RESUMES
Your resumé and LinkedIn/Indeed Profiles provide prospective employers a glimpse into your life. They are looking for your potential to meet the job requirements in an effective way.
A good resumé and a LinkedIn profile are necessary steps for your career.
It cannot be written in just a few minutes;
It requires time, thought and effort.
Remember, your resumé and profile are a summary of your experiences, not your biography. Do not just list jobs held and duties performed, tailor the resumé to emphasize your accomplishments and achievements. Not only does it demonstrate what you have done, it can communicate the skills you have to offer. Show them what you’re worth!
A resumé is divided into different sections. The common sections are objective (or profile), experience, skills, education, activities, leadership, and awards. Keep in mind there are different ways to format a resumé, as well as different types of resumés. The easiest way to build one is to go to LinkedIn and build your profile and then once that is in good shape they have a tool that allows you to export it into a completed resumé to print and/or share electronically!
The following websites provide useful information on resumés, business writing and cover letters. They have additional tips and examples that will be beneficial to you:
- https://www.indeed.com/create-resumé
- https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/how-to-write-a-resumé/
- www.Linkedin.com
Chronological Resumes
The chronological resumé is the most common format where each past experience is relevant to the next. This structure can greatly illustrate the candidate’s career objective.
The format of a chronological resumé looks like this:
Technical best practices: Font should be Arial or Times New Roman, Font size should be 11 – No bold except for section titles (ie EXPERIENCE)
Name/Contact Information Name, Address, E-mail, Phone Number
Make your name big and bold (Text size 14/bold for name only)
Objective or Profile
- Brief overview of your experience and skills and how they link to the job you would like.
Experience
- This is usually job related. Provide descriptions of what you did/learned at the job, the dates you were employed and the location.
Education
- The degree you received, name and date of the institution attended.
Skills
- These are not characteristics you exhibit (great communication skills, organized, etc.). The employer can gather what type of person you are from your experiences. The skills listed are rather what specific product knowledge you have or titles you’ve received certifications for (Fluent in Spanish, Proficient in Microsoft Excel, CPR Certification, etc.)
Activities/Involvement
- Organizations or associations you are a part of and the leadership positions held if any (volunteer work, community service). This can show your willingness to get involved as well as reflect on your corporate social responsibility.
Awards/Honors
- Employee of the Month, Top Sales
The typical order of this sequence is to arrange your resumé in the order listed above. When you are posting experiences, make sure to put your most recent experience first, followed by the second most recent, etc.
Review the compiled list of action words and action-verb phrases you can use in your resumé. By using any of the words listed, you can make any job sound great.
For example, a job as a hostess might not sound amazing with tasks that include:
- Seating people
- Answering phone calls
- Making sure the lobby is clean
But on the resumé, you can write:
- Seated and greeted 45+ patrons per shift with proficiency
- Managed reservations accurately and efficiently
- Maintained restaurant presentation to ensure cleanliness and an inviting atmosphere
- Controlled traffic flow by working quickly and with precision
See how much better they sound with a few edits to the word choice and quantitative results? These are only a few examples of how much of a difference word choice can make when creating your resumé.