Mastering Your Résumé: Essential Guide for Creating a 5-Star Career Profile

1. Is Your Résumé Ready? All you need to know to create a 5-star résumé

2. A great resume has 4 essential parts • A clearly stated OBJECTIVE • A listing of relevant EDUCATION and TRAINING • A presentation of directly relevant SKILLS and EXPERIENCE • A chronological WORK HISTORY

3. Work History • List paid and volunteer positions • Include start and end dates • Mention job title • Name and city of organization • List your work history in chronological order.

4. Education & Training • Schools you have attended with dates, degrees attained, and honors • Personal study you have done • Example: Class at work about caring for elderly Alzheimer’s patients • Any other credentials or certificates

5. Job Objective • Ask yourself these questions: • What do I want to do? • For whom or with whom do I want to do it? • Where do I want to do it? • At what level of responsibility? • Your objective should be a clearly stated sentence at the top of your resume. This objective drives everything in your resume.

6. (Relevant) Skills & Experience • Look at your objective and ask yourself: What are five or six skills required for my desired job? • List skills and experience and corresponding dates • Briefly describe with “one liners” that highlight your knowledge/skills

7. MODIFIED resume for our purposes • Include the following categories: • School Activities • Athletics • Fine Arts • Organizations • Anticipated Senior Activities • Church & Community Involvement (include one-liners) • Work Experience (include one-liners to describe) • Awards and Honors • Future Plans (in the form of a clearly stated objective)

8. Don’t forget… • Make sure to include dates for everything. • Do not include information prior to your seventh grade year. • Be as detailed and thorough as possible…the more you can think of, the better. • Include name, address, phone # and e-mail.

9. Leave a space on the top for class rank and G.P.A. • Utilize the example(s) provided to you, but don’t be shy about adding your own personal touches. • Avoid clutter; you want the person looking at your resume to focus on YOU. • After you have done so, have someone else check for spelling and grammar errors. Some information taken from http://www.nhlink.net/employme/how.htm

10. School Involvement • Athletics • Prom Decorating Committee • SADD • NHS • Knowledge Bowl • BPA • Class officer • Tutoring

11. Church/Community Involvement • Sunday School teacher • VBS assistant • Choir • Communion assistant • Luther League participant • Jumpstart • Volunteer at St. John’s Lutheran Home • Kids Against Hunger volunteer • Cattlemen’s Association volunteer at annual meeting and fundraiser meal • Faith in Action clean-up • Highway clean-up • Confirmed • Women of Today

12. Accomplishments • Summer job • Boss/Co-workers/Relationships • Science Bowl/Envirothon • State Track • Back-to-back Jr. Bi-county championships • BPA State • A/B Honor Roll • Boys State

13. Goals • Get a job. • Go to college. • Good grades • Successful career • Friendships • Lose weight • Help people • Do something I love/enjoy