Resume Writing

"Every resume is a one-of-a-kind marketing communication.

It should be appropriate to your situation and do exactly

what you want it to do."

Advertising
Everywhere we look, we are bombarded by advertising in print, on-line, on billboards, in our
mailbox, and even in the sky attached to small airplanes during a football game. What is the point
to all of this? The people purchasing the advertising are trying to capture your attention and
communicate a message. They are also trying to shape your behavior based on the message.
Advertisements always tell a positive story. In a similar way, the resume and cover letter are also
advertisements. They need to communicate a positive message about your skills and experiences
to the target job market. The message must be clear. They must draw attention and motivate a
response. Hopefully that response is to arrange an interview.

Product Research:
To do this, you must first know your product. The process of identifying the P.E.A.K.S., or your
personal characteristics, experiences, accomplishments, knowledge and skills, helps you to begin
crafting your positive unique message.

Each of you has a different set of life experiences, characteristics, skill sets and areas of
knowledge that make you unique.

• When writing your resume and cover letters, consider the story that only you can tell.
What's your story?

Market Research:

Writing good advertising depends in part upon previous knowledge of the target market. In the
same way, without a complete understanding of the audience you are trying to reach, it is
impossible to write a truly effective resume or cover letter. Without such information, your
resume simply becomes a listing of facts rather than a carefully crafted tool that communicates a
specific message to motivate the behavior of a specific audience.
Purpose of a Resume:

If you haven't guessed it yet, the primary purpose of a resume is to gain an interview. It will not
get you the job, but a good resume is critical to opening the door to an interview. The resume
should communicate a strong advertising message: "If you buy this product (me), you will get
these specific, direct benefits." When you craft your resume, the resume should not simply
inform. Instead, the resume should generate interest and persuade an employer to contact you.
Writing a resume with this purpose in mind, results in a more effective document.

Resumes can also have other purposes such as:

• To communicate specific facts about you concerning your education, background,

employment history, affiliations etc and to provide your contact information.
• To show yourself as a professional.
• To function as an example of your skills particularly in the areas of art, marketing,
advertising etc.
• To function as another type of business card to give to your references, employment
contacts and others you may meet who are interested in your background.

How To Write A Resume

Plan First:

Before writing a resume, you need to ask yourself the all important question, "What would
make someone the perfect candidate?" Applying Covey's principle of seeking first to
understand, makes it easier for your message to be understood.

• Stop here and start on your journal assignment for the week. After you have
completed the exercise, put your work away and then pick up with the remaining lecture
notes.
 In the Rockport article, Part 2, they suggest that you "Plan First". In your
journal, brainstorm your answers to the following question, "What would
make someone the perfect candidate?". (Base this on your knowledge
about what skills, abilities, personal qualities, education etc. are needed
 in your area of interest. If you are not sure, spend some time researching
your career area before you start this exercise.) Prioritize your answers
based on which qualities or abilities your think would be most important
to the hiring manager.
 Then, starting with the most important quality, fill in as much as you can
with brainstorming about why you are the person who best fulfills the
employers needs. Write down everything you have ever done that
demonstrates that you fit perfectly with what is wanted and needed by
the prospective employer. Do this by reviewing your work history,
education, extracurricular activities, honors, special skills etc. Be sure to
include things like the projects, accomplishments etc. that you have in
each of these areas. Think broader than what you have listed on your
resume and include everything that comes to mind.

Two Sections of A Great Resume:

A great resume has two primary sections:

• Assertions Section - Here you make statements that communicate about what abilities,
personal qualities and achievements you have that would immediately generate interest in
the target employer.
• Evidence Section - Here you support your assertions with specific information such as
information about the jobs you have held, the education and training you have
accomplished etc.

Resume Specifics:

Identification
This is where you list your pertinent contact information. While this is very basic, this should be
the first thing that an employer sees on your resume. Make sure that the information is correct
and will be correct for at least 6 months after you distribute your resume. The information that is
critical to this portion is:

• Your Name
• Mailing Address
• Permanent Mailing Address (NOTE: only if different)
 • Phone Number (NOTE:Include the number where you can leave a professional voicemail
message if you can't answer immediately.)
• Email Address (NOTE: Make sure your email address sounds professional. Cute email
user names are not appropriate on a resume.)

Assertions Section

1. Objective

As part of the assertions section, the career objective should focus on your particular target area
by including mention of information such as career area, position title, type of organization or
functional area. A targeted resume always has a targeted objective on it. If you are focusing on a
few different areas then you will need to have a resume specifically written for each area. It is
impossible to write an effective, generic objective. Objectives like, "MBA seeking entry level
position where I can utilize my interpersonal skills", are not going to capture appropriate
attention. Instead, focus on specifics of what you want and what you bring to the table:

For example:

• "A marketing position with a consumer products organization seeking an exemplary

record of developing and implementing strategy targeted at the Hispanic market."
• "An entry-level position in the defense industry where a background in supply chain
management and logistics is beneficial."
• "Consultant position in an organization where project management and technology
implementation experience will be valued."

2. Profile/Summary

The next area in the assertions section should contain several brief statements that summarize for
the readers your specific qualities and achievements that will be of interest to them. This section
serves the purpose of telling them the overall story of your most important qualifications. When
written well, the summary should motivate the reader to want to continue reading your resume.
The following are examples of what you can include. This information is quoted from the
Rockport article:

• A short phrase describing your profession

• Followed by a statement of broad or specialized expertise
• Followed by two or three additional statements related to any of the following:
• Breadth or depth of skills
• Unique mix of skills
• Range of environments in which you have experience
• A special or well-documented accomplishment
• A history of awards, promotions, or superior performance commendations
• One or more professional or appropriate personal characteristics
• A sentence describing professional objective or interests

Examples of this include:

• "Account Representative with more than 3 years of experience increasing sales revenue
with an organization in the financial services industry. Particularly skilled at building and
maintaining strong customer relationships. Excellent interpersonal and analytical skills."
• "Creative problem-solver with special strengths in consultative scheduling, strategic
planning and customer focus."

• Want to Learn More? For more examples of summaries, please see the Summary
section of the Rockport article in Part 2: How To Knock The Socks Off A Prospective
Employer.

3. Skills and Accomplishments

The final component of the assertions section is that of the skills and accomplishments. This
continues the type of information written in the summary section but with much greater detail.
The goal is to still persuade the reader that you are the solution to their employment problems by
communicating the important message, "If you buy this product (me), you will get these specific,
direct benefits." Depending upon the format of your resume, chronological, functional or a
combination, this information may be in a separate section or organized as a description of each
position held.

Separate section example:

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Operations/Strategic Leadership

• Consistently maintained highest regional profit margin with

lowest overhead through aggressive sales, performance
improvement, cost control, M&A, partnership and technology
initiatives.
• Saved more than $500,000/year by optimizing efficiency of
corporate pre-sales engineers and eliminating regional pre-sales
engineer positions.
• Cut administrative staff 30% over three years following
introduction of integrated, online operational management
information system. Restructured employees bonus plan to reward
sales participation, account expansion, RFP responses and
technical writing contributions.

• Resolved major problems with accounts receivable, staff shortages

for unique technical functions and regulatory compliance in
partnership terms and agreements.

NOTE: If this format is used, there is usually a separate section that lists the employment history
after the highlights section. The minimum information to include is: position title, name of
organization, location of organization and dates of employment. Positions would be listed with
the most recent first.

Example when organizing under different positions:

ELGRANDE RESTAURANT CORP., Ashtabula, Ohio

Manager, research & development/purchasing, 1992-1994
Sourced and developed products and suppliers covering all signage,
 seating, décor and interactive technologies. Acted as liaison with
marketing department on strategy implementation, menu and POP
development. Managed $180 million annual budget. Supervised
relationships with 60 vendors/suppliers on an international basis.

Key contributions:

• Redesigned Playworld program, eventually implemented in more

than 5,000 stores. This program increased sales for each
participating store on average of 30% on a long-term basis, while
allowing return of initially invested capital in 12 to 18 months
(depending upon store's volume). Also worked closely with
President of El Grande USA on successfully opening 48 Jumpin'
Jack Flash facilities, an alternative childrens' play/design format
that was being explored by El Grande at the time.
• Part of team that developed products, services, and suppliers to
support Encycling USA, an industry-leading recycling campaign.
This was a $100 million program that has since grown 10-fold.

• Established relationships with 25 new development partners in

South America, spearheading company's ability to rapidly
penetrate a burgeoning market. One of three employees selected
for six-person Store of the Future Committee.

NOTE: As an option with this format, keywords or industry buzz words can be included at the
beginning of each description to further organize the information. Keywords also help the reader
to capture information about your skill area quickly. See the following example:

ELGRANDE RESTAURANT CORP., Ashtabula, Ohio

Manager, research & development/purchasing, 1992-1994
Sourced and developed products and suppliers covering all signage,
seating, décor and interactive technologies. Acted as liaison with
marketing department on strategy implementation, menu and POP
 development. Managed $180 million annual budget. Supervised
relationships with 60 vendors/suppliers on an international basis.

Key contributions:

• Program Design & Implementation: Redesigned Playworld

program, eventually implemented in more than 5,000 stores. This
program increased sales for each participating store on average of
30% on a long-term basis, while allowing return of initially
invested capital in 12 to 18 months (depending upon store's
volume). Also worked closely with President of El Grande USA
on successfully opening 48 Jumpin' Jack Flash facilities, an
alternative childrens' play/design format that was being explored
by El Grande at the time.
• Campaign Support: Part of team that developed products,
services, and suppliers to support Encycling USA, an industry-
leading recycling campaign. This was a $100 million program that
has since grown 10-fold.
• Strategic Partnerships: Established relationships with 25 new
development partners in South America, spearheading company's
ability to rapidly penetrate a burgeoning market. One of three
employees selected for six-person Store of the Future Committee.

Evidence Section
1. Education & Training

In this section, new graduates will want to the basics of their educational credentials by including
the following:

• Name of Degree
• Date of Degree
 • Name & Location of Institution
• Concentration/Specialization/Major/Minor

Optional Items:

• Overall GPA/GPA in major

• Relevant course work
• Academic honors
• Other training and certifications received

2. Experience

The experience section can include paid/non-paid work, internships, volunteer/community

service, military and both full and part-time work. In some cases this sections can be organized
by using headings such as "Related Experience" and "Additional Expereince". Doing this allows
a person to use the reverse chronological format but move the most relevant experience higher on
the resume where it will be more immediately visible. Depending on how you choose to organize
your skills and accomplishments, the content that is included to show your experience can be
arranged in a variety of ways. The main thing to remember is to include the basics (position title,
name of organization, location of organization and dates of employment) and to communicate
accomplishments. The S.T.A.R. method is one way to identify what information to include. Using
the S.T.A.R. method, you can fully describe accomplishments. As you may recall:

S = Situation
What was the situation? What was your goal? What did you want to accomplish?
T = Task
What was the task at hand? What were the hurdles, obstacles or constraints that you faced?
A = Action
What were the actions that you took, step-by-step to achieve your goal? If it was a group project,
what actions did you take to manage the group process?
R = Result
What was the outcome or result of your actions? What completed the task? What was the
measurable/quantifiable result?
3. Optional Categories:

There are a variety of other categories that can be used to provide further evidence of the
assertions on your resume. Depending upon your background, you may choose to highlight any
of the following on your resume:

• Activities
• Awards
• Computer Skills
• Hobbies
• Honors
• Languages
• Leadership
• Memberships & Affiliations
• Presentations
• Professional Activities
• Professional Development
• Publications
• Scholarships
• Special Projects
• Special Skills
• Travel

NOTE: Remember, everything you choose to include should relate to the key characteristics of
interest to your employment job target. If it's not relevant in some way to your objective, then do
not include it.

4. References & Portfolio

At the end of your resume, you may choose to also include the phrases:

References Available Upon Request

Portfolio Available Upon Request

Resume Format & Design

Resumes can be formatted in a chronological, functional or combination organization style.

Chronological is always organized by specific positions ordered with the most recent positions
shown first. This is the most common form of resumes and is excellent at highlighting career
progression when in the same field or company. This format is not as effective for those people
changing career directions. Functional resumes primarily focus on the skills and abilities of a
person without putting particular emphasis on where and when the skills were acquired. This
format is helpful when changing career directions or hiding large gaps in employment. The
combination format blends the advantages of the two and includes elements of both the
chronological and functional formats.

The design elements used in a resume can help to highlight key information and create a
professional impression. Typically whatever is placed on the top two-thirds of the first page is
going to get the most attention which is why having a strong objective and summary section is so
important. Length can be from 1-3 pages overall. Most people will range from 1-2 pages for most
people. Those working in an academic environment will use a curriculum vitae format for their
resume which has no page number limits. It is usually helpful to have both a 1 page "executive
summary" resume and a two page extended version that gives more detail. If you use more than
one page, be sure to include your full name as a header on the top of the second page for
consistency. The use of bold, italics, underline, bullets, different font types and sizes can all
be carefully used to create specific effects. The important thing to remember is to use white space
throughout the resume so that it is easier to read and to be consistent with all formatting choices.

Aside from making it visually appealing, resumes can also be more effective by using appropriate
power words to express your message. Be sure to begin each sentence describing your skills and
accomplishments with one of these action verbs.

Your Resume

Now that you have done the journal exercise and have reviewed how to write a resume, it's time
to update your own. You may find it easier and more effective to start writing it like you've never
written one before, using your former resume as a reference. Incorporate the new information that
you uncovered as part of your journal assignment. Check to make sure that your resume is
targeted and is compelling to the target audience.