by juanita ledesmacds.sdce.edu/sites/default/files/resume and cover letter...chronological vs....
TRANSCRIPT
By Juanita Ledesma
The Basics
Choosing a Format
Parts of a Resume
Experience Statements – P.A.R.
Cover Letters
Other Resources
Purpose
Customization
Relevance
Fonts
To “Bold or not to Bold”
Make a Statement
Organize
Two Primary Formats
Time gaps unexplained (10%)
“Poor or no cover letter”(40%)
“Resume too long “(10%)
Lie or exaggerate
Show salary or offer explanations
List references, or personal information
Keep repeating phrases or words
Use “I” statements
Emphasize your accomplishments
Use active verbs to show your skills i.e.
assisted, created, assessed, advised
Use key words from the job description
Proofread for errors, misspellings
Chronological FunctionalVS.
TRADITIONALLIST WORK
EXPERIENCE IN
REVERSE
INCLUDES 10-15
YEARS OF WORK
EXPERIENCE
POSITION, TITLE,
ORGANIZATION,
LOCATION, DATES OF
EMPLOYMENT
ACTION
STATEMENTS ARE
UNDER JOB TITLE
Use if your career path has been building over time and shows
logical progression:
Not ideal for Lack of Job History, Changes in Careers, Spotty
work history
Significant career change
Gaps of employment
Different jobs in a short time
Recent graduate with no experience
Includes volunteering, internships, academic projects, paid work
Strategic arrangement
(action words)
Focus on the relevant
Minimize least relevant
Should I use it?
Header
Objective (optional)
Summary Statement
Work Experience
Education and Training
Volunteer (optional)
Military (optional)
• Name - largest; no more than 16 font
• Voicemail - clear, courteous
• Email – make sure it is professional (use first and last name)
• Information – accurate
• Name and page number on 2nd page
JOHN DOE1234 Easy St.San Diego, CA
619-222-9898 [email protected]
JOHN DOE1234 Easy St., San Diego, CA 619-222-9898 [email protected]
Be specific, or NONE
Everything in the resume to support your
objective
Job description has the words you need
Sample of a weak objective:
“A challenging position that will allow me to contribute to the growth of the organization while offering an opportunity for advancement.”
Sample of a strong objective:
“To obtain a position as a cook with the Hilton Bayfront hotel”
Number of years of experience
Credentials, education or training
Key accomplishments
At least 5 key strengths, skills or characteristics for the position (hard and soft/essential skills)
Bilingual skills
Match key words from job description
Titles: Summary, Profile, Qualifications, Summary of Qualifications
3-4 sentences or bullets with years of experience
Quality or Characteristic that supports goal
Key words, soft skills
Awards/recognitions
Accomplishments
EXAMPLE:
A Technical Professional with 10 years experience and exceptional written and verbal communications. Strengths in troubleshooting, analyzing, and repairing electronic devices. A team player and successful at meeting goals, collaborating with engineers and clients to achieve outstanding results.
Expertise in:
An administrative individual with a certification in accounting and 3 years of experience. Dependable, detail oriented, strong organizational skills, and a team player.
Effective time management with the ability to multi-task
Excellent at customer problem resolution
Fast learner with a strong work ethic
Solid leadership experience
Superior networking skills
Examples of hard skills:
Computer programming Web design Typing Accounting Finance Writing Mathematics Legal Other skills that are in the requirements for a job
Examples of soft skills:
Communication Critical thinking Problem solving Team player Flexibility Dependable Professionalism Ethics
Place before or after Work Experience?
List where, what, when (dates are preferred)
While in school say “in progress”
Include relevant on-the-job training,
workshops, conferences, volunteer, etc.
Accomplishments are best described using the PAR formula:
P = Problem (a problem you encountered)
A = Action (the action you took)
R = Results (%$#+-)
Instead of . . .“Responsible for office filing system.”
Use . . .“Reorganized file system that cut record searches down to less than 5 minutes a 50% savings in time.
Develop a Brag File
Review past job descriptions
Look for any action you took that “Resulted in . . .”
Practice writing P.A.R. statements:
THINK OF SOMETHING SPECIAL YOU DID!!
Accurate Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable.
Scheduling of 20 employees for efficient coverage of department.
Provided excellent customer service with resolution of customer conflicts.
Ordered supplies for $500,000. budget monthly.
Use numbers, statistics, percentages, names, titles, etc. where possible
Did you increase sales? (by 20%?)
Improve efficiency
Create a new process
Reduce costs, save money (by 10%?)
Trained up to 20 new employees monthly
Supervised a team (how many?)
Exceed your goals
Selected by manager to handle …
Promoted, Advanced, Awarded
Job Description:
Arranges schedules, meetings, travel, distributes information, prepares reports and presentations, and performs other administrative tasks to ensure an efficient working environment as well as carries out special projects.
Create documents, spreadsheets and presentations as directed in a timely and accurate fashion.
Coordinate and organize meetings, training, team functions –including meeting room set up, material preparation, food ordering, preparing agendas, transcription and distribution of minutes and action items if necessary.
Scores for key words that are relevant to the job description
A certain percentage of key words may be required before scheduling for an interview
Does not read fancy fonts. Best: Arial, Courier, Times New Roman
Begin your bullet statements with action verbs:
Evaluated
Approved
Maintained
Produced
Proofread
Save a copy of each version
Update your resume
Don’t overly rely on your resume to develop job leads for you!
NETWORK, use social media…
Use bulleted phrases, not sentences
Start each phrase with a different action verb
Be clear and concise with descriptions
Choose action verbs to highlight your accomplishment
Key: Modify your resume to look for “key words” in each job description and place those throughout your resume.
Age or date of birth
Marital Status
Address of former employer
Salary history
Religious or political affiliations
“I” statements
Abbreviations
Specific dates
References Available Upon Request
Pictures
Customize for each job
Pre-sell your resume
Email or snail mail
Address to a real person when possible
If you can, make a personal link to someone
Express enthusiasm and interest
Use their words in the job description to
show what you can do
Show that you know something about the organization or industry by reviewing their website
Take the initiative
One page – exactly the same letterhead,
paper and font as your resume
Proofread (your letter must be perfect)
Welcomebackcenter.org (medical field)
NACES (transcript evaluations for equivalency)
Upwardly Global Skilled Immigrants
LIST TWO ACTIONS YOU WILL TAKE:
1. After your first draft of a resume, please bring to career services for a critique
2. ??
