WHAT IS A RESUMÉ?

A resumé is a brief, concise document that presents, and effectively sells, your most relevant and positive credentials for employment, admission to graduate school, consideration for a scholarship or fellowship, or other professional purpose. (UD Resumé Format)

An employer will usually spend 15 to 20 seconds reviewing your resume, so the content of your resume must be clear, concise, and targeted to the type of job for which you are applying.

TYPES OF RESUMÉS

Chronological Resumé: Starts by listing your work history, with the most recent position listed first. Your jobs are listed in reverse chronological order with your current, or most recent job, first. Employers typically prefer this type of resume because it's easy to see what jobs you have held and when you have worked at them. This type of resume works well for job seekers with a strong, solid work history.

Functional Resumé: Focuses on your skills and experience, rather than on your chronological work history. It is used most often by people who are changing careers or who have gaps in their employment history.

Combination Resumé: Lists your skills and experience first. Your employment history is listed next. With this type of resume you can highlight the skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for, and also provide the chronological work history that employers prefer.

Targeted Resumé: It is customized so that it specifically highlights the experience and skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for. It definitely takes more work to write a targeted resume than to just click to apply with your existing resume. However, it's well worth the effort, especially when applying for jobs that are a perfect match for your qualifications and experience

RESUMÉ CONTENT

Objective: This should be a brief and focused statement of what you can do and what you are looking for. Employers will look here first before proceeding onto your resume.

Examples

• Seeking new challenges in (occupation) which effectively utilizes (professional experience).
• Looking to join a progressive organization that has the need for (a type of occupation) and offers opportunities for advancement.
• To gain first hand (type of experience), using my analytical skills and commitment to perform quality work.
• To obtain a position in a (type of target company) using my administrative and programming skills.
• To secure an internship with a (type of organization) specializing in (area of expertise)
• (Title) with (background) and a passion for (type) pursuing a career with (target company). Skilled at building strong team environments and developing open communications.

Tips

• Describe the job you are seeking. You can include your experience and skill level.
• Be focused - vague objectives are less likely to attract an employer.
• Emphasize what you can bring to your prospective employer.
• The Objective should be one sentence - two sentences if needed, but not longer.

Work Experience: Unless you are a fresh graduate, your Work Experience is the most important part of the CV. Highlight your skills and assigned responsibilities in each previous job.

Examples

• Managed a team of (number) that established (name of project goal or result).
• Successfully launched and marketed (name of project).
• Participated in the creation of a (name of product or production) that resulted in (a positive outcome).
• Extensive involvement managing client relationships at all levels.
• Wrote feature stories and conducted interviews for (type of press); edited copy of other writers.
• Trained new interns in (type of department).
• (Number of years) of (system) integration experience and implementing solutions to help clients succeed.
• Successfully managed and staffed not only business start-ups, but also periods of rapid, sustained corporate growth.
• (Number of years) of management experience on industrial projects.
• Installed different operating systems, software and hardware.
• Compiled and edited comprehensive quality control reports.

Tips

• For each position describe your responsibilities, duties, the challenges faced and accomplishments achieved. Use specific examples e.g.: Increased car sales turnover by 200%or saved department Dhs.100,000 by redesigning performance measurement system.
• If you have held multiple positions with the same company, remember to list dates of positions to show the prospective employer of your rapid progress and quick learning abilities.
• If you have not had much work experience, try including temporary, holiday or voluntary jobs.
• Remember to keep it short, positive and use action verbs

Examples

• Continuing education classes in (Name of courses).
• Licensed (name of certification), (City/Year).
• Project: Title of Project
• CGPA

Tips

• Include your Grade Point Average or General Ranking if it is impressive (Excellent, Very Good).
• Mention any Honors, Awards, Scholarships, Internships, and Dissertations received.
• Include any information that might be appropriate to your job search. Fresh graduates should include relevant courses, extracurricular activities, scholarships, honors, and GPA (if it is good).
• Allow your educational credentials to emphasize your strengths and qualifications. Do not be misleading, as employers will check. It could be awkward and quite difficult to verify a false educational statement made on your CV.

Memberships: List any professional affiliations, associations or memberships of interest to employers.

Examples

• Active member (name of association).
• Speaker/Treasurer (name of association).
• Appointed to serve as (position).
• Past Chairman/President.
• Elected to serve as (position).

Tips

• Being part of any association shows a potential employer your interest and involvement in a related professional field.
• Adding this information is completely optional, but it may help show a potential employer things about you that may not be clear from the rest of your CV such as your hobbies and your eagerness to participate in contributing to and developing your society.
• This is particularly relevant and important for fresh graduates or candidates seeking to make a career switch.
• Use action verbs.

Skills: Use this section to show a potential employer your overall work-related skills and abilities including languages and technical skills. Please note that your skills are one of the KEY search criteria in Employer searches so make sure you include all technical, analytical, professional and other skills.

Examples

• German- Intermediate.
• Microsoft Office software & the Internet- Expert.
• MS Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, MS Project, Project Workbench and Lotus Notes- Expert.
• C, Cobol, Fortran and SQL - Expert.
• Quantitative Analysis- Expert.
• Creative Skills- Expert.

Tips

• Focus on skills that match your target job and target company.
• Use this section to include industry keywords that match an employer's keyword search. For example: Knowledge of encryption theory
• Describe your interpersonal skills, (an experienced presenter/ public speaker / sales person, organizer or teacher).
• Use action verbs

Tips

• List the contact information of your last employer. If you have been out of the work force for a while, list the name of an old family friend or physician.
• If you would rather not include any references, make it clear that the potential employer can obtain a reference if required by adding References available upon request.

References

The Damn Good Resume Guide: A Crash Course in Resume Writing / by Yana Parker, Ten Speed Press, ISBN: 1580084443 (Available in UD Library)

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumes/p/resumetypes.htm
http://www.accent-resume-writing.com/covertips/
http://workbloom.com/resume/resume-types.aspx
http://www.how-to-write-a-resume.org/action_verbs.htm
http://www.soicc.state.nc.us/soicc/index.htm
http://www.iseek.org/sv/index.jsp
http://www.building-blocks-for-personal-development.com/index.html
http://www.utexas.edu/student/cec/index.html
http://www.careerccc.org/careerdirections/
http://www.resume-resource.com/resume-tips.html

Books Available in UD Library

• Professional Resumes For Executives, Managers And Other Administrators: A New Gallery Of Best Resumes By Professional Resume Writers / David F. Noble; Jist Works.
• The Guide To Basic Resume Writing / By Public Library Association, Mcgraw-Hill,
• A Practical Manual For Job-Hunters / By Richard Nelson Bolles, Ten Speed Press
• How To Get The Right Job: For The Middle East / Saad E. Abbas