EE 1000 Foundations of

EE
Writing a Resume

Objectives
After successfully completing this
module, you should be able to:
1. Write a resume that will effectively
attract potential employers.

Introduction
Your resume is an advertisement and
YOU are the product
Your goal is to get hiring managers to
buy into what youre selling, which
means giving you an interview

Introduction
Top 5 Resume Tips
1. Your resume is about your future; not your past.
2. It is not a confessional. In other words, you don't
have to "tell all." Stick to what's relevant and
marketable.
3. Don't write a list of job descriptions. Write
achievements!
4. Promote only skills you enjoy using. Never write
about things you don't want to repeat.
5. Be honest. You can be creative, but don't lie.

Introduction
Find a Job for Your Resume
It's best to find a job you want to apply
for (or at least figure out what type of
job you want) before you write your
resume
Why?
Your resume is a marketing piece for your
job search
The more you know about the job you want,
the better you can target your resume

Introduction
A guiding principle of the resume
writing profession is that there are no
hard and fast rules

Introduction
3 steps to writing a resume
1. Choose a resume format
2. Order your information
3. Style your resume

Choose a Resume Format

Reverse-Chronological
More traditional format and is what you
are most likely to come across
Gets its name from the way the
Professional Experience section lists a
candidates past jobs in a reversechronological order

Choose a Resume Format

Reverse-Chronological
I should use if:
I want to show a vertical career progression
I want to apply to a job in a similar field
I want to promote my upward career
mobility

I shouldnt use if:

I have major gaps in my employment history
I am changing my career path
I change jobs every few months

Choose a Resume Format

Functional
Focuses on your abilities and skills
Since it emphasizes applicants
qualifications, functional format is more
suitable for those with an expert level of
experience
Can also be used to hide the fact that
you have imperfect work experience, or
because youre transferring industries

Choose a Resume Format

Functional
I should use if:
I want to highlight a developed skill set
within a specific career
I want to change my career path
I am a master of the subject I am applying to

I shouldnt use if:

I want to highlight my education
I lack experience
I am an entry level candidate

Choose a Resume Format

Combination
Merges bits and pieces from both
chronological and functional formats
Like functional format, it focuses on
specific qualifications, yet body of the
document contains professional
experience similar to chronological
format

Choose a Resume Format

Combination
I should use if:
I have gaps in my employment history
I am changing my career industry
I want to highlight a specific skill set

I shouldnt use if:

I want to highlight my upward career mobility
I am an entry level candidate that lacks
experience
I lack transferable skills

Order Your Information

The information you include will
depend on the format you choose
You will generally include:
Contact Information
Resume Introduction
Professional Experience
Education
Additional Sections

Order Your Information

Contact Information
Include
Name (largest font on page, middle initial is
optional)
Mailing Address
Telephone Number (Check that you have an
appropriate voicemail message)
Email Address (make sure its appropriate, dont
use your sexypanda45@gmail.com account.)
Link to online portfolio (optional, ensure it is
relevant to the position)
LinkedIn Profile

Order Your Information

Resume Introduction
3 Choices
Qualifications Summary
Career Objective
Professional Profile

Order Your Information

Resume Introduction
Qualifications Summary
Bullet point list (ranging from 4 to 6 points)
of your most outstanding career
achievements

Order Your Information

Resume Introduction
Qualifications Summary
I should use if:
I am applying to a job that requires a rigid set of
abilities
I have a wealth of experience in the industry
I possess multiple skill sets.

I shouldnt use if:

I lack experience
I am an entry level candidate that lacks specific skill
sets
I lack measurable achievements

Order Your Information

Resume Introduction
Career Objective
A 2-3 sentence statement that provides an
overview of your skills and experience
Best for entry-level candidates

Order Your Information

Resume Introduction
Career Objective
I should use if:
I am an entry-level applicant
I do not have in-depth experience in the industry
I am a recent college graduate

I shouldnt use if:

I have a wealth of industry-specific skill sets
I am changing career paths
I am writing a cover letter

Order Your Information

Resume Introduction
Professional Profile
Combination of career objective and
qualifications summary
Most flexible of 3 styles as it can be
formatted as short paragraph or bullet-point
list

Order Your Information

Resume Introduction
Professional Profile
I should use if:
I have had major achievement in my past
experience
I am applying to a position in the same industry
I have a special area of expertise in my field

I shouldnt use if:

I am an entry-level applicant
I am recent college graduate
I lack measurable of accomplishments

Order Your Information

Professional Experience
List your work experiences in reverse
chronological order
Only list experience that is relevant to job you
are applying for
For each company create a heading including:
Companys name, city & state, your title, and
dates of employment (month and year)
If you are still working at a company, you can
simply write month, year-Present for the
employment dates

Order Your Information

Professional Experience
General rule is that each experience
have around 3-5 bullet points of your
main duties and achievements
3 Parts of a strong bullet point:
Action Verb (should always be first)
Quantifiable Point
Specific and relevant job duty

Order Your Information

Education
Depending on your professional experience, you
may want to consider switching order of the
professional experience and education sections
College or high school students that lack
seasoned professional experience benefit from
emphasizing their education by placing it before
professional experience section
If you possess a wealth of professional
experience then it is appropriate to keep this
section short and sweet

Order Your Information

Education
Main points to include in your education section:
Names of your university, community college, or
technical school(Dont include high school
unless you did not attend college)
Location of the schools (city, state)
Date of graduation (month, year)
Degree(s)
GPA (only include if your GPA is above 3.0,
round up to the first decimal place , and use this
format: GPA: 3.5/4.0)

Order Your Information

Additional Sections
Other sections may be added to
enhance your resume

Certifications/Licenses
Publications
Awards/Honors/Activities
Technical Skills (e.g. software and
programming languages)
Additional Skills (non-technical in nature)

Style Your Resume

Number of Pages
Some professionals vigorously
discourage applicants from going over 1
page
However, if you have information that is
highly relevant to position you are
applying for then go ahead and add an
extra page

Style Your Resume

Font and Sizing Dos and Donts
Dos
Choose easy-to-read fonts
Use the same font throughout
Change sizes in descending order for your
name, headers, and bullet points
Choose a font that fits with the text sizes
youve chosen

Style Your Resume

Font and Sizing Dos and Donts
Donts
Dont choose small sizes to fit everything on
one page
Dont pick wacky fonts
Dont have one uniform text size throughout
Dont go below 9pt
Dont spend too much time on choosing a
font

Style Your Resume

Lines
Help break up resume and allow potential
employers to better process information
Line breaks commonly begin after the
career objective or qualifications summary
From there, they are used to break each
subsequent section
Dont line break every bit of information
Too many page breaks will ruin readability

Style Your Resume

Margins
One inch margins are the safe bet for
applicants that lack experience
You can decrease margin size to fit more
information if you have a wealth of
experience
Dont go below 0.5