Resume “Boot Camp” Presented By: Victoria Nauta, Associate Director Career Development & Advisement Center, WPU

Why Resumes are Important

  Every employer will expect one   Your chance to make a first impression   At a glance, a potential employer can see how

you can contribute to an organization   Purpose of a resume is to get your foot in the

door   Only 20% of Jobs are Posted (Hidden Job

Market)   One of the marketing pieces in your job search

toolbox

  Be clear, organized, make it easy to read & concise

  Use one font   Prioritize categories in order of

relevance and importance

  List items in Reverse Chronological Order

  Have your resume critiqued

  Do not use Personal Pronouns such as “I” or “me”

  Do not include your whole life story

  Do not include References on

the resume itself

  Do not include photographs or salary requirements

  Do not include personal information like race or age

Resume Format-Chronological

 Contact Information  Objective (or Professional

Summary)  Experience  Honors, Awards, Certifications  Education  Activities  Skills

Contact information

 Name  Address  Phone number  Email address

PATRICIA L. MAHONE 705 South Main Street

Edison, NJ 52241 201.645.0000

mahone@gmail.com

Objective   Be concise - state the reason for sending the resume   Specific for each position applying   Skills you wish to use – What you can offer them, NOT

what they can offer you   Remember – if you have experience, an Objective

statement is NOT necessary

Avoid: To obtain a challenging position in a financial company

Target: To obtain a supervisory position in a financial setting that will utilize problem solving skills and leadership experience. (Be more specific if you can by inserting the position title and company name.)

Professional Summary   Job seekers with over 5-10 years experience should use a professional

summary vs. an objective   Highlight important skills, qualifications, achievements that relate to the

position you are applying to   Skills you wish to use – what you can offer them, NOT what they can offer

you   3-5 bulleted items that would immediately catch the attention of a recruiter

Professional Summary of Qualifications

• Experienced Software Implementation Manager with 11 years of extensive enterprise resource planning implementation experience

• Successful implementations of PeopleSoft, SAP, Lawson and other applications at more than 14 public and private sector clients and corporations across a wide range of industries and locations

• 9 years of consulting experience with a major international consulting firm earning performance ratings consistently above my peers and an executive promotion to Senior Manager

• 8 years of project management and team lead experience with a PMP certification

• Solid reputation for meeting aggressive deadlines and providing high quality deliverables within budget

Education   Name of institution   Location   Degree   Graduation month/year   Major/Minor   Certificates

William&Paterson&University,&Wayne,&NJ&Bachelor)of)Science)in)Economics,&May&2011&Minor:&Political&Science&Certificate&in&Financial&Planning&&

Experience   Company name   City, State of Employment   Job title   Date Employed (month/year)   Bullet point job descriptions

  Quantify where possible   Use action verbs to begin each statement   Include achievements, recognitions, special projects

  Volunteer Experience (if applicable)

Vanguard, Clifton, NJ Public Relations Specialist 01/2005-05/2005   Wrote and disseminated five newsletters, three media advisories, and

ten news releases for clients   Planned and facilitated two marketing events for new client   Developed a new public relations reporting mechanism used to track and

record client data daily

Breaking down the skill…

GAP Inc. Sales Manager   In charge of associates

  Closed Register

  Helped Customers

  Worked fitting room

  Sold Gap Cards

GAP Inc. Sales Manager   Supervised a team of six associates

responsible for store inventory, merchandising and display organization

  Managed closing of registers, tallying daily sales of $17,000 +

  Interacted with customers and assisted them with merchandise selection to promote daily sales

  Recognized for outstanding customer service: Holiday Season 2010

Other Resume Contents

  Skills  Second language  Computer  First Aid, CPR  Technical specialties & equipment knowledge

  References  List references on separate page  Omit from Resume

 Do not state “References Upon Request”

Mistakes…

Grammatical / Spelling Errors

Too much white space

Format Inconsistency

Incomplete bullet points

Lack of information

Irrelevant experience & qualifications

Not demonstrating value to employer

Questions?

Thank you for attending! Victoria Nauta

nautav@wpunj.edu