My career objective is blah, blah, blah--boooring! A powerful resume states who you are, your expertise, and most importantly, your achievements. Tell companies what you can do for them. Don't write the average Joe's resume. That won't get you the interviews.

1. rebeccalpage@yahoo.com
Rebecca Page
Stand Out
from the Pack

2. 1st Impression to Employer
Sub Goal — To Have It Read
Main Goal — To Land an INTERVIEW!
Tip: Vagueness and modesty
aren’t effective approaches
Make It Lasting

3. Before We Start
LIES
misspellings
punctuation
syntax errors
TYPOS

4. Reality Check on Hiring Managers
Review resumes in
5-10 seconds each
Receive 50-500
others
Tip: Distinguish your value
proposition effectively,
concisely, dynamically

5. Types of Resumes
Tip: Skip to slide 28 for different
strategies.
Chronology
HybridFunction
Reverse Career
History
(Boring)
Skill Sets
(Loathed)
Combination
(Preferred!)

6. Resume Sections
Heading
Job Title / Profile
Core Competencies
Career Highlights
Work History
Education
Distinctions

7. Focus on Your Future
Job are you targeting?
Corporate culture and size fits
you best?
Skills do you offer—soft and hard?
Experience relates specifically to
this job?
Professional language is spoken—
buzzwords & acronyms?
What …

8. Grab ‘Em Above the Fold

9. Role Play Before Writing
Can (your name) achieve job’s deliverables?
Will (your name) solve our problems?
Why is (your name) better than the others?
Pretend You’re Hiring Manager

10. Discover Your Value
Start with blank sheet or Word document
Develop success stories for each job
Brainstorm about your accomplishments
Open up your creativity !
Tip: Read past performance evaluations

11. How Did You Help Employer …
Make / Save money
Save time
Create efficient
process
Solve specific problem
Reduce / Grow staff
Beat a deadline
Expand business
Attract new
customers
Increase market
penetration
Develop, market
or sell new product
or service

12. Avoid Generalizations
High impact
ACHIEVEMENTS
NOT responsibilities
Specifics—figures,
percentages,
dollar amounts

13. Which is More Impressive ?
Responsible for increasing recoveries.
Grew recoveries from 2% to 14%,
resulting in $15M increase by creating
3rd party recognition templates.

14. Action Verbs Show Impact
Achieve
Analyze
Assist
Author
Bridge
Build
Code
Conceptualize
Configure
Consolidate
Create
Design
Develop
Edit
Eliminate
Finalize
Guide
Head
Hire
Evaluate
Implement
Increase
Initiate
Instruct
Lead
Lecture
Litigate
Manage
Maximize
Mediate
Mentor
Model
Modernize
Motivate
Negotiate
Operate
Optimize
Organize
Oversee
Perform
Partner
Plan
Prepare
Procure
Promote
Quantify
Raise
Re-engineer
Regulate
Research
Secure
Serve
Solve
Spearhead
Streamline
Supervise
Train
Translate
Update
Write

15. Now Throw Some Out
What to …
It’s your future job –
not everything you did is relevant
Feature
Downplay
Toss out

16. Format is Everything
Ample white space
Modern fonts
Arial, Helvetica, Calibri
Traditional fonts
Times, CenturyCenturyCenturyCentury, Palatino
Font size 11 or 12 points
Usual techniques
Bold, italics,
ALL CAPITALS
Simple lines
But minimize use
No Denseness / Clutter

17. Let’s Get Started !
SUZANNE “SUE” WILLIAMS, J.D.
Heading
555.234.5721
suewilliams@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/suewilliams
555 Hire Me Lane
Wilmet, AZ 55123
Tips: Include everyday name
Use professional e-mail

18. Title & Profile
Operations Director
12 years’ success in enterprise software industry:
re-engineer international business operations,
increase workers’ efficiencies, develop technology
standards, and reduce capital / payroll expenses.
Awarded “Most Valuable Employee” out of 300.

19. Skills & Expertise
Marketing Management
Social Media / SMO
New Product Launch
Competitor Analysis
Strategic Planning
Branding
Product Pricing
SEO
Tip: Read job listings & LinkedIn
profiles for ideas

20. Vouch for a Skill
Include a testimonial from a superior
Refer to performance evaluation or
recommendation letter
“ We almost lost our 2nd largest customer. Dan
was onsite until 11 that night to bring their
server back up. That’s dedication! “
Mark Brennan, CIO
Hitachi Corp.

21. Career Achievements
Showcase what could otherwise be
at bottom of page 2
Illustrate successes
List 3-4 career highlights related to
position sought

22. Leadership Achievements
Membership Growth: 5-32% increase annually for multiple
associations, even in times of contracting business climates.
Expanded member reach to Europe and Middle East for
the US Chamber of Commerce.
Foundation Director: Created Business Information
Analysis Center for the Chamber and secured federal
grants for core operations funding. Grew to $650,000
budget in 2 years.
From the Exercise

23. Reverse Work History
Achievements from Exercise
Software Engineer 2007-present
General Dynamics, Fairfax, VA
CAREER EXPERIENCE
Create code for 1st ever SMS feature and support product,
network and release testing.
Design / code phases for wiretap and virtual circuits feature
development.
Exceed goals 20% for customer site testing and FAO (First Office
Application) support for EMX releases.
92% survey rating as instructor at technical workshops for
internal / customer knowledge sharing and functional areas.

24. Not Entire Career
10-15 years only is expected
Previous positions only if relevant
20-year Government Affairs Director who
began career as a …
Legislative Assistant on Capitol Hill.
Data Entry Assistant for a medical office.

25. Education
Degrees in Reverse Order
EDUCATION
MA, Elementary Education • University of South Carolina, 2004
BA, Education • College of Charleston, SC, 2002
Tip: Move to the top if …
- A recent grad
- Graduate degree is preferred in job listing
- In medicine, science, higher education, politics

26. You’re Not “Average Joe”
LICENSURE & CERTIFICATIONS
Registered Nurse, Virginia State License, 2006
CPR, American Heart Association
Certified Nursing Assistant, Virginia Registry, 2003
AWARDS
Most Outstanding Employee, General Electric – 2010
Safe Worker, Hybrid Warehouses – 2005-2008

27. Volunteer / Memberships
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Chairperson, Institute of Internal Auditors
Committee Member, National Compliance Professionals Association
Tip: Move to the top if …
License, certification, award, military / government
service, Fortune 500 companies are preferred for job

29. Strategies for Career Obstacles
TELL employers situation to avoid their
making wrong assumptions
Many won’t contact you for answers

30. Need 1st Paid Gig ?
Internships—paid & non
Clinical & lab projects
Specific upper level courses
Volunteer activities
Memberships
List Relevant Experience

31. Returning to a Profession ?
Use leadership / career achievements
section
Success stories specific to desired
profession
Minimize / delete unrelated bullets
on latest jobs

32. Hopped Around after
Steady Jobs ?
List companies with longevity and
years at top of resume
Remember—reviewer won’t read
page 2 to see this
10 years Executive Assistant at SAIC &
5 years Office Manager at British Aerospace

33. Changing Profession ?
All relevant work, certifications,
internships, volunteering above the fold
In work history, focus on only applicable
achievements and skills
Minimize bullets that don’t apply
Tip: Classes, certifications or internships
assure employer you’re serious about
a career change

34. Went Back to School ?
In chronological experience, list your
degree, school and years
Fill in gap to avoid employer’s
assumption
Or put near top

35. Let Go from Job Not
Performance Related ?
Congressman replaced by opposing party
Company downsized due to client reduction
New CEO brought in his executive team
Contract not renewed by DOE
State the Reason

36. Left Workforce Altogether ?
Sabbatical to volunteer at Sahabi
Orphanage in Kenya
Walked across America, then published
book on experience with host families
Assisted terminally ill parent
Be Honest
Tip: Include work if you can to minimize gap

37. Seeking Lower Position ?
Dumb down responsibilities
Focus profile & skills on those needed
Remove advanced degrees—Master, JD, PhD
If seeking straight sales position, don’t
state you were Director over staff of 20

38. Over 50?
List about 15 years of employment—
even if with 1 employer for longer
After create “Prior Experience”
list only positions & employers—
no responsibilities, NO DATES
Education—NO DATES

39. Survive Electronic Black Hole
MUST use title & key words in job posting
Use .txt file extension, unformatted ASCII
Choose sans serif font
Left justify all text
Strip formatting — no bullets, tabs, tables,
text boxes, page breaks, page numbers
No bold, italics, underlines
Used by Larger Companies
Tip: Use symbols to replace bullets
•••• ∼∼∼∼
or create lines — — — — —

40. E-mailing Resume
Follow ad’s instructions
Word preferred over pdf (if not .txt)
Name resume “FullName_Resume.doc”
Helps employer file & find it
In subject line, your name & job title
In body, paste resume
Attach resume & cover letter

41. Wanna Impress ‘Em ?
Make different resumes specific to postions
or industries seeking
Take a few minutes to customize each sent
Focus cover letter on position
Include matrix of job requirements matched
to your successes

42. Rebecca Page
rebeccalpage@yahoo.com