RESUME&INTERVIEWS(MUST READ)

[ftvfatboy]

What is a resume?

Resumes are what people use to get jobs, right?

Wrong!

A resume is a one or two page summary of your education, skills, accomplishments, and experience. Your resume's purpose is to get your foot in the door. A resume does its job successfully if it does not exclude you from consideration.

To prepare a successful resume, you need to know how to review, summarize, and present your experiences and achievements on one page. Unless you have considerable experience, you don't need two pages. Outline your achievements briefly and concisely.

Your resume is your ticket to an interview where you can sell yourself!

[ftvfatboy]

Your Guide to Resume Writing
How to Prepare an Effective Resume
1. Resume Essentials

Before you write, take time to do a self-assessment on paper. Outline your skills and abilities as well as your work experience and extracurricular activities. This will make it easier to prepare a thorough resume.

2. The Content of Your Resume

Name, address, telephone, e-mail address, web site address

All your contact information should go at the top of your resume.

* Avoid nicknames.
* Use a permanent address. Use your parents' address, a friend's address, or the address you plan to use after graduation.
* Use a permanent telephone number and include the area code. If you have an answering machine, record a neutral greeting.
* Add your e-mail address. Many employers will find it useful. (Note: Choose an e-mail address that sounds professional.)
* Include your web site address only if the web page reflects your professional ambitions.

Objective or Summary

An objective tells potential employers the sort of work you're hoping to do.

* Be specific about the job you want. For example: To obtain an entry-level position within a financial institution requiring strong analytical and organizational skills.
* Tailor your objective to each employer you target/every job you seek.

Education

New graduates without a lot of work experience should list their educational information first. Alumni can list it after the work experience section.

* Your most recent educational information is listed first.
* Include your degree (A.S., B.S., B.A., etc.), major, institution attended, minor/concentration.
* Add your grade point average (GPA) if it is higher than 3.0.
* Mention academic honors.

Work Experience

Briefly give the employer an overview of work that has taught you skills. Use action words to describe your job duties. Include your work experience in reverse chronological order—that is, put your last job first and work backward to your first, relevant job. Include:

* Title of position,
* Name of organization
* Location of work (town, state)
* Dates of employment
* Describe your work responsibilities with emphasis on specific skills and achievements.

Other information

A staff member at your career services office can advise you on other information to add to your resume. You may want to add:

* Key or special skills or competencies,
* Leadership experience in volunteer organizations,
* Participation in sports.

References

Ask people if they are willing to serve as references before you give their names to a potential employer.

Do not include your reference information on your resume. You may note at the bottom of your resume: "References furnished on request."

3. Resume Checkup

You've written your resume. It's time to have it reviewed and critiqued by a career counselor. You can also take the following steps to ensure quality:

Content:

* Run a spell check on your computer before anyone sees your resume.
* Get a friend (an English major would do nicely) to do a grammar review.
* Ask another friend to proofread. The more people who see your resume, the more likely that misspelled words and awkward phrases will be seen (and corrected).

Design:

These tips will make your resume easier to read and/or scan into an employer's data base.

* Use white or off-white paper.
* Use 8-1/2- x 11-inch paper.
* Print on one side of the paper.
* Use a font size of 10 to 14 points.
* Use nondecorative typefaces.
* Choose one typeface and stick to it.
* Avoid italics, script, and underlined words.
* Do not use horizontal or vertical lines, graphics, or shading.
* Do not fold or staple your resume.
* If you must mail your resume, put it in a large envelope.

[ftvfatboy]

Action Words

Use action words to describe your experience and accomplishments. Here are some actions words to use:

* achieved
* acquired
* adapted
* addressed
* administered
* analyzed
* anticipated
* assembled
* assisted
* audited
* budgeted
* calculated
* centralized
* changed
* collaborated
* composed
* condensed
* conducted
* constructed
* contracted
* converted
* coordinated
* created
* cultivated
* demonstrated
* designed
* developed
* devised
* discovered
* doubled



* drafted
* edited
* eliminated
* enforced
* established
* evaluated
* expanded
* explained
* forecasted
* formed
* founded
* generated
* guided
* hired
* implemented
* improved
* informed
* insured
* interpreted
* interviewed
* launched
* maintained
* managed
* marketed
* minimized
* motivated
* negotiated
* obtained
* operated
* organized



* originated
* oversaw
* performed
* planned
* prevented
* produced
* programmed
* promoted
* provided
* publicized
* published
* recruited
* reorganized
* reported
* researched
* resolved
* reviewed
* selected
* separated
* set up
* simplified
* solved
* surveyed
* staffed
* supervise
* taught
* tested
* trained
* used

[ftvfatboy]

Your Guide to Resume Writing
Sample Resume

Denise F. Moore
2657 Uphill Ave.
Somewhere, CT 06677
800/555-1212
[email protected]

Objective

To obtain an entry-level position requiring strong analytical and organizational skills in the engineering department.

Education

University of North Carolina at Charlotte
School of Engineering
B.S., Mechanical Engineering with focus in automotive engineering, May 2003
Honors: Daniel M. Joseph Prize in Mechanical Engineering, 2003
Phi Beta Kappa

Experience

Co-op engineer, Ford Motor Corp., Detroit, MI, Spring 2002
Worked on advanced test project that involved mechanical design, CAD/CAM composites technology, automobile structures, and coordination among project groups.

Mini-Baja Team Participant, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Fall 2002.
Worked on six-member team of students to design and build a miniature stock car for competition in National Society of Automotive Engineers competition. Our car won.

Intern, General Motors Corp., Detroit, MI, Summer 2001
Assisted in experimental and literature research, prepared figures and data for technical papers, and computed engineering calculations.

Assistant Mechanic, Dewey's Garage, Trumbull, CT, Summer 1999 and 2000.
Performed oil changes, tire rotations, radiator flushes, troubleshooting problems with customers' cars.

Related Course Work

Thermodynamics, deformable solids, statics, materials science, basic circuits, fluids mechanics, controls, heat transfer, vibrations, statistics, design, turbomachinery, automotive structural design.

Computer Skills

CAD, AutoCAD, MathCAD, C++, Word, Access, Excel.

Activities

President, Society of Automotive Engineers, campus chapter, Fall 2000-present
Peer tutor
Intramural baseball, 1998-2001
Intramural basketball, 1998-2001

[ftvfatboy]

How to use a portfolio in an interview

Many career counselors advise students and new graduates to take a portfolio of work with them to job interviews. Your portfolio holds evidence of your experience—examples and copies—of anything you've worked on and/or accomplished in school, at a job, or in volunteer work. For many students, a portfolio offers a comfortable way of demonstrating ability with "real life" examples.

Artists and news reporters, for example, traditionally use portfolios to showcase their work. A graphic artist working as a web designer, for example, might bring printouts of the development of a web site from initial drawings through completion. An artist going into advertising might bring samples of ad campaigns. Reporters bring "clips" of stories they have had published. A reporter's portfolio might include several articles as they were submitted to an editor plus the finished, published product in order to demonstrate that they've had experience writing stories and that the stories were publishable.

You can ask a number of people what to include in your portfolio—e.g., a career counselor, a faculty mentor, an adviser or mentor from your field. Many will be happy to look through your portfolio and critique your selections. However, having the right ingredients in your portfolio isn't enough. The key to success is presenting the contents at the right time during your interview.

Heidi Perman advises students at the University of Minnesota - St. Paul on how to get the maximum value from their portfolios. She offers these guidelines:

One Size Doesn't Fit All
Make Your Portfolio Stand Out

While the number of items in your portfolio will vary according to your interviews, Perman says:

* If the job description you are matching is comprehensive, you'll include more items than if the job description is fairly general.
* Add a list of short- and long-term goals to your portfolio. When an employer asks about those goals, you can demonstrate that you have thought about them by pulling out your list.

One portfolio won't work for all interviews (although you'll probably use many of the same pieces for your interviews). And, there is no "right" number of items to include in your portfolio. Remember—you don't have to show everything you've brought, but you also don't want your portfolio to be so thick and full that it looks as if you've brought everything you have ever accomplished.

To prepare your portfolio for an interview, review the job description and choose examples of your work that relate to the skills the job requires. Then, review the pieces you've selected to include in the portfolio for this specific interview and order them within your portfolio according to topic. You want to be as organized as possible so that you can avoid shuffling through your papers to find examples.

If you can, practice answering questions while pulling out examples from your portfolio. Contact your career services office to see if you can participate in mock interviews to practice your presentation skills.

It's Show-and-Tell Time

Using your portfolio during the interview is like a grownup version of show-and-tell. Remember: There's a right time and a wrong time to present your portfolio or its contents to an interviewer.

Don't hand over your portfolio at the beginning of the interview—the employer will be tempted to look through it while talking to you and may not give you his or her full attention. Or, the employer will listen to you and not see the great examples of work you've included.

Don't save your portfolio until the end of the interview. The employer may have a very limited amount of time to spend with each job candidate, so he or she may not have time to skim through your portfolio before the next interview. Your portfolio will go in a briefcase to be examined later (if at all), at which time your work will not make a good connection to your interview.

Also, don't put original documents into your portfolio—sometimes employers ask to take your portfolio with them. Make copies of everything that you include and be prepared to leave this copy of your portfolio upon request.

Here's how your presentation should work:

The interviewer will ask you a question.

Take a moment to think about your answer—and to pinpoint (in your mind) something in your portfolio that relates specifically to your answer.

Answer the question. Then say, "I have an example of this in my portfolio."

Next, open your portfolio and find the document as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Introduce the document to the interviewer. You might say something like, "During my internship at XYZ Company, I designed a widget supply chain that streamlined the process for my department. I have a drawing of the process that I believe demonstrates the skills we have been talking about."

Whip out your document. Then, be quiet. Wait for the employer to look up (this is a signal that the employer has finished examining your document) or until the employer asks a question about your work.

Or, if the silence is too uncomfortable, you can point out specifics of the example you are showing.

The interview will then naturally flow to another questions—and another example from you.

At the end of the interview, when the employer asks "Is there anything else you want to share with us?" you can show a project that you feel especially proud of from your portfolio. Or, you can ask the interviewer, "Can I share with you any other items from my portfolio?"

[ftvfatboy]

More Sample Resumes!

By Discipline

Accounting

Culinary Arts/Hospitality

Economics

Fine Arts

Education

Graphic Design

Meteorology

Research & Development or Quality Control

By Format

*

Chronological

Fine Arts

Meteorology

* Electronic


Education

* Functional

Accounting

Culinary Arts/Hospitality

Graphic Design

* Combination—Chronological and Functional

Financial Analyst

Research & Development or Quality Control

[ftvfatboy]

Sample Resumes
Adam’s Resume
Click on the links to get a critique of each part of Adam’s resume.

Adam Wright

Campus Address
425 Grant St.
Bowling Green, OH 43403
419-555-1040
[email protected]
Permanent Address
411 Banks Ave.
Elyria, OH 44035
440-555-9999
[email protected]

Education

B.S. in Accounting, Bowling Green State University
Expected May 2001
3.4 cumulative GPA, 3.6 major GPA



A.A.S. in Accounting, Lorain County Community College
May 1996
3.7 cumulative GPA, 3.9 major GPA, Dean’s List all semesters



Relevant Course Work

Financial Accounting
Managerial Accounting
Cost Accounting Auditing
Federal Taxation
Corporate Finance Effective Business Writing
Speech Communications
Information Systems



Work Experience

Junior Accountant, Homanick Inc., Akron, Ohio
September 2000-present

Handle monthly journal entries; analyze sales/marketing monthly
expenses and sales representatives’ gross receipts; create spreadsheets;
handle special projects.

Accounting Intern, Burry and Associates, Akron, Ohio
May-August 2000

Reviewed and corrected accounting entries, assisted with financial
planning input and analysis, and generated reports. Accounting corrections
revealed nearly $50,000 in unpaid bills and mislaid funds.

Billing Coordinator, Corpora Corp., Elyria, Ohio
June 1996-August 1999

Handled collections on more than 500 past due accounts; reconciled
payment discrepancies; resolved client billing and eligibility issues.

Crew Leader, Michael’s Muffins, Elyria, Ohio
June 1994-May 1996

Supervised crew of seven workers and managed bakery’s daily operations.

Computer Skills

MS Excel MS Access MS Word MS Internet Explorer MS Powerpoint

[ftvfatboy]

Sample Resumes
Christopher Bacon 's Resume

Click on the links to get a critique of each part of Christopher's resume.

CHRISTOPHER BACON
4 Buttermilk Court
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
914.555.2665

OBJECTIVE

A position in catering, event planning, or convention services.

HIGHLIGHTS
· Three years experience operating own catering business.
· Educated in culinary arts and communications.
· Experience planning dinners and other events.
· Good communications skills, particularly in promoting or selling an idea.


RELEVANT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Sales and Promotion
· Helped prepare promotional materials for clients of public relations firm.
· Conceived and implemented promotional campaign for Culinary Institute of America (CIA) externship program with culinary magazines and journals.
· "Pitched" vacation packages for country inn and resort in New York State.
Catering and Event Planning
· Operated successful catering business for groups of up to 75 people.
· Created custom-designed menus for all clients.
· Arranged dinners, luncheons, and receptions at public relations firm.
Organization and Leadership
· Secured financial support of Cook & Baker Corp. and services of Art Center at SUNY-Cortland for development of promotional materials for fundraiser.
· Assisted chef-instructors with course presentations for CIA's Continuing Education Division.
· Served as group leader and student council member at CIA.
Catering and Event Planning
· Helped prepare promotional materials for clients of public relations firm.
· Conceived and implemented promotional campaign for Culinary Institute of America (CIA) externship program with culinary magazines and journals.
· "Pitched" vacation packages for country inn and resort in New York State.



WORK HISTORY

· Test kitchen extern, Good Taste magazine, New York, NY
Spring 2000

· Cooking extern, Mama Rosa's Gourmet Market, Fishkill, NY
Fall 2000

· Caterer, self-employed, Albany, NY, and Poughkeepsie, NY
1995-1999

· Administrative assistant, Colby & Gruyere Public Relations, Albany, NY
1993-1995

· Promotions intern, Strawberry Fields Farms, New Paltz, NY
Summer 1992

· Line cook, The Cider Press Tavern, Cortland, NY
1991-1992

· Server, Applejack's Cafe, Cortland, NY
1989-1991



EDUCATION

· Associate in Occupational Studies, Culinary Arts, The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park,
Spring 2001

· B.A., English, State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, NY
Spring 1993

*missing pieces

[ftvfatboy]

Sample Resumes
Justin’s Resume

Click on the links to get a critique of each part of Justin’s resume.


Justin Case




Campus Address
247-F Rider Drive
Hartford, CT
860/555-4678


Home Address
13 Peril Pass
Lakewood, NJ 08701
732-555-4357


E-mail Address
jcase @hartford.edu






Objective



A position as a financial analyst in the insurance industry.


Education



B.S. in economics, Hartford University, Hartford, Conn.

Expected Spring 2001



Related Work Experience


Common Stock Intern, Hobbs Insurance Co., Providence, R.I.
Summer 2000



• Performed an in-depth analysis on Grandview Corp., including a review of its
history, management, financial information, and business strategy.
• Wrote a report recommending that Hobbs Insurance Co. keep its holdings in
Grandview Corp.
• Made presentation to department members on research in the common-stock area.



Aide, Hartford University Computing Center Help Desk
Spring 2000-present



• Assist users from economic classes with various software programs.



Related Course Work



• Macroeconomic Analysis
• Managerial Economics
• Investment Analysis
• International Finance
• Statistics

Other Work Experience


Waiter, Irene’s Family Diner, Lakewood, N.J.
Summers 1998 and 1999



Professional Honors and Activities



• Samuel Shedlock Prize for achievement in economics
Spring 2000
• Member, Student Investment Club, Hartford University
Fall 1997-present

[ftvfatboy]

Sample Resumes
Melody's Resume

Click on the links to get a critique of each part of Melody's resume.
Melody Cantata

Campus
123 Handel Hall
Westminster College
New Wilmington, PA 16172
(724) 555-1234
[email protected]

Home
1812 Overture Ave.
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 555-1212
[email protected]





Education



Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA
Bachelor of Music Education
Cumulative GPA: 3.35/4.0
December 2000




Certification

Pennsylvania certification
National Teacher Examination qualified
Pre-professional Skills Test qualified


December 2000
December 2000
May 2000




Experience *

Stephen Foster High School, Sharon, PA
Student teacher
Taught music theory and music appreciation classes and assisted with chorale and glee club.
Spring 2000

Harmony Elementary School, Frederick, MD
Enrichment program leader
Led summer music program for children in grades 1 through 6.


Summer 1999

Woody Guthrie Middle School, New Wilmington, PA Student observer
Observed music teacher work with music classes, band, and chorus two mornings a week. Assisted with music-related activities.


Spring 1999

*missing pieces




Performance Background




Chamber Singers, Westminster College,
New Wilmington, PA
First soprano in select group of singers that performs nationwide
Fall 1998-present

Symphony Orchestra, Westminster College,
New Wilmington, PA
Principal violin
Second violin


Fall 1999-present

Adult Choir, St. Cecilia's Catholic Church,
Frederick, MD
First soprano and soloist, 1997-present