A workshop series brought to you by Trinidad State Junior College-CTE Career Services

1. With Résumé Development
1st Step Toward Your Career

2. Two
Locations
One Great
College

3. Developing Your Résumé
A workshop series brought to you by
Trinidad State Junior College
CTE Career Services

4. Overview of Sections
• The Objective Statement
• Qualification Highlights/Profile
• Contact Information/Résumé Heading
• Education
• Experience
• Honors and Activities

5. The Objective Statement

6. What is an objective
statement?
• A short section (usually 1-3 lines), often in
the form of a sentence fragment, immediately
below your contact information
• An “at a glance” picture of you and your
career interests
• Other names: Professional Objective, Career
Objective, Résumé Capsule, Career Goals, etc.

7. Why write one?
• Emphasize key qualifications, skills and/or
goals
• Help your readers find what they need to
know quickly
• Make a good first impression
• Relate company goals to personal goals

8. Q: Is this a good objective
statement?
• Well-written but raises too many questions
• For example: What kind of internship?
• What knowledge?
• What kinds of expertise?
• Which areas?
• How will you contribute to this company?
An internship allowing me to utilize my knowledge and
expertise in different areas

9. A good objective statement
answers questions
• What position(s) are you applying for?
• What are your main qualifications?
• What are your career goals?
• What is your professional identity?
• How can you help the company?

10. The importance of tailoring
• Sometimes one size does NOT fit all
• Each person and employer is unique in
certain ways
• Aim for a custom fit when possible, but
how?

11. Getting started...
Reflect on your overall qualifications and
career goals: In what ways are they typical?
Unique?
Research individual employers in your field: In
what ways are employers alike? Different?

12. Questions about you
• What are your main qualifications, strengths,
skills, and areas of expertise?
• What position(s)--or type of position--are
you seeking?
• What are some of your professional goals?
• What type of organization or work setting
are you most interested in?

13. Questions about employers
• What qualifications are most desired by
employers in your field?
• What positions are available on the job
market? What are they titled?
• What are some goals of the organizations
that interest you?
• What kinds of organizations are now hiring?

14. “Instant” objective statements
• For practice, fill in the parts in brackets
– To utilize my [qualifications, strengths, or skills] as
a [position title]
– A position as a [position title] for [company name]
allowing me to develop my [qualifications,
strengths, or skills]
– An opportunity to [professional goal] in a [type of
organization, work environment, or field]
– [position title] with emphasis in [areas of expertise]

15. Which of your objective
statements is “best”?
• The one that best…
– Emphasizes your qualifications and/or goals
– Appeals to employer expectations
• A trick question:You’ll probably need to write
more than one objective statement.
• Tailor for each type of position that interests
you and, for best results, modify for each
particular employer (as necessary)

16. Examples of what my objective
should sound like
Different types of objectives:
• Specific and open; not limiting.
• Example: “To manage people, interface with
customers, and work with highly technical
software or hardware applications.”
• The above objective is specific but not limiting.
This objective could apply to many different
jobs, yet the skills described are quite specific.

17. Career Objectives
• Objectives should reflect the employer's perspective,
not yours, and should tell what you can contribute.
• An objective should demonstrate the value you will
add to the organization.
• Objectives should be as concise as possible but
should contain the skills an employer is looking for
in their job applicant.
• Use the company’s job description to take the skills
they are looking for and the skills you bring to the
table in order to write a detailed career objective.

18. Specific Career Objectives
JOB DESCRIPTION
POSITION: FRONT DESK RECEPTIONIST
MUST: BE AT LEAST 18YEARS OF AGE AND ABLE TO GETTOTHE JOB SITE
SKILLS: RECEPTIONIST EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED
DUTIES: GREETING CUSTOMERS,CUSTOMER SERVICE,ANSWERING PHONES AND
TAKING MESSAGES. COMPUTER DATA ENTRYAND DUTIES AS ASSIGNED
WAGE: $8.00 AN HOUR, EMPLOYER PAYS ONTHE 1ST AND 15TH OFTHE MONTH
BENEFITS:HEALTH INSURANCE AFTER 120 DAYS, RETIREMENT BENEFIT AFTER 1YR,
PAID HOLIDAYS ANDVACATION ACCURAL AFTER 4 MONTHS
JOB STARTS:AFTERTHE FIRST OFTHEYEAR, 2008
DURATION: FULL-TIME, PERMANENT JOB SHIFT: 8AMTO 5PM MONDAYTHRU FRIDAY
HOWTO APPLY: GO DIRECTWITH A résumé, MIGHT BE INTERVIEWED IMMEDIATELY
DEADLINE: DECEMBER 14, 2007
LOCATION:TRINIDAD, CO
YOU MUST BE REGISTEREDWITHTHE COLORADO WORKFORCE CENTERTO APPLY
FORTHIS JOB GOTO www.connectingcolorado.com TO REGISTER.
FOR QUESTIONS CALL 719-846-9221.

19. Specific Career Objectives
• Take the skills and capabilities that they are
looking for in an employee
SKILLS: RECEPTIONIST EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED
DUTIES: GREETING CUSTOMERS, CUSTOMER
SERVICE, ANSWERING PHONES AND TAKING
MESSAGES. COMPUTER DATA ENTRY AND
DUTIES AS ASSIGNED

20. Specific Career Objectives
• State the skills that you have and the skills that
the employers are looking for and write them
in a specific career objective
Objective: To utilize my knowledge as a
receptionist to effectively greet customers, answer
phones, properly take messages, enter data efficiently
and any other receptionist duties as they arise

21. Specific Career Objectives
Different types of objectives:
• Specific to position
• Objective: To utilize my knowledge as a
receptionist to effectively greet customers,
answer phones, properly take messages, enter
data efficiently and any other receptionist duties
as they arise
• The above objective is specific to the position.
It shows the organization that you have the
qualifications and are clear about the position
that you are applying for.

22. Qualification Highlights,
Career Summaries, or
Profiles

23. Qualification Highlights, Career
Summary, or Profile Section
• Objectives may help sharpen the focus of your résumé,
especially if your experience is very diverse, or you are
switching into a career not supported by the experience
listed on your résumé.
• Whether or not you choose to include an objective, you
may wish to present a skills or qualifications section on
your résumé.
• If you choose not to list an objective on your résumé,
you may choose to discuss your objective in your cover
letter and place a Qualification Highlights or
Career Summary section at the top that highlights
your qualifications.

24. Qualification Highlights, Career
Summary, or Profile Section
• The goal is to summarize your experience and
perhaps highlight one or two of your skills and/or
contributions.
• You hope to grab your reader’s attention in two or
three sentences with a power pack of the skills and
attributes you have developed throughout your
career.
• Good summaries are short; you don’t want to show
all your aces in the first few lines!

25. Qualification Highlights, Career
Summary, or Profile Section
• You may replace the objective with a
Qualification Highlights Section that
summarizes your qualifications and serves as
an objective.
• However, be aware several employers prefer
that they see an objective on your résumé.

26. Qualification Highlights
Section
QUALIFICATION HIGHLIGHTS
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology
• Excellent communication, leadership, and inter-personal skills
• Proficient in Microsoft PowerPoint,Word, Publisher and Excel

27. Career Summary
• Strongly motivated graduate with experience in
hospital, sub-acute and other health care settings.
• Clinical skills combine with dedication to excellent
patient care, compassion, and professionalism to
integrate patients’ medical and emotional care.
• Able to relate to patients quickly and work
effectively with physicians, peers, and other health
care professionals. Conscientious, team-oriented and
eager to learn.
Registered Nurse

28. Career Summary or Profile
Apartment Manager
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
• Highly motivated, dynamic and energetic with over 30
combined years of experience successfully working with
diverse personalities.
• Experienced management and maintenance of various houses
and complexes
• Possess strong organizational skills and effective paper
processing techniques
• Expert bookkeeping abilities.
• Personable, loyal, honest, committed, creative, able to maintain
property impeccably, and get along well with tenants and
management

29. The Contact Information
Section – Résumé Heading

30. What is a contact information
section – Résumé Heading?
• Easy answer…
• A section that
– Provides information to help prospective
employers contact you
– Presents a first impression
– Is usually located at the top of the page

31. What may you include?
• First and Last Name, of course! (M. Initial
recommended)
• Address (complete mailing address with ZIP Code)
(no abbreviations: Ave. , St. , Dr., Blvd.)
• Phone (with Area Code)
– Campus (Optional)
– Permanent
• Email (Make sure you check it regularly)!
• Web address (optional)
• Fax number (optional)
• Any other means of contact

32. Q: Is this a good sample?
Your Name Here
1234 Streetname, #1
Trinidad, CO 81082
Student@cccs.student.edu
719-846-####

33. Moving beyond the typewriter
 Use design strategies
 Picking fonts
 Size
 Type
 Highlighting
 Using layout
 Alignment
 Columns
 Coordinate with rest of résumé

34. Using fonts
• Size: how big is big enough?Too big?
• Two major kinds:
– Serif
– Sans serif
• Text highlighting: bold, italics, caps,
underline, special effects

35. Using fonts
Below are some common fonts styles and sizes.

36. Serif and Sans-serif Fonts
• By manipulating the fonts used in your résumé, you can easily create a
hierarchy of information.
• Serifs are the short stems on the ends of the strokes of a letter, as in T of
the TIMES NEW ROMAN font.
• Sans-serif fonts are fonts without stems — sans means without, as in the I
of the ARIAL font. Here are some examples of the two kinds of fonts.
Serif Fonts Sans-Serif Fonts

37. • Serif fonts tend to keep the eye reading along the text.
• Sans-serif fonts, on the other hand, make the eye stop.
Therefore, sans-serif fonts are typically used for headings and
titles, allowing the reader to quickly locate information, while serif
fonts are used for descriptions.
• Be consistent.
For example, if you decide to use a sans-serif font for a main
heading, do so for all your headings, and use the same sans-serif
font each time.
You should never use more than two fonts in your résumé.
Serif and Sans-serif Fonts

38. Putting it on the page
Aligning text
1. Flush left
2. Center
3. Flush right
Using columns
1. Both left and right
2. Left, right and center

39. Q: Is this sample better?
Campus Address
600 Prospect Street, Box #160
Trinidad, CO 81082
yourname@cccs.student.edu
719-846-####
Permanent Address
4321 Streetname
Anytown, CO #####
http://univ.edu/~login
719-846-1234
Your Name Here

40. Adding a graphic element
May include horizontal line
May possibly include a small graphic element

41. Coordinate design strategies
• Match design with rest of résumé
– Use same font types
– Use consistent layout
• Match with cover letter
– Make stationary template based on contact info
– Use same paper for all application documents
• Aim for a professional package

42. Proofread with a magnifying
glass
• Triple-check for accuracy
• One typo could cost you an
interview!
• View some examples of common
headers and some step by step
instructions to get you started

43. The Education Section

44. What is an education section?
• A section that emphasizes your educational
background and formal training,
individualizing for an organization.
• Usually a major section for college students
and recent graduates

45. Purposes: to inform and
persuade
• Give information about your schooling and
training
• Persuade employers your educational
background is relevant to the job, providing
evidence of your qualifications
• Help your résumé stand out from others in
the stack

46. Where should you place this
section?
• Above or below your experience section?
• It depends…
– Which is stronger, your education or your work
experience section?
– How much relevant work experience do you have?
• Place strongest, most relevant section closest
to top of the page

47. The “bare bones” education
section
• Schools you have attended, including universities, community
colleges, technical schools, etc.
• Location of school(s)
• Date of graduation, actual or anticipated
• Degree(s) earned or pursued
• Grade Point Average (GPA) (Optional) Know when to use it!
• Courses taken outside of typical major classes that may add
to qualifications of job

48. Are we done yet?
Education
A.A.S in Gunsmithing
Trinidad State Junior College
Trinidad, Colorado
Graduation Date:
May 2010
GPA: 3.8/4.0

49. What else may be included?
Extra information about your degree (major,
minor or selective GPAs, funding sources,
honors, etc.)—usually listed or included in
parentheses
Specializations and special projects—usually
listed or described briefly
Other relevant skills and training (relevant
coursework, computer skills, language
proficiency, certifications, licenses, etc.)—may
be subsections or separate sections

50. Questions to answer
What are my current and cumulative
GPAs?
Any honors related to my degree?
What language proficiencies do I
have?
What are my areas of emphasis,
specialization, or concentration?
What special course or degree
related projects may be relevant?
What courses have I taken that are
related to my career goals?
With what computer programs am
I most familiar?
Any certifications or licenses?
Do I have any on-the-job
educational training such as in-house
training programs?

51. Designing content for readers
• Consider using…
o Subheadings
o Indenting
o Columns/tables
o Parentheses
o Bulleted lists
o Paragraphs
• Match with rest of page

52. Are we done now?
A.A.S. in Gunsmithing May 2010
Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad, Colorado (Graduated with Honors*)
Completed all required courses, including but not limited to:
 Basic and Advanced Barreling
 Stockmaking
 Repair
 Firearms History and Development
 Bluing and Finishing
 Bench Metal and Machine Shop
*GPA: 3.8/4.0
Education
 1911 Gunsmithing Courses
 Custom Revolver
 AR-15 Accuracy
 Hand Cut Checkering
 Hand Cut Engraving
 Shotgunsmithing with Jack Rowe

53. The Experience Section

54. What is an experience section?
• A section that demonstrates your most
relevant experience in work or activities.
• Other common names: Professional Experience,
Work History, FieldWork,VolunteerWork, etc.
• Special names: Technical Experience, Supervisory
Experience,Aviation Experience, etc.

55. Informing to persuade
• Provide information to help persuade
prospective employers that your experiences
make you qualified for the job and that you
align with the organization’s goals
• Help your résumé stand out from others in
the stack
• Construct your professional identity

56. What goes into this section?
• Company or organization and location
(city, state)
• Position title
• Dates of employment or involvement
• Descriptions of responsibilities, duties,
achievements, etc.
• Use action verbs to describe duties!

57. Where should you put this
section?
• Above or below your education section?
• It depends…
– How much work experience do you have?
– Which is stronger, your education or your work
experience section?
• Place strongest, most relevant section closest
to top of the page

58. Getting started…
List your past and present experiences.
Include:
– jobs
– volunteer positions
– appointments
– assistantships
– internships
– any activities that used the same duties or
qualifications that may be used in the job
you’re applying for

59. Describing experiences
• To tailor the content of this section, circle
each item that is…
– Related to your career goals
– Asked for in job ads and descriptions
• Choose one experience you circled and
describe briefly

60. Developing your descriptions
• Use varied action words to describe experiences
• Answer the journalistic questions:
– Who?…With whom did you work?
– What? …What duties did you perform?
– Where? …Where did your job fit into the
organization?
– Why? …What goals were you trying to accomplish?
– When? …What timelines were you working under?
– How? …What procedures did you follow?

61. Developing your descriptions
Example
Before:
planned activities
Questions asked: What kinds?, How?,When?,
ForWhom?
After:
planned arts and crafts activities and
exercises weekly for physically-challenged
children

62. Making your descriptions
parallel
COLUMN A
• Recording OSHA regulated
documents
• Material purchasing and
expediting
• Prepared weekly field payroll
• Responsible for charge orders
COLUMN B
• Recorded OSHA regulated
documents
• Conducted material
purchasing and expediting
• Prepared weekly payroll
• Processed charge orders

63. Try to see your experiences as
a professional would
UNDERSTATED
– Answered phone
– Wiped tables
PROFESSIONAL
– Acted as liaison between clients and legal
staff
– Created healthy environment for customers
and maintained positive public image

64. Ways to tailor this section
• Select content that supports your
qualifications and matches job description
• Consider organizing by order of
importance
• Use professional wording, integrating job-
specific terms, verbs are action-oriented

65. A formula for success
• Tailor for your audience
• Use appropriate headings
• Included required content
• Organize your section strategically
• Develop your descriptions
• Make your descriptions parallel
• See through potential employer’s eyes

66. The Honors and Activities
Section

67. What is an honors and
activities section?
• A section that emphasizes your
participation in relevant activities and any
honors you have received
• Other names
– Awards
– Memberships
– VolunteerWork

68. Why bother?
• Fill up white space
• Provide additional evidence of your
qualifications
• Give employers a sense of who you are
outside of school and work

69. Where does this section go?
• Usually last section on the page
• Can be moved up if information is especially
important or relevant
• Sometimes omitted if there is a lack of
space or relevant information

70. What goes into it?
Draw three columns, one for each of the
following:
• Titles or positions
• Sponsors or affiliated organizations
• Dates of involvement (M/Y-M/Y orY-Y)

71. Exploring content possibilities
• Extracurricular activities
• Awards, grants, prizes, and special honors
• Memberships in professional clubs and
organization
• Volunteer activities

72. Big or little? Major or minor?
• How relevant are your honors and activities
to the job you are applying to?
• Which honors and activities would most
interest prospective employers?
• How much space do you have? Choose and
organize your information to emphasize the
most relevant activities.

73. Two approaches
Minimal approach
Gunsmithing Club,Trinidad State Junior College
January 2010-Present
Elaborated approach
President, Gunsmithing Club,Trinidad State Junior College
January 2010-Present
 Organized campus contest
 Increased membership with promotional efforts

74. Using visual design
• Simple list
• Columns
• List with bulleted descriptions
• Coordinate with other sections

75. Plan of attack
• Brainstorm
• Decide what to include based on relevance,
interest-value, and space considerations
• Match organization and design with rest of
résumé
• Seek critical feedback

76. • Employers will usually take only thirty-five seconds
to look at your résumé
• Design your résumé so that employers can read
the document easily and process information quickly.
• Conform to the conventional format of a résumé
Why is the design of my résumé
so important?

77. Quadrant Test
Each one of your quadrants should
have an equal amount of text and
white space (empty space where
there is no text). When your page
is balanced, the reader will
typically read anything in quadrant
1 first. Followed by Quadrant 2.
So, you should put your most
important information — anything
you want the employer to see first
— in quadrant 1 and 2.

78. For More Help Developing
Your Résumé…
Contact your CTE Career Services
Coordinator
Alamosa Campus
Victor Salazar
CTE Career Services Coordinator
Valley Campus Office 136
1011 Main Street
Alamosa, CO 81101
Victor.Salazar@trinidadstate.edu
1-800-411-8382 Ext: 7031
Trinidad Campus
Ron Barros
CTE Career/Special Services Coordinator
Berg Building Room 210
600 Prospect Street
Trinidad, CO 81082
Ron.Barros@trinidadstate.edu
1-800-621-8752 Ext: 5456

79. This has been a workshop series brought to you by
Trinidad State Junior College
CTE Career Services Department