The document provides guidance on writing an effective resume. It defines a resume as highlighting one's experience, skills, and accomplishments to motivate employers to grant an interview. A resume needs to capture an employer's attention within 10-20 seconds through powerful content on the top half of the first page. The document also distinguishes resumes from CVs and outlines best practices for resume formatting, content, word choice, and other tips to create a strong resume.

1. Effective Résumé
Writing

2. What is a resumé?
 A resume is your calling card
 A resume highlights your experience, skills
and accomplishments
 A resume motivates an employer to
interview you
 A resume communicates your value to an
employer
 The interview gets you the job, the resume
gets you the interview!

3. The ‘killer’ edge
 Depending on the level of the job
 1 interview is granted for every 300-500 resumes
received by an average employer
 10-20 seconds is all the time you have to
persuade an employer to read further
 Top half of the first page either makes or breaks
you

4. What's the difference between a
resume and a CV?
 Primary differences are the length, the content and
the purpose.
 A resume is a one or two page summary of your
skills, experience and education.
 A CV, is a longer (two or more pages), more
detailed synopsis.
 It includes a summary of your educational and
academic backgrounds as well as teaching and
research experience, publications, presentations,
awards, honors, affiliations and other details

5. What's the difference between
a resume and a CV?
 CV is used primarily when applying for academic,
education, scientific or research positions. It is also
applicable when applying for fellowships or grants
 In addition to the basics, a CV includes research
and teaching experience
 Publications, grants and fellowships
 Professional associations and licenses
 Awards and other information relevant to the
position you are applying for

6. John Smith
Street, City, State, Zip
Phone: 555-555-5555
Cell: 555-666-6666
email@email.com
Objective:
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Education:
Ph.D., Psychology, University of Minnesota, 2006
Concentrations: Psychology, Community Psychology
Dissertation: A Study of Learning Disabled Children in a Low Income Community
M.A., Psychology, University at Albany, 2003
Concentrations: Psychology, Special Education
Thesis: Communication Skills of Learning Disabled Children
B.A, Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, CA, 2000
Experience:
Instructor, 2004 - 2006
University of Minnesota
Course: Psychology in the Classroom
Teaching Assistant, 2002 - 2003
University at Albany
Courses: Special Education, Learning Disabilities
Research Skills:
Extensive knowledge of SPSSX and SAS statistical programs.
Presentations:
Smith John (2006). The behavior of learning disabled adolescents in the classrooms. Paper presented at the Psychology Conference at the University of
Minnesota.
Publications:
Smith, John (2005). The behavior of learning disabled adolescents in the classroom. Journal of Educational Psychology, 120 - 125.
Grants and Fellowships:
•RDB Grant (University of Minnesota Research Grant, 2005), $2000
•Workshop Grant (for ASPA meeting in New York, 2004), $1500
Awards and Honors:
•Treldar Scholar, 2005
•Academic Excellent Award, 2003
Skills and Qualifications:
•Microsoft Office, Internet
•Programming ability in C++ and PHP
•Fluent in German, French and Spanish
References:
Excellent references available upon request.

7. Preparation
 Brainstorm
 Write your answer to, ‘What would make
someone the perfect candidate for the job?’
 ‘What is your USP?” Cover all the possible ways
of thinking about and communicating what you do
well
 What does the employer really want?

8. Qualities employers seek
1. Communication skills
2. Honesty, Integrity
3. Team skills
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Motivation/Initiative
6. Strong work ethics
7. Analytical skills
8. Flexibility/Adaptability
9. Computer skills
10. Self-confidence

9. Formats
 There are two kinds –
 One is the the familiar ‘tombstone’ that lists where
you went to school and where you’ve worked in
chronological order
 The other is what is called the ‘functional’
résumé – descriptive, fun to read , unique to you
and much more likely to land you an interview

10. Chronological format
 Name Header
 Objective
 Summary of skills/qualifications
Work Experience
 Education
Memberships/Activities/Honors

11. Chronological format
When listing positions include –
 Name of Employer
 Employer’s location
 Your dates of employment
 Your position or job title
 Summary of your responsibilities
 Your major accomplishments

12. Functional format
 Name header
 Objective
 Summary of skills, qualification
 Skills
 Education
Memberships/Interests/Honours

20. Objective
 Objectives are the simplest, quickest way to
target a specific position
 Objective should be tailored to the
prospective employer’s needs
 Use the objective to establish why you are
the perfect candidate for the job
 Eg: An XXX position in an organisation where YYY and ZZZ
would be needed

21. Objective
 Objective should be simple, specific and brief -- no
more than two or three lines.
 It should highlight what you have to offer the
company, such as a specific skill or experience.
 A recruiter is more interested in what you can give
the company than what you hope to get from it.
 Eg: To obtain an entry-level account management position
in financial services utilizing my strong analytical and
interpersonal skills.

22. Career Objective
 Short Term Format
 Specifies position and field
 Example: “To obtain a position as an Administrative Assistant in
a hospital setting”
 Functional Format
 Specifies knowledge and experience required within the field
 Example: “ To obtain an Administrative Assistant position which
will utilize my experience in office management and accounting”
 Skills Format
 Specifies skills and abilities required for the position
 Example: “ To obtain a position as an Administrative Assistant
that will utilize my communication, computer and general office
skills”

23. Skills for the functional
resumé
1. Communication skills
2. Organizational skills
3. Management skills
4. Administrative skills
5. Interpersonal skills
6. Teaching skills
7. Team/Competitive skills
8. Leadership skills
9. Financial skills
10. Money management skills
1. Computer skills
2. Event management
skills
3. Creative skills
4. Analytical skills
5. Motivational skills
6. Training skills
7. Mentoring skills

24. Skills and Accomplishments
 State your skills and accomplishments rather
than just job responsibilities
 “Managed an office with five employees with an
annual budget of $100,000” is not as powerful as
“Increased efficiency and reduced costs by 20%
while maintaining a qualified and trained five
person staff”

25. Exercise
Decide which points should be
included
 Attended university, left after a year
 Studied business administration at night school
 20 years raising children
 Coordinated charity fund raising in town
 Chairperson of son’s school parent teacher association
 Sung in Church choir
 Have run 5 marathons
 Raised money for local social project

26. Exercise
 Helped salesman husband reorganize his filing system by
installing a micro-computer
 Worked for 3 years as secretary to the manager of sales
division,ABC company
 Hated secretarial work
 Promoted to administrative assistant
 Like flower arranging
 Look after family budget and save 10% of yearly income
 Like working in a team
 42 years and only 5 years of salaried income

27. Words count
 Use of language is extremely important
 Avoid large paragraphs (five or six lines).
 Use action verbs. Verbs such as "developed",
"managed", and "designed"
 Don't use declarative sentences like "I developed
the ..." or "I assisted in ...", leave out the "I"
 ". Avoid passive constructions, such as "was
responsible for managing". Just say, "managed":

28. Background checks
 Background checks can include:
 reference checks
 criminal background checks
 past employment verification
 education verification

29. Words Every Resume Can Include
 'Teamwork‘
 'Flexibility‘
 'Detail-Oriented‘
 'Self-Motivated'

30. Words That Weaken Your
Resume
 'Assist,' 'Contribute' and 'Support'
 'Successfully'
 'Responsible For'

31. Remember
 Toot your own horn
 Add punch with action words – completed,
managed, operated, supervised..
 Be specific, concrete, brief

32. Forget!
 Heading ‘resumé’
 Job references
 Salary information
 Personal statistics
 Photos
 Personality profiles (attributes)
 Testimonials

33. Tips
 Limit to 1 or 2 pages
 Don’t cram, Edit
 Use easy to read font size – Arial /
Verdana / Sans Serif
 Select a readable size 10-12, preferably
12
 Don’t mix type faces
 Highlight with bold type faces
 Underline for section heads only

34. Tips
 Use bullets to highlight accomplishments
 Keep paragraph length to not more than 4-5 lines
 Use short line length
 Keep it simple
 Select ivory Bond paper
 Print on one side of the paper only

35. Formatting
 Top margin 1”
 Sides ½”
 Ragged right margin (Right justified)
 Double space between sections
 Single space between lines
 If 2 pages, add ‘continued’..
Write Pg 2 on the 2nd page

36. Action Phrases
 Analyzed problems and developed solutions
 Excellent interpersonal and people management skills
 Able to exercise good judgment and sound reasoning
 Good interpersonal skills
 Able to concentrate and pay attention to detail
 Can work well on own initiative
 A good communicator
 Experienced, self motivated and energetic
 A good planner