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The Resumé
Career Development Centre2013 -2014
Learning Objectives
• Understand the purpose of, and what makes an effective resumé
• Understand how to target a resumé
• Become aware of the resumé resources and services available through the Career Centre
Your resumé is your marketing
tool!
Remember Your Audience
Your resumé is your advertisement
3 Parts of an Effective Resumé
Part I
Part II
Part III
Appearance
Appearance:‐ How does it look‐ Do I want to read further‐ Is it Professional
Structure
Organization and Selection:
‐ Can I find what Ineed quickly
‐ Is the necessaryinformation included
Content
Wording: Does the information SOUND relevant and targeted
Effective Resumé
Primary Goal of Your Resumé
To demonstrate your FIT for the job
Relevant
Experience Education Activities
Skills
Will the employer read your resume?
First Impression5 Seconds
Second Look15 seconds
Content Review
30+ seconds
1. Appearance
2.Organization
3. Content
For How long?
3 steps to screening and
making an impression
Don’t let this happen to you!
Target your resumé!
Use information obtained from the job posting and your research
to target the content of your resumé
Part I: Appearance
Key Appearance Components
Needs to be
attractive and
appealing
Key Appearance Components
Needs to be a FIT
with company/industry
style
Key Appearance Components
Have a prominent
header with clear contact
information
Key Appearance Components
Easy to read, not crowded, and with
consistent font,
size/style
Key Appearance Components
Be sure that your
sub-section titles stand out and are
easy to locate
Key Appearance Components
Be sure it is modern
and professional
Key Appearance Components
Explore layouts!
See what most
suits you & your target
industry
Key Appearance Components
Be error free!
Remember I’m Wilfridnot Wilfred!
Part II: Organization
Part II – Organization
The impact of structure, order and layout impacts the
effectiveness of your resumé.
Targeted Organization
Objective
Profile
Education
Relevant Experience
Additional Experience
Interests
Organize Sections to Target the Resumé
Education Information
Reverse chronology
Degree name in full, i.e., Bachelor of Arts, not BA
Include name of school, city and province
What about high school?
What about listing courses?
What about the GPA?
What about listing awards?
Education
Organizing Experience
Weighing in on Experience
Less Detail
More Detail
Focus on transferable skills and achievements, not specific tasks
Experience descriptions, less or more?
Personal Details?
• Date of birth• Marital/Family Status• Disability information• Country of Origin and/or Citizenship• Ethnic background• Languages spoken• Religion• Gender
Check out the Career Resource Centre for:The Global Resumé and CV Guide and Best Resumés and CVs for International Jobs: Your Passport to the Global Job Market
This varies by country so do your research!
.
Part III: Content
ContentWhat you say and how you say it impacts the message you are sending the potential employer
There are 3 main areas that need targeting:
1. Use your Objective to focus the resumé
2. Use your Profile to provide a big picture or snap-shot
3. How you describe your Experiences (paid and unpaid)
The Objective
Should you add an objective?•There is no agreement•Be sure it is not generic!•Consider using the following formula:
Identify yourself (political science student, HR professional, accounting graduate), seeking role you are applying for
(entry-level junior accountant, international grassroots placements, etc.) in order to select relevant
experience/skills/knowledge and provide results to the company or how you will contribute to the goals
of the position.
Targeted Objective
To obtain a health-related position with a reputable organization
Resourceful and collaborative psychology graduate seeking to secure a position as the Women’s Health Promotion Co-ordinator in order to leverage skills in marketing to strengthen community awareness of health programming.
Generic
Targeted
Is a big picture statement
If you have 15 seconds to tell your employer about yourself, what do you want them to know?
Consider the qualifications of the job as ‘The Question’ and your Profile section as ‘The Answer’
Profile
6 PossibleComponents
1. Experience
2. Knowledge
3. Skills
4. Achievements
5. Qualities
6. Bonus
PROFILE
1.Experience Statement
•Entice your reader to want to view the rest of your resumé
•Be sure to keep Profile bullets at a highlight, big-picture level
•Be sure to ‘back up’ your claim to a skill and discuss it dynamically
Profile - Experience
Experience Statements
• Strong customer service experience
• Progressive customer service experience gained within a consumer packaged goods company
• More than 2 years of experiencedelivering high quality customer experiences within an internationally recognized technology retailer
Generic
Targeted
Targeted
2. Knowledge Statements
• Evaluate relevant knowledge that would be of interest to the employer
• Look at Major Handouts or Course Syllabi for examples of how to explain your knowledge
• Look for opportunities to combine knowledge and skills
Profile - Knowledge
Knowledge Statements
• Strong economic background
• Solid ability to comprehend complex and detailed information, including demographics and economic information for the purpose of developing recommendations and policies
• Strong familiarity with Canadian political systems and international security issues
Generic
Targeted
Targeted
3. Skills Statement
• Select 2-4 relevant skills (check job posting)
• Present these skills in terms of how you will, or how you have used them – sell, don’t tell!
Profile - Skills
Skills Statements
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Proven ability to establish co-operative, professional relationships with customers, staff and administration through effective communication and interpersonal competence
Distinguish yourself with unique statements!
Targeted
Generic
Skills Statement
• Effective analytical skills
• Proven ability to analyze large volumes of information and creatively identify solutions
• Showcased analytical skills while identifying barriers to service delivery in a technical sales role
Generic
Targeted
Targeted
4. Achievement Statement
• Show your successes
• Demonstrate a relevant or interesting success
• Quantify when possible:
‘Organized a charity event raising $2,000 for a local not-for-profit organization’
Profile - Achievements
Achievement Statement
• An achievement should demonstrate the benefit of a relevant skill or experience
• Created and implemented a new youth mentoring program resulting in 75% participation of local university students by assessing the needs of youth in the community through interviews and focus groups
5. Quality Statement
• Do not exceed more than one quality statement
• Provide insight into your qualities and values
• Possibly add a supervisor testimonial instead
• Attempt to make the qualities align with the nature of the job and organizational culture
Profile - Qualities
6. Bonus Statement
Add a line about special or interesting skills or experiences such as:• Travel or community work• Languages• Technology • Athletic involvement• Music, drama, art skills
You may want to indicate a certificate or credential that is completed or in-progress:•Suicide intervention•CSC or CFA courses
Profile - Bonus
Critical Tips For
The Resumé
Re-focus job descriptions to better target your job objective
Draw greater attention to the relevant aspects of your jobs
If no relevance, stress transferable skills
Be sure to use result-oriented statements
Targeting Within Job Descriptions
Targeting Job Descriptions
Job Goal:Camp
Counsellor
Previous job as a Camp
Counsellor
Camp Counsellor2011,2012 (seasonal)
Kid’s Summer Camp Experience, Kitchener, ON• Supervised children ages 8 – 16 at a summer
camp• Developed and lead activities including arts and
crafts, nature exploration, swimming, water safety and canoeing
• Ensured inclusive summer experience for children with disabilities (seasonal)
Targeting Job Descriptions
Past job not directly relevant?
Job Goal:Junior
Marketer
Camp Counsellor 2011, 2012 (seasonal)Kid’s Summer Camp Experience, Kitchener, ON
• Co-ordinated and organized activities which involved preparing materials, creating schedules and managing multiple participants
• Liaised with the public to ensure exchange of information including negotiating special requests and answering concerns
• Collaborated with colleagues to plan and assign tasks and provided training and orientation to new employees
Make the job details transferable to the job
Interests…......are they really interesting?
• A collection of over 1000 photographs of heritage structures, urban and outdoor natural locations
• Enthusiastic about outdoor adventure sports including trekking, hiking, rappelling and mountaineering
• Competitive salsa dancer and recipient of several international awards
Beyond just a word, explain the extent of your involvement with a particular
interest in a way that distinguishes you from other candidates.
Additional Training and Professional Development
• Focus on relevant training and professional development i.e., Certified Human Resource Professional · Career Development Certificate
• Include seminars/lectures you attended which were not part of course work
• May include presentations or publications (if several, create a separate section)
This section can be listed either in a separate section or in the Education section
A Word About References
• Prepare on a separate page• Only submit upon request• Should have seen you within a related
professional environment
Professors DeanSupervisors ColleaguesDirectors Other staff
Key members of your job search team!Keep them informed of your progress.
Final Checklist
Ensure that your documents are:• Error free• Use the vocabulary of your chosen field• Amplify relevant aspects of your jobs and if not relevant,
focus on transferable skills• Attractive and professional format that is complementary
of your target field• Formatted (PDF)• Appropriately named!
ALWAYS send a targeted cover letter with your resumé!
Connect With Us!
519.884.0710 x4495careercentre@wlu.cawlu.ca/career
facebook.com/lauriercareercentrelauriercareercentre.wordpress.comlinkedin.com (Laurier Career Centre group)
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