Résumés

DR. WILL KURLINKUS

TECHNICAL WRITING
 Scannability and Emails

1.  Dual Streams approach to designing documents

¡  You can’t assume everyone is going to read everything

¡  It’s your job to save people time.

2.  Economics of attention and emails

¡  Subject line

¡  Make the ask fast and specific

¡  Bullets and separating different ideas into paragraphs

¡  Offer specific times if you’re setting up a meeting

 Résumés in this Assignment

1.  You need to create one résumé customized to one

of your job ads.
 Sample Resumes

—  Monster.com resume samples by industry:

http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-
letters/resume-samples/sample-resumes-by-
industry/article.aspx
 Top 8 Résumé Tips
1.  Build a picture of yourself doing the hard and soft
skills from your job ad. Highlight what the reader is
interested in.
¡  Don’t use full sentences
¡  Start with bulleted active verbs that match key soft skills
¡  Think transfer statements, what you can provide them
¡  Quantify: If you can add a number, add a number: show a result of
your experience. (numbers stand out)
¡  Not just doing something but being successful.
÷  Bad: Gained experience in public speaking.
÷  Better: Presented at the Modern Language Associations Annual
conference.
÷  Best: Presented at 3 conferences, including an invited lecture on
technical editing at MLA 2019.
¡  Active Verbs at
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43980533838393694//
 Examples

—  Process Engineering Intern, Summer 20XX Chevron

Phillips Chemical Company, LLC, Sweeney, TX
¡  Rerouted an atmospheric vent to flair header using ASPEN and
FLARENET to stimulate and model new header
¡  Performed various projects dealing with the everyday problems faced in
an ethylene plant
—  NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates,
Summer 20XX University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
¡  Learned valuable laboratory techniques and safety through joining a
research team of graduates and post-doctoral students
¡  Carried out batch reactions, collecting data through Camille and MS
Excel
¡  Presented research through MS PowerPoint and a final poster
presentation
¡  Participated in 5-week course on the Code of Ethics for Engineers
 Your Turn

Write a description for two of your best experiences for

a job ad that is looking for a writer/editor who does
research and works with people.
 Top 8 Résumé Tips
2.  Scannability:
headings (sans
serif); numbers;
numerous
vectors; bullet
points
¡  Create a visual
hierarchy using
fonts, italics,
bullets, and tabs.
¡  2 fonts, 2 colors, 2
sizes—max
¡  Think in terms of
two or three key
vectors: Job titles,
locations, dates,
employer, etc.
 Top 8 Résumé Tips

3.  Uniformity, consistency, and parallelism across

sections:
¡  Parallelism in sentences: Managing the dental office budget
and approved supply requisitions (watch your verb tenses)
¡  Uniformity of design: If you’re going to italicize your position
title, italicize all of them. If you’re going to align your dates of
employment eight spaces after your employer name, then
make sure to align all of your dates eight spaces after your
employer name.
—  Fix this statement: The coach told the players that they should
get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do
some warm-up exercises before the game.
 Top 8 Résumé Tips

4.  Spin, spin, spin.

¡  Let’s play the spin game; I’ll give you several common soft
skills. You write a sentence for each from your own personal
experience.
÷  Leadership
÷  Teamwork
÷  Detail oriented
÷  Ability to analyze
÷  Flexibility
÷  Innovation/Creativity
÷  Independent worker
 Spin Example: Audio Engineering

—  Toured with a Band, Summer 2014, Fall 2014, and Spring 2015
Many destinations, United States, North America
¡  Learned valuable problem solving skills by putting together travel plans
¡  Leader of live performances of covers and original music
¡  Presented research through MS PowerPoint and a final poster presentation of set
art used on stage
¡  Participated in a 5-week seminar on audio engineering at New York University

—  Coordinated Rock Band Tour, 2014-2015, United States and

Canada,
¡  Planned entire 12 month tour for all 4 members including schedule, booking,
travel, and budget for over 200 venues
¡  Set up and led live performances including setting up all live equipment (amps,
sound board, etc.) in response to venue size and acoustics
¡  Invited to participate in a 5-week seminar on audio engineering at New York
University after the professor met me during a New York City performance
 Top 8 Résumé Tips

5.  Bye bye high school: What else should we leave out?
¡  Irrelevant job experience: In the future, gaps in employment in your
resume might matter, but, for now, only include relevant content.
¡  False achievements: Belonging to a fraternity or sorority; playing
intermural sports; competing in a spelling bee; any hobby
¡  Artificially elevated vocabulary
¡  Terrible email addresses: sparklepony123@hotmail.com
¡  References
¡  Personal pronouns: It’s assumed that you did these things
¡  Random buzzwords: "go-getter," "think outside the box,"
"synergy," and "people pleaser”
¡  Anything negative: No need to explain low GPA, etc.
 Top 8 Résumé Tips

6.  Objective statement?

¡  First reaction, no. It’s a waste of space and old fashioned.

¡  If you want to include one, make sure it is highly specific to the

job ad and shows how your ethos matches that of the
company’s.
¡  Include one if you are shifting fields radically and need to
explain how and why you are qualified.
¡  Include an executive or branding statement later in life if you
have numerous experiences across multiple fields that you
want to tie together coherently for the job your applying to.
 Example

—  Bad objective: Don’t include

Objective: To obtain a meaningful job in the field of mechanical
engineering.
—  Meaningful objective=Branding Statement
Educator, Administrator, and Researcher with 10 years of
experience creating syllabi and lesson plans for a diverse range of
courses (including Cultures of Medicine and Intro to Latino/a
Studies) while simultaneously managing a research agenda,
speaking at conferences, and planning conferences, from inviting
speakers to assisting with promotional poster design.
 Top 8 Résumé Tips

7.  Templates?
•  Search Pinterest
•  http://
www.buzzfeed.com/
mallorymcinnis/hurry-
hurry-hurry-get-your-
resume-templates-
here#.oeJXA061e
•  Or using tables as
outlined in the readings
•  How artsy is too artsy?
 Top 8 Résumé Tips

8.  Save as PDF and name it

firstname lastname.pdf
—  Make it printable/
photocopyable.
—  Usually don’t go below .8 in
margins or 11 font
—  Don’t go over one page
unless you have enough
text to fill 2 complete pages.
1.5 page resumes are
terrible all the white space
makes it look like you
haven’t done anything.
 Homework

—  Cover letter readings.

—  Begin writing your resume for one of the job ads
you’ve chosen.