RESUME GUIDELINES
RESUME GUIDELINES
Your resume should be a skillfully designed summary that provides information about your education, work experience and other qualifications that are pertinent to prospective employers. Your resume should not be an all inclusive biography, but should select and highlight your background and achievements in such a way that it will generate job interviews. Although a quality resume will not guarantee the work of your dreams, it will dramatically increase the odds that you will be considered.
The resume is your:
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In business terms, the resume is a marketing brochure featuring you as the product. Just like any other marketing literature, it clarifies for the buyer the "features and functions" you are offering and the benefits you provide.
KEY RESUME COMPONENTS
All resumes are composed of several key components, regardless of the style you select to present them. They are listed in the general order in which they are most likely to appear: See appendix A for examples of each section.
HEADING
The heading includes identifying information, such as name, address, home and/or office telephone numbers with area codes and an e-mail address if applicable. To conserve space, normally the name is centered with the address left justified and the telephone numbers right justified on the same lines as the address. The e-mail address is centered under the name below the address and telephone numbers.
SUMMARY
This section is your summary of qualifications. Instead of using the word "Summary", it is recommended that you use a general job title. Its purpose is to create a positive snapshot in the mind of the reader, similar to the blurb on the back of a book or the coming attractions for a movie. In a few lines, (no more than 3 to 5, excluding bullets) it captures the essence of your experience, skills, traits and sometimes even your accomplishments. Immediately following this prose, include a 2 to 3 column bulleted table listing 6 to 8 of your most distinctive talents (positive patterns of behavior you are known for in the workplace. This section is also a good place to insert "keywords" common to the type of position you are seeking.
The summary should answer four key questions:
- What are you?
- What is the depth and breath of your experience?
- What are your unique talents, skills, knowledge or expertise that you bring to the organization?
- What is it that sets you apart as a distinctive professional in the marketplace?
TECHNICAL SKILLS
This section is for those individuals that are seeking a technical position, which requires specific skills, such as computer languages, hardware, protocols, etc. You should only include items that are industry standard. Do not include proprietary items or unrecognizable jargon for they will mean nothing to the new organization.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
This section is where you are able to identify key or major accomplishments that directly relate to the job requirements of the position you are seeking. Accomplishments are things you sell an employer. They are a part of your product line. You should not have more than three to five bulleted items in this section. The rest of your accomplishments should be placed under the job title where it occurred.
Identifying your accomplishments is an opportunity to step back, review your life, and catalog important contributions you have made over the years. Accomplishments are achievements, things of which you are proud and consider well done. Good examples are improving work processes, strengthening morale, increasing revenue, developing a new system or service idea, surpassing accepted quality standards; in general, taking the initiative to discover opportunities, address challenges or confront problems. Each of us has accomplished many things. Many of these accomplishments represent what we have to "sell" an organization.
Each accomplishment should be put into a PAR format. What is PAR?
P The PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE for which you were accountable or for which you took responsibility. This presented you with an opportunity to exhibit your initiative or solve a problem.
A The ACTION you took in seizing the opportunity or solving the problem; usually begins with one to three action verbs.
R The RESULTS you obtained, expressed in quantifiable or numerical terms (dollars, percentages, time saved, money saved, sales volumes, revenues/profits, etc.) where relevant.
Each accomplishment statement should be no longer than one sentence and not more than several lines.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
The purpose of this section is to present your companies, job titles, and achievements, with results, that underscore and support the claims you have made in your summary. It is, in fact, an expanded description of the credentials claimed in your summary.
Company Dates
In outlining the companies you worked for, you should include a 1-or 2-line company description below each company name. Realizing that if all the companies you worked for are well known, than you do not have to take up the space to do this. However, if any of the companies are not known to the general public, you should include this description. If you include it on one, than you should include it on all to ensure that your resume is consistent.
Position (dates)
You may choose to include a scope of key responsibilities under your job title. This should not be longer than 2- or 3-lines. Do not use the words "responsible for". Use action verbs and talk about number of people supervised and budget managed.
Accomplishments
These are bullets under each job title that identifies the achievements you were able to accomplish. These should also be put in the PAR format and should not exceed 3 lines. Depending on the amount of time you were in the position should dictate the number of bullets you write. Remember, each bullet should support what was written in the summary.
EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Your educational background is listed beginning with the highest degree first (e.g., Ph.D., Master's. Bachelor's, Associates, some college), followed by major concentration, name of school, location and optionally, the year of graduation.
You may also include any non-academic training you completed, such as courses in management, communication, presentation skills, computer-related training, etc. as long as they are taught by an accredited association. Training received from your company maybe proprietary and not applicable to other organizations.
ASSOCIATIONS
Use this section to list professional organizations in which you are currently a member. You might also list former organizational memberships in which you held office. Ensure that whatever you list is relevant to the work you are seeking.
EXECUTIVE STEWARDSHIP
Use this section to list 2 to 3 community or charitable outreach programs you support with your talents. Nothing controversial should go here. If you have an official role or title, it may be appropriate to list that here. This section provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your selfless giving to the community.
APPENDIX A
HEADING
Example 1
NAME
Address Home phone number
City, State Zip code Mobile phone number
E-mail: address
Example 2
NAME Address, City, State Zip code
(H) phone number; (M) phone number
E-mail address
SUMMARY OR IDENTIFYING WHAT YOU ARE
Example: Dedicated, results-oriented supervisor with 10 years of increasing responsibilities in Client-Server, LAN, WAN environment. Effective problem-solver with strong goal orientation. Proven ability to set up new organizational framework as well as to make under-performing operations efficient. Skilled in JIT and JCL.
Example: Entrepreneurial Chief Executive/CFO with leadership roles building businesses in four turnarounds, two start-ups and two mergers. Demonstrated success in sales and marketing branded products, finance and control, manufacturing and international business. Skilled negotiator and team leader. Finance and marketing from PepsiCo, Baxter Travenol and Harvard Business School. Fluent in French and Spanish.
Example: Extensive experience as Senior International Management Executive in the IT Industry with demonstrated capabilities in developing, growing and establishing multi-nationals' presence in the Latin America and Caribbean Markets. Proven leadership, mentoring and management skills in heading and directing of international, as well as domestic corporations. Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Hands-on approach to:
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· General Management |
· Strategic Marketing |
· International Consulting |
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· Joint Ventures |
· Strategic Planning |
· Operations Management |
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· Technology Transfer |
· Government Relations |
· Start-Ups/Shut-Downs |
Example: A senior executive with full profit and loss general management experience in the automotive finance and leasing industries. Strengths in strategic planning, sales, marketing, organizational leadership, negotiating and creative problem solving. Recently completed a yearlong program in Internet and e-commerce capabilities for senior executives at the IBM Management College.
Example: Telecommunication Engineer with extensive experience in Voice and Data Communications Technology. Superior technical understanding of Circuit and Packet-switched Applications. Background includes software development and system test on leading-edge telecommunication products designed for utilization in the U.S. and World markets. Business travels to Europe, Africa and South America.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Programming Languages: Assembly, C, C++, Java, Pascal, Basic, and COBOL
Operating Systems: UNIX, VMS, MS-DOS, OS2, MVS, and NT
Protocols: ISDN, GSM, CDMA, TDMA, OSPF, Cisco Routers, SIP, and TCP/IP
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Example: Identified redundant inventory by consolidating and centralizing inventory records resulting in a 20% reduction in excess inventory.
Example: Launched a functional analysis of comptroller division providing the basis for a reorganization/consolidation of the accounting, financial analysis and forecasting activities that saved the division $500K.
Example: Developed, organized and implemented a business development plan for Latin America, resulting in revenue growth from $4M/year to over $42M/year over a five-year period.
Example: Grew profits by 65% in the first six months versus prior year after being down 23% by increasing billable hours/reducing expenses.
Example: Reduced turnover to single digits and enhanced retention by designing and implementing an assessment system to accurately evaluate high-potential candidates, saving $775,000 the first year.
Example: Negotiated several national vendor contracts, including office equipment and supplies, which resulted in the expansion of some and the replacement of the others, saving $2M over three years.
Example: Implemented technical and national sales recruiting programs that reduced recruiting cost by 70%, saving over $900K per year in third-party fees.
Example: Generated $451K operating profit in four months with unit by applying best practices to issues involving personnel, scheduling, process flow, customer interaction, and pricing.
Example: Planned and executed national roll out of Grandma's single serve and family- pack cookies through retail route sales and vend sales departments, resulting in $45.9M annualized retail volume, and $11M vend sales volume in year one.