Rsums Lecture 11 Yesterday Persuasive Messages Appealing to

Résumés Lecture 11

Yesterday Persuasive Messages Appealing to your audience Supporting your argument Dealing with resistance Types of Persuasive Messages

Yesterday Sales message Objective: sell your product

Today Résumés A different kind of Sales message YOU are the product Objective: Sell yourself

Today Résumés What is a résumé? Preparing your résumé Type of résumés What to include/omit

Résumés Structured written summary of experiences, skills, education and activities that make you qualified for a job Think of it like a sales message.

Résumés Features = what you have done Benefits = how you can help a company, school, etc.

3 Step Writing Process Like any message in business, a good résumé needs: Planning Writing Completing

Planning Analyze your audience Think about what makes you interesting and qualified for a job Think about things you have that your audience wants

Planning Gathering Think about everything you have done in your whole life. Requires lots of brainstorming

Planning Every job (dates, duties, accomplishments) All Education (degrees, courses, dates, awards) Other (clubs, volunteer work, presentations, dates, etc. )

Planning Collect all this info before making your résumé. Remember specific things that you did in jobs, school, clubs, etc.

Planning Adapt your résumé Have a different résumé for each job, scholarship, program you are applying to

Planning Generic résumé = general résumé Targeted résumé = adapted to different jobs

Planning The biggest mistake job seekers make is submitting a generic résumé You must think about what your audience wants and adapt it to them

Myths - Facts The purpose of a résumé is to list all your skills and accomplishments The purpose of a résumé is to get employer interest and generate a job interview

Myths - Facts A good résumé will get you the job you want A good résumé will only get you an interview

Myths - Facts Your résumé will be read carefully by an interested employer Your résumé probably has less than a minute to make an impression

Myths - Facts The more information you present in your résumé the better Too much information may make the reader bored

Writing Organize your résumé around your strengths Select a format/style that will focus on your strengths and deemphasize your weaknesses

3 Types of résumés Chronological Functional Combination

3 Types of résumés Chronological Functional Combination

Chronological résumé Organized in order of when things happened List most recent position first, then follow in that order

Chronological résumé Pros: Employers are familiar with this style Highlights career growth Highlights stability Straightforward

Chronological résumé Good for people: With long careers With a strong career path Who want to continue current career

Chronological résumé Bad for people: With little experience Looking to switch careers Who have just finished or are in school

3 Types of résumés Chronological Functional Combination

Functional résumé Emphasizes skills and accomplishments by splitting them into groups

Functional résumé Pros: Emphasize earlier job experience Deemphasize lack of career progress or unemployment Highlight your skills instead of your experience

Functional résumé Cons: Employers are not used to it May seem like you are trying to hide something

Functional résumé Good for: Students/young people People entering the job market People looking to switch careers

3 Types of résumés Chronological Functional Combination

Combination résumé Combines the best parts of the chronological and functional résumé

Combination résumé Pros: It is more open ended You may adapt it easier

Combination résumé Cons: Is too long Can be repetitive if you must list things twice

Conclusion Students at HHU, and anyone looking for their first job want to use a type of combination résumé called an: Entry Level Résumé

Tomorrow We will discuss the best way for you to prepare your own entry level résumé Entry Level = lowest job

What to include There are rules regarding what to include and what not to include in your résumé. For this class, we will use western guidelines

What to include Name and address (necessary) Employer must know who you are and how to reach you

What to include Name – Biggest thing on the résumé Full Address – May need current & permanent Phone number (with country code) Email – (Make it professional!) Website – If you have a personal one to share

What to include Objective (optional) Experts disagree whether or not to include an objective It is up to you to make this decision

What to include What does an objective do? Clarifies the purpose of your résumé Presents a clear statement of your goals When should I use an objective? Include it on the resume when it is very targeted ▪ specific type of position ▪ specific skills you offer

What to include Summary of qualifications (optional) Like the executive summary of your résumé Like a business report, it may be the only thing that people read If you include one, make it strong, direct, and convincing

What to include Education (necessary) Especially for current students, this may be the strongest part of your résumé. Include related courses, GPA, awards and expected graduation date

What to include Work experience (if you have any) You may include related and unrelated work experience List the name of your company, job title, and dates Include accomplishments and responsibilities

What to include Skills/accomplishments (if you have any) Anything you have done or can do that will increase your qualifications Languages, computer skills, etc.

What to include Activities (if you have any) Anything you did in your free time that might make you better suited for the job Teams, clubs, organizations, etc.

Don’t include! Personal Information Age Sex Nationality Religion Marital Status

Don’t include! Personal Information These should not affect whether or not you are hired!

NEVER! Don’t lie on your résumé. It may be tempting to stretch the truth, but avoid lying on your résumé. This is called résumé deception. In order to avoid résumé deception, remember:

NEVER! Do not claim educational credits you don’t have Listing schools or degrees that you did not earn Do not inflate your GPA (grade point average) Pretending to have achieved better grades than you actually did.

Never! Do not claim to be self employed Pretending to be your own boss to cover unemployment periods Do not exaggerate success Claiming full responsibility for a team effort

Common Mistakes Too Long Limit résumé to 1 page, especially for students Too short Too wordy Boastful Dishonest Spelling or grammar mistakes

Tomorrow Apply the info used today to make our own résumés.