judy bishop: resume tips

CREATING A WINNING RESUME

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WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A RÉSUMÉ?


CREATING A WINNING RESUME

To get your foot in a door!

To get an interview!

To get reader excited about you!!


It’s an advertisement.. for you!! To MARKET YOU, to SELL YOU! It is MORE important than the data you put on

MATCH.com, or Facebook, maybe more important than getting married; May alter the course of your life, may determine whether you rent the rest of your life or whether you chart a new career that will earn you enough $ to own your own home!! Your next job could propel you into new adventures or a dead end.


RÉSUMÉ MEANS RÉSUMÉ & COVER LETTER


The Cover Letter Adds:

Reason or relevance of your résumé's submission

Offers more insight into you

Might serve to excite or stir the interest of the reader

Might impress the reader!


COVER LETTER

In a recent survey of 150 executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies, 60 percent of the respondents said that when they screen applications, the cover letter is either as important as or MORE critical than the resume. Your cover letter really does matter !!!!!

Cover letters explain what you can’t and don’t know how to convey in a resume, for example: why is all your experience for 8 years in Texas and now you live in Hawaii ?? Why are you here? Interviewers will wonder and your cover letter can provide the answer for them.


WRITING AN EFFECTIVE COVER LETTER

The cover letter is where you can think outside the box & really stand out from the crowd.

Think about 2 things when writing it:. How exciting this job is to you and why

you want it. How excited they will be to meet you &

hire you


COVER LETTER

This is the place to describe anything about yourself that would be inappropriate on the résumé, for example: “I love the symphony and have had season tickets for 10

years. Although I have no professional experience in the Art and Music industry, it is my intention to redirect my career into the music field…”

Don't underestimate the importance of the cover letter.



• Microsoft Word – because everyone can open• Don’t put images like logos, etc. in resumes or emails• Don’t use Italics• Use same fonts throughout each document• Preferably use font size 12• Use common Font like Times New Roman• Try to call to confirm receipt or have Outlook give you a

receipt confirmation Always – unless instructed otherwise – include a cover letter

WHEN EMAILING OR FAXING: RESUME AND COVER LETTER

HOW TO IMPRESS WITH YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER


• Focus On the Employer’s Need’s - Not Yours =

F O E N N Y

Remember “FOENNY” we will refer to it often

REMEMBER


The first lines of your Résumé will make or break you.

And will determine if the resume goes in the “Hot Candidate” file or the trash CAN !!!

There is no second chance to say “Can I re-do my resume and resend it you?”

ACCURACY & HONESTY

Make sure that you can back up what you say. Communicate who you are and what you can do at your very

best. Brag about yourself!! In fact, you are being foolish if you seek to convey a careful,

balanced portrayal of yourself. YOU WANT TO KNOCK THEIR SOCKS OFF!


HAVE A PLAN


• Gather all information needed before you begin typing, composing, creating

• Focus your writing efforts(how can I demonstrate that I’m the perfect candidate? What is perfect to them? What is special about me?)

• Loosen up your thinking• Ask your friends, family co-workers

ex-bosses what makes or made you a good employee, a “star”; Listen to them; use what they tell you

HAVE A PLAN

Take your time; avoid interruption, distractions Tell your spouse, friends, whomever to respect this

time for you!! This is your own Prime Time Show about you!!

You are Director, Producer, Writer and Star! And you are advertising and marketing this movie

MAKE IT AN OSCAR WINNING SHOW!!!


WHAT AM I GOOD AT?I’M NOT SURE I’M EXTRAORDINARY AT ANYTHING

Remember: What an employer pays you for is to perform some

special function or functions. Everything one does at work, from flipping burgers to

understanding the most obscure abstract data, is a specific work function. Most careers involve combining a few different functions together.


Everyone is born with a certain degree of talent for each of the hundreds of possible work functions.

Think about it for a minute. Notice that there are some things that seem to come easily to you and others that are much more difficult to deal with.

Your innate talent for any specific function may be 100% or only 1%. Almost every person is naturally good at some things, pretty good at some others, and not so good at yet other functions.


Those people who are very successful, who have no trouble writing a powerful and sincere resume are people who have discovered what they are naturally good at.

It is as simple as that.

Just review your own life and think about what you like to do, what people have told you you’re good at then you uncover your true talents.

And, you can easily write a resume that honestly communicates that you are the best candidate for the job - because you know you are.


CHOOSE A TEMPLATE/FORMAT FOR YOUR RESUME


www.excite.com www.google.com www.yahoo.com www.ask.com www.office.microsoft.com

Each of these search engines will provide a lot of documentation on Resume Writing.


CHRONOLOGICAL & FUNCTIONAL RESUMES

Most Interviewers and HR Staff prefer a Chronological Resume because it clearly indicates what you did where and when and for whom all in one section, whereas Functional Resumes indicate your functions separately from the job where you performed those functions. Therefore interviewer must search among jobs listed and try to determine which function was done at which job – this is time consuming and frustrating.

HOWEVER, if a Chronological resume makes you look like a job hopper or emphasizes a shaky work history, or if you don’t have much work experience, then a Functional Resume will work better for you. Try them both and see how they look. Take your time working on this. It is very, very important.

A GREAT RESUME HAS THREE MAIN SECTIONS

The Objective

The Summary

The History


A GREAT RESUME HAS THREE MAIN SECTIONS

The Objective

• Clarify your objective• Why are you the perfect candidate?• Good advertising is directed towards a very specific target

audience. You want to focus your resume just as specifically: who is your target audience? Is it always HR or is it a Sales Manager? Vice President/Head of Engineering?

• The objective provides clarity for the reader.


– The point of using an objective is to create a specific psychological response in the mind of the reader: What is Candidate looking to gain, achieve? What is Candidate’s goal?

– Can what candidate wants match what we want and can offer?

– Be very clear and straight forward in your objective.


– Decide on a specific job title for your objective. Think about: “How can I demonstrate that I am the perfect candidate?” What are the two or three qualities, abilities or achievements that would make me as a candidate stand out as truly exceptional for that specific job: think about the company and it’s job description. Write your objective with the company’s advertisement or job posting in mind. Use their wording.

– Be absolutely clear about what you want and can offer.


– Use “key words” in your objective and resume, i.e., if you are applying for a data entry clerk you should have “clerk” or “data entry” in your resume. Many companies do “Key Word” searches to select resumes.

– Especially if you are applying for a job doing something you have not ever done, you should have key words describing the job in your objective because the words will not appear in the experience portion of your resume.


– You should customize your resume and cover letter to each type of job you apply for. There is nothing wrong with having several different resumes, each with a different objective, each specifically crafted for a different type of position, emphasizing different aspects of your experience and/or education.

– Remember, you are writing advertising copy to sell yourself, not writing your life story.


The Summary

Focus on your qualifications, achievements and abilities SPICE IT UP!!! But Keep it Real!!The summary consist of several concise statements (use bullet

points) that focus the reader’s attention on the most important qualities, achievements and abilities you have to offer as they relate to the job advertised!!! If you are a great piano player don’t focus on that if the job is for Service Manager at a Veterinary Clinic.


The summary provides you with a valuable chance to attract and hold the employer’s attention, to get across what is important, and to entice the employer to keep reading. Should be the spiciest part of your resume.


The Summary

SUMMARY CONT…

The summary is the best place to include professional characteristics which may be helpful in winning the interview, i.e., extremely energetic, exceptional interpersonal skills, committed to excellence, team player; highly organized, works well with deadlines, innovative, learns quickly, consistent, persistent; accurate, etc. etc.


Summary

The most common ingredients of a well-written summary are as follows:

A short phrase describing your profession, e.g. customer service professional

Followed by a statement of broad or specialized expertise


Followed by two or three additional statements related to any of the following skills and accomplishment:

• Breadth or depth of skills• Unique mix of skills• Range of environments in which you have experience• A special or well-documented accomplishment• A history of awards, promotions, or superior

performance commendations• One or more professional or appropriate personal

characteristics• A sentence describing professional objective or interest.


Summary

Your Best Career Skills and Accomplishments should be in the “summary” and then…• Tell the BEST of the REST of your story, i.e. the best

you have accomplished and the result of your efforts as part of each job history.


EVIDENCE

Mandatory information Like College Degrees, Certification, Computer SkillsPlace in the last part of your resume

(put juicy and exciting stuff first !!!) Unless you very recently earned your

degree/certification and it is very important and relevant to the job you are applying for.


THE HISTORYExperience List jobs in reverse chronological order List dates: month and years only, unless it looks like job hopping, if so,

eliminate dates. Don’t show that you are “currently” at a job IF you have been gone from

that job for 3 months or longer. Focus on the most recent or relevant jobs List most relevant first instead of most recent IF the most recent is not

relevant


Decide which is more impressive

The job title OR the name of the company for whom you worked and lead with or emphasize this and continue with the same format for all of your jobs.


EXPERIENCE CONTINUED Include military service, internships and major volunteer

roles – IF RELEVANT!! Include job title, brief description of work performed, dates

of employment, reason for leaving, CHIEF ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

Do not list your salary at your previous jobs. Avoid significant GAPS IN EMPLOYMENT or if they cannot

be avoided, add brief explanation. Keep same format throughout, e.g. bold, underline,

capitalizations, spacing, dates, titles, etc.


Experience

Don’t be longwinded or flowery or wordy – Be succinct = to the point, clear and brief.

Make sure to indicate what the company does because ABC Inc. doesn’t tell the interviewer anything.


EDUCATION

List education in reverse chronological order Degrees or licenses first Followed by certificates or advanced training

Include degrees in progress! Do not include actual certificates or diplomas


Note: You can put EDUCATION BEFORE EXPERIENCE in your resume IF it is both most recent and most relevant.

AWARDS AND COMMENDATIONS

A MUST to list them, if you have received them and they relate to the job!!


PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Include IF current and IF relevant Include leadership roles if appropriate BEWARE OF POLITICAL and/or

CONTROVERSIAL AFFILIATIONS


CIVIC/COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

If relevant and shows skills acquired


PUBLICATIONS

Include only if relevant, published, and be sure to summarize if there are many.


PERSONAL INTERESTS

Be prepared to share them in your interview – do not include on the resume unless very relevant.


REFERENCES

List on resume: “References available upon request.”


PROOFREADING


Get a friend (an English major or someone in HR would do nicely) to do a grammar, spelling, formatting review.

Ask another friend to proofread. The more people who see your resume, the more likely that misspelled words and awkward phrases, etc., will be seen (and corrected).

REMEMBER:

A few typos can land your amazing resume and successful career accomplishments in the trash can!!

Take the time to check and double check!


QUESTIONS & ANSWERS


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