Resume Building 101

According to The American Heritage Dictionary (2000), a resume is “a brief account of one’s professional or work experience and qualifications, often submitted with an employment application.”

American Heritage Dictionary (2000)

Speak for you when you’re not there.

Serve as a marketing tool.

Highlight your ability to do the job by

summarizing how your skills and abilities can contribute to the company and the particular job you are applying for.

Most importantly, your resume should result in you getting an interview!

TAP Assistance Program, U.S. Department of Labor (2007)

Getting Started! CareerOnestop

What is the hardest part of writing a resume?

NOW…FIRST THINGS FIRST!

CareerOneStop

Don’t forget your dates…now begin creating a list!

Education Jobs – paid and unpaid Internships Volunteer work Research/Class projects School activities Trainings & Certifications Honors Objective statement

(optional)

Kansas State University, Career and Employment Services

Linking your skills to the job = A better chance at being called for an interview!

THINK

about the employer’s

needs & LINK your skills to those needs

Kansas State University, Career and Employment Services

1. Sell yourself and your brand.

2. Identify your transferable skills.

3. Highlight your accomplishments.

4. Use keywords effectively.

CareerOneStop

1. Stand out! Recognize those valuable skills you possess that other job seekers don’t.

2. Keep your information quick, concise and relevant to the job for which you are applying. Employers will probably have lots of resumes to review.

3. Keep your information formatted consistently (resume and other documents).

CareerOneStop

Communication skills– the ability to communicate correctly and professionally while speaking, listening or writing.

Critical thinking skills– being good at problem-solving, decision making and analysis.

Self-management skills– the ability to manage time, be organized, responsible and reliable.

Interpersonal skills– the ability to be understanding, discreet, supportive & assertive.

CareerOneStop

Think about what you did in past jobs. What problems did you solve? What solutions did you come up with? How did your actions benefit the company, customers or employees? Share your successes!

Here is an example: Researched and implemented new trade specific software that simplified employee interaction, allowing employees more time to focus on customer service improvement.

CareerOneStop

Keywords can almost always be found in the job description for which you are applying. Use of keywords can identify you as a potential match for the position. For example, keywords for a retail sales position might be retail, order processing, data, or customer service.

Reference particular skills by name. For example, instead of using “proficient in word processing,” state “proficient in Microsoft Word.”

CareerOneStop

YOU make your resume unique by highlighting YOUR experiences!

It is very important to match your skills with the employer’s needs!

In order to make your resume stand out, you must tailor it to the position for which you are applying!

It is really important that you organize your resume in a way that an employer can take a 30 second look and find YOUR STRENGTHS!

Kansas State University, Career Employment Services

An Administrative Assistant’s resume’ will look different

than say, a Nurse’s

Kansas State University, Career & Employment Services

See the differences in these two resumes? Always research for resume formats that best fit your profession!

Freeresumes.net & Resume-Help.org

Length should be 1 page for most undergraduates.

Use present tense for current experiences and past tense for previous experiences.

DO NOT exaggerate.

DO NOT have too much white space on your resume.

NO typos or spelling errors!

Make sure capitalization, punctuation and dates are consistently formatted.

DO NOT use more than two font styles.

Kansas State University, Career and Employment Services

References should never be included in the body of your resume. Create a separate page to list your references.

Make sure you ask your references, before listing them, if they are comfortable with being contacted by potential employers.

Make sure your reference page is formatted similarly to your resume for a consistent and professional look.

Include your reference’s name, job title, company name, address, email and phone number.

Kansas State University, Career and Employment Services

RESEARCH!!! Online Resources…

Searching with keywords such as resume builder, resume templates & resume examples.

Microsoft Word has many templates to help you build a professional resume’ and websites like Monster and Careerbuilder offer lots of resources that are helpful as well!

Together we can improve your chances for career success!

There are several professionals here at TCL who are ready to help!

For SSS Students, contact the SSS Transfer/Career Coordinator, Jody Gray, at 843-525-8353 or…

TCL’s Career & Transfer Services Manager, Melanie Gallion at 843-525-8224