Creating an Effective Resume
&
Cover Letter
Overview
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Purpose of a resume
Preparing to write your resume
Resume content areas
Resume format
Use of keywords & action verbs
What to include and exclude
Cover letters
What is a resume?
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A resume is a self-marketing tool designed to “sell” your qualifications
to employers
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A resume is a one (or two for highly qualified candidates) page
summary of your education, skills, experience and accomplishments
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A resume is your introduction to the employer and where you make
your first impression
A resume gets you the interview so you can
get the job!
Preparing to Write Your Resume
Conduct Self Assessment
Outline your skills, experience, and abilities
 Determine where your interests lie in your chosen career
field
 Conduct research on job titles that are available in your
career field and what qualifications are required
 Find matches between your skills and interests and
available positions
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Self Assessment
Write down your jobs, volunteer work, activities,
class projects
 Have one paragraph worth of information for
each item and include:
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◦ Concrete, quantifiable data (saved over 20%; sales in
excess of $2M)
◦ 5 or more success stories
◦ List of skills and experiences
◦ Achievements and accomplishments
Self Assessment
Resume
Item
Skills
Success
Stories
Achievements
Internship
Software
development
Completed
project before
deadline
Won “Intern of the
Year” award
Time
Management
Project
Management
Improved
program
efficiency by 20%
Received full-time
job offer
Resume Content - Basic Section Titles
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Name
Contact information
Objective or Summary of Qualifications
Education
Research or Projects
Related Experience / Employment Experience
Volunteer Experience
Activities & Honors / Professional Memberships
Skills
Contact Information
First Last
Current (Until May 6, 2012)
1000 Melbourne Avenue – 2587
Melbourne, FL 32901
123-456-7890 (cell)
professional@email.com
FIRST LAST
1500 Melbourne Avenue #123
Melbourne, FL 32901
321-123-4567 (cell)
jjob@my.fit.edu
FIRST LAST
123 Main Street, Melbourne, FL, 32901 321.222.1111 jjob@my.fit.edu
Permanent
1234 Main Street
City, IL 12345
222-222-2222
Objective Statement
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It should not be about you and what you
want!
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Make it about the employer’s needs and
what value you bring to the position
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Consider a summary of qualifications or
professional profile statement to better
show your value
Objective Statement
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Be specific when possible
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Tailor your objective for field/position and
employer
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Include specific skills necessary for the
position that you have to offer
Objective Statement
What do you think of these objective
statements?
An entry level position that allows me to develop my full potential as an
engineer.
A position that offers a challenging work environment and opportunity
for growth.
Objective Statement Samples
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A position as a support specialist utilizing my skills and experience in the
fields of computer science and management information systems
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A summer internship in biological sciences working with marine mammals
and utilizing excellent laboratory and analytical skills.
Sample Summary Statement
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Experienced human resources professional with expertise in payroll, program
implementation, and organizational development seeking position as human
resources manager. Accomplishments include:
◦ Understanding of benefit administration and labor laws
◦ Knowledge of human motivation factors
◦ Administering counseling, support, career guidance and development
Education
List most current education first
 Omit high school unless you are a freshman
 Use bold font for major
 Anticipated graduation date
 GPA if over 3.0 or if meets minimum requirements
 Related coursework – bulleted list of 4-6 related courses
 Certifications or additional training
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Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL
Bachelor of Science, Marine Biology
GPA: 3.45
Anticipated graduation: May 2012
Work/Related Experience Format
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List position, organization, location, and employment dates
Location – just city and state is required
Dates – just list years for multiple years and use consistent format when
listing months
List in reverse chronological order
Use past tense for previous positions
Start each description with an action verb. Make sure that all of your
descriptions are full statements.
Try to match your action/keywords with the keywords used in the job
description
Look at your current job description for guidance in writing your work
description
Work/Related Experience Format
Florida Institute of Technology, Resident Assistant, Melbourne, FL, August 2011 - May 2012
 Served as peer counselor and assisted over 50 residents in transitioning to campus culture
 Enforced college policies to ensure campus health safety standards were met
 Organized, promoted and implemented educational workshops and social activities for residents
Resident Assistant
9/2011-5/2012
Florida Institute of Technology
Melbourne, FL
Served as peer counselor and assisted over 50 residents in transitioning to campus culture in
several capacities:
 Organized, promoted and implemented educational workshops and social
activities for residents
 Enforced college policies to ensure campus health safety standards were met
Work/Related Experience
Formula for describing your responsibilities
and accomplishments:
What did you do > How did you do it > For what purpose >
What was the result?
Work/Related Experience
Systems Administrator
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Rough notes: I helped migrate more than 1,000 users from local servers to corporate
Unix DCS servers. My boss wanted this done in a month, and unbelievably, I achieved
this.
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Formulated Statement: Integrally involved in seamless migration of 1,000-plus users
from various local servers onto DCS corporate UNIX servers in aggressive one-month
timeframe.
Administrative Assistant
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Rough notes: On my first day on the job, I couldn't find anything, because the filing
system was a mess. Customers were unhappy, because wait times were long as we
located files. I reorganized the filing system, which now works beautifully.
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Formulated Statement: Improved office efficiency by overhauling previously
haphazard filing system and implemented a new charting system that resulted in a 20%
increase in the number of customers served while also increasing customer satisfaction.
Work/Related Experience Tips
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List tangible results and skills where possible
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Avoid using pronouns such as “I” or ”my” in describing your
responsibilities and throughout your resume
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If you have held many part-time or summer jobs, only list the most recent
and most relevant to your targeted position
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Consider condensing jobs that are similar but not related to the target
position into one statement to show that you worked while in college and
that you contributed to your college expenses
Sample:
2009-2011
Held several part-time positions in hospitality industry to earn
money for college expenses.
Work/Related Experience Tips
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Internships and major-related jobs can be listed in their own section
and should be listed before non major-related jobs
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If you have not had an internship or major-related experience, list the
work experiences that you have and focus on transferable skills and
any achievements
Sample:
Cashier, Walmart, Palm Bay, FL
2011-2012
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Cash handling and customer service duties in high volume retail environment
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Trained and supervised new employees
Research & Volunteer Experience
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Research related to your major
with professors or in class
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Articles published (use proper
citing for your major)
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Senior design project – describe
goal of project and
accomplishments
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Volunteering shows
responsibility, dedication, and
involvement
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Especially valuable if major
related
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Use the same format as for work
experience but identify volunteer
work under a separate heading
Activities & Memberships
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Campus organizations – clubs, sports, student government, etc.
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Honor societies related to your major (Psi Chi, Alpha Eta Rho)
Professional organizations:
 IEEE
 NSBE
 SWE
 Special scholarships – exclude amount
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Awards
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Leave off high school accomplishments
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List most relevant activities such as professional associations or honor
societies first
Skills
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Lab skills (Proficient with laboratory and field equipment)
Basic software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
Programming languages (C/C++, Perl, Java, C#, Fortran, SQL,
PHP)
IEEE standards & Engineering concepts
Specialty Software
Aircraft flown (PA-2-161, Mooney M20J, etc)
Flight time (PIC, Dual Given, Instrument, Complex, Multi-Engine)
Fluency or knowledge of a foreign language
Skills
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Consider adding “soft skills” to the resume in your skills
section
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Soft skills that are sought after by employers such as
communication, teamwork, leadership, and management
skills
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Although typically listed in a cover letter, including them
on the resume can help in key word searches
Keywords
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Keywords are especially important in resumes that are
submitted online and scanned
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Match with the key qualifications or requirements of a job
description
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Consider a skills section that is targeted to the
qualifications required by the employer
Keywords & Action Verbs
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Accelerated
Accomplished
Accounted
Achieved
Acquired
Adapted
Administered
Adopted
Advised
Advocated
Aided
Allocated
Analyzed
Appraised
Arranged
Assembled
Based
Budgeted
Built
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Checked
Classified
Coached
Collated
Collected
Communicated
Compiled
Completed
Composed
Conducted
Consolidated
Constructed
Controlled
Counseled
Created
Dealt
Delegated
Delivered
Demonstrated
Designed
Determined
Diagnosed
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Directed
Drafted
Edited
Eliminated
Encouraged
Evaluated
Exhibited
Expedited
Forecasted
Found
Generated
Guided
Hired
Implemented
Improved
Increased
Influenced
Initiated
Innovated
Integrated
Interpreted
Invented
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Invested
Launched
Led
Lobbied
Maintained
Managed
Measured
Mediated
Negotiated
Organized
Participated
Planned
Predicted
Programmed
Proposed
Reduced
Revised
Simplified
Streamlined
Systemized
Upgraded
Resume Basics
You have 30 seconds (or less) to grab the attention
of the person reviewing your resume
 Resumes should be concise
 Easy to read & align visually
 New college grads with little experience only need a one
page resume
 Some graduate students and alumni may need a two-page
resume
 Determine what skills and achievements are necessary
for your resume – keep only those that will help you get
the job you are seeking
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SPELL CHECK!!!!!
Dos & Don’ts
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Do include all relevant experience
Do use a legible font face and size
Do include enough white space to allow for skimming
Do use bulleted lists for job descriptions
Do try to stick to one page unless you are a skilled professional
Don’t include your SSN, Photo, Marital Status, etc
Don’t use more than two fonts
Don’t put references on the resume – create a separate sheet
Don’t use excessive bold face/italics or an ink color other than
black
Sample Resume
JANE DOE
FIT Box 5555
Melbourne, FL 32901
(321) 674-5555
jdoe@fit.edu
123 Pleasant St.
Anytown, NJ 55555
(101) 555-5555
OBJECTIVE:
A position as a program manager utilizing education in psychology and
experience managing youth clients in a non-profit organization.
EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL
GPA – 3.75
May 20XX
Relevant Courses:
Psychology of Personality Abnormal Psychology
Physiological Psychology Psychology Research Methods
Psychology of Learning and Motivation
EXPERIENCE:
Summer 20XX
Client Intake/Case Support
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Brevard, Melbourne, FL
Responsible for intake process for child clients, case supervision, file
management, radio appearances, and database maintenance.
20XX-20XX
Student Assistant
Diamond Community School, Palm Bay, FL
Supervised children ages 2-14. Tutored various subjects including Math
and English. Assisted teachers with preparing lesson plans and grading
papers.
20XX-20XX
Resident Assistant
Florida Tech Residence Life, Melbourne, FL
Assisted and advised freshmen students with their first year transition.
Developed and presented educational and community-building programs.
Attended leadership conferences and professional development in-service
programs. Maintained discipline, inventoried furniture, and enforced
physical security measures.
VOLUNTEER
EXPERIENCE:
20XX-present
ACTIVITIES:
Exchange Club Yellow Umbrella, Melbourne, FL
Volunteer in child abuse prevention center. Assist staff in providing
immediate intervention services to families at-risk of child abuse or in need
of other social services.
President, Psi Chi, Florida Tech Chapter – 20XX
Senator, Florida Tech Student Government – 20XX
Public Relations Manager, College Players, Florida Tech – 20XX
Sample Resume
John Doe
FIT Box 1545 • Melbourne, FL 32901 • 444-444-4444 • jdoe@fit.edu
OBJECTIVE
Recent honors graduate in Computer Science with over five years professional experience in software
engineering seeking position in software development utilizing strong skills in C, C++ and Java.
EDUCATION
Master of Science, Software Engineering
Florida Institute of Technology
GPA – 3.85
Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
University of XXXX
May 20XX
Melbourne, FL
May 20XX
City, ST
RELEVANT COURSES
Windows Programming (C++), Software Testing (TestFirst, JUnit Testing), Software Design, Software Engineering,
Data Structures and Algorithms, Assembly Language, Artificial Intelligence, Operating System Concepts,
Management Principles, SOA & Web Services
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Languages
Software
Operating Systems
C/C++, Visual Basic, Java, Pascal, HTML, PHP, Perl
APIs
Win 32 SDK, Win 32 DDK, MFC, NDIS
Borland C++, Visual Studio 6, Visual Studio .NET, Borland Builder, Microsoft Office,
SoftIce, WinDbg, SourceSafe, Perforce, Ethereal
Windows 95-XP, Windows CE
EXPERIENCE
Software Engineer
September 20XX – August 20XX
ABC Company
Melbourne, FL
• Created a flash updating tool that communicated directly with the second generation PRISM chipset
hardware
• Supported the integration team with software tools to test, debug, and control new hardware
implementations
• Ported the entire firmware code base to an enhanced compiler
• Generated a course set of classes shared between multiple flash updating tools and created a Windows
interface
• Provided direct customer support for card configuration and NVRAM update issues
PERSONAL PROJECTS
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Created a photo album content generator including an image manipulation module and scripted HTML
generation
Created an instant messaging and file transfer application
Running a personal website with a MySQL Server backend database
Your Resume
How does your resume measure up!
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Is it easy to read?
Does your objective statement bring value or is it all about you?
Is your education listed in correct order and format?
Work experience – if you have any, is it listed in reverse
chronological order?
Relevant skills section?
Is the most important information listed first and easy to read?
Cover Letters
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Opportunity to introduce yourself to the employer
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Provide enhanced details about your qualifications
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Point out specific experiences which make you an
excellent fit for the position
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A cover letter does not need to be lengthy and should
not exceed one page
Cover Letters
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Paragraph #1: How you learned about the job?
Identifying your source of information about the job.
Paragraph #2: Why you are interested?
Address the reasons you are motivated.
Paragraph #3: How you are qualified?
Opportunity to relate your qualifications to the various skills the
employer has outlined in the position description.
Paragraph #4: What steps you plan to take to be considered?
Summarize your interest in the position, show appreciation, indicate
contact information for further information, and take responsibility
for following up.
Resume and Cover Letter
Resources
Optimal Resume
https://fit.optimalresume.com/
Career Management Services
http://www.fit.edu/career/resumes/
Career Management Services
Part-time and full-time job postings on Panther Career
Link at http://fit.experience.com
 Internships & Co-op
 ProTrack Co-op
 Federal Work-study
 Florida Work Experience Program
 Workshops
 Resume & Cover Letter Critiques
 Career Fair & Employer Day
 Mock Interviews
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Contact Us
Dona Gaynor, Director
dgaynor@fit.edu
Delicia Lewis, Assistant Director
dlewis@fit.edu