Resume Writing

Resume Writing "Every resume is a one-of-a-kind marketing communication. It should be appropriate to your situation and do exactly what you want it to do." Advertising Everywhere we look, we are bombarded by advertising in print, on-line, on billboards, in our mailbox, and even in the sky attached to small airplanes during a football game. What is the point to all of this? The people purchasing the advertising are trying to capture your attention and communicate a message. They are also trying to shape your behavior based on the message. Advertisements always tell a positive story. In a similar way, the resume and cover letter are also advertisements. They need to communicate a positive message about your skills and experiences to the target job market. The message must be clear. They must draw attention and motivate a response. Hopefully that response is to arrange an interview. Product Research: To do this, you must first know your product. The process of identifying the P.E.A.K.S., or your personal characteristics, experiences, accomplishments, knowledge and skills, helps you to begin crafting your positive unique message. Each of you has a different set of life experiences, characteristics, skill sets and areas of knowledge that make you unique. •

When writing your resume and cover letters, consider the story that only you can tell. What's your story?

Market Research:

Writing good advertising depends in part upon previous knowledge of the target market. In the same way, without a complete understanding of the audience you are trying to reach, it is impossible to write a truly effective resume or cover letter. Without such information, your resume simply becomes a listing of facts rather than a carefully crafted tool that communicates a specific message to motivate the behavior of a specific audience.

Purpose of a Resume:

If you haven't guessed it yet, the primary purpose of a resume is to gain an interview. It will not get you the job, but a good resume is critical to opening the door to an interview. The resume should communicate a strong advertising message: "If you buy this product (me), you will get these specific, direct benefits." When you craft your resume, the resume should not simply inform. Instead, the resume should generate interest and persuade an employer to contact you. Writing a resume with this purpose in mind, results in a more effective document. Resumes can also have other purposes such as: •

To communicate specific facts about you concerning your education, background, employment history, affiliations etc and to provide your contact information.

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To show yourself as a professional.

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To function as an example of your skills particularly in the areas of art, marketing, advertising etc.

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To function as another type of business card to give to your references, employment contacts and others you may meet who are interested in your background.

How To Write A Resume Plan First:

Before writing a resume, you need to ask yourself the all important question, "What would make someone the perfect candidate?" Applying Covey's principle of seeking first to understand, makes it easier for your message to be understood. •

Stop here and start on your journal assignment for the week. After you have completed the exercise, put your work away and then pick up with the remaining lecture notes. 

In the Rockport article, Part 2, they suggest that you "Plan First". In your journal, brainstorm your answers to the following question, "What would make someone the perfect candidate?". (Base this on your knowledge about what skills, abilities, personal qualities, education etc. are needed

in your area of interest. If you are not sure, spend some time researching your career area before you start this exercise.) Prioritize your answers based on which qualities or abilities your think would be most important to the hiring manager. 

Then, starting with the most important quality, fill in as much as you can with brainstorming about why you are the person who best fulfills the employers needs. Write down everything you have ever done that demonstrates that you fit perfectly with what is wanted and needed by the prospective employer. Do this by reviewing your work history, education, extracurricular activities, honors, special skills etc. Be sure to include things like the projects, accomplishments etc. that you have in each of these areas. Think broader than what you have listed on your resume and include everything that comes to mind.

Two Sections of A Great Resume: A great resume has two primary sections: •

Assertions Section - Here you make statements that communicate about what abilities, personal qualities and achievements you have that would immediately generate interest in the target employer.

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Evidence Section - Here you support your assertions with specific information such as information about the jobs you have held, the education and training you have accomplished etc.

Resume Specifics: Identification This is where you list your pertinent contact information. While this is very basic, this should be the first thing that an employer sees on your resume. Make sure that the information is correct and will be correct for at least 6 months after you distribute your resume. The information that is critical to this portion is: •

Your Name

•

Mailing Address

•

Permanent Mailing Address (NOTE: only if different)

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Phone Number (NOTE:Include the number where you can leave a professional voicemail message if you can't answer immediately.)

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Email Address (NOTE: Make sure your email address sounds professional. Cute email user names are not appropriate on a resume.)

Assertions Section

1. Objective

As part of the assertions section, the career objective should focus on your particular target area by including mention of information such as career area, position title, type of organization or functional area. A targeted resume always has a targeted objective on it. If you are focusing on a few different areas then you will need to have a resume specifically written for each area. It is impossible to write an effective, generic objective. Objectives like, "MBA seeking entry level position where I can utilize my interpersonal skills", are not going to capture appropriate attention. Instead, focus on specifics of what you want and what you bring to the table: For example: •

"A marketing position with a consumer products organization seeking an exemplary record of developing and implementing strategy targeted at the Hispanic market."

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"An entry-level position in the defense industry where a background in supply chain management and logistics is beneficial."

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"Consultant position in an organization where project management and technology implementation experience will be valued."

2. Profile/Summary

The next area in the assertions section should contain several brief statements that summarize for the readers your specific qualities and achievements that will be of interest to them. This section serves the purpose of telling them the overall story of your most important qualifications. When written well, the summary should motivate the reader to want to continue reading your resume.

The following are examples of what you can include. This information is quoted from the Rockport article: •

A short phrase describing your profession

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Followed by a statement of broad or specialized expertise

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Followed by two or three additional statements related to any of the following:

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Breadth or depth of skills

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Unique mix of skills

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Range of environments in which you have experience

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A special or well-documented accomplishment

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A history of awards, promotions, or superior performance commendations

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One or more professional or appropriate personal characteristics

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A sentence describing professional objective or interests

Examples of this include: •

"Account Representative with more than 3 years of experience increasing sales revenue with an organization in the financial services industry. Particularly skilled at building and maintaining strong customer relationships. Excellent interpersonal and analytical skills."

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"Creative problem-solver with special strengths in consultative scheduling, strategic planning and customer focus."

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Want to Learn More? For more examples of summaries, please see the Summary section of the Rockport article in Part 2: How To Knock The Socks Off A Prospective Employer.

3. Skills and Accomplishments

The final component of the assertions section is that of the skills and accomplishments. This continues the type of information written in the summary section but with much greater detail. The goal is to still persuade the reader that you are the solution to their employment problems by communicating the important message, "If you buy this product (me), you will get these specific, direct benefits." Depending upon the format of your resume, chronological, functional or a

combination, this information may be in a separate section or organized as a description of each position held. Separate section example: PROFESSIONAL

HIGHLIGHTS

Operations/Strategic Leadership •

Consistently maintained highest regional profit margin with lowest

overhead

through

aggressive

sales,

performance

improvement, cost control, M&A, partnership and technology initiatives. •

Saved more than $500,000/year by optimizing efficiency of corporate pre-sales engineers and eliminating regional pre-sales engineer positions.

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Cut administrative staff 30% over three years following introduction of integrated, online operational management information system. Restructured employees bonus plan to reward sales participation, account expansion, RFP responses and technical writing contributions.

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Resolved major problems with accounts receivable, staff shortages for unique technical functions and regulatory compliance in partnership terms and agreements.

NOTE: If this format is used, there is usually a separate section that lists the employment history after the highlights section. The minimum information to include is: position title, name of organization, location of organization and dates of employment. Positions would be listed with the most recent first. Example when organizing under different positions: ELGRANDE Manager,

RESTAURANT research

&

CORP.,

Ashtabula,

development/purchasing,

Ohio

1992-1994

Sourced and developed products and suppliers covering all signage,

seating, décor and interactive technologies. Acted as liaison with marketing department on strategy implementation, menu and POP development. Managed $180 million annual budget. Supervised relationships with 60 vendors/suppliers on an international basis. Key contributions: •

Redesigned Playworld program, eventually implemented in more than 5,000 stores. This program increased sales for each participating store on average of 30% on a long-term basis, while allowing return of initially invested capital in 12 to 18 months (depending upon store's volume). Also worked closely with President of El Grande USA on successfully opening 48 Jumpin' Jack Flash facilities, an alternative childrens' play/design format that was being explored by El Grande at the time.

•

Part of team that developed products, services, and suppliers to support Encycling USA, an industry-leading recycling campaign. This was a $100 million program that has since grown 10-fold.

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Established relationships with 25 new development partners in South America, spearheading company's ability to rapidly penetrate a burgeoning market. One of three employees selected for six-person Store of the Future Committee.

NOTE: As an option with this format, keywords or industry buzz words can be included at the beginning of each description to further organize the information. Keywords also help the reader to capture information about your skill area quickly. See the following example: ELGRANDE Manager,

RESTAURANT research

&

CORP.,

Ashtabula,

development/purchasing,

Ohio

1992-1994

Sourced and developed products and suppliers covering all signage, seating, décor and interactive technologies. Acted as liaison with marketing department on strategy implementation, menu and POP

development. Managed $180 million annual budget. Supervised relationships with 60 vendors/suppliers on an international basis. Key contributions: •

Program Design & Implementation: Redesigned Playworld program, eventually implemented in more than 5,000 stores. This program increased sales for each participating store on average of 30% on a long-term basis, while allowing return of initially invested capital in 12 to 18 months (depending upon store's volume). Also worked closely with President of El Grande USA on successfully opening 48 Jumpin' Jack Flash facilities, an alternative childrens' play/design format that was being explored by El Grande at the time.

•

Campaign Support: Part of team that developed products, services, and suppliers to support Encycling USA, an industryleading recycling campaign. This was a $100 million program that has since grown 10-fold.

•

Strategic Partnerships: Established relationships with 25 new development partners in South America, spearheading company's ability to rapidly penetrate a burgeoning market. One of three employees selected for six-person Store of the Future Committee.

Evidence Section 1. Education & Training

In this section, new graduates will want to the basics of their educational credentials by including the following: •

Name of Degree

•

Date of Degree

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Name & Location of Institution

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Concentration/Specialization/Major/Minor

Optional Items: •

Overall GPA/GPA in major

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Relevant course work

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Academic honors

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Other training and certifications received

2. Experience

The experience section can include paid/non-paid work, internships, volunteer/community service, military and both full and part-time work. In some cases this sections can be organized by using headings such as "Related Experience" and "Additional Expereince". Doing this allows a person to use the reverse chronological format but move the most relevant experience higher on the resume where it will be more immediately visible. Depending on how you choose to organize your skills and accomplishments, the content that is included to show your experience can be arranged in a variety of ways. The main thing to remember is to include the basics (position title, name of organization, location of organization and dates of employment) and to communicate accomplishments. The S.T.A.R. method is one way to identify what information to include. Using the S.T.A.R. method, you can fully describe accomplishments. As you may recall: S = Situation What was the situation? What was your goal? What did you want to accomplish? T = Task What was the task at hand? What were the hurdles, obstacles or constraints that you faced? A = Action What were the actions that you took, step-by-step to achieve your goal? If it was a group project, what actions did you take to manage the group process? R = Result What was the outcome or result of your actions? What completed the task? What was the measurable/quantifiable result?

3. Optional Categories:

There are a variety of other categories that can be used to provide further evidence of the assertions on your resume. Depending upon your background, you may choose to highlight any of the following on your resume: •

Activities

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Awards

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Computer Skills

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Hobbies

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Honors

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Languages

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Leadership

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Memberships & Affiliations

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Presentations

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Professional Activities

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Professional Development

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Publications

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Scholarships

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Special Projects

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Special Skills

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Travel

NOTE: Remember, everything you choose to include should relate to the key characteristics of interest to your employment job target. If it's not relevant in some way to your objective, then do not include it. 4. References & Portfolio

At the end of your resume, you may choose to also include the phrases: References Available Upon Request Portfolio Available Upon Request

Resume Format & Design Resumes can be formatted in a chronological, functional or combination organization style. Chronological is always organized by specific positions ordered with the most recent positions shown first. This is the most common form of resumes and is excellent at highlighting career progression when in the same field or company. This format is not as effective for those people changing career directions. Functional resumes primarily focus on the skills and abilities of a person without putting particular emphasis on where and when the skills were acquired. This format is helpful when changing career directions or hiding large gaps in employment. The combination format blends the advantages of the two and includes elements of both the chronological and functional formats. The design elements used in a resume can help to highlight key information and create a professional impression. Typically whatever is placed on the top two-thirds of the first page is going to get the most attention which is why having a strong objective and summary section is so important. Length can be from 1-3 pages overall. Most people will range from 1-2 pages for most people. Those working in an academic environment will use a curriculum vitae format for their resume which has no page number limits. It is usually helpful to have both a 1 page "executive summary" resume and a two page extended version that gives more detail. If you use more than one page, be sure to include your full name as a header on the top of the second page for consistency. The use of bold, italics, underline, bullets, different font types and sizes can all be carefully used to create specific effects. The important thing to remember is to use white space throughout the resume so that it is easier to read and to be consistent with all formatting choices.

Aside from making it visually appealing, resumes can also be more effective by using appropriate power words to express your message. Be sure to begin each sentence describing your skills and accomplishments with one of these action verbs. Your Resume

Now that you have done the journal exercise and have reviewed how to write a resume, it's time to update your own. You may find it easier and more effective to start writing it like you've never written one before, using your former resume as a reference. Incorporate the new information that

you uncovered as part of your journal assignment. Check to make sure that your resume is targeted and is compelling to the target audience.