Career Essentials_The Interview
Page 3
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
• Name of awards, scholarships
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• List in order
MEMBERSHIPS/ASSOCIATIONS
• Association name give location, Start and end date
• Membership Title
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
• Name of the organization, State, Start and end date
• Job Title or Area Worked, (Month/Year)
INTERESTS
Functional résumé
Kathryn Jones
No Résumé Drive,
San Francisco, CA 98999
555-555-1234
kjones@bestmail.com
Professional Summary
Over 12 years professional marketing management in the technology industry. Solid performance record with proven ability to lead teams through multiple projects, to identify and resolve conflicts while bringing projects in on time and on budget.
Significant Accomplishments
As Marketing Manager, Cobalt Canada, implemented new business model and achieved role of market leader.
• Represented Cobalt to partners in Europe and North America to support sales and marketing endeavors.
• Represented company and products at trade shows throughout Europe to buyers and potential clients.
• Led publicity program and coordinated all marketing materials.
• Developed strategic business relationships leading to growing client base with a 20% increase in sales.
As Marketing Manager at Kento Technology, positioned new technology products industry leader.
• Participated in product development
• Developed branding for new products
• Attended trade shows to develop business relationships with new clients
• Managed public relations
Professional History
Senior Marketing Manager – Cobalt Canada, California Division, San Diego, CA (2003-2010)
Marketing Manager – Kento Technology, San Diego, CA (1995-1994)
Education
MBA, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, (1991-94)
Combination / hybrid format
This type of a résumé is taking the good parts of a functional résumé and adding in a simple work history in reverse chronological order to address the question of where and when accomplishments happened – which is what so many of the recruiters and employers are looking for in a résumé.
So it’s a combination of the Functional and Chronological formats.
This flexibility has made this format very popular. It highlights outstanding skills and achievements you want the recruiter to know while presenting, yet not emphasizing, your job history.
This is the right format if:
• You have a diverse history of jobs that won’t show clear career growth
• When you have related experience but not an exact match
• If you have large employment gaps
• You have unique skills, education, or achievements that need to be accented
Here is an example of the skills and employment history sections to show difference:
Example:
Marketing and Sales
• Sold light fixtures and display products
• Researched and targeted new market leads
• Increased client base
• Organized and worked local trade shows
Advertising and Promotion
• Designed new promotions that increased sales by 15%
• Researched new locations for advertising opportunities
• Designed and coordinated new research material
Employment History
Sales Manager – Tyson Fixtures, New York, NY
Sales Associate – Lampworld, New York NY
* * *
The building blocks for this type of résumé include:
1. Contact information
2. Career goal – this is optional but helpful if you have one
3. Professional profile (also called Career Summary, Summary of Qualifications, Key Skills, etc) – consider this a summary of your accomplishments. This section is critical. List accomplishments according to the jobs you’ve held. Be sure to show any innovative changes you implemented that showed an improvement for the company – even if you did this as part of a team. If you increased sales by 22% over the previous year’s sales, then state it here. Always use figures to give your statements more impact.
4. Education – can come next or it can go after the work section. List all of your education from highest degree first.
5. Work history – which is also called Employment or Experience. If you are a student, use the latter because it’s broader and covers more than paid work. If you are short on work experience, paid or unpaid, that relates to this career, then make the heading something like Transferable Skills. Be sure to list your experiences with the most recent one first and use a list instead paragraph form.
6. Affiliations – list any professional memberships that pertain to the job and won’t cause controversy. Don’t put down anything that might offend the recruiter.
7. Interests – list any outside hobbies or activities and interests you enjoy.
The advantages of combining two résumé styles include the following:
• It allows you to address the weakness of the functional résumé.
• It allows you to highlight the best that you have to bring.
The disadvantages of this format include:
• It’s still not a format that recruiters are used to and they may not like it.
• Potential duplicate information from the work section to the accomplishments.
Remember some of these building blocks can be excluded entirely, such as the Career Goal. Also, some of the sections can be switched. The education section may come before or after the work history. You give relevance to what goes on the page. What goes on the top is given the most relevance. Each section moving down the page gets a little less.
If your education is more relevant to the job you are applying for than your job history, then place it above. If it isn’t, then put your education below the job history.
Sample combination format
Name
Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number / Cell Number
Email
Objective – keep to one or two sentences.
Relevant Skills
• Name specific skills.
• List three to four points to warrant a separate section.
Experience
• List the accomplishments you attained in your work experience.
• List several points.
Employment
• List title, company, location, and the years you worked there.
• List second company, location, and the years you worked there.
Education
• List degrees, institution where you received it, location, and year you graduated.
• List other training; include Company or Institution, location and year.
Completed combination résumé
John Jones
No Résumé Way,
Kent, WA 98022
(333) 333-1234
Objective: To obtain an IT technical support position
Relevant skills:
• Operating systems: Apple, Windows, UNIX, LINUX
Experience:
• 10 years in computer systems, hardware, and software
• Trained employees on new computer software
• Managed equipment and software purchases
• Developed and implemented computer database
Employment
• Computer Seminar Instructor – Computer Answers Ltd, Portland, OR (2008 – Present)
• IT Manager – Services Inc., Portland, OR (’02 – ’08)
• IT Technical Specialist, Crashpatterns, Portland, OR (1997-2000)
E
ducation
• Apple service seminars
• Microsoft training seminars
• Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, University of British Columbia (1997)
Awards Received Employee of the Month twice while at Crashpatterns.
Other résumé formats
If you look around, you’ll see there are many other formats that you could consider. Some are the same but known by different names. There are others you’re better off ignoring entirely as they are not ones traditional recruiters like to see. In this section we’ll take a look at a few of the variations.
Targeted
A targeted résumé is one written to address a specific job or employer. More than any other type of résumé, you need to address each element of the job requirement through your résumé. Ideally you want to have a targeted résumé for each and every job. Understandably, this is not always feasible. Regardless of the format you choose, your résumé should be a targeted résumé.
In this résumé you highlight the experiences that are specific to the job for which you are applying. This is more time consuming but for the perfect job, it’s what you need.
This type of format should be used if:
• You have the title of the position and know the qualifications required for the job.
• You are answering a specific job ad.
• You are writing to apply to a specific company.
• You are writing several résumés to match specific career goals.
Don’t be confused. This is essentially the same résumé we’ve been talking about in the previous formats. Specifically you need to include the Summary of Qualifications section and it needs to show how your skills address the job’s requirements. In the chronological, functional, and hybrid formats, the Career Summary or Professional Summary was optional. However, in a targeted résumé that section is mandatory. All the other headings are the same in a targeted résumé as they are in the other formats.
This type of résumé MUST target the job you are applying for, as should everything else in the résumé. Focus the résumé at the job and don’t let other extra information slip in. It must present you as the answer to the company’s problems and the best candidate for that position.
As this type of résumé is exactly the same format as the basic three, there is no example. Refer to those should you need to.
Creative
A creative résumé is just the way it sounds – a regular résumé, with all the correct information but with some creative element. The creative element can be a fancy background, a graphic image behind the text or even a wild color. Use this type of résumé only if your creative skills are a particular requirement for the position.
This format is not electronic friendly and is not scannable, so it can’t be entered into the company’s database. If asked for a scannable résumé, don’t send a creative one. Consider creating two and send both.
Don’t let your creativity overwhelm the text. You need to make it easy to read. With this type of job, a portfolio is necessary. Keep your résumé professionally stylish and your creativity in your portfolio.
Graphics and photos may be included if those will showcase your skills. Background designs and watermarks behind the text often look good. For the actual text itself, the format arrangement will be one of the three standard résumé formats discussed. However, in this case, only the packaging is different.
The advantage of this type of résumé is that it allows a professional to display his or her inventiveness in a profession where imagination excels.
The disadvantages include:
• It can be hard to pull off properly.
• A straight business looking résumé is often the better choice.
• The array of creative résumés is huge, but the proper place to use them is extremely small.
And more
There are other ways to format your résumé. However, they are usually different in the layout rather than in the material presented. There is a linear layout, where everything runs straight along the left hand side. There is a newsletter layout, which means the material is laid out in two or three columns.
Regardless of layout, the most important thing to remember is that the information presented must be easy to read and accessible on a quick glance. There must be order and logic to the layout.
Don’t feel limited by layout. Find one that fits your needs or create your own. Just remember to put down the required information in a way that what you have to offer jumps off the page.
Résumé vs CV
Many people confuse these two marketing tools. They are similar and yet different. They both are used for the same purpose – to find a job. It’s how they are used that determines the differences.
The résumé is usually shorter at 1 to 2 pages and provides a brief overview of skills, education, and experience. A CV starts at 2 pages and can go as high as 5 pages with a detailed list of the same things. They are both written in a structured style and both are accompanied by a cover letter that summarizes the highlights, matching skills to the job.
In the United States, the résumé is more common. A CV is often requested for jobs in the academic world and for grant applications. A CV is more common throughout all other countries in the world.
The résumé contains the following elements:
• Concise summary of skills and achievements
• Key information for the job being applied for
• Written in three main styles – chronological, functional, or combination
A CV contains the following elements:
• All work, paid or unpaid
• A list of achievements written with the last one first
• Written in one of three styles – functional, targeted, or performance based
Curriculum Vitae
The term curriculum vitae (CV) means the “course of one’s life.” It is the correct form to use for the following applications:
• Graduate school
• Grants
• Potential teaching position at college and university
• Academic reviews
• Speaking appointments
• Research
• Consulting positions
It is important to write this document in a clean, easy to read style. It can be dry and long already, so only put in what needs to be here. The document needs to include your professional publications, presentations, committee work, grants received, and any other pertinent professional information. Include everything from the following list that pertains to you and the position:
• Education –. here you include all education from undergraduate and graduate programs, dissertations, concentrations, awards, scholarships, certificates, licenses, or any specialized training
• Teaching experience
• Research experience
• Consulting experience
• Publications
• Professional papers and presentations
• Grants you’ve received
• Professional associations
• Languages you write and speak
There is a similarity between the content and layouts in various disciplines, however there are many differences. Research your industry for the most commonly accepted form. Here is a simple example of what belongs on a CV and how it can be laid out.
Sample curriculum vitae format
Your Contact Information
Name
Address
Phone
Email
Personal Information
Date of Birth
Place of Birth
Optional Personal Information
Marital Status
Spouse’s Name
Children
Employment History
Work History
Academic Positions
Research and Training
Education
Include dates, majors, training, and certification
Post-Doctoral Training
Graduate School
University
Professional Qualifications
Certifications
Accreditations
Awards
Publications
List title, date, published by whom, where, issue
Books
List full details as above
Professional Memberships
Put down all organizations you belong to
Give brief descriptions of the association
Interests
Put down hobbies and sports.
3.
Building Blocks
The biggest mistake that most people make when creating their résumé is not giving each section the time and attention it deserves. One of the easiest ways to look at and understand the résumé writing process is to look at each of the building blocks that can go into creating the image you want to present. Not all of these blocks belong on every résumé. It’s important that you put in the ones that are appropriate for you. And if a section isn’t applicable, then leave it out. In this chapter we’re going to go over each ‘block’ in a résumé in such a way that you can write it up easily before moving on to the next one.
Some of these blocks will be done in minutes, some you can actually skip completely depending on your situation, and others WILL take you hours. The blocks we’re going to look are:
• Contact Information
• Career Goal or Objectives
• Career Summary/Professional Summary
• Employment History (Work Experience or Experience)
• Skills
• Education
• Professional Associations
• Volunteer/Community Involvement
• Personal Information
• References
• Less Common Building Blocks