designed and implemented
• Researched and developed
• Coded and tested
• Communicated
• Facilitated
• Managed or coordinated

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Example of phrases/sentences

• Gave work assignments to accounting clerk staff.
• Instead..
• Directed workflow, supervised and trained
  accounting staff performing posting to general
  ledger, receivable and payable accounts.

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4. Education

• Appears at beginning of resume if limited work
  experience
• List from most recent
• If you have a degree, do not list high school
  credentials
• Details might include GPA (if high), awards,
  scholarship, research projects, relevant
  coursework etc.

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5. Misc. Sections

• Extra-curricular/volunteer work
• Certifications/Licenses
• Professional and Board Affiliations
• Technical Expertise
• Honours/Awards (other than academic)
• Languages
• Interests

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References

• References available upon request.
• Should be in writing (i.e. reference letters)
• Select 5 or 6 people who can best support your
  credentials and value (i.e. supervisors,
  professors, co-workers).
• Ask reference if they will support you in your
  job search by providing a favourable reference.

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Reference contd

• Should support what is in your resume
• You can offer to write. Ensures you get what you
  want.
• Company letterhead.
• Shorter is better - 1 page.
• Best to be current.
• A testimonial to promote you!