Resume Basics
Joette Stefl-Mabry, Ph.D.
September 19th, 2006
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Presentation Highlights
• Resume Formats
– The Functional Format
– The Combination Format
– Customizing Formats to Highlight Your Strengths
• Details that Matter: Your Resume from Top to
Bottom: Crafting Language and Style
• Effective Resume Design
– Designs that Communicate
– Type Styles and Sizes
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Chronological Format
Most traditional and still most popular
– Your name and contact information – address, phone, cell
phone, email, etc.
– The headline—either your job objective, a summary of your
background & skills or both
– Your work experience—listing each job you’ve had, starting with
your current or most recent position, with a description of each
– Your educational background
– Other information
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Personal interests and activities
Certifications and licenses
Honors and awards
Professional organizations
Speeches and publications
Language Skills
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Functional Format
Second most popular resume style. Deemphasizes chronology in favor of a focus
on skills (talents, knowledge, and personal
qualities you offer).
Usually organized by job function:
• marketing,
• leadership,
• administration,
• technical procedures, etc.
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Functional Sequence
• Your name and contact information – address, phone,
cell phone, email, etc.
• The headline—either your job objective, a summary of
your background and skills, or both
• Your job skills, listed under a heading such as “Profile,”
“Professional Skills,” “Notable Accomplishments,” etc.
• A brief summary of your work experience—starting with
your current or most recent position, but with little or no
description
• Your educational background
• Other information, if relevant: personal interests and
activities, certifications and licenses, honors and awards,
professional organizations, speeches and publications,
and language skills
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Functional Resume Opportunities
• Allows you to group accomplishments by
functional area rather than by job.
• Makes it easier for you to suggest how
skills from one field or industry can be
transferred to another.
• It de-emphasizes chronology and career
progression in favor of the package of
skills and knowledge you currently have to
offer.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Functional Resumes
Are most popular among:
• Recent graduates or those returning to the work
force who need to highlight the skills and
experience gained in volunteer, part-time, or
other informal types of work.
• Career changers who need to show how their
skills from one industry and be applied to
another.
• Those with irregular career patterns, including
periods of unemployment or self-employment, or
job shifts that appear to be steps backward or
sideways rather than “forward.”
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Combination Format
• Your name and contact information—address, phone,
etc.
• The headline—either your job objective, a summary of
your background and skills, or both
• Your job skills, listed under a heading such as “Profile,”
“Professional Skills,” or “Notable Accomplishments”
• Your work experience—listing each job you’ve had,
starting with your current or most recent position, with a
description of each
• Your educational background
• Other information, if relevant, including personal
interests and activities, certifications and licenses,
honors and awards, professional organizations,
speeches and publications, and language skills.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Advantages/Disadvantages of Combo
• It allows you to highlight skills that your next
employer is seeking and to demonstrate the
logical progression of your career from one job
to the next.
• Its relative complexity may make it hard to
absorb, demanding significant attention and
energy on the part of a reader.
• It may appear repetitive, since some of the same
accomplishments and credentials may need to
be mentioned in both the skills-summary and the
work-experience sections of the resume.
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Choose Chronological *If*
• Your career progression is clear and logical and
seems to lead naturally to your great next job.
• The skills and knowledge you’ve developed and
used in your recent positions will be readily
apparent and understandable to any prospective
employer.
• Your recent employers and/or job titles are the
single most impressive credential you have to
offer.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Consider Functional *If*
• Your career progression includes time
gaps, steps backward or sideways, or
detours into unrelated businesses.
• You’re a recent grad, someone reentering
the work force, or a career changer.
• You’ve developed an impressive array of
skills in a series of seemingly irrelevant or
unimpressive jobs.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Consider the Combination *If*
• Your career progression includes both powerful
elements (such as a great company or title) and
apparent weaknesses.
• The link between your recent positions and the
great next job you seek is real but less than
obvious.
• You have both valuable skills and impressive
career experiences to offer as credentials.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Each of the three classic formats
can and should be customized to
show off YOUR credentials to the
best advantage.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Customizing Formats to Highlight
YOUR Strengths
• Rearrange the sequence of sections to bring
forward an area of strength -- push back an area
of weakness.
• Expand the coverage of a strength and reduce
the coverage of a weakness—or even eliminate
it altogether.
• Use typographic highlighting (bullets, capital
letters, bold face, italic style, or a larger font) to
emphasize key strengths.
• Insert an unusual or unique resume heading to
emphasize an area of strength.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Words that SHOUT: “HIRE ME!”
A resume is an advertisement for YOU –
designed to highlight your strengths as an
employee and to entice a recruiter into
interviewing you.
The ultimate purpose is to get a job offer – but
its immediate purpose is to get the reader to
take the next step on the road to hiring you (to
call you and schedule an interview).
You are in an intensely competitive environment
– millions of resumes are in circulation and the
recruiting office you apply to probably sorts
through thousands.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Crafting Language and Style
To excite, impress, and entice the reader.
• Sell benefits, not features
– A feature is any positive quality of a product or
service.
– A benefit is what the feature can do for you.
– Describing benefits answers the consumer’s
“So what?” question; they explain why the
feature is important and valuable and what
good the “consumer” will get from it.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Feature/Benefit Examples
• Feature: Reorganized sales and marketing department
at Acme Company
• Benefit: Reorganized sales and marketing department
at Acme Company, cutting expenses by 30% while
doubling sales in two years.
• Feature: Managed development of tools for measuring
divisional quality performance.
• Benefit: Managed development of quality production
cost overruns by more than $200,000.
• Feature: Designed and implemented in-service training
program to instruct teachers on recognizing signs of
child-abuse in students.
• Benefit: Designed and implemented teacher training
program on child abuse that helped staff successfully
resolve three abuse cases in a six-month period with no
legal liability.
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Turn Lemons Into Lemonade
• Turn a negative into a positive by “reframing” it –
place it into a different context or “frame”.
• This is a crucial skill for any job seeker whose
background contains something that could be
viewed as a “problem” – which includes almost
everyone!
• Emphasize the positive (or at least neutral) side
of almost every career experience you’ve had.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Word Spin
• Use active words
– Weak: Was a leader of a product
development team that was able to complete
its projects in less time than scheduled.
– Powerful: Led a product development team
that consistently beat project completion
schedules.
– Typically, verbs that are forms of the verb to
be are less compelling and forceful than other
verbs-and deserve to be discarded/avoided.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
BE CONCISE!
• Concise comes from a Latin word that means “to
cut,” and for most people conciseness in writing
is achieved only through cutting-figuratively, that
is.
• After drafting your resume - trim, prune,
condense, and cut.
• Remember most recruiters and employers only
can afford to spend seconds on an initial scan of
the average resume, therefore…
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Things to Avoid
• A resume that appears wordy, difficult, or timeconsuming to read.
• When needless words, phrases, and sentences
or unhelpful details festoon a resume, this
increases the chance that important compelling
ideas will be “lost.”
• A verbose resume is likely to convey an image of
the job seeker as inefficient, time-wasting, or
self-important—impressions that can only hurt
your chances for an interview.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
One-Page Myth
• If your background and skills, and
qualifications are such that two pages are
needed to describe them, that’s fine.
• No recruiter or employer will reject your
resume because it goes to two pages.
• Here are some ground rules to consider:
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Resume Length
• If you’re a recent graduate or otherwise seeking
your first “real” job, stick to a single page.
• If your resume runs lightly over one page, try
altering the style and format to trim it back.
• One and a half pages is more appealing than
two solid pages.
• Avoid stretching onto a third page.
• If a lengthy list of special details is essential
consider treating it as an addendum rather than
as part of the resume proper.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Addendum Examples
• A list of scholarly articles or other writings related
to your field of work.
• Speeches, seminars, or presentations you’ve
given in your career field.
• A list of clients or projects you’ve handled.
• A list of jobs you’ve successfully managed.
• A list of films, recordings, software programs, or
other works you’ve helped to create.
• Exception: In academia, the longer CV
(Curriculum Vitae) is usually appropriate.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Delete
• Pronouns and articles (I, we, he she, they, me,
my them, and their – a, an, and the).
• Needless words and phrases – instead try to use
a single effective verb.
• Avoid “hidden redundancy” – when a word or
phrase needlessly repeats an idea that is clearly
implied elsewhere in the sentence:
Currently ranked as the company's top sales
producer in the country.
• The words “ranked as” are unnecessary – as is
“currently”.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
The Devil is in the Details
• Name and Contact Information
– Give your name in the form you most often use. The resume is
NOT a legal document, if you don’t usually use a middle initial or
name – don’t.
– Positively consider a nickname if your name is long and
unfamiliar to most Americans. Although I have some issue w/this
recommendation –the objective is to eliminate any awkwardness
for the interviewer who may feel embarrassed over not knowing
how to pronounce your name.
– Honorifics such as “Mr.,” “Miss,” “Mrs.,” and “Ms.” are not
necessary and should be omitted from your name on your
resume. If you have a “unisex” name – Kim, Sam, Jean – try to
consider adding “Mr.” or “Ms.” so that the interviewer doesn’t
guess wrong.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Contact Information
• Home address: give a street address instead of (or in
addition to ) a P.O. Box Number.
• If you are moving or dividing your time between two
residences, give both addresses with dates.
• If you are located outside the U.S.A., make the contact
data crystal clear.
• Consider adding a line under your phone number such
as (5 hours earlier than EST) if such is the case.
• Remember the idea is to make life as easy as possible
for the recruiter to contact you.
• If possible include fax number and e-mail address
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
WORK EXPERIENCE or PROFESSIONAL
HISTORY or CAREER TRACK
• Omit obvious qualifiers such as “challenging”
and “responsible”.
• Dates Employed
– Provide starting and ending dates, giving either the
month or year or simply the year:
• March, 1992-July, 1995
• 1992-1995
• Company Name and Location
– Give full, formal name.
– Usually you can omit street addresses and similar
details.
– If you worked at two or more locations list both
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Title Held Options
Option 1
1999-2003 Mammoth Chemicals, Inc., Princeton, N.J.
Research assistant, associate research coordinator, senior research
coordinator.
Option 2
Mammoth Chemicals, Inc., Princeton, N.J.
1999-2003 Research assistant
2003-2004 Associate research coordinator
2004-2006 Senior research coordinator
Option 3
1999-2003 Mammoth Chemicals, Inc., Princeton, N.J.
Research assistant
2003-2004 Mammoth Chemicals, Inc., Princeton, N.J.
Associate research coordinator
2004-2006 Mammoth Chemicals, Inc., Princeton, N.J.
Senior research coordinator
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Educational Background
• List educational experience in reverse
chronological order, starting with most recent
degree or program and working backward.
• For each listing include name of the school, its
location, the subject(s) you majored in, the
degree you earned, and the date of that degree.
• Only include H.S. if that’s your highest level of
education or if it’s a “specialized” high school –
i.e., Bronx Science, High School of Music and
the Performing Arts, etc.
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“Education” Defined Broadly
• College and graduate degrees
• Continuing education programs
• On-the-job seminars, workshops, and training
programs
• College or university classes that you audited or
attended on a not-for-credit basis
• Classes for professional certification or licensing
• Long-distance, Internet, or correspondence
school programs
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Education Ages
In technical fields computing education
that is five years old is probably no longer
relevant and can be safely omitted. If
you’ve been out of school for ten years or
more, you should limit the details you
given about your college education; the
name and location of the school and the
degree earned will suffice.
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Include
• Honors that reflect academic excellence or other
outstanding achievements (member, Phi Beta
Kappa, class valedictorian, elected president of
student body, perfect 4.0 grade point average,
portion of master’s thesis published in Journal of
Comparative Literature (June 1996).
• Be selective!
• If your degree is irrelevant, de-emphasize the
field.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Personal Interests and Activities
• Activities should suggest positive personality
traits: intelligence and analytical skills; physical
and mental discipline; leadership;
communication skills; creativity; or social and
civic concern
• The activities should be coupled with
achievements of some kind.
• The activities should be interesting, unusual, or
surprising in a positive way.
• The activities should not be controversial from
any mainstream political, ethical, or religious
point of view.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Include If Relevant otherwise Omit
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•
•
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Certifications and licenses
Honors and awards – IF they are relevant
Professional organizations
Speeches, presentations, publications
Language skills
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
DO NOT INCLUDE PERSONAL DATA!
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•
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Age
Marital status
Number of children
Health status
All can trigger the prejudice of recruiters. And it’s
illegal for employers to consider any in making
a hiring decision.
• Don’t mention salary history
• References are only provided AFTER a
successful interview.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Resume Design
• Be pleasant and easy to read
• Contain sections that are clearly separated
from each other
• Visually highlight the most important
elements of your background
• Capture key concepts in concise, easy-tograsp paragraphs
• Convey your strengths as a job candidate
in as single glance.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Design Considerations
• Mix and Match Fonts – Spend Time on Design
– Distinguish between your resume’s body text and the
headings (section titles and your name at the top –
use different styles).
– Pick one font for the body text and use it consistently
throughout.
– Consider using a serif font for the body text and either
a serif or sans serif font for the headings.
– Use bold face, italic, and SMALL CAPS variations of your
body text for headings.
– Avoid underlining, which often text that is difficult to
read.
– Try using bold face to highlight key words (such as
impressive company names or dollar amounts linked
to accomplishments.
Copyright Stefl-Mabry, 2006
Choosing Type Sizes
• Begin by formatting the entire resume using 12-point
type
• Set the page margins at one inch (top and bottom) and
1.25 inches (left and right). Use one blank line to
separate resume sections
• Use preview feature to see how the resume will fit into
one or two pages
• If you are using a two-page resume insert your name
and page number at the top of page two. Make sure the
page break at a natural division
• If the resume runs long try reducing the left and right
margins to one inch
• If it still runs long reduce font size to 11
• If still long, look for ways to trim words and phrases
• If still long and you’ve tried everything try using 10-point
font
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Lastly Remember…
• A single typo or spelling error can sink even the bestwritten, best-designed, resume.
• Proofread, proofread, proofread!
• Don’t use an old-fashioned dot-matrix printer
• Choose a paper that appears attractive and is high
quality. Rag content should be about 25% and a weight
of 16 to 25 pounds (buy enough paper for matching
cover letters and envelopes).
• Do not use any background pattern, border or other
printed design.
• It should be either white or faintly off-white.
• Paper should be standard U.S. business size: 81/2 by 11
inches.
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