Selling You Resumes That Wow

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Selling You!Resumes That Wow

• Patty Kirkley
• Career Counselor
• 586-4091, ext. 212

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Purpose

• Your Resume
• Should sell you
• Tell potential employers what you can do
• Share your knowledge, skills, and abilities
• Win you an interview
• Your Resume Should Not Be
• Your life story

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Where to Start

• Research jobs and learn what employers are
  looking for use the web, newspapers, and other
  resources to learn about jobs, qualifications,
  and employers
• Analyze your strengths and your skills,
  knowledge, and capabilities
• Review sample resumes for ideas and formatting
  http//www.southwest.cc.nc.us/careercenter/index.h
  tm

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The Basics

• Resume Styles
• Chronological focuses on job history, most
  recent first
• Functional focuses on skills and accomplishments
• Combination
• Length of Resume
• Long enough to sell your skills
• Recent college grad 1 page
• Experienced professional 2 pages
• Senior manager or executive with lengthy
  experience 3 pages or more

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Nuts and Bolts for Resume

• Main Heading
• Objective
• Summary of Accomplishments
• Education
• Work Experience
• Skills and Abilities
• Honors and Awards (Later, Professional
  Memberships)

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Putting Resume Together

• Main Heading
• Name
• Address
• Telephone Number (including area code)
• E-mail Address (professional)
• Objective (Optional)
• Identify job you want, area of specialization,
  and type of company
• Example Entry level position as a Medical
  Sonographer in a mid-sized hospital where I make
  a contribution to quality health care

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Putting Resume Together

• Summary of Qualifications
• Briefly and concisely present primary skills and
  accomplishments
• Examples Care-giving professional with
  excellent interpersonal skills, attention to
  detail, and strong work ethic., or Strong
  accounting and managerial skills with extensive
  knowledge of statistical processes.
• Education
• Degree, date of graduation, and college/
  university

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Putting Resume Together

• Experience
• If extensive and relevant experience, experience
  should be placed before education
• Start with most recent employer
• Include
• Employers name
• Dates of employment (month/year)
• Most significant title
• Summarize your accomplishments and skills
  relevant to job you are targeting (use action
  verbs) (click here to see list)
• Try to quantify skills and accomplishments

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Putting Resume Together

• Skills and Capabilities
• Examples Computer literate, proficient with the
  Internet or other technology
• Highlight exceptional talents such as customer
  service, team work, conscientious work,
  reliability, leadership
• Awards, Honors, Activities
• List separately if three or more
• Include school, community, professional
  activities

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Tips for Getting Get Past the 10 Second Glance

• Make It Perfect
• Proofread and carefully check spelling, grammar,
  and professional tone (clear and concise
  presentation of qualifications)
• Focus on Readability
• Select an easily readable font Arial/Times New
  Roman
• Leave white space (1 inch margins all four sides)
• Choose good quality white or ecru paper (standard
  size, 24-pound)

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How to Get Past the 10 Second Glance

• Layout for visual appeal and ease of reading
• If 2 pages, put name on both pages
• Make headlines stand out (bold or cap)
• Use italics sparingly
• Use bullets
• Be brief, clear, and concise
• Single space within sections
• Double space between sections
• Avoid art work or photos

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Sell Yourself

• Use action verbs to describe your skills,
  abilities, and qualifications
• Translate your experience into what a prospective
  employer wants
• Show that you have done research about the
  company and the job
• Toot your own horn, but never exaggerate or lie
  (be honest and ethical)

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Dont

• Overdo use of caps, bold, or italics
• Use personal pronouns or abbreviations
• Include personal information(age, health, marital
  status, etc.)
• Send out resume without a cover letter
• List references on your resume (ask references
  and have on a separate sheet to take your
  interview)
• List salary history unless required on application

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Optimizing for Technology

• Many employers prefer submission of resumes via
  e-mail or online
• Databases may be used to quickly and efficiently
  match job openings with qualified job seekers
• Be sure to use keywords

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Scannable Resumes

• Use 10-14 point font
• Use standard typefaces and avoid underlining,
  italics, and bold
• Put your name on first line
• List each telephone number on separate line
• Use smooth white paper with black ink and quality
  printing
• Avoid double columns
• Dont staple or fold your resume

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Maximizing Hits

• Use industry or job-related keywords
• Incorporate words from the job ad
• Use typical headings (objective, education)
• Watch abbreviations and use only common ones (BS
  for bachelor of science) or industry jargon (CAD
  for computer-assisted design)
• Describe interpersonal skills
• Use more than one page if necessary

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Embedded Resume to E-mail

• Follow tips for scannable resumes
• Move all text to the left
• Spruce up your resume by using horizontal lines
  to separate sections leave adequate space
• Save your resume in plain txt (.txt) or rich text
  format (.rtf)
• Test your resume before sending

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Three Essential Tools

• Resume with Separate List of References
• Cover Letter
• Thank You Letter

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Cover Letters

• Use to tell employers who you are, why you are
  contacting them, why they should consider you
• Ground Rules
• Dont repeat your resume
• Carefully craft words (more subjective so more
  can go wrong than on resume)
• Use good grammar and spelling
• Always say thank you

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Thank You Letters

• Send immediately following an informational
  interview or a job interview
• Send even if you do not receive a position for
  which you applied
• Shows your command of business etiquette
  graciousness