how to write your resume

How Do I Write This Thing?

In this section, you will actually begin to write your resume. Please note that when you complete the sections below your resume will NOT be in final form, but you will develop words and phrases to use for this job search. You will need to format and fine-tune the resume for each job in your search.

When you're done working through steps A through F below, you will have the raw materials and know-how to construct your resume. Your next step is to decide on the type of resume you wish to use (see step 2 of ResumeTutor!). Then you will need to edit and polish your resume until it's in its final form. In our experience, the polishing is the hardest part of writing your resume. So... let's get to the guts of a resume.

Select the section below that you wish to learn about, and you will be introduced to the purpose of that section, shown examples of how the section can look, given the opportunity to make your own version of that section, and offered hints in case you're feeling stuck.

A) Identifying Information B) The Objective

C) Summary of Qualifications D) Education

E) Work Experience F) Activities/Interests

Identifying Information

The first section of a resume is your name, address, phone number, fax and/or e-mail address. You need not write \customary to put name, home address and home phone number in this section. It may also be helpful to put your work phone and perhaps fax and e-mail as well (if it is okay that you be contacted at your present job). Most correspondence today comes via regular mail or phone but you never know what the future holds! Keep in mind that if you provide email or fax, you may just receive information that way. So only put it down if you don't mind hearing from a prospective employer via that mode.

Examples

Here are just a couple of ways that you can display your identifying information. Remember, the goal is to quickly and effectively communicate who you are and how you can be contacted. Example #1

Example #2

Your Turn!

Write your name, full address, phone number(s) and other information you want included in the box below. It is good form to spell out most abbreviations (Mpls is probably okay for an employer in the Twin Cities but spelling it out avoids confusion and it conveys more professionalism). Include your formal name and a nickname if you wish to be called that.

First Name: Last Name:

(What name would you use on a business card)?

Street Address: City, State, Zip:

(Where would you like resume related correspondence mailed to?)

Home Phone:

(Good idea to always include area code.) Work Phone:

(List this ONLY if it is okay for potential employers to be calling you at work.) Fax:

(If Available.)

E-mail:

(List this if you check your e-mail on a regular basis.)

The Objective!

The objective is a purely optional part of the resume. Is an objective for you? Here are some things to consider:

? ?

If you know exactly what kind of work setting you want to work in, then you might want to communicate that in your objective.

If your resume doesn't pass the \, then an objective could really help you!

Hey Eric, What's the \

Glad you asked. It's a tool I borrowed from another career counselor friend of mine to help people decide if they want an objective on their resume. Imagine that you're applying for a Widget Counter job at Widgets 'R' Us and have sent them your resume without an objective. Now, everyone knows that Widgets 'R' Us is a huge company, hiring people for a wide variety of positions. This particular day the human resource representative is looking at resumes for two jobs...the Widget Counter and a Widget Cleaner. This person has the resumes stacked in two piles, one for each position.

Five o'clock rolls around and it's time to pack it up and go home. The HR person leaves the resumes in the two piles. Well wouldn't you know it...the janitor comes into the office, sweeps the floor and unknowingly knocks the two piles of resumes onto the floor, mixing them up. The next morning, the HR person returns to the office and finds the resumes scattered about. If that individual was looking at your resume (without an objective), would he/she be able to tell just by looking at it which pile it belongs in? If not, then you need an objective! When used, an objective serves two purposes.

First, an objective tells an employer what position you are seeking. Rather than being a statement about your life goals, an objective refers just to the very next immediate step you hope will be on your career path.

Second, it indicates whether or not you are clear about what opportunities are available with a particular employer. If you are unclear about what position you are seeking, and/or what positions an employer has available, it may be preferable to omit the objective, rather than to plug in something vague. For example, the objective \skills in a challenging position which will afford advancement and professional growth%unique about the candidate. Is there anyone for which this objective would not be appropriate? Rather than include an objective which is empty \and demonstrates that you know what they are looking for.

If you choose to include an objective, here are some guidelines which can help you. An objective can contain up to four parts. An objective does not have to contain all four parts; just include as many parts as you know.

?

First is the \\are seeking, select one of the above terms, or create one of your own. For some folks, position level is not an important piece of an objective, and can be left off. ?

Part two is the skills you hope to use in that position. Refer to the list of action verbs to help you identify what skills you like and/or have experience using. For example, you may be seeking \consulting, software design, development and support\of the objective they know. An objective including only the skills you want to use is respectable because it still conveys information which the employer will want. ?

Part three is the position function, also sometimes called position title. If you are responding to a job posting, the position function can often be found in the employer's text. Examples of functions are \and \employer calls this function within their organization during your informational interview or from an acquaintance who works in that field. You may also choose to invent a title that is broad enough to encompass your unique vision. ?

Finally, part four is the field or industry, in which you hope to work. Examples of fields or industries include \planning\industries. For example, accountants work in all of the above industries. If your career vision is not field or industry specific, you may wish to omit this part of the objective.

Integrating all four parts into a cohesive whole is easy. The following objective contains all four parts. See if you can identify them.

\and contribute to marketing, support, design and testing of products and services.\

Employer's expect that an applicant will customize his/her objective to each employer and each position for which a resume is submitted. The days of creating one resume and duplicating it 50 times are over. You can expect to have multiple versions of your resume with customized objectives. The text of your resume may also need to be modified, in both structure and content, to support the various objectives.

Examples

Here are just a couple of ways that others have communicated their objectives. Example #1

Example #2

Your Turn!

Let's start with the title of this section.

What do you want to call this section of your resume?

Objective (By the way, when it comes to writing your actual resume, don't feel that you have to pick one of these headings. There are plenty of other good ones!)

Now, try writing this section. Keep in mind, the objective you write will depend greatly on the reason you are writing a resume (see your workbook page for Step 1). Be sure to address the following items in your objective: job title desired, career area or company in which you wish to work. Keep this short!

Hints!

If you are having difficulty defining an objective for your resume, you may wish to spend more time exploring your career/job goals. Perhaps you need think more about why you're writing a resume, or maybe you need to explore self-knowledge (your interests, values and skills), or possibly you need to explore the world of work (learn more about what kinds of jobs are \

Summary of Qualifications (also called \

Summary statements are a relatively recent phenomenon in resume writing. They often replace The Objective, though in some circumstances, both can be used. The Summary statement allows you to state your skills, values, interests, and other pieces of information that is most relevant to the position to which you are applying. If you knew that a hiring authority would only read one section of your resume, this would be it!