Getting a Job the "American Way": Resume Writing for Immigrants is a presentation prepared by Lilia Hadjiivanova as part of a series of Economic Empowerment events at the LGBT Community Center in NYC.

1. Getting a Job the “American Way”
Resume Writing for Immigrants
By Lilia Hadjiivanova
Coordinator, Immigrant Opportunities

2. Disclaimer
There is no ONE right way to write a resume.

3. Overview
1. Curriculum Vitae (CV) vs. Resume
2. Types of resume: Chronological vs. Functional
3. General rules when writing a resume
4. What to do if…
5. How to think about your resume
6. Resume is ready. What now?

4. Curriculum Vitae vs. Resume
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
 More popular in other countries in
Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe
 Used in academia and medicine
 More detailed (includes awards,
publications, research)
 May contain biographical information
(e.g. date of birth, home country)
 Usually 2+ pages
Resume
 Standard in the U.S.
 Used in most fields
 Summary
 Does NOT include biographical
information
 Usually 1-2 pages

5. Chronological vs. Functional Resume*
Functional
• Focuses on the kind of experience
and skills you have, rather than
order of achieving them
• Are switching careers
• Are new to the field
• Have gaps in your employment
history
Chronological
• Focuses on the chronological order
of the jobs you’ve held
o Most recent job at the top and first
(oldest) job at the bottom
Use this as the default / standard type
of resume unless you…
*Resume can also be a combination of these two.

6. CHRONOLOGICAL FUNCTIONAL

7. General rules when writing a resume

8. General rules when writing a resume
• Ideally 1-2 pages
• Consistency: font, spacing, formatting of section titles, etc.
• No photo needed, unless for acting/modeling jobs
• No “References Available Upon Request” needed
• Sections
o Name and Contact Information (address/location, phone number, email)
o Skills
o Work Experience
o Education

9. Example
Use 1 page when:
• You have less than 10 years
of experience.
• You're pursuing a radical
career change, and your
experience isn't relevant to
your new goal.
• You've held one or two
positions with one
employer.
Source: “How long should my resume be”,
Monster.com

10. Example
Use 2 pages when:
• You have 10 or more years of experience related to
your goal.
• Your field requires technical or engineering skills, and
you need space to list and prove your technical
knowledge.
Source: “How long should my resume be”,
Monster.com

11. Additional (optional) sections
• Optional Sections
o Professional Summary – who you are and what you’re good at
o Objective – who you are (profession), what you’ve done (history), what you want to
do (future)
E.g. “Accounting Specialist with 8+ years of experience in financial analysis,
bookkeeping and budgets seeking opportunities to do good through numbers in
the nonprofit world.”
o Trainings / certifications / workshops (where relevant)
o Activities / Volunteer Experience (where relevant)

12. General rules when writing a resume (continued)
Wherever you can, use:
o Bullet points
“● Provide exceptional service and address customer concerns in a timely manner”
“● Track inventory and ensure that shelves are fully stocked at all times”
instead of
“In my position as sales assistant at Macy’s, I provide exceptional service to customers and
address their concerns in a timely manner. I also track inventory on and make sure that…”
o Concrete numbers
e.g. “Supervised team of five people” or “Managed programs with budgets of
$100,000” or “Assisted project manager with 20 projects”
o Active verbs (begin sentences with them)
e.g. “Create”, “provide”, “organize”, “assist”, “develop”, “manage”, “analyze”, etc

13. Example

14. What to do if…

15. What to do if…
You haven’t finished a degree
Include:
o Program area you studied
o Dates you attended
o Name of college (and where it is located)
Do NOT include a degree (e.g. BA, MSc, PhD, etc)
E.g.
Business Management 2009—2011
Lomonosov Moscow State University Moscow, Russia

16. What to do if…
You do not have lots of experience
o It’s ok! What experience DO you have?
o Flesh out (be detailed about) your already existing experience
o Think about transferable skills – what skills have you obtained from one job
that you can use in another?
o What about volunteering experience? Internships? Activities?

17. What to do if…
You want to make a career change
o Add the section “Objective” to your resume, so you can explain what
field/industry/profession you’re trying to get into
o Think about transferable skills – what skills have you obtained from one job
that you can use in another?
o Include any freelance work, volunteering experience, internships, activities
that may be relevant

18. How to think about your resume

19. How to think about your resume
• Imagine you’re the employer reading the resume – would you want to hire you?
• What position are you applying for? What skills are necessary? Relevance is key!
• What words did they use in the job description? Use as many of those as you can.
• Tailor your resume to every job

20. Resume is ready. What now?
• Proofread!! Always try to get a native English speaker to proofread for you
• Save it as pdf – send this one to employers. Keep the Word document as the editable
version
• Write a cover letter – use this to supplement your resume and add more information
about your accomplishments, enthusiasm and interest in the specific
company/organization. (Again – tailor it! The employer will know if it’s generic!)
• Stay positive and patient! If this job doesn’t work out – the next one will.

21. Yes, Word. That is how you spell my name…

22. Schedule an appointment
for Career Coaching at
immigration@gaycenter.org
Thank you!
¡Gracias!
Спасибо!
Благодаря!