RESUME

WRITING
COMMUNICATION LAB
HS18001
 WHAT IS A RESUME?
▪ Resume (or résumé): Record of work experience, professional
achievements, education, skills, certifications, and other details
▪ Usually first contact between a company and candidate
▪ The USA and Canada call it a resume
▪ Other countries call it a curriculum vitae (CV)
▪ India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa etc. interchangeably
use resume and CV
▪ In India, it is also called biodata

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 DIFFERENCE: CV & RESUME
CURRICULUM VITAE RESUME

▪ In-depth document, describes whole ▪ Short, concise document used for job
course of career in full detail applications in the USA and Canada
▪ Usually two- or three-page long but ▪ Purpose of resume is to provide
can be 5+ pages if necessary recruiters with brief overview of
candidate’s work history
▪ Contains details about education,
professional career, publications, ▪ Targeted, job-specific resume should be
awards, honors, and other one to two pages long
achievements
▪ In the USA and Canada, CV is used
only for academic applications:
academic jobs, grants, research
fellowships etc.
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 DIFFERENCE: CV & RESUME
CURRICULUM VITAE RESUME
▪ Contact Information
▪ Contact Information
▪ Research Objective, Professional Profile, or Personal
Statement ▪ Resume Summary or Resume Objective
▪ Education, Professional / Academic Appointments
▪ Work Experience
▪ Books, Book Chapters
▪ Education
▪ Peer-Reviewed Publications, Other Publications

▪ Awards and Honours, Grants and Fellowships ▪ Skills

▪ Conferences, Teaching Experience ▪ Additional Sections (Awards, Courses,
▪ Research Experience / Lab Experience / Graduate Publications, Certificates, Conferences
Fieldwork etc.)
▪ Non-Academic Activities, Languages and Skills

▪ Memberships, References
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 STANDARD FORMATS
Reverse-Chronological Format
Pros: Traditional resume style, familiar to potential employers
Cons: Very common; not very creative format
▪ Functional Format (Skill-based)
Pros: Entry-level job hunters can emphasize skills over lack of experience
Cons: HR managers may think candidate is hiding something
▪ Combination Format
Pros: Great for experienced pros and career changers; for highlighting transferable skills
Cons: Uncommon, unfamiliar, not recommended for entry-level job seekers
MOST JOB APPLICANTS CHOOSE REVERSE-CHRONOLOGICAL TEMPLATE

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 PERSONAL BLOCK
▪ Necessary Contact Information
Name: First name, last name (middle name optional)
Phone Number: Personal cell phone preferred
Email Address: Preferred means of communication
▪ Recommended Contact Information
LinkedIn URL: Favoured platform for professionals
▪ Optional Contact Information
Mailing Address: Many employers still send offers & rejection letters via paper mail
Social Media: Add only if related to job
Blog/ Website: Got a website, portfolio, or blog? Are they relevant? Add URL to
personal info section!
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 OBJECTIVE STATEMENT
▪ Employer spends average of 6 seconds skimming resumes
▪ Summary statement or objective statement is likely to have
most eye-time, since it is at top of page
▪ Strong objective statement summarizes position-related
skills and qualifications
▪ Objective statement needs to paint attractive image of
candidacy

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 COMPARISON 1
CONFIDENT & SPECIFIC VAGUE & CARELESS
▪ Personable and dependable ▪ I have been a graphic designer
graphic designer with 4+ years for the last 4 years. In addition
expertise in a fast-paced global to my knowledge of various
marketing firm. Achieved software and design programs, I
company-best quality satisfaction also handle some tough
rating according to internal customer accounts, and I am
review (99.76%). Seeking to always able to work well under
advance career by growing with pressure, even the tightest of
the DeZine team. deadlines.

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 COMPARISON 2
ACCOMPLISHED NOT ACCOMPLISHED
▪ Diligent customer support ▪ I am a customer support
specialist with 3+ years specialist eager to become an
experience at large computer field technician. I don't have
hardware company. Obtained experience in field work, but
highest grades in build spec past coworkers have said that I
knowledge (100%) and quality am a quick learner. I am highly
(97.3%). Seeking to further motivated because I enjoy being
career by growing with the outside for work rather than
BQNY team as an entry-level IT behind a desk at a cubicle.
technician.
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 DIFFERENCE
▪ Vague one focuses on everyday duties, not accomplishments
▪ Confident example shows evidence of candidate’s IT consultant
resume skills, achievements, and experience
▪ Confident statement mentions company by name
▪ Great way to make sure that resume feels personalized, not
common one sent to every company out there
▪ Company may not take a chance by hiring someone without
experience
▪ Accomplished statement mentions transferable skills +
achievements with statistics
▪ Not Accomplished statement has nothing specific or concrete
▪ Avoid using ‘I’ in objective statement
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 POWER VERBS
▪ Action words that have positive meanings in English
▪ Power verbs communicate message more strongly and confidently
than other verbs
▪ Especially useful for appearing as confident and competent candidate
▪ Notice differences between following sentences:
▪ Made new software → Made is weaker verb
Developed new software → Developed is power verb
▪ Do not use power verbs randomly
▪ Use power verbs depending upon specific context and profession
▪ Understand exact meaning of power verb used
▪ Do not repeat same verbs throughout resume
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 POWER VERBS: EXAMPLES*
• Accelerated• Generated• Prescribed• Awarded
• Introduced• Reduced• Chosen• Lessened
• Revitalized• Completed• Mastered• Streamlined
• Coordinated• Maximized• Surpassed

*Separate list will be provided

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 EXAMPLES TO AVOID
▪ Try to avoid following examples as they have less impact:

did make use get look

take keep have say tell

talk change
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 EXPERIENCE BLOCK: CONTENT
▪ Job Title: At top of each entry of work history
Easy for potential employers to scan and find
Make it bold or increase font size by 1pt or 2pts from rest of entry
▪ Company, City, State: Next line, include previous company name, city, state/ country
▪ Dates Employed: Duration of your employment
Add year or both month and year
▪ Key Responsibilities: NOT every single task you did
Focus on duties most relevant to new job
▪ Key Achievements: Often overlooked, but super important
Employers know what you did, but they need to know how well you did them
▪ Keywords: Use resume keywords throughout experience section
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 EXPERIENCE BLOCK: POSITION
▪ With more than one job, start with most recent position and go back
in reverse-chronological order
▪ Use bullet points in each entry's responsibilities and achievements
▪ With little or no professional experience related to position applied
for (entry-level applicants, career changers, students, etc.) place
education section above work history
▪ Afterwards, highlight transferable skills from other areas
▪ Show that though there is noexperience with this particular position,
there is some experience relevant to it

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EXPERIENCE BLOCK: CUSTOMIZING
▪ Larger companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
▪ ATS software automatically scans keywords in early stages
of recruitment process, and assigns score for each
candidate
▪ Customizing resume for each application is an absolute
must
▪ Job description in advertisement will
hold keywords related to job responsibilities that can be
used in resume

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EXPERIENCE BLOCK: HOW MUCH
▪ First-time Job Hunters: Usually no work experience
Include other history, such as student organization role, internship, or volunteer
experience
▪ Entry-level Candidates: Minimal job experience
Include and describe all paid work
Particularly highlight responsibilities and achievements that are most relevant
▪ Mid-level Job Seekers: Stable range of experience
Include detailed job descriptions of relevant positions
Brief mention of any other position
▪ Senior-level Applicants: Such as executives and managers
Include up to 15 years of relevant work experience with powerful action verbs

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EDUCATION BLOCK: ARRANGEMENT

▪ Place your highest degree first

▪ Add other degrees after it in reverse-chronological order
▪ If you completed university degree, do not add high school
info
▪ Add any relevant coursework, honours or awards you
received
▪ Skip your GPA if it is not perfect; it will only count against
you
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 SKILLS: HARD & SOFT
▪ Resume without mentioning skills is incomplete
▪ Hard skills are specific abilities and know-how, usually learnt through
a person or a medium (e.g., Photoshop, cash register)
▪ Soft skills are self-developed qualities learnt through life experiences
(e.g., social skills, adaptability)
▪ Combined, these make up Skill Set, i.e. candidate's range of skills and
abilities
▪ RESUME TIP: DO NOT list irrelevant skills
IT resume does not need to disclose cooking skills
Chef’s resume need not include ability to use Photoshop

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 SKILLS: TYPES
▪ Communication Skills: Social skills, non-verbal communication, listening
skills, interpersonal skills
▪ Technical Skills: Knowledge required to perform specific tasks, like computer
skills or clerical skills
▪ Job-specific Skills: Particular ability specifically required in job
▪ Leadership & Management Skills: Ability to be good manager, leader, supervisor
▪ Critical Thinking Skills: Ability to make thought-based decisions, take initiative,
including analytical skills, decision-making, problem-solving
▪ Organizational Skills: Knack for planning, organizing, seeing initiatives through
▪ Transferable Skills: For career changers, abilities carried over to new position
▪ RESUME TIP: Do not Google ‘skills for a [industry] resume’ and throw in results
Take time to tailor resume skills list to job posting
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 SKILLS:
LEVELS
Simple skills section which
includes 5-6 key abilities
and proficiency level is
enough
For specific job titles and
technical skills, include
particular knowledge per
item
RESUME TIP: Not every
skill is worth mentioning
e.g. everyone can use
Microsoft Word
nowadays. No need to
mention it.
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 STANDING OUT FURTHER
Hobbies & Volunteer Certifications & Languages Publications &
Interests Work Awards Projects

Can prove Volunteering Any certificate Language skills Mention public

ability to work experience or license or extend ations,
well in team boosts award relevant usefulness as an newspaper,
employability to job and employee, journal, online
Can verify industry particularly in or any other
leadership and Great way to international
management show corporations Mention any
expertise commitment creative
and values Mention venture
language
fluency levels
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 COVER LETTER
▪ Cover letter or job application letter expands upon topics
mentioned in brief on resume
▪ Written in formal language, and in paragraphs (not in
bullet points)
▪ Strong cover letter that matches resume provides
advantage over other candidates

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 HOW TO SAVE YOUR RESUME
▪ To name your document, use your name, hyphens or underscores, the
position, and the word ‘resume’ or ‘cover letter’
Jane_Doe_Accountant_Resume.pdf
John-Smith-Cashier-Cover-Letter.docx
▪ Many employers prefer Microsoft Word's .doc & .docx because it causes
less issues with ATS software
▪ PDF format is finalized when you save it, so employers get a nice, clean
document that does not cause formatting issues
▪ RESUME TIP: Save document as both .doc or .docx and .pdf

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 OVERALL LOOK
▪ Standard font that renders correctly on most machines, like Cambria, Calibri, Arial,
Times New Roman, or Helvetica
▪ DO NOT use cursive or ornamental fonts
▪ Go for single line spacing, and 10pt or 11pt font size for regular text
▪ Increase to 12pt or 14pt font size for section titles
▪ Do not make resume margins too narrow
▪ Use bold text to draw attention to particular words or phrases, and italics for
supporting text
▪ Avoid underlining, as it makes resume feel cluttered (and URLs already use it)

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AND THAT’S THE WAY IT IS...

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