RESUME WRITING

Importance ,Types
Can your resume pass 10 second
test?
10 seconds is all the
time an employer is
going to give to
your resume in
deciding to keep it
or pass on it.
A Resume

A resume is the first meeting between

you and the employer.
It tells great deal about you.
Gets you the interview.
Is your calling card, remember that
“First impressions are the lasting one.
How to write a Resume?
As you approach writing your résumé, it is important to know
that this is a marketing piece, an advertisement, for your
unique set of skills, abilities and experience. It is a tool that you
use to gain an interview. Employers today want to know
“What can you do for me?” …It is up to you to do the research
and discover what employers in your field seek in a
prospective employee.
A résumé today is not the "historical" document it was 5-10
years ago, with the availability of personal computers, it has
become a fluid and changing document which must be
personalized and targeted whenever possible.
In marketing terms, we'd like you to think of your résumé as a
billboard. It is not going to be possible to list every single item
of interest about yourself in this document - you need to
identify what will be of interest to your target audience and
highlight that information.
What will a resume do for me?
Enable you to assess your strengths, skills, abilities and
experience - thereby preparing you for the interview
process

Act as a reminder of you to the employer/interviewer

after you're done interviewing

Be a basis for the interviewer to justify your hiring

The ultimate goal of a resume is to gain you an

interview!
Are There Any Absolute Rules of
Resume Writing?
Yes, but only a few! Almost every rule you have ever
heard can be broken, if you have a very good reason.  
Some rules, however, are absolutes, including:

No typing errors

No errors in spelling

No lying
Are There Any Absolute Rules of Resume
Writing?
No negative information should be included

Include only relevant information

Never be more than two pages long

What Are the Other (Sometimes
Breakable) Rules of Resume Writing?

While most recently graduated college-student resumes are

one page, this is not an absolute rule,
IF you have the right combination of experience and
education.
Your resume must be long enough to detail what you have
to offer a potential employer.
As a general guideline, you should keep your resume to one
page until you have 5-10 years of experience, then go to
two.
If you cannot fill two entire pages, you should condense it
to one page.
Are There Different Styles of Resumes?

Yes, there are three resumes styles. The chronological

and functional styles have been around for a long time.
Employers today are requesting the targeted style.
Which Style is Recommended for College
Students?
Types of Resume
Chronological
Functional
Targeted
Picking a resume style which best
presents your qualifications
Chronological
Represents your experience in a date order with
the most recent/relevant experience first.
Functional
Emphasizes qualifications according to
categories using job-related skills. Work
experience is placed under different skill
categories, not under specific positions.
Combination
Mixes both Chronological and Functional.
 Address Phone number

Functional
State Zip Code E-mail: xxxx@xxx.xxx
_________________________________________________________________________________

CTIVE A position within a state administered non-profit agency delivering services to under-represented
populations

ATION Master of Science, Public Administration GPA: 4.0 May 2002

Bachelor of Arts, Psychology GPA: 3.8 May 2000
Arizona State University Tempe, AZ

LS Leadership
 Facilitated a leadership retreat for 250 active Arizona Students Against Destructive Decisions
(SADD), chapters, focusing on communication, leadership, and decision-making skills.
 Represented SADD chapter in a statewide conference and presented chapter report.
 Supervised activity leaders for statewide conference and resolved communication barriers
between individuals.
Communication
 Informed students of the consequences of making poor decisions through formal and infor mal
presentations and advising.
 Explained good decision-making process to assist with appropriate outcomes.
 Informed parents regarding children’s daily activities and problems to keep parents of children
in childcare current with relevant information.
Organization
 Planned and organized facilities, presentations, and activities for a statewide conference for
more than 1000 people.
 Resolved schedule conflicts by coordinating work times and activity assignments.

PUTER Microsoft: Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows

LS Internet: Netscape, Internet Explorer

ECTS
Policy Analysis: Research focused on assessing quality of parent-child relationships as they
pertain to child abuse. Policy debates are concerned with the role of formal and informal support
systems for parent and child and parent-child interactions in terms of contact, exchange, assistance,
support, and relationship quality. Researched existing policies, interviewed parents, social
workers, and legislators. Analyzed qualitative and quantitative data. Wrote a 45 page report on
results.

Public Program Management: Analyzed interagency relationships and their roles and developed
programs for families in crisis.

IENCE Arizona Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Student Advisory Council
Phoenix, AZ December 1998 – Present
All Saints Catholic Newman Center, Day Care Volunteer
Tempe, AZ August 1999 – May 2001
 Chronological
YOUR NAME
Address
Street Address Town State Zip Code  Phone Number  E-mail

OBJECTIVE
A broadcasting internship providing further development of professional public speaking and media
production skills.

EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF ARTS, BROADCASTING May 2003
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunications GPA 3.7
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Financed 100% of education through scholarships, loans, and full and/or part-time work.

WORK EXPERIENCE
BROADCAST ASSISTANT, KAET Public Television Station, Tempe, Arizona Feb. 2000-Present
 Operate and maintain broadcast systems in a 24/7 broadcast schedule.
 Maintain operating end maintenance logs of equipment and systems according to FCC rules and
regulations.
 Load operating schedules and DTV programming on various audio and video file servers.

MISSIONARY, Mexico City, Mexico Jan. 1998-Dec. 1999

 Developed strong Spanish language skills and understanding of Mexican dialects while enhancing
personal cultural awareness through living independently among native residents.
 Presented seminars on interpersonal issues for over 50 attendants.
 Coordinated 4-part workshop series to promote overall spiritual well-being of participants.

LOAN OFFICER, Bank of America, Mesa, Arizona Oct. 1996-Dec. 1997

 Educated clients on loan products and policies to assist them in making informed individualized loan
choices. Assisted with payment plan options.
 Researched outside bank vendors’ loan products through internet and market research efforts to enhance
our products’ competitiveness; reported findings to regional manager.
 Consistently met or exceeded sales goals, achieving the Top Sales award in region 2 times in one year.

TECHNICAL SKILLS
Microsoft Office: PowerPoint, FrontPage, Access, Excel, Word
Internet: Netscape and Internet Explorer, basic HTML and Java applications
Media Equipment: Master control equipment, portable cameras, recorders, microphones, lights, editing,
postproduction equipment

LANGUAGE SKILLS
Spanish: Fluent spoken, proficient written
French: Conversational

ACTIVITIES
Member, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, A.S.U., Tempe, Arizona Oct. 2000-Present
 Tour local TV stations to gain practical hands-on knowledge of industry.
 Attend seminars to build professional skills and networking resources.

Volunteer, Y.M.C.A., Tempe, Arizona Summers of 1996, 1997, and 2000

 Developed promotional brochures to promote agency’s services to community.
 Worked with physically abused children to enhance individuals’ self-esteem.
 As a team member, raised over $10000 to build new local playground.
YOUR NAME
Combination
Street Address ; Town, State, Zip Code; Phone Nu mber; Internet Address

OBJ ECTIVE

A photojournalis t pos ition with Pennsylvania Highways magazine wh ich incorporates forma l background in and photography
with profes s ional interes ts in travel.

EDUCATIO N

Bachelor of Science, Ge ograph y May 2001

Bachelor of Arts , Conce ntr ati on: Digital Ar ts Dece mber 2002
Barrett Honors College: Honor Thes is - The His tory of the Photography and the Effects on Modern His torical Pe rs pectives
Arizona State Univers ity, Te mpe , Arizona

As s ociate of Arts , P hotogr aphy May 1997

Bucks County Commun ity Co llege, Ne wtown, Penns ylvania

AW ARDS

AS U Mar oon and Gol d Scholars hi p: Full tuit ion awarded fo r e xceptional academic performance and co mmunity involvemen t.
One of 150 s tudents awarded this s cholars hip out of 550 applicants .
W.L. Klink Scholars hi p: Three month Se mes ter Abroad Experience s pons ored through Fine Arts -related s cholars hip. Award
bas ed on jury decis ions regarding art portfolio a mong 200 co mpetition part icipants .

S TUDY AB RO AD EXP ERI ENCES

S ummer Ses s ion in Greece May 2001 - June 2001

Learn ing opportunity des ignated to introduced students to Gree k cu lture wh ile incorporating formal cours ework in Photography
 Co mpleted acade mic cours e in Pers onal Doc u mentary Photography, including the compiling of me mo rabilia and dig itizing
photographs to develop interactive on -line trave l journal utilizing F las hmed ia, Drea mweaver and HTM L.
 Vis ited mus eums and attended s eminars regarding his tory, mythology, art and a rchitecture.

S emes ter At Sea September 1999 - Dece mber 1999

Multi-dis cip linary acade mic progra m incorporating photography cours ework with cu ltural and geography studies while travelin g
on an ocean liner des ignated for undergraduate and graduate stu dies .
 Traveled to Bra zil, South Africa , Kenya, India, Ma lays ia, Vietna m, China, Japan, Is rael, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and
Spain.
 Interacted directly with loca l people, ga ining s ignificant awarenes s of cultural, h is torical, and politica l is s ues .
 Developed s trong problem-s olving s kills and ability to lead groups of travelers in unfa milia r territories .

INTERNS HIP EXP ERI ENCE

Gr aphic Des igner, Te mpe St. Luke ’s Hos pital, Te mpe , Arizona July 2001 - Pres ent
Firs t Intern for hos pital within Public Re lat ions Depart ment
 Photograph and document daily act ivities throughout hos pital for repres entation within organizational web site and
promotional materials .
 Des ign and prepare layouts us ing Macintosh for web s ite, ins tructional aids , pos ters , and other promot ional materia ls .
 Cons ult with hos pital and cus tomer pers onnel to develop new concepts for publication layouts bes t s uiting internal and
e xternal needs .
 De mons trated ability to handle multip le tea m pro jects with tight deadlines in highly stres s ful environme nt.

S KILLS

Languages : Bilingual in Spanis h and French, convers ational Turkis h

Technical: Drea mweaver, Flas h Media, FrontPage, HTM L, JavaSc ript, Vis ual Bas ic, Mic ros oft Office applications
Photogr aphy Equi pme nt: Kodak, Canon, and Penta x d igital ca mera equip ment; Kodak, Xero x and Ricoh print ing
What Must I Have on My
Resume?  
Name
 Address
 Phone number
 Objective
 Education
 Profile or Summary of Qualifications
 Experience
 What Else Can Be Included on My
Resume?
Licenses/Certifications

Accomplishments/Achievements

Activities and Honors

What Should Never Be on My Resume? 

Height, weight, age, date of birth, place of birth, marital

status, sex, race, health (some of these items may be
necessary on an International Resume) or social security
number (NEVER!) 
The word "Resume" at the top! 
Any statement that begins with "I" or "My" 
Reasons for leaving previous job(s) 
Picture of yourself 
Salary Information for previous positions or Salary
Expectations 
Reference names
Religion, church affiliations, political affiliations
 How Do I List My Name?
Use your "go-by" name. That is, if everyone knows you
by a nickname or your middle name, use it.

For example, Katherine Elaine Johnson – if everyone

calls you Kate – just put KATE JOHNSON on the top
of your resume, if everyone calls you Elaine – use
ELAINE JOHNSON or K. ELAINE JOHNSON.

List any professional credentials (M.D., CPA, Ph.D.)

that are appropriate for the job sought.
I Need My Resume to Distinguish Me
From Everyone Else, How Do I Do That?
Spend some time up front to determine what you have
to offer and what you are worth to an employer.
DON'T use the resume wizard or template from your
word processing software or copy the samples from
workshop! This document needs to be uniquely you -
you don't want to look like anyone else's.
Answer the question, "Why am I more qualified than
the next guy?" Then develop your resume to reflect
that.
DON’T try to distinguish yourself by fancy fonts,
clipart or non-traditional papers. That is not the interest
you want to capture!
What Is Focus In a Resume and
Why Should Mine Be Sharp? 
It is imperative that you catch a prospective employer’s
attention within the first few seconds of reading your
resume.
People today are busy and often don’t spend more than
a minute or two scanning resumes, so you have to sell
yourself quickly and concisely.
Be sure when you are crafting your Summary of
Qualifications / Profile area to highlight those skills that
apply to your job objective.
Remember that your objective is your "thesis
statement" – proceed from there.
What Are the Type/Design
Details I Most Need to Know and
Follow? 
Make use of your word-processor's style elements. Use bold, italics,
different font sizes, upper-case and small capitals lettering for
emphasis and to direct the reader's eye.
Type should be between 10 & 12 pt. We suggest using a professional,
readily-available font such as Times New Roman, Arial, Bookman,
Trebuchet, Lucida Sans, Garamond, Verdana or Courier.  You can use
a different font for the headers of your resume as well as your contact
information but don't use more than 2 types.  As noted above,
however, you can vary the size, style, etc.
Make sure your resume looks good! Don’t have all the text on the left
side of the page and lots of blank space on the right. Use white space,
but also spread out your information in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Use bullets to draw the reader’s eye. But don’t bullet everything! Use
them to highlight the strong points of your resume such as the
Qualifications or Profile statements.
Be consistent with headings (size, boldness, etc.) and body text
(indented, not indented, tabs right-justified, tabs left-justified, etc.)
What About Paper? 
Use resume paper. This can be purchased by the sheet
at a print shop or by the box at any office supply or
discount store.
Don’t get fancy – plain white or off-white (cream)is
your best bet.
As noted earlier, don’t go with any bordered or themed
paper. You want the attention on your resume content
not on it’s vehicle!
What is a cover letter?

Sent in with resume.

First chance to show personality.
Adds to your resume don’t simply
repeat it.
Purpose of a cover letter

Show personality
Show your interest
Show writing skills
Peak employers interest in you and
prove
your worth
The salary question
Format of a letter

Heading
Opening
The Body
The Schmooze
The Closing
1.) Heading

Return address
Date
Recipients information
Salutation
2.)The Opening

Need to capture the employers attention

in
one paragraph
A good lead line is important
Let them know why, what, and how
Describe academic qualifications
Close with a summary of your letter
“I would like to take this opportunity to…”
3.) The Body

The body should answer the question

“Why should we consider you as a
candidate”
“What do you have that others don’t”
“Why are you interested in the position
being offered”
The idea is to sell yourself
4.) The Schmooze

This is where the research comes in

Why does this employer appeal to
you
Opportunity to show you’ve gone the
extra
mile to find out about their company
5.) The Close

Thank them for their time

Contact information
Mention an interview
Reference your enclosed resume
 Sample Cover Letter
Yo ur s tree t addres s
City, State Zip Code
October 14, 2002

Ms. M iche le S mit h (name of the person if you hav e it)

Ge nera l M ills Res ume Proce ss ing Ce nter
P.O. Box 549240
Suite 129
Wa ltha m, MA 02545

Dear M s. S mith: (if you do not hav e the name of the person use Hiring Ma na ger, Huma n
Reso urc es Represe ntative, or Sea rc h Co mmittee)

It is wit h grea t intere st that I a m app lying fo r the Buyer po s it io n at Ge ne ra l M ills whic h
was pos ted o n the Arizo na Sta te Univers ity Ca reerCo nnectio ns recruiting s yste m. I look
fo rwa rd to us ing my k no wled ge a nd e xperie nces within S upp ly C ha in Ma na ge me nt to
make a significa nt co ntrib utio n to the e ffic ie nc y o f the d epartme nt a nd the b uild ing o f
so lid re la tio ns hips t hro ugho ut Ge nera l M ills .

As a se lf- starter, I’ve bee n reco gnized as so meo ne with so und jud gme nt a nd the ab ility to
lead a tea m to ward its go a ls. W ith a Bac he lor o f Sc ie nce in S upp ly C ha in Ma na ge me nt
and a n e mp has is in P urc has ing, I ha ve ga ined va luab le k nowled ge abo ut the fie ld a nd
ha ve de ve loped e ffective co mmunic atio n sk ills b y lead ing se vera l tea m pro jects to
succ ess ful co mp letio n. As a Buyer at Sa lt River Pro ject within the P urc has ing
departme nt, my stro ng leade rs hip a nd ne gotiatio n sk ills led to de ve lop ing so lid work ing
re latio nships wit h nine s upp liers I introd uced to the o rga nizat io n.

In add it io n to co mmun icatio n, ne gotiatio n, a nd leaders hip sk ills , the va rio us c usto mer
intera ctio n oppo rtunities I’ve had o ver the years de ve loped my prob le m so lving a nd
dec is io n- mak ing sk ills , incre as ing the o vera ll e ffic ie nc y o f the depa rtme nt. M y
expe rie nce s a nd sk ill le ve l will e ns ure the co ntinued q ua lity o f the p urc has ing syste m at
Ge nera l M ills.

I look forward to a meeting with yo u to d isc uss my q ua lifica tio ns in mo re deta il.
Enc lo sed is my res ume I will ca ll yo u the week o f Octobe r 22, to se t up a time co nve nie nt
fo r yo u. If yo u ne ed a ny add itio na l informa tio n, p lease c a ll me a t (480)-XXX-XXXX.

Sinc ere ly,

(S ign Here)

Yo ur Na me

Enclos ure