Resume Checklist & Development Guide
Formatting The visual format should be □ Easy to read or skim (10 pt font or larger, minimum ¾ margins), □ Aesthetically pleasing & professional (use of font, spacing, horizontal lines, bold, italics), & □ Consistent. □ Format your resume yourself. Avoid using resume templates because it conveys an inability to utilize technology. It also implies that you invested little time in the process and reflects poorly on your work ethic. Contact Information □ Your name and contact information should be the first item your potential employer notices. Provide your name, email, address, and phone number. If you are including two addresses, note the dates you can be reached at each. □ Be professional. Cute or funny email addresses are inappropriate. If you are using your cell phone number, make sure your voicemail is professional and be ready to participate in a phone interview at any time. Also utilize the privacy settings on social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, to protect your public persona. Objective or Qualifications Statement □ Use typical headings such as Objective or Qualifications Summary, Education, Professional Experience, Leadership Experience/Collegiate Involvement, Professional Memberships, Research, and Awards & Honors. □ Use either an Objective Statement that clearly defines your career goal or desired position OR a Qualifications Summary that bullets three to five of your top qualifications. If you are utilizing a summary, demonstrate these skills throughout your resume. Example Objective Statement: -Position you desire + your skills + the benefit to the employer - ____that will use my strengths in ___________ to____________. -Career as ______ that will benefit from/utilize my ____, ____, and ___. Education Section □ Cite your degree correctly. You earned a Bachelor’s Degree or a Bachelor of Science/Art, not a Bachelor’s of Science. □ If your GPA is higher than 3.0, list it as “GPA: 3.68 on a 4.0 scale.” If your cumulative GPA is lower than 3.0, considering listing your major GPA. □ Also identify your graduation date by stating “Degree Candidate” or “Anticipated Graduation Date.” □ List relevant coursework only if your major does not directly relate to your employment goal.
Limit it to three to six courses. □ Omit your high school information because this is implied by your pursuit of a college degree. Only include it if it is relevant to the position or if you are a first or second-year student (e.g., you are applying in your home town). □ If you are a transfer student, include the name of your first school only if you refer to it elsewhere. Or you could identify the courses the you completed at that institution (e.g., “Enrolled in Arts and Honor Psychology, Transfer Institution, Location”). Professional Experience □ List your professional positions in chronological order, with the most recent position presented first followed by the less current ones. For each position, provide your job title, location and date of employment. If the position was seasonal or held during the academic year, use “Summer, Spring, or Fall 2008” to describe it. This prevents employers from viewing you as a job hopper. □ If you were not given an official title or you are unsure of the title, consult your supervisor and agree upon one. □ Identify the top skills the employers are seeking and then link these with your previous experiences. Under each of your positions, write one line statements that begin with a strong action verb and concisely describe your accomplishments. Avoid words such as “responsible for,” or “duties included” because they do not convey your accomplishments. Also avoid using “assisted with” or “helped.” To avoid the misconception that you were totally responsible for these tasks, end the statement with “in collaboration with” or “as a member of ________team.” □ These statements are complete sentences because the subject (“you”) is understood. End them with a period. You do not need to start each sentence with “I” because it is understood. □ Use past verb tense for previous positions and present verb tense for current positions. □ Bullet your descriptions if there are more than three statements. □ Exhaust your qualifications. Include volunteer work, study abroad, research projects, cocurricular activities, awards, scholarships, athletics, professional memberships, technology skills, and internships. If you are limited on space, list only those items that are most relevant to the position for which you are applying. □ Focus on the needs of the employer. • Make or save money- “Introduced new products to boost sales 14%.” • Solve a specific problem-”Transferred paper records to magnetic media, simultaneously addressing storage space and ease-of-access issues.” • Expand their business-”Collaborated on new product; development and pricing exceeded distribution goals.” • Save time- “Performed the work previously required of two full-time employees.” • Be more competitive-”Translated marketing materials into Spanish, gaining dominant presence in markets left virtually ignored by competitors.”
• Attract new customers/retain existing customers-”Improved customer retention figures from 70 to 96 percent.” • Build Relationships-”Initiated telephone campaign to students’ parents to address concerns about changes in school schedule.” □ Quantify accomplishments when possible. Example: Improved sales production 42% and increased branch ranking from #12 to #1 in a 15 branch region. □ Be positive and concise. •Met quota despite loss of major account. VS. Landed 6 new accounts that added $15,000 in new business. • Service accounts in large area. VS. Service more than 25 government, institution, and manufacturing accounts in 200 square mile radius. □ Questions to ask yourself as you explore your skills and accomplishments include • What were your primary duties and responsibilities? • Why did you perform these duties? What were the main objectives of your office? What did you hope to accomplish? • Did you receive any feedback from customers or supervisors? • Was your organization as a whole ever evaluated? Things to Avoid & Other Tips □ Your resume is a marketing tool. If the information does not strengthen your qualifications, leave it out. Stress your assets, not your liabilities. Include only those experiences that demonstrate your ability to succeed. □ Omit personal information such as religious affiliation, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, marital status, height, weight, salary requirements, and age. Include personal hobbies and interests only if they are relevant to the job. □ Do not include your references on your resume. List them separately on a new sheet of paper that matches your resume. You will need a minimum of three references. Some employers may request more. Engage in ongoing communication with your references. □ Be honest. As a young professional, you should be able to describe your experiences in one page. It is a misconception to think that more is better. If your resume is longer than one page, include a header or footer on the second page. □ Print your resume on professional paper. White or ivory are best. Do not staple or fold it. □ Thoroughly proof your resume to avoid grammatical errors. Tips for Applying Online & Scannable Resumes □ Follow the company’s directions. One of the easiest methods of sending resumes is by converting your resume to PDF through Adobe Acrobat Writer. If you are uploading your resume in a Word Document into their online employment system, always view it after uploading it in case the formatting was modified. To submit your resume via email, save the
resume into a plain “text only” version and cut/paste this into the email below the letter. View the resume in Notepad prior to sending the email, as this is the format your recipient will most likely view. □ Use spacing to avoid having the characters touch. Add a space between hyphens. □ Choose a common, non-decorative 12 point font such as Arial or Times New Roman. □ Avoid columns, bullets, italics, bold text, and underlining. Also do not use ampersands, percent signs, or foreign characters as they may not translate well. Use buzz words.
Action Words for Resume Preparation
Accomplishments Achieved Expanded Improved Pioneered Reduced Resolved Restored Spearheaded Transformed Advertising & Promotion Accounted for Convinced Generated Improved Influenced Launched Marketed Persuaded Promoted Recommended Represented Secured Sold Clerical Approved Arranged Catalogued Classified Collected Compiled Executed Generated Implemented Inspected Monitored Operated Organized Prepared Processed Purchased Recorded Clerical (Cont.) Retrieved Screened Specified Systematized Tabulated Validated Communication Addressed Arbitrated Arranged Authored Collaborated Convinced Corresponded Developed Directed Drafted Edited Enlisted Formulated Influenced Interpreted Lectured Mediated Moderated Negotiated Persuaded Promoted Publicized Recruited Spoke Translated Wrote Creative Acted Conceptualized Created Customized Designed Developed Directed Established Creative (Cont.) Fashioned Founded Illustrated Initiated Instituted Integrated Introduced Invented Originated Performed Planned Revitalized Shaped Financial Administered Allocated Analyzed Appraised Audited Balanced Budgeted Calculated Computed Developed Forecast Managed Marketed Planned Projected Researched Helping Assessed Assisted Clarified Coached Counseled Demonstrated Diagnosed Educated Expedited Facilitated Guided Helping (Cont.) Motivated Referred Rehabilitated Represented Management Administered Analyzed Assigned Attained Chaired Consolidated Contracted Coordinated Delegated Developed Directed Evaluated Executed Improved Increased Organized Oversaw Planned Prioritized Produced Recommended Reviewed Scheduled Strengthened Supervised Negotiation Assured Closed Evaluated Investigated Mediated Negotiated Proposed Sorted
Public Relations & Human Resources Advised Balanced Collaborated Consulted Employed Facilitated Grouped Guided Handles Hired Integrated Monitored Motivated Recruited Sponsored Strengthened Research Clarified Collected Critiqued Evaluated Examined Extracted Identified Inspected Interpreted Interviewed Investigated Organized Reviewed
Research (cont.) Summarized Surveyed Systematized Resourcefulness Accomplished Awarded Corrected Diverted Eliminated Identified Improved Pioneered Rectified Solved Strengthened Surpassed Teaching Adapted Advised Clarified Coached Communicated Coordinated Demystified Developed Enabled Encouraged Evaluated Explained Facilitated
Teaching (cont.) Guided Informed Instructed Persuaded Set Goals Stimulated Trained Technical Assembled Built Calculated Computed Configured Designed Devised Engineered Fabricated Installed Maintained Operated Overhauled Performed Troubleshooting Programmed Remodeled Repaired Retrieved Solved Upgraded
Technique & Authority Analyzed Arranged Budgeted Catalogued Compared Compiled Completed Computed Decreased Distributed Enlarged Examined Expanded Generated Improvised Increased Indexed Leveraged Redesigned Reorganized Restructured Reviewed Revised Scheduled Single-Handedly Synthesized Systematized Verified
Cover Letter Development Guide
□ Use standard business-letter format (i.e., block format) with single space paragraphs and double space between paragraphs. □ Address the individual by name (Mr./Mrs./Ms.). Never address the person by his or her first name. If you do not know their gender, use their full name (e.g., Dear Pat Smith). If you do not have the name of an employer, address it as “Dear Hiring Manager” or “Dear Search Committee.” □ Lead Paragraph: This should identify the position you are applying for, state where you learned about the opening, and communicate your enthusiasm for the opening. Share the company research you have gathered or your long-term career goals. Attract attention and entice them to read your resume thoroughly. □ The Body: This should sell your background and highlight your qualifications. To avoid repeating your resume, focus on the characteristics you possess in relation to the job description. Craft a different letter for each employer to match your skills to their qualifications. Provide examples and evidence. Be persuasive and refer to your enclosed resume for additional details. Emphasize what you can do for the employer, rather than what you hope to gain from the experience. □ Concluding Paragraph: Identify your follow-up steps and close with a request for an interview. Thank the employer for their time and consideration. □ Proof your letter thoroughly to make sure that it is free of grammatical errors. □ Remember to sign your letter. □ Write clearly and simply. Avoid jargon and wordy, complex sentences. Also avoid using passive voice, reiterating verbatim the content of your resume, identifying your weaknesses, beginning too many sentences with “I,” or exceeding one page.
Example Letter: Name Street Address City, State Zip Date Employer’s Name Title Agency Street Address Dear Search Committee, Paragraph One: I am writing to apply for . . . Paragraph Two: If you were to hire me, you would obtain an employee with over four years of experience in marketing and sales. Paragraph Three (if you need to highlight other qualifications) In addition to my strong professional background, I also possess significant expertise in Business Administration. This May I will earn my . . . Paragraph Three/Four: While the enclosed resume further highlights my qualifications, you can better capture my motivation and energy during a face-to-face appointment. I may be reached at #### and am available at your convenience. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, (4 returns & signature) Name Enclosure
Burr House (Corner of Cherry & Ratingen) ♦ cdc@usd.edu ♦ (605) 677-5307 ♦ www.usd.edu/cdc
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