E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
September 11, 2014

•
•
There will be 55 million job openings through 2020
24 million new jobs
31 million due to baby boom retirements
35% of job openings will require a bachelor’s degree
Fastest Growing Industries - STEM, Healthcare Professions,
Healthcare Support and Community Services
• Will require high levels of post-secondary education
• The U.S. will fall short by 5 million workers with postsecondary educations by 2020 at the current production rate

Purpose
• Serves as your initial contact with employers
• Emphasize your strong points
• Express Uniqueness & individuality
• Most Importantly….to get an interview!
Employers spend less than 15 seconds on a resume before making a decision

• E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
• Traditional/Chronological – The resume that most students should have upon finishing undergraduate education.
• Functional – Focuses on skills and abilities rather than work history. Great for those entering a new field or for individuals with gaps in their work history
• Combination

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
Tips from “The Interview Guys”

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
Resume Sections
• Heading (contact information)
• Summary or Profile
• Certifications (Dependent upon your field)
• Education
• Related Work Experience
• Interactive Field Experience (Internships)
• Other Work Experience (Employment Highlights)
• Skills
• Organizational Experience
• Honors/Awards

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
Heading
• Name: Size 18/20 font, bold.
• Address
• Phone number
• Email and LinkedIn
 Call yourself. Listen to your voicemail greeting.
Does it state your first and last name?
 Is your email address professional?

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
S u m m a r y / P ro f i l e
• Becoming increasingly popular/preferred. Replacing objective statement
• Replaces the “this is what I want” objective statement with a “this is the value that I offer” branding statement
How Do I Form a Profile Statement?
• Your abilities
• Your character
• Reference the company and the position

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
E xa m p l e Re s u m e P ro f i l e
Profile Summary
Dedicated, resourceful, and goal-driven professional educator with a solid commitment to the social and academic growth and development of every child. Possess the knowledge and training needed to fill the vacant teaching position at “X” High
School.

C e r t i f i c at i o n
List all certifications and when you expect to, or have received them
Example:
PA Secondary Education Certificate (Type X)
ServSafe Certified
Expected July 2014
December 2012

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
Ed u c at i o n
• State proper name of degree. What will it state on your diploma?
o Incorrect: B.S. in Business o Correct: Bachelor of Science in Business Management
• State full name of institution o Incorrect: ESU o Correct: East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
• Be sure to list minors and concentrations
• GPA?
• Expected graduation date
• Should I list “Related Coursework” underneath the Education heading?

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
Work Experience
• Alternate names: “Relevant Work Experience” “Experience”
“Professional Experience”
• Full company name, city, state and dates employed
• Complete job title
• Reverse chronological order
• Action verbs (strong vs. weak verbs)
• Quantify and Specify!

• E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
Clothing Company, East Stroudsburg, PA June 2013-September 2014
Customer Service/Sales Representative
• Talked to customers
• Cash register
• Stocked shelves
OR….
Clothing Company, East Stroudsburg, PA June 2013-September 2014
Customer Service/Sales Representative
• Proactively acknowledged, greeted and assisted customers in the store
• Built and maintained internal and external customer satisfaction
• Repeatedly met monthly sales goal of $10,000

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
Re l ate d E x p e r i e n c e C o nt .
The Power of “How”
“It’s one thing to say you CAN do something, which isn’t very impressive. It is another to say you did something, which is better. But when you use each bullet point to say
HOW you achieved something, you make your story complete and thereby elevate it to a higher level.” (Arnie Fertig, Career Coach and blogger for US News & World Report)
Poor: • Capable of creating and teaching safety programs on a variety of topics
Better: • Created 12 safety and environmental programs, dealing with A, B, and C.
Wow: • Created monthly safety topic; scheduled and taught training sessions for
82 unionized field technicians in 4 regional locations”
• Developed and administered end-of-training tests to demonstrate the level of understanding of materials covered by employees
• Utilized test results in construction of follow-up classes and resources

• E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
• One of the most important sections of your resume
• What can you do for me?
• Essential to customize these to be worded as closely as possible to the way they are in the job description

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
Re m a i n i n g H e a d i n g s
• Interactive Field Experience / Internships: Practicum, tutoring, internships
• Other Work Experience: Usually not related (or less related) to the area of employment you are seeking. Highlight main accomplishments
• Organizational Experience/Professional Affiliations: Emphasize leadership roles
(ACSM, NSCA)
• Clubs/Activities
• Awards/Honors
• References? Do they go on a resume?

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
What’s wrong with this resume?
1. Heading?
2. Objective?
3. Education?
4. Bulleted points?
5. Action Verbs?
6. Hobbies?

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
B efo re Yo u B e g i n
• Should I use a template?
• What font should I use?
• Different types of resumes—which is widely preferred?
• What should the layout look like?
• What should I name the document when I save it?
• Can it be 2 pages?
• Check all your social networking sites you belong to. Do you portray a professional image? Employers WILL look for you. If not, make some changes before you post your resume anywhere.

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development & Student Success
Top 10 Resume Pet Peeves of Hiring Managers/Recruiters
1. Spelling errors and poor grammar
2. Too duty-oriented—don’t reiterate the company job description, highlight accomplishments
3. Inaccurate dates, or none at all
4. Inaccurate or missing contact information
5. Poor formatting (typefaces, shading, colors)
6. Functional resumes
7. Extra long resumes and long paragraphs
8. Unqualified candidates
9. Personal information unrelated to job
10.Tenses

1. You made a mistake on your contact information
2. You provided your marital status, health, or religious preference
3. Your email address is cute (i.e. skibum@yahoo.com
)
4. The phone number you provided is not answered by you
5. Proofread your resume

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development Center
C o ve r L e tte r
• ALWAYS include a cover letter – 1 page only
• Must be customized with each job – start fresh each time you write a letter
‒ Explore recent news articles and websites for ideas
• Make it unique, catch the reader’s eye – What is unique about you?
• Illustrate you have researched the company
• Try to obtain the name of the hiring manager that will be reviewing resumes – Address it to the right person
• Signature?

Perfect Fit Cover Letters
A Memorable Opener
Poor – Please accept this in response to the (positions) advertised on month day, year.
Better – With more than X years of Secondary Education experience, I am a dedicated, resourceful and goal-driven professional educator with a solid commitment to the social and academic growth and development of every child.
Facts that Support Requirements
• How can you meet their hiring needs based on requirements
• Do not use bullet points or information from your resume. Use fresh information
• Use performance statements
• Don’t list responsibilities of previous jobs, demonstrate outcomes (i.e. consistently recognized for delivering quality results…
• Only detail specific technical skills

Perfect Fit Cover Letters
Details are Important
• Cover letter heading should match your resume
• Include a branding statement with your header
• Include a quote from a former employer
Close with Contact
• Offer to follow-up via phone, email etc… and within a specific timeframe
• Include your contact information
• Professional polished and concise
I’m very interested in the teaching opportunity and confident that I can deliver a solid commitment to the social and academic growth and development of every child. I will call next week to arrange a time to meet so we can discuss my abilities to surpass your expectations.

RESERVE YOUR
SPOT NOW!
Attend 5 sessions and you’re entered for a chance to WIN a Brooks Brothers gift certificate!

RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW!
Attend 5 sessions and you’re entered for a chance to WIN a
Brooks Brothers gift certificate!

RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW!
Attend 5 sessions and you’re entered for a chance to WIN a
Brooks Brothers gift certificate!

November 8th
EVOLVE – College to Careers
In order to help graduating seniors prepare for the next step, the Career
Development Center invites all graduating seniors for a program designed to help them make the most of their spring term and prepare for life after college. Seniors will be informed of best practices on how to increase their chances of success during an interview, money management and transitioning to a new community. Become
informed of what soon to expect in life after graduation.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Warriorcareers.esu.edu

Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:30
Tuesday 8:00 am – 6:30 pm pm
Drop in: Wed & Thurs 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Located on the TOP FLOOR University Center

• “Like” ESU Career Development Center on
Facebook
• “Follow” us on Twitter
• WIN PRIZES!

Thank you to our co-sponsors for this event:
Chi Upsilon Sigma
&
Delta Chi!

E A S T S T R O U D S B U R G U N I V E R S I T Y
Career Development & Student Success
Hernandez, Jessica "How to Make Your Cover Letter A Perfect Fit for Any Job
Opening." Careerealism. Careerealism, 2 may 2013. Web. 3 Sep 2013.
<www.careerealism.com>.
"5 Easy Tips to Make Your Cover Letter Stand Out."Careerealism. Careerealism,
08 Aug 2013. Web. 3 Sep 2013. <www.careerealsim.com>.
Schinger, Robin. "5 Things to Fix Before Your Resume Leaves Your
Desk." Careerealism.com. Careerealism, 20 Aug 2013. Web. 3 Sep 2013.
<www.careerealism.com>.
“Recovery 2020” Center On Education and the Workforce. Georgetown
University . 09 Sept 2013. <csw.georgetown.edu/recovery 2020.