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How to write a killer resume
- 1. Student Learning and Transitions Nipissing University How to Write a Killer Resume
- 2. Job application process: Identify your skills and experience Identify job requirements Create a tailored resume that integrates both
- 3. Resume rules 101 Two pages maximum 11-12 size font Keep font the same throughout the document Email address and phone with professional voice mail Avoid personal pronouns ie, me, I, my Use bullet points Lots of white space – not too ‘text heavy’ Make it easy for the employer to find important information
- 4. Alicia Smith 334 Whitetail Lane Cell: 705.222.3333 North Bay, Ontario, P1A 0A1 Email: Alicia.Smith@email.com Career Objective: University student with strong customer service and communication skills seeks a part-time position in retail sales and customer service at Winners. Education: 2012 - present Bachelor of Arts, English Studies Specialization Nipissing University, North Bay 2012 Ontario Secondary School Diploma (honours) North Bay High School, North Bay Employment History: Dec 2014 – present Cashier King Restaurant, North Bay Quickly developed knowledge of menu and specialties in order to effectively assist customers during a high volume period. Ensured customers were attended to promptly and professionally. Communicated orders and special requirements to kitchen staff, reviewed and adjusted bills using electronic point of sale system. Mar 2012 – Aug 2014 Retail Sales Assistant Keen’s Electrical, Toronto Advised customers using extensive knowledge of product range, quality and features. Developed excellent understanding of point of sale and refund systems and accurate cash handling skills. Volunteer Experience: Jun 2014 – Sept 2014 Tutor North Bay Community Center, North Bay Assist up to 8 first grade students in math-related study problems, to increase confidence and skill levels. Provide feedback to parents on the progress of their children. Most families are new immigrants to Canada and as such, need additional time and support to communicate their concerns. Key Skills: Communication: Successfully travelled independently across 7 countries in Europe during summer of 2013, booking travel, accommodation and negotiating the purchase of food and amenities as needed. Researched, drafted and sought faculty approval to create a 15 page, university-wide Resource Guide for incoming university students, to identify support services on campus.
- 5. ALICIA SMITH 334 Whitetail Lane Cell: 705.222.3333 North Bay, Ontario, P1A 0A1 Email: Alicia.Smith@email.com
- 6. Alicia Smith 334 Whitetail Lane Cell: 705.222.3333 North Bay, Ontario, P1A 0A1 Email: Alicia.Smith@email.com Career Objective: University student with strong customer service and communication skills seeks a part-time position in retail sales and customer service at Winners. Education: 2012 - present Bachelor of Arts, English Studies Specialization Nipissing University, North Bay 2012 Ontario Secondary School Diploma (honours) North Bay High School, North Bay
- 7. Employment History: Dec 2014 – present Cashier King Restaurant, North Bay Quickly developed knowledge of menu and specialties in order to effectively assist customers during a high volume period. Ensured customers were attended to promptly and professionally. Communicated orders and special requirements to kitchen staff, reviewed and adjusted bills using electronic point of sale system. Mar 2012 – Aug 2014 Retail Sales Assistant Keen’s Electrical, Toronto Advised customers using extensive knowledge of product range, quality and features. Developed excellent understanding of point of sale and refund systems and accurate cash handling skills. Volunteer Experience: Jun 2014 – Sept 2014 Tutor North Bay Community Center, North Bay Assist up to 8 first grade students in math-related study problems, to increase confidence and skill levels. Provide feedback to parents on the progress of their children. Most families are new immigrants to Canada and as such, need additional time and support to communicate their concerns.
- 8. Key Skills: Communication: Successfully travelled independently across 7 countries in Europe during summer of 2013, booking travel, accommodation and negotiating the purchase of food and amenities as needed. Researched, drafted and sought faculty approval to create a 15 page, university-wide Resource Guide for incoming university students, to identify support services on campus.
- 9. The main takeaways.. Update for each position to meet the needs of the employer Keep your formatting consistent and uniform Spelling!
- 10. Questions and more information Contact Student Learning and Transitions in the Office of Student Development and Services In North Bay, room B210 In Muskoka, room 227 Email: slt@nipissingu.ca Phone: 705.474.3450 ext 4459 Web: nipissingu.ca/slt
Editor's Notes
- Needed: handout
- A resume is one of the most important documents you will ever create, and easily the most confusing. If you google the word ‘resume’, 349 million links are found. And that’s not even including the search term ‘CV’ or ‘cover letter’. There are free resume templates, employment center workshops, and private consulting firms who all have ideas on what a resume should look like. To cut through the noise and give you some key strategies you can use for the rest of your working life in writing effective resumes, remember first that your resume needs to respond to the specific needs of the employer you are applying to. You MUST update it for each position you apply for, to align the job requirements and your relevant skills and experience. Your resume is not a static listing of all the jobs you’ve ever had, but a targeted and tailored marketing document, that is tweaked for each position. No exceptions. It sounds like a lot of work, I know. But remember this: the best person for the job doesn’t always get the interview – it’s the person with the best resume.
- To start off with resume basics, these are rules that you should follow, regardless of the type of resume you will be writing. In Canada, resumes should be no longer than two pages. In the United States, resumes are often only 1 page long. And in Australia and New Zealand, it is 3 pages. The font should be either 11 or 12 font, which is a standard font size and easy to read. Use one font style throughout your resume to remain consistent and generally avoid over the top, fancy fonts. They can be difficult to read and detract from the information you are trying to communicate. Include a professional email address (no, prettyprincess@hotmail.com), which preferably includes your name, and the phone number you list should have a professional voicemail for potential call backs from employers. You generally want to avoid using personal pronouns, which I will talk about a bit more later. This is to keep the information concise and action-oriented. Overall, the remember the job of a resume is to get you an interview. Using bullet points is an effective way of listing key information in a short, easy to read, manner. Paragraphs of text are difficult for an employer to skim to find key information. And if the employer has a stack of resumes to read, and skims each for only 20 seconds, you need to make sure your information is easy to find. Remember the employer when you are writing your resume, and what skills and experiences you want them to know you can do. Make it easy for the employer to find key information. Because the more information you include – the more the employer will miss…
- This is an example of a resume that we will be going into more detail today. On first view, it is easy to see the applicant’s name and contact details, right at the top. There is lots of white space for the reader to skim. I can find the job titles easily that Alicia has had, and the document looks professional and tailored, with the bullet points lining up, the information uniform and carefully written. That communicates to me an attention to detail, and her seriousness in the job she is applying for.
- This is also a well considered resume, but as you can see, it is an example of a text-heavy resume. There is too much information here. Granted, the text is small in this example and the person is established in their career, but the rule remains the same. This resume is extremely difficult to skim for key information. And as an employer, if you don’t have a lot of time to sit and read each line, then the important information written in this resume will be missed. And the opportunity for an interview will be missed. Even if this applicant is the most qualified and experienced person in the pile of resumes, it doesn’t translate on paper. Your resume is not a history of everything you’ve ever done. It is a targeted and cohesive marketing document. Include only the most relevant, the most specific information to the job you are applying for. Make each line work to get you an interview.
- The top of your resume contains the most important information. Your name and contact details. You can format this in a variety of ways, all on the left margin or the right or in the centre. All are correct, as long as it is easy to read. The next section is one that is often skipped. The Career Objective. This is another very important section, found in prime real estate at the top of your resume. The Career Objective tells the employer what you want to do. It is a short, sentence or statement, and tailored to the position you are applying for. If it is too general, like – ‘Seeking a part time job in retail’, then it is not selling your interest to the employer, but in fact the exact opposite. On paper, it appears you don’t really care, and haven’t demonstrated effort in convincing an employer you want to work for THEM. This section is highly effective, if done correctly. Employers have also reported that it gives the resume context and direction, which is more likely to result in an interview. One line can really do all that! The next section to follow is usually Education. As a student or recent graduate, the education you have recently completed is likely going to be of interest to an employer, and explain what you’ve been up to for the last few years! The main takeaway here is to include the information in reverse chronological order. This means, the most recent at the top, and going back in time from there. Notice the dates, the bolded font and the text are all uniform. They are easy to read and well spaced. Again, you can format your own resume as you wish, but keep these strategies in mind. Note as well that the dates are a little different. Once you have completed your study, include only the year of completion (as the high school diploma shows). If you are still studying, include the start year, to show you have not yet completed your study. It also gives the employer an idea as to how far into your degree you are.
- The next section is usually Employment History, or Work Experience. Either heading is correct. This resume is an example of the reverse chronological format, which focuses on previous employment, from the most recent, backwards. Again, notice the job titles are all bold, the dates are aligned in the same places, and the location is tabbed to start in the same spots. The bullet points are the most important aspects to this section. As I mentioned in an earlier slide, you want to avoid using personal pronouns, I, me, my. Start each bullet point with a verb, an action word, and describe the skill or experience. One of the most important things about this section is to remember who the reader is – your potential new employer. Include skills and experiences in your bullet points that are relevant to the position you are applying for. For example, Alicia’s employment experience is mainly in customer service, as a casher and retail sales assistant. The experience’s she lists in the bullet points are relevant to the job at Winners she’s applying for. As a casher at King Restaurant, she probably took with food orders, delivered food and cleaned tables. She did not mention that in her resume however, because it is not relevant to working at Winners. The experiences she did mention, product knowledge, customer service, and communicating with other staff members – ARE relevant. Alicia also lists volunteer experience, in the same format as the paid positions above. The bullet points she lists indicate her ability to interact with both kids and adults, and her interest in giving back the the community, which is a priority all employers would be happy to know about.
- The final section listed on this resume is one that is important to include, 1. if you have the space, and 2. if you are entering an industry that you don’t yet have much experience in. For example, if you are a student or new graduate with not a lot of experience in marketing or tourism, then the Key Skills section is great to demonstrate your transferrable skills. If you have been working in a daycare for most of your career and you want to get a job at a large department store, this section is worth including, because your employment experience section may not market your skills as effectively to a potential employer. This is one of my favourite sections to include, because it is so dynamic. The subheading Communication is one that Alicia knows the employer wants in their applicants, as she read it in the job advertisement. In the interest of space for this example we have only included one subheading, but in your resume, include 3 or 4 – all of which should be skills that the employer or industry is interested in. For example, if a job ad asks for experience in customer service, highly motivated and strong communication skills, then include Customer Service as a subheading, Motivation or Interpersonal Skills as a second subheading, and Communication as a third. Then, as Alicia has done in her resume, you give 2 or 4 bullet points outlining where you have demonstrated that skill before. And the best part is, it can be from ANYWHERE: school, work, volunteering, sports, travel, church, placement, personal experiences. This shows the employer that you have the specific skill set they are looking for, as you have demonstrated it elsewhere in your life. Note in Alicia’s example that she has incorporated numbers to quantify what she is saying. It sounds much more impressive if you say a 15 page document, instead of a document. Or having travelled across 7 countries in Europe, instead of simply travelled across Europe. It provides more context and is more defined.
- Resumes can be daunting to write, particularly because we don’t write them all the time! Only when we need to look for a new job, which sometimes comes around once every year or often even less. The main points to remember are to tweak your resume for each position you apply for, to ensure it is responding to the specific needs of the employer. The second point is to keep your formatting the same throughout the document. If you bold or underline or do double spacing after headings, make sure you do it throughout the entire document. It sounds like a minor thing, but it speaks volumes in your first impression to an employer. You get things done right, you are careful and professional. We cannot overstate how important it is to make sure you have spelled everything correctly in the document. Have another person proofread, as spell check almost always misses something. Common mistakes are usually using an incorrect word, spelled correctly, within the resume, which gives the employer a reason to not consider your application. If there are 5 resumes for an employer to review, and one has errors, which one do you think will not progress? You got it, the one with the mistakes. The last takeaway is to remember what the resume is for. It is a marketing document, designed to show an employer that you best meet the needs of the job. Keep it targeted, specific, and tailored to the position you are applying for.