Creating an Effective Resume & Cover Letter. Overview Purpose of a resume Preparing to write your...

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Creating an Effective Resume & Cover Letter

Transcript of Creating an Effective Resume & Cover Letter. Overview Purpose of a resume Preparing to write your...

Creating an Effective Resume &

Cover Letter

OverviewPurpose of a resumePreparing to write your resumeResume content areasResume formatUse of keywords & action verbsWhat to include and excludeCover letters

What is a resume? A resume is a self-marketing tool designed to “sell”

your qualifications to employers

A resume is a one (or two for highly qualified candidates) page summary of your education, skills, experience and accomplishments

A resume is your introduction to the employer and where you make your first impression

A resume gets you the interview so you can get the job!

Preparing to Write Your Resume

Conduct Self AssessmentOutline your skills, experience, and

abilitiesDetermine where your interests lie in your

chosen career fieldConduct research on job titles that are

available in your career field and what qualifications are required

Find matches between your skills and interests and available positions

Self AssessmentWrite down your jobs, volunteer work,

activities, class projectsHave one paragraph worth of

information for each item and include:◦ Concrete, quantifiable data (saved over

20%; sales in excess of $2M)◦ 5 or more success stories◦ List of skills and experiences◦ Achievements and accomplishments

Self AssessmentResume Item

Skills SuccessStories

Achievements

Internship Software development

Time Management

Project Management

Completed project before deadline

Improved program efficiency by 20%

Won “Intern of the Year” award

Received full-time job offer

Resume Content - Basic Section TitlesNameContact informationObjective or Summary of QualificationsEducationResearch or ProjectsRelated Experience / Employment

ExperienceVolunteer ExperienceActivities & Honors / Professional

MembershipsSkills

Contact Information

FIRST LAST

1500 Melbourne Avenue #123Melbourne, FL 32901321-123-4567 (cell)

[email protected]

First [email protected]

Current (Until May 6, 2012) Permanent

1000 Melbourne Avenue – 2587 1234 Main Street

Melbourne, FL 32901 City, IL 12345

123-456-7890 (cell) 222-222-2222

FIRST LAST

123 Main Street, Melbourne, FL, 32901 321.222.1111 [email protected]

Objective StatementIt should not be about you and

what you want!

Make it about the employer’s needs and what value you bring to the position

Consider a summary of qualifications or professional profile statement to better show your value

Objective StatementBe specific when possible

Tailor your objective for field/position and employer

Include specific skills necessary for the position that you have to offer

Objective StatementWhat do you think of these objective statements?

An entry level position that allows me to develop my full potential as an engineer.

A position that offers a challenging work environment and opportunity for growth.

Objective Statement Samples A position as a support specialist utilizing my skills and

experience in the fields of computer science and management information systems

A summer internship in biological sciences working with marine mammals and utilizing excellent laboratory and analytical skills.

Sample Summary Statement Experienced human resources professional with expertise

in payroll, program implementation, and organizational development seeking position as human resources manager. Accomplishments include:◦ Understanding of benefit administration and labor laws◦ Knowledge of human motivation factors◦ Administering counseling, support, career guidance and

development

EducationList most current education firstOmit high school unless you are a

freshmanUse bold font for majorAnticipated graduation dateGPA if over 3.0 or if meets minimum

requirementsRelated coursework – bulleted list of 4-6

related coursesCertifications or additional training

Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FLBachelor of Science, Marine Biology

GPA: 3.45Anticipated graduation: May 2012

Work/Related Experience Format List position, organization, location, and employment

dates Location – just city and state is required Dates – just list years for multiple years and use

consistent format when listing months List in reverse chronological order Use past tense for previous positions Start each description with an action verb. Make sure

that all of your descriptions are full statements. Try to match your action/keywords with the keywords

used in the job description Look at your current job description for guidance in

writing your work description

Work/Related Experience FormatFlorida Institute of Technology, Resident Assistant, Melbourne, FL, August 2011 - May 2012 Served as peer counselor and assisted over 50 residents in transitioning to

campus culture Enforced college policies to ensure campus health safety standards were met Organized, promoted and implemented educational workshops and social

activities for residents

Resident Assistant 9/2011-5/2012Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FLServed as peer counselor and assisted over 50 residents in transitioning to campus culture in several capacities: Organized, promoted and implemented educational workshops and

social activities for residents Enforced college policies to ensure campus health safety standards

were met

Work/Related ExperienceFormula for describing your responsibilities and accomplishments:

What did you do > How did you do it > For what purpose > What was the result?

Work/Related ExperienceSystems Administrator Rough notes: I helped migrate more than 1,000 users from local

servers to corporate Unix DCS servers. My boss wanted this done in a month, and unbelievably, I achieved this.

Formulated Statement: Integrally involved in seamless migration of 1,000-plus users from various local servers onto DCS corporate UNIX servers in aggressive one-month timeframe.

Administrative Assistant Rough notes: On my first day on the job, I couldn't find anything,

because the filing system was a mess. Customers were unhappy, because wait times were long as we located files. I reorganized the filing system, which now works beautifully.

Formulated Statement: Improved office efficiency by overhauling previously haphazard filing system and implemented a new charting system that resulted in a 20% increase in the number of customers served while also increasing customer satisfaction.

Work/Related Experience Tips List tangible results and skills where possible

Avoid using pronouns such as “I” or ”my” in describing your responsibilities and throughout your resume

If you have held many part-time or summer jobs, only list the most recent and most relevant to your targeted position

Consider condensing jobs that are similar but not related to the target position into one statement to show that you worked while in college and that you contributed to your college expenses

Sample:2009-2011 Held several part-time positions in hospitality industry to earn money for college expenses.

Work/Related Experience Tips Internships and major-related jobs can be listed in

their own section and should be listed before non major-related jobs

If you have not had an internship or major-related experience, list the work experiences that you have and focus on transferable skills and any achievements

Sample:Cashier, Walmart, Palm Bay, FL 2011-2012 Cash handling and customer service duties in high volume retail

environment Trained and supervised new employees

Research & Volunteer Experience

Research related to your major with professors or in class

Articles published (use proper citing for your major)

Senior design project – describe goal of project and accomplishments

Volunteering shows responsibility, dedication, and involvement

Especially valuable if major related

Use the same format as for work experience but identify volunteer work under a separate heading

Activities & Memberships Campus organizations – clubs, sports, student government,

etc. Honor societies related to your major (Psi Chi, Alpha Eta

Rho) Professional organizations:

IEEE NSBE SWE

Special scholarships – exclude amount Awards Leave off high school accomplishments List most relevant activities such as professional

associations or honor societies first

Skills Lab skills (Proficient with laboratory and field

equipment) Basic software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) Programming languages (C/C++, Perl, Java, C#,

Fortran, SQL, PHP) IEEE standards & Engineering concepts Specialty Software Aircraft flown (PA-2-161, Mooney M20J, etc) Flight time (PIC, Dual Given, Instrument, Complex,

Multi-Engine) Fluency or knowledge of a foreign language

SkillsConsider adding “soft skills” to the resume

in your skills section

Soft skills that are sought after by employers such as communication, teamwork, leadership, and management skills

Although typically listed in a cover letter, including them on the resume can help in key word searches

KeywordsKeywords are especially important in

resumes that are submitted online and scanned

Match with the key qualifications or requirements of a job description

Consider a skills section that is targeted to the qualifications required by the employer

Keywords & Action Verbs Accelerated

Accomplished

Accounted Achieved Acquired Adapted Administere

d Adopted Advised Advocated Aided Allocated Analyzed Appraised Arranged Assembled Based Budgeted Built

• Checked• Classified• Coached• Collated• Collected• Communicat

ed• Compiled• Completed• Composed• Conducted• Consolidate

d• Constructed• Controlled• Counseled• Created• Dealt• Delegated• Delivered• Demonstrat

ed• Designed• Determined• Diagnosed

• Directed• Drafted• Edited• Eliminated• Encourage

d• Evaluated• Exhibited• Expedited• Forecasted• Found• Generated• Guided• Hired• Implement

ed• Improved• Increased• Influenced• Initiated• Innovated• Integrated• Interprete

d• Invented

• Invested• Launched• Led• Lobbied• Maintaine

d• Managed• Measured• Mediated• Negotiate

d• Organized• Participat

ed• Planned• Predicted• Program

med• Proposed• Reduced• Revised• Simplified• Streamlin

ed• Systemize

d• Upgraded

Resume BasicsYou have 30 seconds (or less) to grab the

attention of the person reviewing your resume

Resumes should be conciseEasy to read & align visuallyNew college grads with little experience only

need a one page resumeSome graduate students and alumni may need a

two-page resumeDetermine what skills and achievements are

necessary for your resume – keep only those that will help you get the job you are seeking

SPELL CHECK!!!!!

Dos & Don’ts Do include all relevant experience Do use a legible font face and size Do include enough white space to allow for

skimming Do use bulleted lists for job descriptions Do try to stick to one page unless you are a skilled

professional

Don’t include your SSN, Photo, Marital Status, etc Don’t use more than two fonts Don’t put references on the resume – create a

separate sheet Don’t use excessive bold face/italics or an ink color

other than black

Sample ResumeJANE DOE

FIT Box 5555 123 Pleasant St. Melbourne, FL 32901 Anytown, NJ 55555 (321) 674-5555 (101) 555-5555 [email protected] OBJECTIVE: A position as a program manager utilizing education in psychology and

experience managing youth clients in a non-profit organization. EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts, Psychology Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL GPA – 3.75 May 20XX Relevant Courses: Psychology of Personality Abnormal Psychology Physiological Psychology Psychology Research Methods Psychology of Learning and Motivation EXPERIENCE: Client Intake/Case Support Summer 20XX Big Brothers Big Sisters of Brevard, Melbourne, FL Responsible for intake process for child clients, case supervision, file

management, radio appearances, and database maintenance.

20XX-20XX Student Assistant Diamond Community School, Palm Bay, FL

Supervised children ages 2-14. Tutored various subjects including Math and English. Assisted teachers with preparing lesson plans and grading papers.

20XX-20XX Resident Assistant Florida Tech Residence Life, Melbourne, FL Assisted and advised freshmen students with their first year transition.

Developed and presented educational and community-building programs. Attended leadership conferences and professional development in-service programs. Maintained discipline, inventoried furniture, and enforced physical security measures.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE: Exchange Club Yellow Umbrella, Melbourne, FL 20XX-present Volunteer in child abuse prevention center. Assist staff in providing

immediate intervention services to families at-risk of child abuse or in need of other social services.

ACTIVITIES: President, Psi Chi, Florida Tech Chapter – 20XX Senator, Florida Tech Student Government – 20XX Public Relations Manager, College Players, Florida Tech – 20XX

Sample ResumeJohn Doe

FIT Box 1545 • Melbourne, FL 32901 • 444-444-4444 • [email protected]

OBJECTIVE Recent honors graduate in Computer Science with over five years professional experience in software engineering seeking position in software development utilizing strong skills in C, C++ and Java. EDUCATION Master of Science, Software Engineering May 20XX Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL GPA – 3.85 Bachelor of Science, Computer Science May 20XX University of XXXX City, ST RELEVANT COURSES Windows Programming (C++), Software Testing (TestFirst, JUnit Testing), Software Design, Software Engineering, Data Structures and Algorithms, Assembly Language, Artificial Intelligence, Operating System Concepts, Management Principles, SOA & Web Services

TECHNICAL SKILLS Languages C/C++, Visual Basic, Java, Pascal, HTML, PHP, Perl

APIs Win 32 SDK, Win 32 DDK, MFC, NDIS Software Borland C++, Visual Studio 6, Visual Studio .NET, Borland Builder, Microsoft Office,

SoftIce, WinDbg, SourceSafe, Perforce, Ethereal Operating Systems Windows 95-XP, Windows CE EXPERIENCE Software Engineer September 20XX – August 20XX ABC Company Melbourne, FL

• Created a flash updating tool that communicated directly with the second generation PRISM chipset hardware

• Supported the integration team with software tools to test, debug, and control new hardware implementations

• Ported the entire firmware code base to an enhanced compiler • Generated a course set of classes shared between multiple flash updating tools and created a Windows

interface • Provided direct customer support for card configuration and NVRAM update issues

PERSONAL PROJECTS

• Created a photo album content generator including an image manipulation module and scripted HTML generation

• Created an instant messaging and file transfer application • Running a personal website with a MySQL Server backend database

Your Resume

How does your resume measure up! Is it easy to read? Does your objective statement bring value or is it all

about you? Is your education listed in correct order and format? Work experience – if you have any, is it listed in

reverse chronological order? Relevant skills section? Is the most important information listed first and easy

to read?

Cover LettersOpportunity to introduce yourself to the

employer

Provide enhanced details about your qualifications

Point out specific experiences which make you an excellent fit for the position

A cover letter does not need to be lengthy and should not exceed one page

Cover Letters Paragraph #1: How you learned about the job?

Identifying your source of information about the job. Paragraph #2: Why you are interested?

Address the reasons you are motivated. Paragraph #3: How you are qualified?

Opportunity to relate your qualifications to the various skills the employer has outlined in the position description.

Paragraph #4: What steps you plan to take to be considered?

Summarize your interest in the position, show appreciation, indicate contact information for further information, and take responsibility for following up.

Resume and Cover Letter ResourcesOptimal Resumehttps://fit.optimalresume.com/

Career Management Serviceshttp://www.fit.edu/career/resumes/

Career Management ServicesPart-time and full-time job postings on

Panther Career Link at http://fit.experience.com

Internships & Co-opProTrack Co-opFederal Work-studyFlorida Work Experience ProgramWorkshopsResume & Cover Letter CritiquesCareer Fair & Employer DayMock Interviews

Contact Us

Dona Gaynor, [email protected]

Delicia Lewis, Assistant [email protected]