Resume Writing

1. Resume Writing July 18, 2009

2. Resume Writing Topics Resume Writing Documentation • Resume Components • Resume Format & Examples • Tips & Guidelines

3. Importance of a Resume • Represents your abilities and accomplishments • 75% of your resume should be your accomplishments • 25% should be your job description/actual job functions • Gets you the interview!

4. Resume Components: • Heading • Career Summary • Employment Information • Education • Continuing Education • Technical/Computer Skills • Certifications • Professional Affiliations • Military Service • Awards/Achievements

5. Resume Format Tips and Guidelines • Type Style: Arial or Times New Roman • Fonts: 11 or 12; 10 is too small; 14 is too large • Avoid lines, graphs, boxes, italics and bold • Use bullets rather than sentences/paragraphs • No period is required • Use 4 – 6 bullets for Career Summary • Use 6 - 8 bullets for current position • Use 4 - 6 bullets for previous positions • Prioritize bullets • 1 to 2 page maximum length

6. Heading • Information To Include: • Name • Home or work address • Two telephone numbers – if possible • Email address • Tips To Remember: • Use the name you go by; legal name not required • Identify phone numbers and email addresses, if listing more than one

7. Heading Example Ann Smith 1313 Mockingbird Lane Plano, TX 75024 972 555 1212 (work) 972 515 1314 (home) ann.smith@tx.rr.com

8. Career Summary • Purpose: • Serves as a “mini-resume” by highlighting an individual’s most marketable skills • Entices the reader to read further • "Opens doors” for new opportunities and gets you the interview! • Tips To Remember: • 1st sales point about you! • State professional skills only • Avoid personal description, i.e., dependable, ethical, hard-worker • Use verbs to describe your professional attributes

9. Career Summary Example • Bilingual in English/Spanish • Coordinate extensively with customers, vendors and internal company personnel • Experienced in department start-ups, high-growth operations and restructuring • Mid level manager with broad-based and progressive experience in Customer Service, Project Management and Human Resource • Proven ability to troubleshoot and resolve software and hardware issues • Effective in training, evaluating and directing associates in various environments • Adept at building customer relationships, developing process improvements, problem solving and risk management • Proficient in MS Excel, Access, Word

10. Employment Information Information To Include: • Company name, city, state • Job titles • Employment dates (month and year) • Job description (in bullet format) • Show 10-15 years of work history

11. Employment Information Example ABC, Atlanta, GAJan 1995 - Present Technical Customer Support Rep Mar 1998 - Present • Providedesktop, midrange, and mainframe technical support for 60+ information analysts • Diagnose technical problems, manage dispatch requests, and escalate according to procedures • Perform root cause analysis and recommend corrective action to promote operational stability and service excellence • Process and administersecurity access for employees Administrative Assistant Jan 1995 – Mar 1998 • Maintained managers’ P&L and created variance explanations • Developed presentations for executive manager’s meetings using PowerPoint

12. Bullet Information • Prioritize bullets; most emphasis on current role • Use verbs to begin each bullet; (omit responsibilities, duties included...) • Accomplishment or achievement statement vs. a job description • 75% of your resume should be accomplishments • 25% should be job description/job function • Do not write in paragraph format; use concise statement format • Do not use a “period” at the end of the bullet

13. Education • Pertains to college or technical degrees pursued • Information to Include: • Name of school attended • Location • Degree achieved/in progress or hours completed to date • Tips To Remember: • Do not include dates or reference high school education • List education towards the bottom of resume unless a recent graduate (usually <1 yr.)

14. Education Example University of North Texas, Denton, TX Master of Business Administration Expected completion date December 2009 University of Texas, Austin, TX B.S. Economics Graduated with Honors University of California, Santa Barbara, CA Coursework included Marketing, Communication, History • OR semesters attended • OR number of credits achieved

15. Technical/Computer Skills • Beneficial to those in a technical field or those pursuing a technical position • Critical in key word searches • Tips To Remember: • List only skills considered strong and most marketable

16. Technical Skills Example • Network/Operating: UNIX, Novell MVS/XA • Languages and Software: Cobol II, C++, AJAX, Visual Basic.Net, SQL, HTML, Dreamweaver • Applications: SAP, PeopleSoft (version), PowerPoint, Excel, Word • Databases: MS Access, Oracle 8i, Dbase

17. Continuing Education • Information To Include: • Professional classes • Seminars / Workshops • Specialized training Continuing Education Access (2009) Visual Basic 5.0 (2008) Oracle (2007) Adobe Photoshop (2006) • Tips To Remember: • Include only professional related information • - Use only recent dates (within five years)

18. Certifications Purpose: Shows dedication and interest Certifications PHR (Professional Human Resource) OCP (Oracle8i Professional) PMP (Project Management Professional) CPM (Certified Purchasing Management) CB (Certified Bookkeeper • Tips To Remember: • Spell Out Acronyms • Omit potentially controversial references

19. Professional Affiliations • Purpose: Shows your dedication to your field • Professional Affiliations • ISM (Institute for Supply Management) • APA (American Payroll Association) • SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) • Toastmasters • Tips To Remember: • Spell out acronyms • Omit potential controversial references

20. Military Service • Purpose: Highlights special skills and achievements • Military Service Example • U.S. Air Force-Honorable Discharge List any relevant experience and/or training completed while serving in the military

21. Awards/Achievements Purpose: Shows recognized success throughout career Awards/Achievement Example Awards Award for Excellence (2008) Outstanding Employee Performance (2007)

22. Stefanie Gutierrez 5400 Legacy Drive Plano, TX 75024 972-605-6979 (work) 972-605-0490 (home) stefanie.gutierrez@eds.com CAREER SUMMARY • Technical team leader for 8 years assisting and directing multiple employees • Extensive experience in database management • Strong System Life Cycle skills (definition, analysis, technical design, construction, testing, implementation, and production support) • Adept in training new employees

23. EMPLOYMENT HISTORY ABC Corporation, Atlanta, GA Jan 1995 - Present Technical Customer Support Rep • Provide desktop, midrange, and mainframe technical support for 60+ Information Analysts • Process and administer security access for employees • Diagnose technical problems, manage dispatch requests, and escalate according to procedures • Perform root cause analysis and recommend corrective actions to promote operational stabilityand serviceexcellence EDUCATION University of North Texas, Denton, TX BS: Expected completion December 2009 TECHNICAL SKILLS Network/Operating: Windows 95/98/2000, DOS, UNIX, Novell, MVS/XA, TCP/IP, Oracle Languages: Cobol II, C++, Java, Visual Basic, VBScript, SQL, HTML Hardware: IBM, Sun, HP

24. Resume Writing Tips and Guidelines • Don’t list your sex, weight, marital status, children • No personal information • Omit the phrases “responsibilities or duties include • Don’t use slang or company jargon; think key word searches • Don’t use first person or third person; no pronouns • Be sure bullet verbs are in the correct tense • Use quantities whenever possible • Ensure information presented is accurate and honest • Current position should contain 6-8 bullets • Former positions should contain 4-6 bullets • Recommended resume maximum is 1-2 pages • 2nd page should have Name & Page 2 on top • Have someone else proofread!!!