lesson 3 professional experience v3 … · appear on your resume; don’t jump from listing month...

Lesson#1:OverallResumeFormat 1

Lesson#3:

ProfessionalExperience

WRITEYOURWAYTOA

BETTERRESUME

Lesson3ProfessionalExperience

WriteYourWaytoaBetterResumeLesson#3:ProfessionalExperience i ©SchofieldStrategies,LLC

Write Your Way to a Better Resume

Copyright © Schofield Strategies, LLC. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer: The information presented within this training series represents the view of the author as of the date of publication. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this series, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, or omissions. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This training is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. This training is for your own personal use only. You may not rent, loan, forward, transfer, reprint, resell, distribute, reproduce, or otherwise share this training product by any means whatsoever.

The resume tips contained in this training series are geared towards resumes within the civilian sector only; although federal resumes have similar elements, this training series is not a guide for federal resumes.

WriteYourWaytoaBetterResumeLesson#3:ProfessionalExperience 1 ©SchofieldStrategies,LLC

Lesson#3:


Inthepast,mostresumesstartedoffwiththisprofessionalexperiencesection,butasyoulearnedinthepreviouslesson,yourresumewillhaveagreaterimpactifyoustartoffbyprovidingapotentialemployerwithan

overview/snapshotofwhoyouareandwhatmakesyoustandout.

Nowthatyou’vemasteredthat,let’smoveontoyourprofessionalexperiencesection.

LET’SGETSTARTED:PROFESSIONALEXPERIENCE Includeemployer’snameandlocation(cityandstate).

Includeyourtitle(s)anddatesofemploymentineachposition(fordates,youcaneitherlist

monthandyearorjustyear).

Ensureanypromotionwithinacompanyisclearlydisplayed–onewayforyoutostandoutistoshowprogressateachcompanyyou’vereceivedajobpromotion.

Beconsistentwithlistingdates!IfyouchoosetouseMarch2010–May2013foroneposition,ensureyoulist

monthsinalldatesthatappearonyourresume;don’tjumpfromlistingmonthandyeartolisting

justyear.

Avoidplacingdatesonthelefthandsideofyour

resumewhereahiringmanager’seyesaremoredrawnto.

Nowthatyourresumeisofftoagreatstart,it’stimeto

workonaddingyourprofessionalexperience.

This section of the training serieswillmost likely include the bulk of your information(unless your career path has led you to have spentmore time on your education andtrainingthanonon‐the‐jobexperience).


Lesson#3:


ANOTEABOUTRELEVANTEXPERIENCE:

Forexample:ifyoupreviouslywereaVeterinarianTechnician,but

youwentbacktoschooltoearnanAccountingdegreetochangecareers,thenyoushouldfocusmoreontheskills,qualifications,andaccomplishmentsthatarerelevanttotheaccountingindustry.

Includeyourrelevantprofessionalexperienceduringthepast10years(maximumof15yearsforexecutive‐levelresumes).

Coveranyemploymentgapsasbestaspossible–includerelevantvolunteertimeifpossible.

ACCOMPLISHMENTSTATEMENTBULLETS:

Asimplewaytowriteoutaccomplishmentbulletsaretothinkaboutthemasresults‐oriented:

(situation–>action–>results).

Starteachaccomplishmentbulletwithastrongactionverb.

Usequantifiablemeasurementstoreallyhighlightaccomplishments.

Writeaccomplishmentbulletsasconciselyaspossible;keepeachaccomplishmentbulletaroundonetothreelineslongifpossible.

Listthreetosixaccomplishmentbulletsonaverageforeachposition.

Prioritizeaccomplishmentbulletswithineachpositioninorderofimportance.

Currentpositionsshouldbewritteninpresenttensewhilepreviouspositionsshouldbe

writteninpasttense.Note:ifyouhavecompletedaprojectwithyourcurrentposition,youmayusepasttenseforthataccomplishmentbullet.

Seenextpageforexamplesofaccomplishmentstatements.

There is a big difference between professional experience andrelevant experience. Avoid including anything and everything

you’ve accomplished during your entire professional career.Instead,ensurethatallexperienceyouincludeonyourresumeisactuallyrelevanttothejobtowhichyouareapplying.

Ensureyourprofessionalexperienceincludesaccomplishmentbulletsforeachpositioninsteadofjustalaundrylistofjobresponsibilities/duties.


Lesson#3:


SAMPLEACCOMPLISHMENTSTATEMENTBULLETS:

Belowareafewexamplesof“before”and“after”statements.Youwillseethe“after”statementsreallyshowoffanapplicant:

Before:

Responsibleforrecruitingandoverseeingvolunteers.

After:

Managedrecruitmentandretentionforvolunteerprogramconsistingof30‐40volunteers,

generating3,200+volunteerhours;increasedvolunteerparticipationby150%withinoneyear.

Before:

Dutiesincludedworkingwithyouthinfosterprograms.

After:

Conductedconfidentialone‐on‐onesessionswithyouthages8‐15,balancingcaseloadofupto35participantsonamonthlybasis.

Before:

Wasreceptionistformedicaloffice.

After:

Servedasinitialpointofcontactbyprovidingoverallcoordinationofdailymedicaloperations,includingcheckingin50–75patientseachday,organizingpatientrecords,answeringphonecalls,andschedulingappointments.

Before:

Overseeairplanemaintenancepersonnel.

After:

Direct55+personnelperformingscheduledandunscheduledmaintenanceproductionon15+aircraftencompassing8type/model/seriesoperatingacross2hangarfacilities.

Remember that thegoalofaccomplishmentstatements is tomakeyou stand out from others who may be applying to the same

position. Use strong action verbs and quantifiablemeasurementswhenyoucantoreallyshowoffyourresults.


Lesson#3:


ADDINGBUSINESSOWNERSHIP,FREELANCE,ANDVOLUNTEEREXPERIENCE:

Asabusinessownerorafreelancer,youhavedevelopedavarietyofskillsthatcanbetranslatedtoanewposition.Thinkaboutallofthetasksyou

performonaregularbasiswithyourbusinessand/orfreelancingandthenframethemintoaccomplishmentstatements.

Forexample,ifyouareaphotographerbutareapplyingtoabusinessdevelopmenttypeofposition,hereareseveralaccomplishmentstatementsyoucanuseonyourresume:

Manageddailyoperationsofphotographybusiness.

Increasedsalesby140%withinfirstyear

ofbusiness.

Developedmarketingcollateral,includingWordpresswebsiteandtrifoldbrochure.

TRANSLATINGMILITARYEXPERIENCE:

Ifyouareaveteranoratransitioningmemberofthemilitaryandarecreatingacivilianresume,youshouldfollowthesametechniquesmentionedthroughoutthistraining.Focusonyour

skillsandrelevantexperiencewithinthemilitaryandworkoncreatingaccomplishmentstatementsthatarerelevanttothetypeofcivilianpositiontowhichyouareapplying.

Spelloutallmilitaryacronyms.Civiliansarenotawarewhatmostmilitaryacronymsmean.

“De‐militarize”titlessothattheycloselymatchsimilartitlesinthecivilianworld.Forexample,somethinglikeLineDivisionOfficercanbetranslatedtoManagerinmostcases.

Thinkaboutwhattrainings,certifications,andawardsyouwillincludeonyourcivilianresume.Onlyplacerelevantinformationonyourcivilianresume.

Incorporate business ownership, freelancing, and volunteerexperienceintoyourresumeas longas itisrelevanttothe job in

whichyouareapplying.

Ifyouareatransitioningveteran,focusontheskillsgainedduringyourmilitaryexperiencethatcantranslatetothespecifictypeofcivilianjobtowhichyouareapplyingto.


Lesson#3:


SAMPLERESUME:PROFESSIONALEXPERIENCESECTION

Include relevant experience from the past 10 (max 15) years.

Write accomplishment statement bullets to show measurable results.

Ensure consistent formatting throughout. Notice all bolding, italicizing, and indentation is consistent.

Start off each accomplishment statement bullet with a strong action verb.

Prioritize bullets in order of relevancy and size of accomplishment.


Lesson#3:


LESSON3ACTIONPLAN:

Usingyourresumetemplate,startenteringinyourprofessional

experiencesection.Typeinthenameofyouremployer,location,

dates,yourjobtitle(s),anddatesofpromotions,ifapplicable.

Remembertobeconsistentwithlistingdates.Ifyouchoosetouse

March2010–May2013foroneposition,ensureyoulistmonthsinall

datesthatappearonyourresume;don’tjumpfromlistingmonthand

yeartolistingjustyear.

Ensureallformattingisconsistent.Youcanchangetheformattingonyourtemplatetouseitalics,

bold,allcapitalization,orsmallcapitalization;youcanalsochangethefontandfontsize…the

overallgoalistobeconsistentwhilemakingyourexperiencestandout.

Onceyou’vegotallofyouremploymentinformationentered,startbuildingoutyourbulleted

accomplishmentstatements.Todothis,thinkaboutthreetofiveofyourmajoraccomplishments

whileineachpositionandwritethemdown.Then,gothrougheachaccomplishmentandadd

details(suchasnumbersorstatistics,ifpossible).

Re‐readeachbulletandaskyourselfifitanswerswho,what,andhow.Ifnot,gobackandenter

inadditionaldetails.Remember,youwantahiringmanagertoreadthroughyourprofessional

accomplishmentsandseewhatseparatesyoufromanyotherapplicant!


Lesson#3:


NOTES:

lesson 3 professional experience v3 … · appear on your resume; don’t jump from listing month...

Documents