CREATING A RÉSUMÉ OF “HIRE” QUALITY!

What IS a resume?

• A selling tool for presenting yourself to a potential employer

• An instrument used to get a company interested in meeting you

Why is the format & presentation of your resume important?

• Employers generally do not “read” resumes – at least at first glance

• Instead, they quickly scan over it and then determine if it is really worth going back to pay more attention to the details

• Your resume will be on their desk along with 40-hundreds-thousands of others, so presentation is important!

• Layout the resume so that with one simple glance, the person eyeing your resume catches: 

1) What you have accomplished

2) What it is you do

3) Present your skills in a way that capture the attention of the reader.

Sections of a Resume:

• OBJECTIVE:– A resume starts with an individual’s career

objective. This tells employers your career goals, and helps them to understand the intended specific direction in your next career move.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

•Do I need an objective?

Yes, Keep it specific to your requested job.

Objective:

To obtain a Summer Retail Trainee position with Walgreens

• EDUCATION:– List your present or most recent education first– If GPA is less than 3.0, do not list it– Class rank, if known

• WORK EXPERIENCE– List your place of employment AND

length/dates of employment (start with your most recent employer and work back to the first employer) - - then:

– Job title, followed by– Duties / Responsibilities (jobs performed)– Beginning/ending Salary information is not

needed on your resume

• VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE / COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT– Community Service Activities– Volunteer service– Food drives– Fundraising

• ACTIVITIES & HONORS– Sports

– Organizations / Clubs

– Leadership roles within these organizations

– Scholarship awards

– Honor Roll, Academic All-State

– National Honor Society

**** Be sure to include dates ****

Include activities that show a sincere interest in learning, helping others or developing a skill such as:

Vice President of Future Business Leaders of AmericaVolunteer at The Ambassador Nursing HomeActive member of LNE Math ClubMonthly volunteer at City Mission serving mealsPromoter of LNE’s “Make A Wish” campaign

STRENGTHS / SKILLS• Key skills, such as leadership, technical skills,

communication and/or interpersonal relationship skills. • Anything that is tangible, credible, and can be validated

through a background check should be included.• Using ACTION WORDS to maximize the impact• This section should be concise, contain action words, and

should sell your most marketable experiences and abilities.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

•What should I focus on? What will make me stand out?

Focus on: TEAMWORK, PROBLEM SOLVING, COMMUNICATION & LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Action Words/Phrases• Regardless of the type of resume you choose to write, keep it

simple, using short, phrased bullet points and action words to start each bullet point. Action words or phrases include:

  -Responsible for…

-Wrote…

-Led…

-Managed…

-Sold…

-Developed…

Wal-Mart—Used problem-solving skills to assist customers with returns and exchanges or comments regarding the store.

Babysitter—Interacted and supervised three small children during summer break. Gained experience taking initiative and making decisions when situations would arise and prompt action was required.

Always use “action-oriented” verbs!

Remember . . .

You only have 30 seconds to get the reader’s

attention. Make them “oooh” and “ahhh” over you

by presenting yourself in the MOST POSITIVE

LIGHT!

Technical things to take note of!

1. Omit GPA if not 3.0 or better2. Keep it to 1 or 2 pages &

never use a partial page3. Use figures to quantify and

verify facts4. Do not use “I”, “me” or “my”

- It’s already all about YOU!

Always list most recent education first!

More technicals . . .5. Always use “References available

upon request” and have reference page with you

6. Have letters of recommendation in portfolio

7. Do not use clip art or watermarks8. Have same letterhead and

stationery for both résumé, references and cover letter

Still more . . .11.Use specific times when you

demonstrated “transferable skills”

12.Format data in two columns if needed

13.Use bullets, borders to increase the appeal / appearance

14.Begin work experience descriptions with “action verbs”

15.Use appropriate email address16.Absolutely no errors!

Example of Proper Reference Format

Mrs. Jocelyn Crabtree, Business Teacher

Lincoln Northeast High School

2635 N. 63rd Street

Lincoln, NE 68507

(402) 436-1303

jcrabtr@lps.org

Always identify your reference’s

relationship to you