Building Your Resume from the Ground Up David

Building Your Resume from the Ground Up David Mc. Mahon ’ 69 Associate Director Experiential Education Page Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

The First Question “Why Should I walk away from my Customer to Interview You? ” Page 2 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Purpose of a Resume A Marketing Tool: To convince an employer To call you For an interview You’ve got 30 seconds!!! Page 3 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Resume Myths n n “I don’t need one until I’m ready to look for a job. ” “I can use one standard resume for the rest of my life. ” “I’m too young, there’s nothing to put on a resume. ” “My resume will get the job for me. ” Page 4 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Steps to Building a Resume Laying the foundation. n Building the resume. n Finishing the resume. n Page 5 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Laying the Foundation Assess Yourself on Paper n What are your Objectives? n n What have you accomplished? n Page 6 Kind of job you are looking for and when you are available Skills, Abilities, Work Experience, and Extracurricular Activities/Leadership Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Laying the Foundation What Makes a Good Employee? ? 1. Integrity Ability to work with people Responsibility Judgment Motivation to succeed Work ethic Intelligence Creativity/enthusiasm Communications skills 10. Technical competence Page 7 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Laying the Foundation n What Resume Format is most appropriate? n n n Chronological n Organized by date in reverse date order n Most commonly used type and more acceptable by employers Functional n Grouped by status areas n Useful for employment gaps n Less acceptable by employers Combination n Chronological/functional types combined Page 8 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Building the Resume n Personal Data Section n Objective n Education Section n Work Experience n Activities and Honors n Do Not List References Page 9 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Building the Resume Personal Data Section Examples Example #1 Ima T. Aggie 1234 High St. College Station, TX 77840 Home: (979) xxx-xxxx Cell : (979) xxx-xxxx Example #2 Page 10 4321 West Way Kingsland, TX 78639 (325) xxx-xxxx ita@tamu. edu Ima T. Aggie 1234 High St. College Station, TX 77840 Home: (979) xxx-xxxx Cell : (979) xxx-xxxx ita@tamu. edu Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Building the Resume n Objective n n n Education n n CO-OP, Intern, Full-time? Operations, Business, Sales, Design, R&D, Consulting? CO-OPs and Interns – start date Degree in Major, GPR, Graduation Date Work Experience n n Page 11 Job Title, Company Name, Location, Dates of employment Job Description – Statements (not sentences) Using action words and showing results Be Positive, Be Concise, Be Persuasive Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Building the Resume n Activities and Honors n n n Student/Professional organizations Leadership positions Scholarships, Dean’s List, etc. Foreign languages, international experiences, security clearance References n n Page 12 Do not list on resume Bring separate page when you are interviewed Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Building the Resume • Present most marketable information first • Use brief, descriptive phrases • No personal pronouns • Use action verbs to describe experiences and accomplishments • Be Positive • Be Truthful • You Have the Right to Remain Silent Page 13 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Finishing the Resume Be Concise n Show results n Top Heavy n Reader Friendly n Page 14 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Finishing the Resume n Avoiding common mistakes n n n Spelling and grammatical errors. Formatting, fonts, length, paper quality. Translate “Aggie speak” to business English LIES Too long Don’t include references. Page 15 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Finishing the Resume n. Use white or off-white paper (checkout resume paper at area copy centers, i. e. Kinkos, Copy Corner, or Graphics Center on campus) n. Use 8 ½ x 11 -inch paper n. Use a font size of 10 to 14 points n. Black ink only n. Use non-decorative typefaces n. Choose one typeface and stick to it n. Avoid italics, script, and underlined words n. No horizontal or vertical lines, graphics, or shading n. Do not fold or staple your resume n. If you must mail your resume, put it in a large envelope Page 16 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

Finishing the Resume n Resume Critique and Advice n Career Center Advisor n Academic Advisor n Mentor n Roommate n Employer Page 17 Building Your Resume from the Ground Up

In Conclusion…. n n n Laying the foundation… Building the resume… Finishing your resume… n Page 18 Congratulations! n You Did It! Building Your Resume from the Ground Up