Resumes that Get Results

Purpose of a Resume • A Marketing tool that highlights your:

– Skills – Experiences – Accomplishments

• Therefore, you need to tailor your resume (skills, experiences, accomplishments) according to the specific needs of an employer

• Includes your education, work experience, activities, honors, skills

• It’s your ticket to getting an interview!

Format • Length

– 1 page for undergraduates

• Spacing – Single spacing, but with room between sections

• Margins

– 0.5 inches or 1 inch on all sides (depending on space)

• Font Size

– 10 to 12 point

• Font Type

– Times New Roman, Arial, Garamond

Getting Started • Write down all experiences – work, volunteer, leadership,

internship, extra-curricular, projects, awards, etc. (MASTER RESUME)

• Organize resume into categories

• Define target audience (job, internship, graduate school, etc.) and write down related skills/qualifications

• For Examples: http://www.careerhelp.umn.edu/resumesamples.html

Resume Categories

Common Categories:

• Heading

• Objective

• Education

• Experience

Other Categories:

• Research Experience

• Honors and Awards

• Volunteer Activities

• Certifications

• Professional

Associations

• Projects

• Activities

• Skills

Employer’s Opinions

Most Important Sections to

Include on a Resume:

• Work Experience

• Education

• Skills

• Leadership Experience

• Computer Skills

2011 Employer Survey (U of M)

Heading

Include your Name & Contact Information

Sally Johnson 7890 West Sixth Avenue

Anytown, MN 55698

651-789-1234 johno13@umn.edu

Objective

• Objective

– An objective is optional—it helps to tell an employer what you are seeking

– Be clear & concise

– Incorporate your Brand Statement

Objective

You are applying to the following position… Position: Marketing Analyst - Marketing Research Organization: Cleveland Clinic Desired Qualifications: Detail oriented with strong organizational, problem solving and decision making abilities.

OBJECTIVE To obtain a Marketing Analyst position with Cleveland

Clinic that will utilize my marketing education and

strong organizational skills.

Good objective statement might be…

Objective

Practice:

You are applying to the following

position…

What would be a good objective

statement?

Hint: look at your personal brand

statement

Objective

OBJECTIVE To obtain an Accounting Manager position with Byrnes & Rupkey,

Inc. that will utilize my accounting experience and analytical skills.

Example:

Objective

OBJECTIVE To obtain a marketing internship for summer 2013 that will utilize

my two years of marketing experience and business education.

You are majoring in Applied Economics. You’d like to get a marketing internship for Summer 2013. You are attending a career fair and will likely give your resume to recruiters from more than one company. You aren’t sure which companies you’ll give your resume to.

Example:

Education

Must include:

• Degree ( such as ―Bachelor of Science in _____ or Bachelor of ____Engineering)

• Institution & college (University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences)

• Graduation date rather than a range (Expected May 2012)

• Location (city, state)

• GPA

– Use cumulative and/or major/technical

Other ideas:

• Related Coursework, honors, awards, study abroad

• High school information NOT included

Education

Example:

Experience • May include internships, co-op, volunteering, community

service, extracurricular activities, or work experiences

• Describe your duties, responsibilities, skills and accomplishments

– Create skills statements:

Action Verb + Details + Result

Weak Skills Statement: run the cashier, help customers

Strong Skills Statement: Communicate with customers and process monetary transactions

• Use action verbs such as: collaborate, communicate, supervise, analyze, develop, design, assess, interact, coordinate, organize, provide, examine, evaluate, etc. to communicate your transferable skills!

Experience

Skills Statements • Use the job description to guide youme language

• Use action verbs

For example, if the job description calls for this:

A candidate should possess strong customer service skills

Tailor your skills statement like this:

-Communicated with customers effectively and resolved clients’

problems

Transferable Skills

Think about your experiences in skill terms – any

experience can give you transferable skills!

• Skills are developed through work, volunteer, classroom, leadership experiences – Example: research skills developed through your

coursework

– Example: communication skills developed through tutoring middle school students

– Example: teamwork skills developed through intramural basketball team

Skills Employers Seek What are most important skills necessary for identifying a strong applicant for your hiring needs?

• Ability to function as a team • Interpersonal communication • Ability to learn new ideas

quickly • Identify and Solve problems • Ability to appreciate and

interact with people different than themselves

• Creative/Innovative thinking

Source: 2011 U of M employer survey

Top Five Skills Employers Seek • Ability to work in a team structure • Ability to verbally communicate with persons inside and outside the organization • Ability to obtain and process information • Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work • Ability to analyze quantitative data Source: Job Outlook 2012, National Association of Colleges and Employers

Experience

• Headings

– Create specific headings

• Related Experience or Relevant Experience

• You can get VERY specific, ―Nutrition Experience‖

• Leadership Experience

• Include:

– Title

– Name of company, organization, institution

– City & state (no zip codes)

– Dates employed/involvement

– Skills Statements (Action Verb + Details + Result)

• List your experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent first)

• Do not use personal pronouns (I, my, we)

• Watch the verb tense – stay consistent

• Match your skills and qualifications to the position description and/or company

• Quantify whenever possible

Experience

Experience Examples WORK EXPERIENCE

Assistant Manager, Applebees May 2011-present

St. Paul, MN

• Promoted to assistant manager after six months

• Supervise staff of sixteen including cooks, waiters, and hostesses

• Track and order weekly inventory

• Communicate with customers

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

President, Environmental Science Club September 2012-present

• Planned and facilitated activities for over 180 members

• Increased membership by 76% through assertive recruiting

• Organized a successful high school outreach program for local schools

What Transferable Skills do you have?

Where did you get these Skills?

Think of one meaningful experiences you’ve had (job, internship,

research project, class project, volunteering, leadership, student org.

involvement, etc.) Write down your duties and accomplishments.

What Transferable Skills do you have?

Where did you get these Skills?

Grab a partner

• Person One: Describe your key experiences

• Person Two: Write down what skills you think they’ve gained from

these experiences (use transferrable skills & power verbs handout as

a guide). Share this information with your partner.

• Switch roles and repeat activity

What Transferable Skills do you have?

Where did you get these Skills?

• Identify what skills you gained from your experience (in

addition to what your partner told you)

• Use this information to begin to write skill statements for

your resume (use power verbs handout to help you)

Action Verb + Details + Result

Skills Sections • Highlight additional tangible skills relevant to the position

• Heading can be specific – ―Computer Skills‖ or ―Language Skills‖

• Subheadings of different types of skills

• May want to use level of mastery: proficient, knowledgeable, fluent, comfortable with, familiar with

Example:

SKILLS

Computer: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access

Languages: Fluent in German

Activities

• Demonstrates your leadership ability, social skills, and time

management ability

• Focus on structured activities rather than hobbies

• Include your title if appropriate

• Include dates (list in reverse chronological order)

• May want to create bulleted skill statements

Example:

ACTIVITIES

Secretary, Habitat for Humanity, Fall 2012-Present

Member, Forestry Club, Spring 2011

Captain, Intramural Hockey, Fall 2010-Spring 2011

• Organized practices and created team line-ups for each game

Visual Appeal

• Headings should stand out and be different from other text

– Consider bolding, italicizing, CAPITALIZING

• Balance of text and white space on page

– Easy to read, professional, focused

• Clean, consistent format & punctuation

• Don’t overuse bold, italics, underlining – stick with two or three

Do Not Do Not Include:

• The title ―Resume‖ or ―Resume of‖

• Personal information or photographs

• ―References Available Upon Request‖

• Salary information/history

• Reasons for leaving previous jobs

• Personal pronouns (I, my, etc)

• Abbreviations

Do Not:

• Use resume templates or resume wizards

• Go over one page (for undergraduate students)

• Lie or provide false information

• Have spelling or grammatical errors

• Include personal information

Keep in Mind… • The most important and relevant information

should be toward the top

– You don’t have to include everything

• Target your resume—do not use the same resume for every job

– The order of your resume can (and often times should) change depending on the position you are applying for

– Use the job description to determine what to highlight on your resume

• Always proofread and have someone review your resume (career counselor)

Employer’s Opinions What most needs improvement with student

resumes?

• Errors/quality of writing

• Not customized for position

• Poor visual appeal

• Not including skills related to future jobs

• Lack of tangible results and measurable outcomes

References

• Must be on a separate page (use the same heading as your resume)

• Choose 3-4 people and ASK THEM TO SERVE AS REFERENCES on your behalf (Provide them with a copy of your resume)

• Keep up-to-date with your references

• Try and create a balance-such as faculty, advisors, supervisors, coaches

• Use professional, not personal references

References

Example:

Dr. John Doe

Associate Professor

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Animal Science Department

1455 Church Street

Minneapolis, MN 55455

612-624-4090

jdoe@umn.edu

Name

Title

Company/Organization

Address

City, state, zip code

Phone number

E-mail address

Optional: Brief statement

about relationship

Include:

Questions?

Pick the Candidate

• Get into groups of four-five

• Read the job description and then review the resumes of the applicants

• Discuss each of the applicants, their strong and weak points

• Decide as a group who you want to bring in for an interview (you can only chose one person from this pool)

Consider the following

factors: • Candidate 1 (Lana) has done an

informational interview with someone at

your organization & made a positive

impression

• Candidate 2 (John) sent a professional

and friendly follow up email after he

submitted his application materials

• Candidate 3 (Freeman) had a couple

typos in his cover letter

Cover Letters

Purpose of a Cover Letter

• Introduces you to employers and introduces your resume

• Overview of your key selling points for the position and company – Selected experiences, training, skills, interests

• Demonstrates your written communication skills

• Provides opportunity to give more detail than a resume allows

• Cover Letter + Resume=Interview = hopefully a Job!

How do I start? • Use the job description as your guide

• Compare what they are looking for to your skills and experiences

• Tailor to each employer and position

• Do not simply repeat what is on your resume…give more detail!

• Look at your Brand Statement for reminders of what to focus on

• Look at examples: http://www.careerhelp.umn.edu/coverletters.html

Cover Letter Format

• Paragraphs left-justified, not indented

• One space between paragraphs

• Three spaces between “Sincerely” and your name

• Be sure to sign it!

Parts to the Cover Letter

• Heading

• Greeting

• 1st Paragraph

• 2nd Paragraph

• 3rd Paragraph

• Closing

Heading and Greeting Heading

• Your address, phone number, and email

• Date – write it out

• Employer name, title, company, address

Greeting

• Dear NAME (*best option!)…Find out who is doing the search!

• Dear Hiring Manager

• Dear Human Resources Director

• DO NOT WRITE “To Whom It May

Concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam”

1st Paragraph

• This is your introduction. Grab their attention immediately!

• What are you applying for? Include the position and employer

• How did you hear about the position? Do you have a connection to the company?

• Why are you interested in this position? This organization?

• Finish with a statement about why you are a “good fit” for the position (personal brand statement)—preview what you will elaborate on

2nd Paragraph

• Your chance to impress them and get them interested in your resume!

• The longest paragraph in your cover letter

• Describe each of your skills/experiences mentioned in the 1st Paragraph in more detail

• Be sure you are referencing the qualifications needed for the position

• Support your claims and give concrete evidence/proof – demonstrate your skills in action

3rd Paragraph • Summarize your qualifications – re-state why you will

be a good candidate for the position

• Optional - indicate that you will contact them to confirm receipt of your application

• Include your contact information (phone number and e-mail address) in case they need additional information or have questions

• Re-state your interest and thank them for their time and consideration of your application

Things to Remember

• Tailor it to the position description – fill-in-the-blank cover letters can be spotted a mile away

• Focus on the needs of the employer – show them you have what they want, not what you will gain

• Proofread! Don’t give the employer an opportunity to say no

• If a cover letter is “optional” include one

• It should not exceed one page

• Use same font and paper as your resume

Feedback from Employers

Feedback from Employers

What is the biggest cover letter mistake students make?

• Failure to proofread/errors • “Form” cover letter (not customized for position and

company) • Failure to highlight related skills • Poor grammar and sentence mechanics • Vague career objective

Professional

Correspondence

Emailing Application Materials

• Always attach your cover letter & resume as a PDF so that you know employers receive them in the right format

• Name your resume and cover letter so that attachments make sense “Katy Hinz Resume”

• Write a brief and professional message that your cover letter and resume are attached

• Make subject line clear “Marketing Internship, Katy Hinz_Application”

Goldpass

• Able to upload several different resumes and cover letters, be sure to tailor them to the position

Other Websites

• Upload the actual documents if possible

• If company only provides a text box, keep your resume and cover letter format as simple as possible

• Many large companies will scan your resume searching for key words (hint: use the job description as your guide)

Submitting Application

Materials Online

Other Letter Types: Letter of Inquiry

• Target a company – looking for available positions

• Positions/jobs that have not been posted

Acceptance/Withdrawal Letter

• Acceptance – formally acknowledge job offer

• Withdrawal – a courtesy, not obligated to give specific information

Follow up Letter

• A short letter sent to ensure your application materials have been received and/or to follow up on the hiring process

Dear Mr. Johnson,

I applied for the research internship on October 26,

2012. I am extremely interested in this position and the

possibility of working for Boston Scientific, a leader in

the biomedical field. I am wondering where you are in your

hiring process and if there is any additional information

you would like me to provide?

Sincerely,

Jane Doe

Follow Up Example

Questions?