Preparing an Effective Resume
Brought to you by
Edward Beanes
Napa Valley College Career Center
(707) 253-3050
www.napavalley.edu
career center website
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Jobs online, upload resume!
www.twitter.com/nvcareercenter
jobs listed weekly for Napa/Solano County
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Napa-Valley-College-Career-Center
Napa Valley College Career Center Facebook site
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
GO DUCKS!
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Resume Workshop Topics:
General Guidelines
Preliminary Research
Heading
Objective Statement
Education
Employment Experience
References
Chronological Style
Functional Style
Combination Style
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
What is a resume?
A resume is a summary of your
experience, ability, and accomplishments.

A resume is not a list of everything you’ve done in
previous positions.
A resume must show your VALUE to the new employer
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
General Guidelines
Length: It is best to limit an entry-level resume to one
typed page. Be as concise as possible in stating
information in each section of your resume.
Font: Avoid fonts smaller than 10 point and larger than
12 point.
Paper: Use 8 1/2” x 11” 20 lb paper. Print your resume
with a laser or high quality ink-jet printer.
Use borders and bullets, but be careful not to overdo it!
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Preliminary Research
Find Out…
* General job
Information
Where to look…
* Online Company
Research
* Desired qualifications
and skills
* Trade journals,
magazines, and
Newsletters
* Key values and words
* Company Mission
Statement, etc
* Directories
* Professors
* Company
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
literature
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Identifying Information
Your Name Should Stand Out!
KIMBERLY ANN HURST
22333 Calle Vista Ave #112
Mission Viejo, CA
(949) 336-4432
Put your name, permanent
and campus addresses,
permanent and campus
phone numbers, and email
address prominently at the
top of your resume.
Avoid using a nickname to
identify yourself.
Consider including your URL
address or fax number if you
have one.
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Objective Statement
I recommend being as clear and concise as
Possible:
“To secure the position of Financial Advisor with
A.G. Edwards”
This tells an employer you want to work for
them
in that position. It doesn’t show the employer
that you’re searching around, but rather that
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
you’re focused and clear about
your goals
Summary of Qualifications
Statement
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Consider what are the 4-5 key accomplishments,
skills, abilities that highlight your VALUE!
Start with general statements of your overall
Skills.
Add soft skills for variety.
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Summary of Qualifications Section
Example:
Summary of Qualifications




2 years professional experience providing
excellence in customer service.
Proven ability to coordinate and complete
multiple projects within deadlines.
Skilled at developing and retaining
partnerships with clients and customers.
Driven, dedicated, and effective
team player.
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Education
This is an important section for recent college
graduates or students seeking internships or
summer jobs.
Beginning with the highest level of educational
achievement, include information such as
University attended, degrees earned/expected,
major, minors, grade point average, date of
program completion, and so forth.
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Education
AA in Accounting Expected 2007
Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA
GPA: 3.7/4.0
Major GPA: 3.6/4.0
Summary of Coursework:
• GPA is
not required. General guideline:
include if it is 3.5+.
• Always
school
is using.
state the grade point scale your
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Relevant Courses
List relevant courses
that:
– Help you stand out
from the crowd
– Have
provided you
with specific skills or
Knowledge
Consider including this
information in the
education section of
the resume.
Spanish (4 semesters)
Computer Science
Business Writing
Business Law
Ethics
Only include courses taken
in addition to your major or
Minor.
Refer to the course by name
rather than by number
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Employment Experience
Include positions you have held which are
related, in some way, to the job you are
seeking. These might be both paid and
volunteer positions.
Be creative with this section of your resume by
describing and emphasizing your experiences
in the most relevant way possible.
Think of what you ACCOMPLISHED at your
other jobs, not just what you did!
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Professional Experience
Hospitality Intern May 1999-August 1999
Holiday Inn, Laguna Hills, CA
*Oversaw the planning, production,
preparation and prompt delivery of food
*Assisted in training and retaining new
and experienced employees
*Created a positive and healthy
atmosphere in the restaurant
Include information such
as company name and
location, job title, dates,
and duties performed.
Make this section easy
to read by using spacing
and bullets.
Use action phrases to
highlight the duties you
have performed.
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Action Phrases
Hospitality Intern
(May 1999-August 1999)
Holiday Inn, Laguna Hills, CA
* Oversaw
the planning,
production, preparation
and prompt delivery of food
* Assisted in training and
retaining new and
experienced employees
* Created a positive and
healthy atmosphere in the
restaurant
Action phrases will help
you avoid being too
brief and from
understating your
Qualifications.
Think about your
qualifications as a
professional would.
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Be Consistent with Tenses…
Hospitality Intern 1999
Holiday Inn, Laguna Hills, CA
* Oversaw
the planning,
production, preparation and
prompt delivery of food
Make your
descriptions
easy to read through
parallel structure.

Set up a pattern and
stick with it.
In the example, all
the verbs are parallel:
“oversaw,” “assisted,”
and “created” are all
past tense verbs.

* Assisted
in training and
retaining new and
experienced employees
* Created
a positive and
healthy atmosphere in the
restaurant

www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Activities and Honors
Include relevant activities and honors that
you could discuss with your prospective
employer or that have given you valuable
experience or skills
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Specialized/Technical Skills
Include skills that make you
unique, such as computer
skills, foreign language skills,
or military service.
Be specific in describing your
special skills; name computer
programs you know, how long
you studied a foreign
language, or your dates of
military service.
You may want to create a
section with Technical
Qualifications
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Organizing Your Resume
Organize your resume to
highlight your unique
skills, strengths, and
accomplishments!
Use whatever
combination of
organizational styles you
think best highlight your
individual qualifications:
Consider the position,
employer, and industry.
The most common resume
styles are:
Chronological
Functional
Combination
Imaginative/Creative
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Chronological
Resume Style
Present your
education and work
experience in
chronological order,
beginning with your
most recent
experiences.
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
This style is best for
people whose job
experiences closely
parallel the positions for
which they are applying
or for those who have
not had periods of
unemployment time
between jobs.
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Functional Resume Style
Organize experience by
type of function
performed. Under each,
give specific examples.
Highlight experiences
that directly relate to the
job you are seeking.
Ignore experiences
that
do not relate to the job
for which you are
Applying.
Place things in order
of
importance rather than
chronological order
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Functional Resume Style
KEY QUALIFICATIONS:
Technical Skills
Skilled in Photoshop, Quark Xpress, Corel Draw, PageMaker,
HTML, and Dreamweaver
Proficient with PC and Mac hardware and operating systems
Customer Service Skills
3+ years of professional experience providing efficient and
effective
customer service
Managed difficult customer complaints with professionalism and
quality resolution
Organized customer requests and prioritized deadlines to meet the
needs of each individual
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Functional Resume Style
Emphasize what you
can do rather than
where you have
Worked.

Try to match your
skills to the position
for which you are
applying.

This style is ideal
for people who have
gained valuable
skills from a variety
of unrelated
Experiences:

Students
Career Change
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Combination Style Resume
As the name suggests, a blending of
Functional and Chronological styles.

Allows flexibility to pull out some Key Skill
Sets, while keeping a detailed list of
Employment History.

Find Skill Sets by: Reviewing Job
Announcements, Researching on the ONET,
etc

www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
References
In general, do not include the names and
addresses of your references on your resume.
It is enough to state that references are:
“References Available Upon Request”


Choose professional references rather
than character references (if possible).


Employers and professors who know you
and your work are the best references.
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Reference Page
Include:

Dr. Mary Smith
Business Department
Faculty
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 555-1212
Name, Title
Addresses, and Phone Numbers of your
References.
Always ask permission before you
include any information on your reference
sheet.

Consider giving your references a copy
of your resume so they will be prepared to
talk to employers.
Use the same Heading as your
Resume!


www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Resume/Job Resources
http://susanireland.com/: Resume and
Cover
Letter samples and guidelines
Www.twitter.com/nvcareercenter
Www.myinterfase.com/napavalley.edu
Resume Templates:
http://www.collegegrad.com/resumes/quickstart/t
e
mplate.shtml
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Resume Workshop
Thank you for your time and
Good Luck on your Career
Journey!
Edward Beanes
Career Center Job Development Specialist
Napa Valley College Career Center
(707) 253.3050
Fx (707)253.3089
ebeanes@napavalley.edu
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student
Napa Valley College Career
Center Services
Good Luck..GO DUCKS!
www.myinterfase.com/napavalley/student