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Resumes & Cover Letter

Career Services

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APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM (ATS)

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    • A system that scans your resume, rates/scores the content, and then ranks you based on that score

What  is it? 

    • Software looks for matches between the job description and a candidate’s experience, qualifications, and skills

How does it work?

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Applicant Tracking System ATS

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98.8% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS.

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Top Applicant Tracking Systems

There are dozens of ATS used by companies big and small. A few of the more popular ATS include:

  • Taleo (Starbucks, Boeing, Nintendo)
  • iCIMS (Southwest Airlines, Uber, Amazon)
  • Greenhouse (AirBnb, Pinterest, WeWork)
  • Jobvite (Zillow, Spotify, Logitech)
  • Brassring (Disney, GE, Lockheed Martin)
  • Lever (Indiegogo, Lyft, Shopify)

Some large companies develop their own proprietary applicant tracking systems, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook.

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Resume �Content

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HEADER

Should be largest text on page

Name:

Should be separated in segments (ex. 555-555-5555)

Phone:

Needs to be professional. Only include one. 

Email:

Only include one. When applying for job, use the one closest to that employer. 

Address:

Optional. Can include LinkedIn, GitHub, or portfolio site.

Web:

Photo, Social security number, Gender, Age, Nationality

Don't Include:

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EDUCATION

Include:

  • Degree AND Major
  • Anticipated Graduation Date
  • Institution
  • Location
  • GPA?

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Other things that sometimes are included:

  • Minors
  • Study Abroad
  • Honors
  • Awards
  • Certifications

HINT:

Do not include:

  • high school education after freshman year of college
  • transfer credit institutions.

Only degree completion institutions.

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CAREER SUMMARY

CAREER SUMMARY

What is it?

The summary is at the top of the document, immediately following the header.

It should be a 3-4-line summary that gives a high-overview of your career thus far, while naming several of your key accomplishments.

TIPS

It’s also important to potentially list one or two of the job titles you are targeting, as this is a key area scanned by an Applicant Tracking System.

A resume objective is an outdated section.

Source: Career SideKick

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CAREER SUMMARY

Why this summary is good:

Short summary, that highlights years of experience, awards, languages, technology, and certifications

SUMMARY

  • Global Experience – Fluent in Italian; strong interpersonal skills working in diverse teams
  • 5+ years of experience in customer relations with excellent problem-solving and negotiating skills
  • Event planning, budget, and management experience, coordinating logistics and supervising up to 75 volunteers
  • Skilled in Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Gmail, Forms) & Social Media (Facebook, X, Instagram)

SKILLS SUMMARY 

  • Languages: Proficient in Spanish with 3 years of study
  • Social Media Platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, & YouTube
  • Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Publisher) & Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Gmail, Forms)
  • Life skills: Advocacy, Interpretation, Event Planning, Computer Technical Support, Graphic Design

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CAREER SUMMARY

EXPERIENCE SECTION

What is it?

    • All resumes should include an experience section. The companies you have worked for, dates of employment, the positions you held, and a bulleted list of achievements are included in this section of your resume.
  • Company names
  • Job titles
  • Dates
  • Accomplishments (try to focus more on what you accomplished)
  • Promotions and awards you received

Includes

Source: Career Sidekick

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BULLET POINTS 

Focus on your achievement statements - answer these questions:

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  • Who or what benefitted?
  • What skill(s) did you use?
  • HOW WAS IT SUCCESSFUL?

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Examples

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  • Improved 500 donor experiences by creating a walk-in Excel database that DECREASED WAIT TIME BY 30%

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  • Enhance the organization’s visibility by partnering with local organizations to GAIN 50 NEW QUARTERLY BLOOD DONORS

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  • Upgraded organization’s social media presence by INCREASING TOTAL FOLLOWERS BY 5% on Facebook and Instagram

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Quantify Your Accomplishments

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Quantify via results and descriptions. Use numerals instead of spelling out the numbers: 

  • Increased efficiency by 9%
  • Fundraised $2,500 in a group of 7 people over a 2-month period
  • Mentored 10 first-year engineering students
  • Taught 14 kids, aged 9-14, how to code a basic website
  • Placed 1st in the final-round competition by holding 38 lbs of weight

Not all descriptions will have a number, but several of them should. It’s okay if that number is results-oriented or purely descriptive text

Ask the following questions

  • How much?
  • How often?
  • How many?

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EXPERIENCE SECTION

Quantify your achievement statements

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Can you answer these questions:

  • How much?
  • How many?
  • HOW OFTEN?

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Examples:

  • Completed up to 25 hours/WEEK while maintaining a full academic course load

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  • Managed 3 convenience store, performed WEEKLY inventory and ordered appropriate products

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  • Upgraded store’s social media presence by increasing total followers by 5% on Facebook and Instagram in a year

�

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Describe the who

Things to consider:

  • Demographics: Information about the population's age, gender, ethnicity, education level, income, and other relevant socio-economic factors.
  • Geographic Distribution: The location and spread of the population, including urban, suburban, or rural areas.
  • Health and Wellbeing: Factors such as health indicators, life expectancy, and prevalent diseases.
  • Cultural Characteristics: Language, traditions, and cultural practices that define the population.
  • Education: The level of education within the population, including literacy rates and educational attainment.
  • Age Distribution: The proportion of individuals in different age groups within the population.

Describing a population involves providing information about the characteristics, size, demographics, and other relevant factors of a group of individuals.

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Let's Look at Resume Formatting

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Resume Organization

  • Reverse Chronological Order
  • Most relevant to least relevant
  • Section headings
  • Example Headings:
    • Customer Service Experience
    • Relevant Coursework
    • Campus & Community Involvement
    • Leadership Experience
    • Projects

Look at the resume’s organization. Do the headers make sense and help the reader understand the structure of the resume?

Recruiters spend on average 5-7 seconds looking at a resume

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Action Verbs

  • Descriptive
    • Avoid verbs like work, help, assist, & provide
    • Also avoid “responsible for…”, “duties included…”, and “member of a # person team…”
  • Diverse - don’t reuse the verbs too often
  • Proper tense
    • Past tense verbs for past tense activities (check that dates are aligning with verb tense)

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The Golden

Rule of Resume Writing:

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Relevancy�

  • What does THIS employer need to know about THIS experience?
  • What about this experience qualifies me for THIS job?
  • What skills did I develop in this experience that THIS employer would need to know about?
  • Are the descriptions in the resume written in a way that is relevant? 
  • Will the reader be able to understand that you are qualified for the position?

BEFORE:

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  • Took orders
  • Cleared tables
  • Kept money

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AFTER:

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  • Accurately communicated needs of customers to kitchen staff, ensuring that all customers had a positive experience
  • Exceeded sales goals by 5-10% each month.

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Accomplishments and Impact

We want to create a history of being a good worker who gets stuff done.

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  • What accomplishments did you make?
  • What results came from you holding this position?
  • What impact did YOU have on this? What was the impact of them selecting YOU for this role?
  • What are you proud of?
  • How do you know you did a good job at this?

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Bullet Points

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  • Use the same style of bullet points throughout the resume and that they are aligned.

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Section Headers

  • Check to make sure that all section headings:
    • Have all of the right information (i.e. organization, title, location, dates)
    • Are formatted the same

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  • Check ALL section headings across the ENTIRE resume.

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Dates

  • Look at the dates for the entire resume. Check that they are consistent in regards to:
    • Months versus Seasons
      • Ex: May 2020 v Spring 2020
    • Placement
      • Ex: Right aligned, centered,  parentheses, etc�
  • HINT: Pay attention to the dates in the ‘Education’ section, too

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White Spaces

  • Look at the white spaces on the resume. 
    • Are those spaces formatted the same?
      • For example, is there the same amount of space before  & after every heading?
  • Is there any excess or unused white space?

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Cover Letter

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A Cover Letter Is…

  • An introduction of yourself to an organization
  • A demonstration of your interest in the company, or a specific vacancy
  • Something that motivates the reader to interview you
  • Only one page

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Name and Contact Information

Example Cover Letter

Address of recipient

Greeting to recipient

State the position that you’re applying for

Why you’re a good potential hire for the position and what you can contribute to the company

Restate contact information and include an thanks for the consideration or their time

Closing

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Utilizing Keywords from the Job Description

  • #2425557 Human Resources Analyst
  • Facilitates and operates the hiring and recruitment system to recruit, select, and retain the best employees and ensure compliance with fair hiring practices.
  • Assists in the facilitation of new employee orientations
  • Processes requests from and provides correspondence to employees.

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Qualifications

  • General knowledge of human resources programs; ability to research, collect and organize data;
  • Skilled in the use of standard office equipment including a personal computer and knowledge of applicable software packages;
  • ability to work as a functional, efficient and effective team member.

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Education and Experience

  • Bachelor's degree with coursework in human resources, business, public administration, or related field
  • Must obtain Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Society of Human Resources Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) certification within two years of hire.
  • Valid Driver's License

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  • #2425557 Human Resources Analyst
  • Facilitates and operates the hiring and recruitment system to recruit, select, and retain the best employees and ensure compliance with fair hiring practices.
  • Assists in the facilitation of new employee orientations
  • Processes requests from and provides correspondence to employees.

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Qualifications

  • General knowledge of human resources programs; ability to research, collect and organize data;
  • Skilled in the use of standard office equipment including a personal computer and knowledge of applicable software packages;
  • ability to work as a functional, efficient and effective team member.

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Education and Experience

  • Bachelor's degree with coursework in human resources, business, public administration, or related field
  • Must obtain Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Society of Human Resources Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) certification within two years of hire.
  • Valid Driver's License

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Utilizing Keywords from the Job Description

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Example Cover Letter

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Thank You Email

  • You must always send one within 24 hours of the interview.
  • Send a separate thank you note to each of your interviewers.
  • Thank them for the opportunity.
  • Reiterate your interest.
  • Personalize, personalize, personalize.

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Professional Email

  • Use a professional email address.
  • Use a clear subject line.
  • Use a professional salutation.
  • Include a signature block.
  • Use classic fonts.
  • Review your email before you hit send.
  • Add your recipient at the end.
  • Think twice before using 'Reply All‘.
  • Know nothing is confidential—write accordingly.

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Thank You Email SAMPLE

Dear Ms. Lee:

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I sincerely enjoyed meeting with you yesterday and learning more about the content associate position at ACME Media.

Our conversation confirmed my interest in becoming part of ACME Media. I was particularly pleased with the prospect of being able to develop my own article ideas with the head of the bureau and develop my multimedia skills.

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I feel confident that my experiences both in the classroom and workplace would enable me to fill the job requirements effectively. Please feel free to contact me if I can provide you with any further information. I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you for the opportunity to discuss my qualifications.

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Sincerely,

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Jenny Applicant

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Thank you

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Resume Presentation

ualr.edu/careers

(501) 916-3021

CAREERS@UALR.EDU

@UALRCAREER