What You Definitely Need To Know About Resumes

• DEVELOPING A RESUME TAKES LOTS OF TIME
  If you’re looking for quick tips on how to do a resume or for a template you can download, you can stop reading NOW! Developing a resume that will get you an interview takes lots of time: research, writing, editing, proofreading, and further research, editing, and proofreading.
  If you’re serious about learning the strategies of developing an effective resume, read on.
  
  
• NO MAGIC FORMULA; TAILOR YOUR RESUME
  There are many resume resources on the internet and in books. There are also many people ready to give you resume advice, but what works for one person’s situation may not be appropriate for yours. People who are developing a resume are often searching for the perfect resume “template”. SURPRISE: there isn’t ONE right way to write a resume or one right look, because each job and each opportunity is different. The most effective resume is tailored to a specific job, internship, scholarship, or graduate or professional school application. There are very few golden rules in resume writing, except that everything you include in your resume should be relevant to the targeted job or opportunity. Plan on having multiple resumes for different opportunities. (The same advice applies to cover letters, reviewed in a separate section of this web site.) Think of a resume as a marketing tool that gets you an interview. In marketing you have to do research, you have to understand your “client” (in this case, the employer or organization), you have to be flexible and open-minded, and you have to tailor your marketing approach (i.e. your resume) to meet your “client’s” needs.
  
  
• FOCUS ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
  A resume should focus on your accomplishments, achievements, results, and outcomes. It is NOT A LIST OF ALL YOUR DUTIES AND EVERY JOB YOU EVER HELD. And, to further increase the impact of your resume, provide quantifiable details that measure your performance.
  Ask yourself:
  • What difference did I make between the time I started and the time I left a job?
  • How was performance measured in my job, and how did I measure up?
  • What am I proudest of?
  • When did I go over and beyond a job description or a supervisor (or instructor’s) expectations?
  
  Write as many stories as you can of your work or academic related accomplishments, and describe the following:
  • The SITUATION you were in.
  • The PROBLEMS/CHALLENGES you faced.
  • The ACTIONS you took.
  • The measurable RESULTS that benefited your company or supervisors.

  This format is the key to showing your ability to make an impact in a situation. Then summarize each accomplishment into two or three lines for your resume.
  
  If you were advising Steven Spielberg, the famous movie director/producer, about his resume, would you recommend that he write:
  “Responsible for editing scripts, auditioning actors, developing budgets, and supervising
  set and costume design” (which any director/producer can include)
  OR
  “Recipient of ??? Academy Awards” and “Movie, E.T. grossed over ????? million dollars,
  the largest gross ever for a movie”
  
  Steven Spielberg’s resume stands out from other directors and producers when you feature the budgets of his movies, how much money each movie made, which famous actors appeared in them, and which awards (and how many) he has received.
  
  Other examples: what’s the difference between “processed loans” and “processed over 30 loans daily.” Or between “responsible for managing behavior of children ” and “created a behavior management plan that reduces conflict in the classroom and is utilized in 100 public schools.” In both examples the second phrase demonstrates an accomplishment. Every job or task has some way of measuring its size, scale, and results.
  
  Accomplishments are best stated by beginning with dynamic action verbs (to NEW TEXT, “Key Word Lists”). Avoid using such lifeless or ambiguous phrases as “duties included”, “responsible for” or “participated in”.
  

• TAILORING YOUR RESUME – RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH
  Preliminary research is VERY important in developing a resume. We have heard employers say: “Didn’t the applicant read our job description?”….or….”Didn’t they research our company?” Read job descriptions and applications thoroughly and highlight key words. Look up similar job descriptions in other companies for a better understanding of the requirements of a particular type of job. If the employer hasn’t provided a very detailed job description, search the internet for similar jobs anywhere in the world. During this process, you aren’t applying for a job, you’re gathering as much information as possible to help you create your resume. Search in electronic job banks such as monster.com or go to www.google.com and type in, for example, “jobs – financial analyst” (without the quotation marks). Another research strategy is to look up sample resumes of other people in the field you are applying for. Search in www.google.com and type in, for example, “sample resumes – advertising” (without the quotation marks). The best resume models for your own resume are resumes of people in your field.

• GETTING STARTED
  When creating a resume, think about the content and strategy first and the appearance second.
  
  If this is your first resume, write basic information using a simple format such as the one below:

Name, address, etc.
Heading: Summary of Qualifications
(with nothing listed initially)
Education
(degree or field of study, school name, degree date)
Experience
(in reverse chronological order, list relevant
experience, including job title, company name, dates,
and accomplishments)

Then do research on the job, school, or scholarship you are applying for. When you fully understand the position or qualifications and you know the key words they are looking for, go back to your resume and tailor it.

If you already have a resume, first do your research, then go back and tailor it to the targeted job or opportunity.

Don’t get too hung up on precise wording when you start to tailor your resume. Type the information on the page exactly the way you think about it in your mind. You can reword it later.

• THE FIRST 10 WORDS, THE FIRST 10 LINES – SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
  It’s important to summarize your key accomplishments and qualifications immediately on your resume. “First 10 words or lines” (or any other number) refer to placing this summary at the top of the first page. Doing this allows you to grab the reader’s attention and curiosity at the beginning of your resume. Having a summary of qualifications at the top of the first page creates the initial image that you want to portray and it emphasizes a “unique marketing statement” that differentiates you from other candidates. Without such a summary, the reader has to infer, based upon your job descriptions, what you might be capable of doing for them in a different setting.
  
  This philosophy is similar to advice given to people in first encounters or interview situations. When someone meets you for the first time, they form immediate impressions or judgements within a few seconds, based on your first few/”10” words. The same is true when someone reads your resume.
  
  Another reason to provide a marketing summary at the top of your resume is that readers of resumes are usually reviewing hundreds or more resumes at a time. They don’t typically read each resume word for word, first to second page, starting with the resume on the top and going to the bottom of the stack. They scan the resumes and read the first few words or lines to determine if they want to read any further.
  
  
• THE IMPORTANCE OF “KEY WORDS”
  What are “Key Words” in a resume?
  The employer, or graduate school and professional school, or scholarship organization is seeking a certain type of individual. Key words refer to the qualifications, skills, and credentials they are seeking in a candidate. Employers list desired qualifications and credentials in a job description. Schools and Scholarship organizations list them in the information about the application process.
  
  How do I determine which Key Words I should put into my resume?
  First of all, don’t think that all you have to do is read a job description, find some key words, and scatter them throughout your resume. If you don’t have the qualifications being sought, you probably shouldn’t be applying for this job, scholarship, or school. Researching what the recipient is looking for will provide you with information for your resume OR it might indicate that you are not qualified. Don’t think of the latter as a bad thing. By not wasting your time on positions for which you are not qualified you decrease chances of rejection.
  
  You can easily figure out some key words for well-known jobs or industries. You can assume that key words for a Car Salesperson are: “sell”, “customer service”, and “persuasive”. Key words for a Career Counselor are: “advise”, “teach/train”, “good listener”, and “resume”. Key words for an Accountant are: “attentive to detail”, “spreadsheets”, and “analyze”. If you’re interested in any of these positions and you don’t possess the qualifications described by the key words, you should not be applying. If you do possess the qualifications and these key words are not on your resume, you need to edit your resume.
  
  You can also find key words in a job description or an application for school or a scholarship. Look for verbs, because they translate into skills. Look for industry or organization specific nouns. Also look for adjectives which translate into desired traits. Most people reading a job description will zero in on the number of years experience required or education required, and they completely ignore the list of required skills. Read everything in the job description. Even the title of the job is a key word: the job title “Financial Analyst” tells you that your resume better include the words “finance” and “analyze”. And pay attention to the words “required” and “preferred”. When employers list a “required” qualification, they mean it.
  
  Sample resumes of people in the type of job you are pursuing will also provide you with important key words. You can find these by typing, for example, “sample resumes – social worker” (without the quotation marks) in www.google.com.
  
  Another way to determine key words is to research the company, school, department, and industry you will be working in. Web sites provide a lot of valuable information and key words. So do mission statements of an organization.