Writing an Effective Resume

How to Write an Effective Resume November 1, 2007 1 Agenda • Welcome • Resumes – Purpose – Layout – Writing Effective Bullets Learning Objectives • What a resume is and is not • Writing effective bullets • Formatting for best results Purposes of Resume • Your Ad – To sell your professional accomplishments, skills and qualifications – To help employers identify potential candidates – To get the interview….not a job! Purposes of Resume • Resume is like an ad…not a brochure! – What are characteristics of a brochure? – What are characteristics of a good advertisement? – How does this apply to your resume? Fundamentals of a Well-Written Resume • Easy to read/understand = concise/clear • Emphasizes business results/accomplishments – Not about responsibilities – Describes how the business benefited from your work – Quantifiable results! • Highlights accomplishments relevant to targeted job/career field • Demonstrates well-rounded set of experiences and variety of transferable skills Resume Format • • • • Position Statement Key Words Experience Education & Certifications Responsibilities to Accomplishments How would you judge these statements? • • • • • • Designed website for large company Responsible for company’s regional reporting Ran process improvement projects Led team that developed monthly forecast Launched new product Developed computer models for analyzing commercial real estate Responsibilities to Accomplishments • How did your work impact business results or achieve critical organizational objectives? – Did you save money, time, resources? – Did you win a new customer, increase customer satisfaction, turn around a difficult customer problem, take a customer away from the competition? – Did you produce the product/service faster, better, easier? – Did you increase productivity in a key business process? – Did you grow market share or identify a new market opportunity? – Did you act on a problem early and avert a potentially serious issue? Responsibilities to Accomplishments • You should also specifically demonstrate the scale and scope of what you did: – Number of team members – Size of company (revenues, employees, # clients) – Number of offices or branches you worked with – Number of visitors to the website – Size of investment portfolio – Number of clients – Number of direct reports Responsibilities to Accomplishments • When writing a business accomplishment statement, use the following model: –Context (C): Start w/ action verb –Action (A): What specifically did you do? –Result (R): Quantify results Accomplishments • How would you improve this statement? – Worked closely with a team to change packing in order to save money and reduce pollution. Accomplishments Led cross functional team of eight in the re-design of packaging for large international shipping company, resulting in $1M annual cost savings and 50% reduction in air pollution Resume Mistakes to Avoid • Careless errors: grammar, spelling, format • Inconsistent format • Emphasis on Responsibilities instead of accomplishments results • Lack of action verbs • Time gaps • Hard to read…ADD WHITE SPACE! • Misrepresenting work/abilities • Using too much jargon/technical language Appendix Transferable Skills • Communication: the skillful expression, transmission and interpretation of knowledge and ideas. • Research and Planning: the search for specific knowledge and the ability to conceptualize future needs and solutions for meeting those needs. • Human Relations: the use of interpersonal skills for resolving conflict, relating to and helping people. • Organization, Management and Leadership: the ability to supervise, direct and guide individuals and groups in the completion of tasks and fulfillment of goals. • Work Survival: the day-to-day skills that assist in promoting effective production and work satisfaction. Transferable Skills • Individualizing your resume – Identify the types of positions that interest you • Job postings, company website, trade magazines – Identify skills that employers look for in this position • Stated requirements, skills, ‘candidate will possess…’ – Tailor resume with work experiences from your background to address those needs – Put your resume into the best format Transferable Skills • Communication: Speaking effectively, Writing concisely, Listening attentively, Expressing ideas, Facilitating group discussion, Providing appropriate feedback, Negotiating, Perceiving nonverbal messages, Persuading, Reporting information, Describing feelings, Interviewing, Editing • Research and Planning: Forecasting predicting, Creating ideas, Identifying problems, Imagining alternatives, Identifying resources, Gathering information, Solving problems, Setting goals, Extracting important information, Defining needs, Analyzing, Developing evaluation strategies Transferable Skills • Human Relations: Developing rapport, Being sensitive, Listening, Conveying feelings, Providing support for others, Motivating, Sharing credit, Counseling, Cooperating, Delegating with respect, Representing others, Perceiving feelings & situations, Asserting • Organization, Management, Leadership: Initiating new ideas, Handling details, Coordinating tasks, Managing groups, Delegating responsibility, Teaching, Coaching, Counseling, Promoting change, Selling ideas or products, Decision making with others, Managing conflict Transferable Skills • Work Survival: Implementing decisions, Cooperating, Enforcing policies, Being punctual, Managing time, Attending to detail, Meeting goals, Enlisting help, Accepting responsibility, Setting and meeting deadlines, Organizing Making decisions