WSU Vancouver Resume Workshop

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WSU Vancouver Resume Workshop
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The real purpose of a resume

• Resumes are much more than a brief history of
  your education and employment.
• They are an opportunity for you to show an
  employer how your unique background and skill
  sets are a good fit for their organization.
• In a perfect world, you would want to rewrite
  much of your resume to fit every job youre
  applying for.

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Keys to Resume Success

• Format
• EASY TO READ
• Appealing to the Eye
• Well Organized
• Content
• Relevant and Clear information
• Illustrates skills and traits
• NOT a pretty description of your work history but
  a SHOWCASE OF YOUR SKILLS

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Functional Format

• Best for those without a significant, relevant
  work history
• Pick Specific Skill Sets and outline your
  accomplishments/knowledge in these areas
• Separately list job titles

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Chronological Format

• This format is good for folks with several years
  of work history
• It is easy to read and to understand the duration
  and context of the listed skills
• It is the standard and is widely accepted

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The Resumes Look

• Your resume is a sample of your work as much as
  its a showcase of your skills
• Use the white space - too much or too little
  blank page can detract from your message
• Create Balance - your resume should not be
  lopsided or bottom heavy
• Be consistent - dont change fonts or headings
• The most important content should be in the first
  third of the page first 20 second average
• The more bolding and underlining you use, the
  less effective it becomes

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Font, Bullets and Numbers

• Select a conservative font style such as CG
  Omega, Tahoma, Palatino or Arial.
• Font size should be 10 to 12-point your name
  should be 14 or 16-point font.
• Use solid bullet points to set off your
  accomplishments avoid using paragraphs.
• When in doubt spell it out avoid abbreviations.
• Spell out numbers ten and lower (excluding
  dates and GPA).

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Proofread

• Use spell check
• This will catch many errors
• Do not rely on spell check
• It cannot catch some of the worst errors
• Pubic/public
• Misspelled or wrong company name
• Basic grammar errors
• You / your
• An / and
• Have others review it
• Set it down and come back to it for further
  review

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Developing Resume Content
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Components of a Resume

• Objective Identifies in several words what you
  can contribute
• Summary Serves as the top 5 reasons you should
  be considered for the position Summarizes the
  more detailed information in the experience
  sections
• Experience Section Offers details about how you
  have used critical skills and demonstrated
  important traits in the workplace
• Awards and Activities Section Informs the
  employer about your personality, your competency
  and your involvement

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Content Focus

• How do you identify what information should be
  included in your resume?
• List the job(s) you are interested in doing when
  you graduate. Find 3-5 jobs online that you would
  apply for. What do they have in common?
• List the skills that you need to do that job
• Hard Skills
• Soft Skills
• Traits

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Heading

• Be sure to include your name, address, phone
  number, and e-mail address.
• Your job search e-mail address should be your
  name or a variation not a cute or funny address.
• Use this same heading for your other job search
  materials
• Cover Letter
• References
• Thank You Letters

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Objective

• The most important traits and skills you have
  identified need to be front and center on your
  resume. This means incorporating them into the
  Objective.
• Pick the top two skills or traits you identified
  in 2 and create an objective that states how
  you might apply, offer, or contribute your top
  two skills or traits.

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Summary

• The Summary section of your resume is composed of
  the top 5 reasons an employer should hire you for
  their position rather than the other candidates.
  
• Identify the top five reasons you are a great fit
  for this position.
• This section should be tailored for every job you
  apply for.
• Here are some ideas
• track record of success using an important skill
• familiar with important principles
• solid understanding of critical information
• software knowledge
• industry specific knowledge
• critical traits or soft skills

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Education

• List most recent degree first
• List your graduation month and year or your
  expected graduation month and year, not dates of
  attendance
• Do not list High School
• No need to include AA transfer degrees if you are
  short on space
• Washington State University Vancouver
• Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
• Expected Graduation May 2007 GPA 3.7

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Experience Section

• The Experience section of your resume must
  illustrate how you used the skills or
  demonstrated the traits required for the
  position.
• Create a statement that illustrates how you used
  the skills required for your career position in a
  job you have already held.
• Each statement in the experience section must
  start with an action verb.

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ACTION VERBS Management Skill Verbs Allocated,
Determined, Directed, Elected, Enlisted, Formed,
Founded, Governed, Hired, Initiated, Inspired,
Instituted, Led, Managed, Moderated, Motivated,
Operated, Oversaw, Pioneered, Presided, Produced,
Recruited, Represented, Selected, Spearheaded,
Sponsored, Staged, Started, Supervised,
Trained Organizational Skill Verbs Arranged,
Assembled, Collected, Centralized, Coordinated,
Catalogued, Distributed, Disseminated, Enforced,
Executed, Formalized, Implemented, Installed,
Maintained, Organized, Planned, Prepared,
Processed, Routed, Recorded, Reorganized,
Scheduled, Updated
Communication Skill Verbs Acquainted, Apprised,
Answered, Briefed, Conducted, Contacted,
Demonstrated, Drafted, Educated, Explained,
Familiarized, Handled, Informed, Instructed,
Introduced, Lectured, Listened, Presented,
Reported, Responded, Spoke, Summarized, Taught,
Trained, Translated, Wrote
Helping Skill Verbs Aided, Attended, Assisted,
Collaborated, Contributed, Counseled, Comforted,
Facilitated, Fostered, Guided, Helped, Instilled,
Mentored, Provided, Settled, Supported, Tutored,
Treated
Creative Skill Verbs Authored, Conceived,
Conceptualized, Created, Composed, Designed,
Devised, Established, Invented, Originated,
Revolutionized
Additional Power Verbs Adapted, Attained,
Augmented, Awarded, Boosted, Broadened, Built,
Calculated, Catered, Decreased, Developed,
Ensured, Eliminated, Exceeded, Excelled,
Expanded, Expedited, Fabricated, Financed,
Gained, Generated, Improved, Increased, Launched,
Mastered, Modernized, Published, Raised,
Reconciled, Reduced, Revamped, Revitalized,
Saved, Shopped, Strengthened, Supplemented,
Tended, Utilized
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Quantify

• How Much
• Money did you raise for your charity
• Did sales increase
• How many
• People did you manage
• Pizzas did you deliver
• Attendees came to the event

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Be Specific

• Be specific about the skills
• What
• Process did you perform?
• Impact did you have?
• Who
• Did you supervise?
• Did you serve?
• Did you work for or with?
• Avoid details about the context unless it is
  directly related

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Awards and Activities

• The Awards and Activities Section of your resume
  is a great place to illustrate contributions you
  have made outside of the workplace and offer
  insight into your personality.
• Identify community activities
• Identify awards, honors or achievements
• Identify hobbies or personal activities that
  illustrate traits you would like to convey
  (organization, persistence, teamwork, discipline)
  

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Student Resource Center

• Located in VSSC lower level
• Contact us at 546-9155 or career_at_vancouver.wsu.edu
  
• Online at www.vancouver.wsu.edu/career
• Career-related appointments available
• Brian Rauscher, Career Counselor
• Jessica Nelson, Assistant Director of Student
  Development