The Number One Purpose of A Resume

THE NUMBER ONE PURPOSE OF A RESUMETo Win An Interview! A Resume is an AdvertisementIf You Buy This Product, you will get these specific, direct benefits

RESEARCH SHOWS…. 1 interview is granted for

every 200 resumes submitted

Your resume is scanned within 10-20 seconds!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN????

IT MEANS:The top half of the first page of your resume will either make or break you!

DON’T make claims that are untrue but DO get over your modesty and toot your own horn!

You Have to focus on the employer’s needs, not your own to catch their attention.

ASK YOURSELFWhat would make me the perfect candidate?

What does the employer really want?

What special abilities would the employer find enticing?

What would set a truly exceptional candidate apart from a merely good one?

A GREAT RESUME HAS TWO SECTIONSFIRST

You make assertions about your abilities, qualities and achievements.

Write powerful, but honest. Make the reader realize you are someone special.

SECONDThe evidence section is where

you back up your assertions with evidence proving that what you say you did…..you actually did.

THE JUICE IS IN THE ASSERTIONS SECTION. You want them to immediately reach for the phone and invite you in for an interview.

BEGINNING: Target Your Audience State Your Objective

Be sure your career direction is clear. State the job you want and make sure it is exactly the job they are offering!

Qualifications Professional Characteristics (Extremely

energetic, dependable, a gift for solving complex problems in a fast-paced environment, committed to excellence)

GUIDELINES FOR A BETTER RESUME:

Visually EnticingAbsolutely No Errors (punctuation, grammatical, spelling, fact errors)

All basic Information is included (name, address, phone number, email, education and job history)

Job History (in reverse chronological order) includes: Name of firm, job title, city, state, years employed)

It is targeted to your specific job goal

Strengths are highlightedUses Power words

Writing is concise and to the point

Watch your verb tense! (If the accomplishment is completed it should be past tense)

Break it up – A good rule is no more than 6 lines of writing in any one block. Put your most important point in the first line.

WHAT NOT TO PUT IN A RESUME The word “resume” at the top of the resume Fluffy rambling “objective” statements Salary Information Full addresses of former employers Reasons for leaving jobs Names of Supervisors References Anything controversial (political, religious, etc.)

WRITING A RESUMEWhy are you the perfect candidate?

OBJECTIVE One of the most important parts of a resume

Your objective is a representation of your career direction and it should be clear

When writing your objective state the job you want and make sure it is exactly the job they are offering Examples:

Good: a software sales position in an organization seeking an extraordinary record of generating new accounts, exceeding sales targets and enthusiastic customer relations.

Bad: entry level software sales position in your staff

SUGGESTED FORMAT OBJECTIVE: An xxx position in an

organization where yyy and zzz would be needed.

Xxx is the name of the position you are applying for.

Yyy and zzz are the most compelling qualities, abilities or achievements that will really make you stand out above the crowd of applicants. Your previous research to find out what is most important to the employer will provide the information to fill in yyy and zzz. Inspired by Rockport

Institute

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS This is the spiciest part of the resume.

Possibly be the only section fully read by the employer, so it should be very strong and convincing.

Look for the qualities the employer will care about most.

Then look at what you wrote about why you are the perfect person to fill their need.

Pick the stuff that best demonstrates why they should hire you

SAMPLE SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS Over 10 years as an organizational

catalyst/training design consultant with a track record of producing extraordinary results for more than 20 national and community based organizations. A commitment to human development and community service. Energetic self-starter with excellent analytical, organizational, and creative skills.

POWER WORDS What are power words?

Rockport Institute

Resumes without power words

Resumes with power words

For every skill, accomplishment, or job described, use the most active impressive verb. Begin the sentence with the verb except when avoiding repetitious sentences.

VERB TENSE Always be aware of verb tense

If your writing about a job in the past use past tense, never in present tense

WORD TEMPLATES There are many templates that Microsoft

word offers for constructing a resume.

APPROVED POWER WORDS Trained new hires on

company policies and operations

Maintained store quality in terms of organization and cleanliness

Mediated and resolved issues with complaints regarding customer service Power Words

WITHOUT POWER WORDS

Helped new employees

Cleaned and stocked the store

customer service

Power Words