Resumes

Resumés & Cover Letters

Your resumé is the most important marketing tool you can have

A resumé is one of the most important tools in your job search. Its purpose is to market your experience, skills, and abilities to entice an employer to know more about you and contact you for an interview. In other words, it is used to get you an interview, not to get you a job. It is usually the first impression you make on the person making hiring decisions, so make it a good one!

Contents

A good resumé presents:

Who you are

What kind of position you want

Your skills, abilities, and accomplishments

Listing of education and training

Listing of previous work experience

Always include a cover letter with every resumé you send.

Resumé Basics

Do:

Don't:

Be concise, accurate, positive.

Lie or exaggerate.

List your most recent job first.

Include your salary history, Social Security number, age, or gender.

Stress skills and accomplishments that are most relevant to the job for which you're applying.

Use pronouns, abbreviations.

Use action verbs.

Overdo use of bold & italics.

Make resumé attractive to read.

Use small type, overcrowd margins.

Have someone proofread before mailing.

Include references.

References

References are usually left off resumés unless you are instructed to include them for a job fair.

Have references available on another typed sheet of paper for the interview. List at least three people (not relatives) who have recognized your skills, accomplishments, or personal qualities.

"References furnished upon request" is no longer necessary on the bottom of resumés. It may be eliminated, especially if space is needed for pertinent information.

Formats

There are different resumé formats, including chronological, functional, and electronic.

No one resumé format or style is appropriate for all job seekers.

Select the style or format that best markets and sells your skills and qualifications to the most employers.

Career Objectives

Although some consider career objectives optional, you should begin your resumé with your career objective or summary statement (see below). It is the first part of your resumé a prospective employer will see, and it can determine whether that person reads further or discards your resumé into the reject pile.

Start by designing a resumé — including a career objective — that is flexible, yet can entice varied employers in a particular industry or career area. It should give a statement of the strengths you have to offer, summarize your qualifications, and identify the type of job you are seeking. This basic resumé and career objective will be useful for job fairs and other events where you will be marketing your skills and abilities to a variety of employers.

When seeking a specific job opening, tailor your objective to that particular job. This means you will need to create multiple resumés — one with a specific objective for each job sought. By doing so, you will improve your chances of being selected for an interview.

Level of position for which you are applying.
- For high school students this primarily will be "entry-level positions."
  Example: Obtain an entry-level position...
Type of business, industry, or career area sought.
- Keep this generic, such as manufacturing, construction, health or human services, sales, etc.
  Example: Obtain an entry-level position in the hospitality industry...
Statement of the major strengths you have to offer this employer.
- Include examples of volunteer activities, club activities, or work experience that reflect these strengths in the resumé.

Examples of career objectives for high school students include:

Obtain an entry-level position in a business or industry using my strengths in clerical procedures and customer contacts.
Obtain an entry-level position in an industrial or manufacturing environment using my strengths in mechanical abilities and warehouse duties.
Obtain an entry-level position in a health or human services facility using my strengths with individual care and personal attention to the needs of others.

Examples of career objectives for experienced workers include:

· Qualified worker with knowledge and experience in customer service, account management and technical skills seeks mid-level position in the pharmaceutical industry.

· Experienced worker skilled in data entry and administrative procedures seeks part-time position in small office environment.

Summary Statements

Another way to get an employer’s attention when reviewing your resumé is to include a summary statement. A summary statement follows or may replace the career objective, and it can be used with any resumé format. It is an overview of what you have to offer, consisting of three to four sentences, and is strongly recommended.

A summary statement should contain:

Years of experience (can also include education/training experience)
Types of environment worked in
Areas of specialty (education or training can be substituted for lack of experience)
Brief description of your most relevant business characteristics (e.g., self-management skills)

Sample summary statements include:

Two years experience in clerical support and data entry with customer service division of a midsize employer.
Dependable and conscientious with the ability to get the job done with minimal supervision.
Committed to cooperative teamwork.
Experience working with the public.

A different format would be to simply list your qualifications:

Enjoy detailed work and exhibit initiative, creativity and resourcefulness.
Able to utilize organizational and problem solving skills.
Reliable, efficient and capable of completing a variety of tasks.
Good team-player, work well with all kinds of people.

Wording

When designing your resumé, choose your words carefully. Use words employers like to hear (read). This includes keywords and action verbs.

Keywords are nouns that are common to a particular occupation or industry. They relate to tasks, skills, and abilities required for a specific job. Using them in your cover letter and resumé indicates to the reader that you are "in the know" regarding the job for which you are applying. They are necessary for electronic resumés, which are scanned by computer before a person ever sees them. However, you should incorporate them into any resumé to convey that you "speak the language" of the job you're seeking. For example, someone seeking employment as an accountant might include keywords such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, tax preparation, or CPA (depending on the specific job requirements).

Action verbs convey a sense of energy, which employers seek in their employees. Always begin each statement of work experience with an appropriate action verb.

Action Verbs That Describe Your Functional Skills*

Acted	Communicated	Empathized	Handled	Logged
Adapted	Compared	Enforced	Headed	Made
Addressed	Completed	Established	Helped	Maintained
Administered	Computed	Estimated	Identified	Managed
Advised	Conceived	Evaluated	Illustrated	Manipulated
Allocated	Coordinated	Examined	Imagined	Mediated
Analyzed	Copied	Expanded	Implemented	Memorized
Approved	Counseled	Experimented	Improved	Monitored
Arranged	Created	Extracted	Improvised	Met
Ascertained	Dealt	Facilitated	Increased	Modeled
Assisted	Decided	Filed	Indexed	Observed
Attained	Defined	Financed	Initiated	Obtained
Audited	Delegated	Fixed	Inspected	Offered
Brought	Delivered	Followed	Interpreted	Operated
Budgeted	Designed	Formulated	Investigated	Ordered
Built	Detected	Founded	Judged	Performed
Calculated	Directed	Gathered	Kept	Received
Chartered	Documented	Gave	Learned	Taught
Checked	Drove	Generated	Lectured	Utilized
Classified	Dug	Got	Led	Volunteered
Coached	Edited	Governed	Lifted	Worked
Collected	Eliminated	Guided	Listened

Skill Verbs That Describe Your Functional Skills*

Achieve	Establish	Listen	Raise	Speak
Act	Estimate	Maintain	Read	Study
Administer	Evaluate	Make	Realize	Summarize
Analyze	Examine	Manage	Reason	Supervise
Assemble	Expand	Manipulate	Receive	Supply
Build	Experiment	Motivate	Recommend	Take instruction
Calculate	Explain	Negotiate	Reconcile	Talk
Communicate	Express	Observe	Record	Teach/train
Compose	Extract	Organize	Recruit	Tell
Consult	Figure	Originate	Reduce	Troubleshoot
Control	File	Paint	Refer	Tutor
Coordinate	Finance	Perceive	Remember	Type
Copy	Imagine	Perform	Repair	Umpire
Count	Implement	Persevere	Research	Understand
Create	Improve	Persuade	Schedule	Unity
Debate	Improvise	Photograph	Select	Upgrade
Define	Increase	Pilot	Sell	Use
Deliver	Influence	Plan	Sense	Utilize
Draw	Interview	Problem Solve	Separate	Verbalize
Edit	Invent	Produce	Serve	Weigh
Elicit	Judge	Promote	Service	Work
Eliminate	Keep	Publicize	Set	Write
Emphasize	Lead	Purchase	Sew
Enforce	Lecture	Question	Shape

Adaptive Skill Words That Describe Your Personal Traits*

Adaptive	Diplomatic	Firm	Outgoing	Self-reliant
Adaptable	Disciplined	Honest	Participate	Sense of humor
Adept	Discreet	Innovative	Personable	Sensitive
Broad-minded	Efficient	Instrumental	Pleasant	Sincere
Competent	Energetic	Logical	Positive	Successful
Conscientious	Enterprising	Loyal	Productive	Tactful
Creative	Experienced	Mature	Reliable	Versatile
Dependable	Fair	Methodical	Resourceful
Determined	Forceful	Objective

* Source: North Carolina State University Placement Manual

Always include a
cover letter
with every resumé you send

Video resumés may be appropriate for some occupations, such as broadcasting or the performing arts, but most employers prefer a traditional resumé

"A resumé without an objective is like a book without a title."

J. L. Stahl, Managing Director, Right Management Consultants
Raleigh, NC

Action verbs speak louder than other words

Job Star Central is a great site with more information you need to know about resumés