_WRITING YOUR RESUME



CREATING A RESUME

Presented by Career Services at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay

SS 1916 ( (920) 465-2163 ( careers@uwgb.edu ( uwgb.edu/careers

Your resume is an important tool that can make or break your job search. It is a personal advertisement of who you are and the skills and abilities you can offer a potential employer. If your resume is not well written, it will not get you to the next stage of the job search . . . the interview.

What Are The Common Elements In The Resume?

Identifying Heading - Include your name, address, (with zip code) and telephone number. Indicate a present and/or permanent (or forwarding address), with phone number when appropriate. If you check your email regularly, then include it as well.

Career Objective - Indicate the type of position you are seeking (internship or full-time position). Be as specific as possible without excluding primary areas of interest. Keep your objective to the point.

Education - Begin with your most recent education. Include degree to be earned, name of college or university, (date degree to be conferred) major, minor, and if appropriate, your GPA.

Related Course Work (Optional) - List related undergraduate or graduate courses, research papers, seminars, independent projects that are important to the type of job you are seeking.

Experience - Describe jobs, fieldwork, internships, cooperative educational placements, clinical work, student teaching, assistantships, volunteer work, and research projects. For each experience include job title, name of organization, location (city and state) and dates. Emphasize experience most closely related to the kind of work you seek. Include skills used, scope of responsibilities and a description of your accomplishments. Avoid use of the personal pronoun "I" by using short phrases (not complete sentences). Use the past or present tense of verbs to highlight your skills and present yourself in a dynamic way. Avoid phrases such as "duties included" or "responsible for". Be consistent with verb tenses.

Special Categories (Optional) - Include additional categories if some things you wish to indicate about yourself do not fit into the above categories. Possible themes are Interests, Honors, Awards, Language Skills, Computer Skills, Committees, Extra-Curricular Activities, Personal Strengths, Skills, Professional Memberships, Publications, or Military. Feedback from employers indicates that they are seeking employees who are "well rounded".

References - Do not list the names of individual references on your resume. Instead create a separate references sheet or supply written letters of reference when requested. The statement "References available upon request" is a sufficient statement to place on your resume.

How Long Should My Resume Be?

Most experts will tell you that your resume should be one page only, or two at the most. They are probably right because no one wants to read more than that. Your job is to edit, edit, edit your resume until it is a manageable, concise presentation. This does not mean that you should scrunch your resume into one page (or two) just because this is the rule. It is better to have a well-designed resume that will be reviewed by employers, even if it is longer than a crowded resume. Remember to edit critically. Keep your resume short and easy to scan.

What an Employer is Looking for on Your Resume

An employer will scan a resume to determine how your skills, education and experience relate to the position for which they are hiring. Therefore, you will want to make it clear to the employer how you fit in these categories. Employers will look for:

Your relevant education, experience and skills

Is your resume visually appealing and easy-to-read (concise)?

What are your career aspirations and goals?

Do you demonstrate consistency and attention to detail? (NO spelling or grammatical errors!!)

Resume Critique Checklist

Is the resume cramped and crowded? Does it contain plenty of white space around important items?

Does the resume contain any irrelevant information?

Are spelling, grammatical and typographical errors eliminated?

Could the resume tell the same story if it were shortened?

Does the resume avoid generalities and focus on specific information about education, experience and skills?

Is the third person and passive voice approach used?

Is the objective supported by the contents of the resume?

Does the resume appear neat, organized and professional?

Is information highlighted in a consistent manner using indentation, bold type, underlining, or capitalization?

Do your statements start with action verbs?

Is your most recent education listed first?

Have you eliminated high school information?

Sample Resume

NAME

Present Address Permanent Address

123 S. Washington 7891 Linder Road

Green Bay, WI 54301 Green Bay, WI 54304

(920) 555-3570 (920) 555-3115

OBJECTIVE:

To obtain a professional position within Human Resources Management.

EDUCATION:

University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, Green Bay, WI

Bachelor’s Degree, May 2005

Major in Communication Processes with Emphasis in Organizational Development

Minor in Business Administration

GPA: 3.6 / 4.0

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE:

Human Resources Internship, Summer 2004

Georgia Pacific, Green Bay, WI

• Attended recruitment/job fairs to assist staff with questions and promoting

opportunities.

• Pre-screen applications and resumes, schedule and perform pre-employment

interviews and conduct reference checks prior to job offers.

Office Assistant, September 2002 - May 2003

Career Services, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay

• Provided assistance with student questions and referred to appropriate personnel.

• Scheduled appointments for staff members.

• Accurately entered information into an on-line database.

ACTIVITIES:

Member, Habitat for Humanity, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay

Volunteer, Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay

REFERENCES:

Available upon request.

-----------------------

Your name should appear first!

What kind of position are you seeking?

Don’t “bury” your education.

Most recent and relevant experience appears first.

Have you been involved in outside activities while in college?

Do not include references on your resume

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download