Building Your Resume

By

Student WorkForce Readiness Project

PHRMA/SWHRMA

Class Objectives

Understand the purpose of a resume– Product v. History

Understand how employers read resumes– Scanning v. Reading

Understand how to build a resume– Do’s v. Don’ts

Understand how to target a resume based on specific employer needs

Why Do Employers Want a Resume?

Each job has different requirements When skills match requirements, Recruiters

& Hiring Managers pay attention Demonstrates a higher degree of interest

and professionalism Links your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

(KSA’s) and business’s needs.

Your Resume Is a Marketing Tool And You Are The Product!! Your experience and skills have value…

your salary!! Do you know your value? Budgets are tight and $$ can’t be wasted Employers search for the “Best Candidate” “What can you do for us?” “Can we get “added value” by hiring you?

Your Resume Is a Marketing Tool And You Are The Product!!

Your resume(s) should:– Grab attention of recruiters, hiring managers

who are involved in the selection process– Highlight why you are the best candidate– Accurately market your Knowledge, Skills and

Abilities (KSA’s)– Show information that will “rule you in”, not

“screen you out.”– Be visually easy to read and understand

Types of Resumes

Chronological (70%)– Most widely used – Emphasizes actual work history– Highlights “things”, e.g., title, company, skills,

duties, accomplishments– Best format for getting a job in something

you’ve done before– Focuses on actual experience and

accomplishments

Types of Resumes

Functional (30%)– Emphasizes skills and knowledge not directly

linked to a particular job or experience– De-emphasizes chronology, gaps of time– Focuses on similar functions or skills, across

different industries or jobs– Effective when beginning or changing careers

Types of Resumes

Targeted– Blends Chronological and Functional format– Focuses on a clear, specific job target– Matches the job target with your own job goal– Lists skills and supporting accomplishments

directly related to specific job target

Targeted Resume

Do– Begin with a specific

job target or objective

– Use specific industry terminology

– Include relevant education/training

– Include volunteer/paid experience related to targeted job

Don’t– Overdo the use of

industry terms– Indicate abilities that

aren’t credible based upon your background

– Focus on areas that are not relevant

– Emphasize dates of employment unless experience is recent and relevant to job target.

Targeted Resume

Advantages– Employers understand

what you want to do

– Employers can understand how your total experience make you a good candidate

– You can customize and emphasize your capabilities

Disadvantages– When you prefer to use

one resume for several applications

– When you are not clear about how your capabilities match to the job target

– When your experience is light

How Employers Read Resumes

Scanning v. Reading– 10-20 second rule

– “Seven Word” rule

– Top to bottom, left to right, first v. second page

Key words, phrases, in order of priority1. Job Goal

2. Minimum Qualifications

3. Relevant Skills

4. Companies, Titles, Dates

Building a Resume Heading

– Name, Address, Telephone, Email– Free email accounts

Objective v. Summary Paragraph– Potential v. Experience

Professional Experience Section– Company, City State, Dates– Title– Accomplishments– Repeat for Each Company

Building a Resume, continued

Education Section Training Section Technical Skills Section Volunteer Experience Section Other Sections

– Anything that is relevant to the job you are seeking

Building a Resume, continued

Accomplishments v. Tasks– The difference is accomplishments show results

PAR Formula– P = Problem or Task

– A = Action you took

– R = Result you achieved

Example– “Actively listened and responded customer inquiries

which reduced the number of problem issues escalated to the manager and increased customer satisfaction.”

Formatting Tips

Use the same font throughout the resume Use easy to read 12 point font, e.g., New

Times Roman, Arial, etc. 1” Margins, top, bottom, sides Use bullets instead of paragraphs Use spell check and have someone

proofread Bold is ok, no underlines or italics

Targeting a Resume Exercise

Find a job advertisement of interest Read the job advertisement thoroughly Use Highlighter and mark KSA’s Make a list of key skills and requirements for the

job Check off the skills you have Write accomplishments that match what the

employer is seeking Include this information on the resume

Questions?