Resume 101

1

• Resume 101

2
Resumes

• Your opportunity to advertise yourself!
• A Teaser. Do not include everything!
• Employers take 10 SECONDS to review a resume.
• What do you want to stand out?
• Engineering, engineering, engineering,
  engineering, engineering, engineering, etc.

3
Most Common Mistakes

• Too long
• Too brief
• Misspellings, typos
• Poor grammar
• Goofy email address

• Irrelevant personal information
• Disorganized
• Fancy type paper
• Missing or unfocused objective

4
General Resume Tips

• Clean, sharp copy
• Printed in black ink
• 8.5 x 11 white paper (avoid colors)
• .5 to 1 margins all around
• Keep typeface simple and easy to read
• Name (14-16 font), Text (10-12 font)
• Keep to one page
• Stay away from templates

5
References

• No need to state References available upon
  request
• Create a separate page with matching paper and
  heading
• 3-5 references (current/former supervisors,
  coworkers, faculty)
• Provide title, organization, full address, phone
  number, email address

6
Resume
One page snap shot of your education,
experience, and skills
7
Other Headings

• Projects
• Research
• Leadership
• Volunteer
• Computer Skills (or Technical Skills)
• Language Skills
• Activities
• Honors/Awards
• Use boldface or capital letters for section
  headings

8
Purpose of Career Objective

• To inform the employer of your specific career
  goal and targeted position
• Employer should not have to guess what you want
  to do - be specific
• Tailor your objective to each employer you
  target/every job you seek

9
Sample Objectives

• Weak
• Interested in gaining opportunity that will allow
  me to use my knowledge and skills to enhance the
  overall mission of the organization.
• A challenging and rewarding job where I will be
  promoted quickly.
• Strong
• Seeking position as Process Engineer. Able to
  begin work immediately. Willing to relocate.

10
Education

• Should be toward the top of the page
• Degree, Major
• University
• Provide graduation date month/year or expected
  graduation date
• GPA
• No High School
• (unless relevant or freshman/sophomore)

11
Educational Highlights

• From the employers perspective, team- oriented
  projects are a plus
• Possible sub-headings (or main headings)
• Relevant Coursework
• Projects
• Research Experience

12
Work Experience

• Begin with current position and work backward
• Use job titles if relate to current job objective
  
• If not, start with organization
• Bullets and action verbs to describe duties
  accomplishments (see handout)
• Use present tense for current job and past tense
  for previous jobs

13
Work Experience (cont.)

• Use short phrases vs. complete sentences
• Do not repeat duties common to positions
• Tailor position descriptions to future job/career
  objective
• Think about accomplishments in the job
• Try to quantify - s stand out
• List recognitions or awards you received
• Include ALL relevant experiences (paid,
  volunteer)

14
Resumes

• Check for overall impact - not just wording
  punctuation
• Your job goal should be relevant to company
• Research company to ensure objective matches
  their needs
• Your resume is a life long work in progress
• Think about what you want your resume to look
  like upon graduation, and find opportunities to
  get involved!

15
Cover Letters

• The text of email when writing to employer
• 3 paragraphs
• Why THEM?
• Introduce yourself explain why you are writing
  to THIS company of all companies in the world.
• Why YOU?
• Match to the job description
• Follow up
• Your closing a request for action

16
Questions
17
Upcoming Events

• Global Impact Expo
• March 13th (UMC 235)
• Moc-Tail Networking Event
• March 15 (UMC 235)
• International Panels
• April 16 (HUM 150)
• True Callings
• April 19th (UMC 235)
• Just In Time Fair
• April 18 (UMC)