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BASIC RESUME WRITING TOOLS

Gear Up Kentucky

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Pop Quiz!

  • What is the initial amount of time an employer takes to review an applicant’s resume?

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    • Answer:
      • 15 – 20 seconds minimum
      • 45 seconds maximum

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Meet Bobby

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The Header

  • What should be included?
    • Name
    • Address (City and State is fine here)
    • E-mail address
    • Telephone number
    • What’s your objective???
  • Where should contact information go?
    • Top of the page

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What Bobby would say….

  • Bobby Boucher
    • With my Momma
    • vickiesman98@gmail.com
    • 686-552-5555

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    • Momma Says I need a Job.

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Education

  • Date or expected date of graduation
    • Graduation Date: May 2024
    • Expected Graduation Date: May 2025
    • Area of Study
  • GPA
    • Overall at least 2.5
    • Round down to the nearest tenth
      • 3.0 not 3.062
      • GPA: 4.0

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What Bobby would say….

  • My Momma Taught me.

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Experience

  • Use the term "experience"
    • What is considered experience?
      • Full and part-time jobs
      • Self-employment
      • Volunteer work
      • Practicum, field, and cooperative education
    • Information to include
      • Job Title
      • Dates of employment
      • Company name
      • City & State

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Listing Responsibilities

  • Use bullet points
  • Start of each line with an action verb
    • Present tense if currently employed
    • Past tense if no longer employed
    • Vary your choice of verbs
  • Tailor skills and experiences to the position for which you are applying
  • Be concise while providing enough detail

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What Bobby would say….

  • Coach Klein let me play football.
  • I was a waterboy.

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Honors & Awards

  • Order by dates
    • Reverse chronological
  • Rank order by importance to the career objective

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What Bobby would say…

  • I played football and we won!

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Professional Affiliations & Activities

  • Order by date
    • Reverse chronological
  • Rank order by importance to the career objective
  • Do not say Member of …
  • Emphasize your leadership roles
  • Spell out the organization’s name:
    • Do not use abbreviations or acronyms

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Strengths and Expertise

  • Purpose
    • To tell employers what you are good at!

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  • Examples
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Excellent Time Management
  • Team Leadership
  • Exceptional Communication
  • Operations Management

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What Bobby would say…..

  • I make high quality H2O.
  • I do what you tell me to.

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Resume- hidden messages

  • Neat
  • Well-organized
  • Error free
  • Professional appearance
  • Neat
  • Well-organized
  • Attention to detail
  • Careful & Competent

Resume

You

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Resume Dos

  • Use action verbs
  • Use short, concise sentences
  • Use #, %, $ amounts
  • Keep resume easy to read
  • Keep resume about one page

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Resume Don’ts

  • Do not use the pronouns such as I, me, my, etc.
  • Do not include references
  • Do not clutter your resume with nonessential information
  • Do not make any misrepresentations
  • Do not include personal information
    • SSN, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, etc.

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