Resume
Who needs a resume?
Why do we need a resume?
How in the world do you write a resume?
How can your resume stand out positively?
How do I start?
DO NOT USE A
TEMPLATE!!!!!!
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I repeat – do not use a template for your
resume, even as a starter. It is much easier
to start from scratch and make your own.
Trust me on this one!!!!!!! A Template is
like the kiss of death.
• Contact information
• Education
• Experience
• Change with every job
for which you apply!!!!!
• References – although these can be attached on
a separate sheet.
• Note: Please DO NOT put
“References available upon request”!!!!!!!
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Objective
Memberships
Volunteerism
Certifications
Hobbies/interests
Others????? List them with me
Contact Information
• Name must be largest print on page
• Centered is nice, but not required
• Address, list both permanent and college, if
applicable
• Telephone, cell and home – * second most
important piece of info
• Email, make sure it is professional
sounding, oh, and make sure you check it
Contact info example
Elizabeth Grimm
3255 Pontaluna Road
Fruitport MI 49415
231-865-3101
Cell: 231-123-1234
egrimm@fruitportschools.net
Which comes first: education or
experience?
Depends on what is required for the job. If a
degree or some level of specific education is
absolutely, unequivically required, then list
it first. If not, then go with experience.
Education
• Most recent to least recent
• Highest level attempted goes first
• List date of degree completion, even if in
future
• No need for location of school unless very
obscure or out of local area
• Don’t list anything lower than HS, leave HS
off when have college degree unless very
applicable
Education Example
Central Michigan University
Bachelor of Science in Business 2008
Muskegon Community College
Associate’s Degree
2006
Obscure Education Example
College of Grimm
Graveyard, Iowa
Bachelor of Science in Business 2008
Grimm Community College
Rachael, Arkansas
Associate’s Degree
2006
High School Only (so far)
Example
Fruitport High School
College Prep Classes
AP Physics
AP Chemistry
Architecture
Spanish
2011
High School another
Fruitport High School
Extra curriculars:
Woods I & II
Strength and Speed
Ceramics
Drama I
2011
One more HS Example
Muskegon Career Technical Center 2011
Auto Cad
Fruitport High School
2011
Architecture
Drafting
Woods I
Experience
• List most recent (or current) to least recent
• List everything if you are less experienced,
almost all jobs show some type of skill you
have acquired even if it is not directly
related to that field
• List company name
• List job title
• List dates (only month and year, maybe just
years)
More Experience
• If concurrent, put one you worked the
longest
Ex.
Red Lobster
2008 - Present
Hostess
Meijer
2009 – Present
Greeter
More Experience
• Highest paying to lowest paying
is completely concurrent
• It is not required to list the description of
what you did at the job, but you may,
depending on if you already have a lot to
put on your resume, if the job is reasonably
self-explanatory, and if it will help you
specifically get the job for which you are
currently applying
Experience Example
Grimm Company
2008 – Present
Customer Service
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Manage 14 hourly employees
Answer phones
Type letters
Compose customer complaint reports
Create schedule for hourly employees
Another Example
McDonalds Restaurant
Crew Leader
The Muskegon Chronicle
Newspaper Carrier
North Pole
Sundae Artist
2004 – Present
2001 – Present
2002 – 2004
References
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Name of person who can say good things
Company where s/he works
Title of reference
Address
Phone - use business unless know only
personally
• Email address, if available
• list at least 3
• Ask them FIRST before listing them
More references stuff
• Not a relative (unless worked for and ONLY option)
• Should have done some type of work for this person
• Person should be able to talk about your professional
and/or personal qualities
• Should NOT be religious leader unless you have
volunteered or worked with him/her
• Not a friend’s parent unless you have volunteered or
worked for him/her
• Call and apprize him/her if you are applying for a
specific job where you think he/she might be called.
More Reference Info
Reference options for HS students
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Teachers
Coaches
Counselor(s)
Principal(s)
Administrative Aides
Advisors
• Employers
• Youth group leaders
• People in charge
where you volunteer
One last very important thing
about references
Make sure you ask them specifically
if they can say positive things about
you.
Reference Examples
Elizabeth Grimm
Fruitport High School
English Teacher
3255 Pontaluna Ave
Fruitport, MI 49415
231-865-3101 extension 2143
egrimm@fruitportschools.net
Jim Teacher
Fruitport High School
Soccer Coach
3255 Pontaluna Ave
Fruitport, MI 49415
231-865-3101 ext 1234
jteacher@fruitportschools.net
Mia Boss
Zuppy’s Hardware Store
Owner
1234 Little Street
Anytown, MI 12345
198-765-4321
Pastor Gee Zusfreak
Cross Church
Youth Pastor
1234 Pearly Gates
Heaven, Universe 01230
123-456-7891
Onewithgod@heavenly.com
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Not everyone needs or wants an objective
Should be short
Should be specific
Should include what you honestly want
Relate to the specific job for which you’re
applying
Objective Examples
Objective: To obtain a challenging human
resources position in a fast-paced Fortune
500 company in a large city
Objective: To utilize my skills successfully in
a small, growing, local company in the
customer service industry.
Memberships
• Most current to least current OR in order of
importance to the job for which you are
applying
• Related to job or demonstrate skill
• List any positions held
Memberships Example
National Honor Society
Secretary
Science Olympiad
Mouse Trap
Equestrian Club
2004 – Present
2003 – 2005
2001 – Present
Volunteering
• Same as memberships, kind of
• You probably have a ton more than you
actually know
• Do this in a small group, if possible, and
you may be amazed at what you’ve done
that you’ve forgotten about or didn’t think
of as a volunteer project!
Volunteering Example
Aaron’s Walk
2009 - Present
Raise money for A-T research
Red Cross
2008 - Present
Regular Blood Donor
Betty Smith
2010
Shoveled Walk
Resume Extras
Yup, there’s more; now we’ve gotta
set your resume apart from the
templates and get your resume
noticed in a positive way!
Are you kidding? What more?
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White space
Font style
Bullets
Font size
Headings
Bold
Italics
Watermarks
EDITING
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Underlining
Consistency
Symmetry
Pics
Priority sizing
Symbols
Verbs
Borders
EDITING (yes, it’s on
here twice!!)
White Space
What’s that?
White space is…
• the open area of an ad, and white space is
important to your resume. Open up the
newspaper, and take note of which ads first
catch your eye. Are they the ads that are
jammed full of text and pictures, or are they
ads that have a large amount of unused
space? This is done to grab your attention as
you are always attracted to open areas. For
this reason, don't worry if you are having a
hard time filling the page with text; increase
your line spacing to compensate – this will
increase the white space – and really, that’s a
good thing.
Ode to White Space
Girls just wanna have font..
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Font
Font
Font
Font
Font
• Font
• Font
• Font
• Font
• Font
• Font
• Font
• Font
• Font
No font for girls! (or guys!)
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Stick to one or two fonts
Are your fonts clear
Are your fonts easy to read
Do your fonts say something about you?
Are your fonts advertised in the LARGE
PRINT section?
• Do your fonts highlight your priorities?
Acceptable Fonts
Stick with serif fonts (serif means tails) or sans serif
fonts ( without tails)
• Times New Roman
• Arial
• Bell MT
• Century Gothic
• Bodoni
• Franklin Gothic
• Courier NEW
• Gill Sans
• Garamond
• Lucinda Sans
• Georgia
• Tahoma
• Goudy Old Style
• Trebuchet
• Verdana
Bullets? Yeah, Bullets.
• Use them
– use of bullets was the 2nd-highest ranked resume
organization preference by employers
– Use bullets consistently
– Use maybe 5-10 bullets on selling-points
– No decorative bullets, just functional ones
– following each bullet, use strong verbs and
a descriptor
Bold, Italics, and all that Stuff
• Limit use
• Be consistent (get it, I wasn‘t consistent)
• Bold Name and Contact info
• Center when possible
Font Size
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- yup it matters.
Stay around size 12 font
No smaller than 11
Limit yourself to two fonts
Use of all caps can be a third “type” of font
Name and phone size 14-16
Headings
• Be consistent in font, size and style, caps,
underlining, bold, etc…
• Make sure that they are out-dented equally
• Give white space around the heading
• Limit to no more than 8 headings
Symmetry
• What is beauty? Research has proven that
the number ONE answer to that question
that has stood the test of time is
SYMMETRY. Yes, symmetry. Why
would beautiful resumes be any different?
Make them symmetrical, please.
So what’s THAT mean?
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Balance
Portionality
Harmony
Aesthetically pleasing equality on two sides
Regularity of form
Reciprocity of form
Excellence of proportion
Centering
Consistency
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Use the same bullets
Use the same type font in two diff. sizes
Use the same “types” of headings
Use equal spacing on both sides of the
paper
• Center or full justify when possible
Symbols
• Use them – for example
– Bad: 30 percent
– Good: 30%
– Bad: Managed fifteen accounts worth fifty-five
million
– Good: Managed 15 accounts worth 55MM
Verbs – gotta love em’!!
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Determined
Developed
Devised
Diagnosed
Differentiated
Diffused
Directed
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Minimized
Mobilized
Modeled
Moderated
Modernized
Modified
Molded
– Just to name a few!
Abated
Abbreviated
Abolished
Abridged
Absolved
Absorbed
Accelerated
Accentuated
Accommodated
Accomplished
Accounted for
Accrued
Accumulated
Achieved
Acquiesced
Acquired
Acted
Activated
Active in
Adapted
Added
Addressed
Adjusted
Administered
Adopted
Advanced
Advertised
Advised
Advocated
Affected
Affirmed
Aided
Alerted
Aligned
Allayed
Alleviated
Allocated
Allotted
Altered
Amassed
Amended
Amplified
Analyzed
Answered
Anticipated
Appeased
Applied
Appointed
Appraised
Approached
Approved
Arbitrated
Arranged
Arrested
Articulated
Ascertained
Aspired
Assembled
Assessed
Assigned
Assimilated
Assisted
Assumedresponsibility
Assured
Attained
Attended
Attracted
Audited
Augmented
Authored
Authorized
Automated
Averted
Avoided
Awarded
Balanced
Began
Benchmarked
Benefited
Bid
Billed
Blazed
Blended
Blocked
Bolstered
Boosted
Bought
Branded
Bridged
Briefed
Broadened
Brought
Budgeted
Built
Calculated
Calibrated
Campaigned
Capitalized
Captured
Captured
Cared for
Carried out
Carved
Cataloged
Catalogued
Categorized
Caught
Caused
Cautioned
Cemented
Centralized
Certified
Chaired
Challenged
Championed
Changed
Channeled
Charged
Charted
Checked
Chose
Chronicled
Circulated
Circumvented
Cited
Clarified
Classified
Cleaned
Cleared
Closed
Coached
Coded
Co-directed
Collaborated
Collated
Collected
Co-managed
Combined
Commanded
Commenced
Commended
Commented
Commissioned
Communicated
Compared
Compiled
Complemented
Completed
Composed
Compounded
Computed
Conceived
Concentrated
Conceptualized
Condensed
Conducted
Conferred
Configured
Confronted
Connected
Conserved
Considered
Consolidated
Constructed
Consulted
Consummated
Contacted
Contained
Continued
Contracted
Contributed
Controlled
Converted
Conveyed
Convinced
Cooperated
Coordinated
Copied
Corrected
Correlated
Corresponded
Corroborated
Costed
Counseled
Counted
Created
Critiqued
Crowned
Cultivated
Cured
Customized
Cut
Dealt with
Debated
Debugged
Decided
Decoded
Decreased
Decreased
Dedicated
Defined
Delegated
Delineated
Delivered
Demonstrated
Deployed
Derived
Described
Designated
Designed
Detailed
Detected
Determined
Developed
Devised
Diagnosed
Differentiated
Diffused
Directed
Disbursed
Discovered
Dispatched
Discussed
Dispensed
Dispersed
Displayed
Disposed
Dissected
Disseminated
Dissolved
Distinguished
Distributed
Diversified
Diverted
Divested
Divided
Documented
Doubled
Drafted
Dramatized
Drew up
Drove
Earned
Eased
Economized
Edited
Educated
Effected
Elaborated
Elected
Elevated
Elicited
Eliminated
Embraced
Emphasized
Employed
Empowered
Enabled
Enacted
Encouraged
Ended
Endorsed
Energized
Enforced
Engaged
Engineered
Enhanced
Enlarged
Enlisted
Enriched
Enrolled
Ensured
Entered
Entertained
Enticed
Equipped
Established
Estimated
Evaluated
Examined
Exceeded
Executed
Exercised
Exhibited
Expanded
Expedited
Experienced
Experimented
Explained
Explored
Expressed
Extended
Extracted
Fabricated
Facilitated
Factored
Familiarized
Fashioned
Fielded
Filed
Filled
Finalized
Financed
Fine-tuned
Finished
Fixed
Focused
Followed
Forecast
Forecasted
Forged
Formalized
Formed
Formulated
Fortified
Forwarded
Fostered
Fought
Found
Founded
Framed
Fulfilled
Functioned as
Funded
Furnished
Furthered
Gained
Garnered
Gathered
Gauged
Gave
Generated
Governed
Graded
Graduated
Granted
Grasped
Greeted
Grew
Grouped
Guaranteed
Guided
Halted
Halved
Handled
Harmonized
Harnessed
Headed
Headed
Heightened
Held
Helped
Hired
Honed
Hosted
Hypnotized
Hypothesized
Identified
Ignited
Illustrated
Imagined
Implemented
Imported
Impressed
Improved
Improvised
Incited
Included
Incorporated
Increased
Indexed
Indicated
Individualized
Indoctrinated
Induced
Influenced
Informed
Infused
Initiated
Innovated
Inspected
Inspired
Installed
Instigated
Instilled
Instituted
Instructed
Insured
Integrated
Intensified
Interacted
Interceded
Interpreted
Intervened
Interviewed
Introduced
Invented
Inventoried
Invested
Investigated
Invigorated
Invited
Involved
Isolated
Issued
Itemized
Joined
Judged
Justified
Kept
Launched
Lead
Learned
Leased
Lectured
Led
Lessened
Leveraged
Liaised
Licensed
Lifted
Limited
Linked
Liquidated
Listed
Listened
Litigated
Loaded
Located
Logged
Machined
Made
Magnified
Maintained
Managed
Mandated
Maneuvered
Manipulated
Manufactured
Mapped
Marked
Marketed
Mastered
Matched
Maximized
Measured
Mediated
Memorized
Mentored
Merged
Merited
Met
Met with
Minimized
Mobilized
Modeled
Moderated
Modernized
Modified
Molded
Monitored
Motivated
Mounted
Moved
Named
Narrated
Navigated
Negated
Negotiated
Netted
Neutralized
Nominated
Notified
Nurtured
Observed
Obtained
Offered
Officiated
Offset
Opened
Operated
Optimized
Orchestrated
Ordered
Organized
Oriented
Originated
Outdistanced
Outlined
Outperformed
Overcame
Overhauled
Oversaw
Owned
Paced
Packaged
Packed
Pared
Participated
Partnered
Passed
Penetrated
Perceived
Perfected
Performed
Persuaded
Photographed
Piloted
Pinpointed
Pioneered
Placed
Planned
Played
Praised
Predicted
Prepared
Prescribed
Presented
Preserved
Presided
Prevailed
Prevented
Printed
Prioritized
Processed
Procured
Produced
Profiled
Programmed
Progressed
Prohibited
Projected
Promoted
Proofread
Proposed
Protected
Proved
Provided
Pruned
Publicized
Published
Purchased
Pursued
Quadrupled
Qualified
Quantified
Queried
Questioned
Quoted
Raised
Rallied
Ran
Ranked
Rated
Reached
Read
Realigned
Realized
Rearranged
Reasoned
Rebuilt
Received
Recognized
Recommended
Reconciled
Reconstructed
Recorded
Recovered
Recruited
Rectified
Redesigned
Redirected
Reduced
Re-engineered
Referred
Refocused
Registered
Regulated
Rehabilitated
Reinforced
Reiterated
Related
Released
Relied
Relieved
Remained
Remodeled
Rendered
Renegotiated
Renewed
Reorganized
Repair
Repaired
Replaced
Replicated
Replied
Replied
Reported
Represented
Reproduced
Reputed
Requested
Researched
Reserved
Resolved
Responded
Restored
Restructured
Retained
Retooled
Retrieved
Returned
Revamped
Reversed
Reviewed
Revised
Revitalized
Revolutionize
d
Rewarded
Risked
Rotated
Roused
Routed
Safeguarded
Salvaged
Saved
Scanned
Scheduled
Screened
Sculptured
Searched
Secured
Seized
Selected
Sent
Separated
Sequenced
Served
Serviced
Set
Set goals
Settled
Setup
Shaped
Shared
Sharpened
Shipped
Shortened
Showed
Signed
Simplified
Simulated
Sketched
Slashed
Smoothed
Sold
Solicited
Solidified
Solved
Sorted
Sought
Sourced
Sparked
Spearheaded
Specialized
Specified
Speculated
Spent
Spoke
Sponsored
Spurred
Staffed
Standardized
Started
Steered
Stimulated
Stored
Streamlined
Strengthened
Stressed
Stretched
Structured
Studied
Submitted
Substituted
Succeeded
Suggested
Summarized
Superseded
Supervised
Supplemented
Supplied
Supported
Surpassed
Surveyed
Swayed
Swept
Symbolized
Synchronized
Synergized
Synthesized
Systematized
Tabulated
Tackled
Talked
Tallied
Targeted
Tasted
Taught
Teamed
Tempered
Tended
Terminated
Tested
Testified
Tied
Tightened
Took
Took over
Topped
Totaled
Toured
Traced
Tracked
Traded
Trained
Transcribed
Transferred
Transformed
Transitioned
Translated
Transmitted
Transported
Traveled
Treated
Triggered
Trimmed
Tripled
Triumphed
Troubleshot
Turned
Tutored
Typed
Umpired
Uncovered
Underlined
Underscored
Understood
Understudied
Undertook
Underwent
Underwrote
Unearthed
Unearthed
Unified
United
Unraveled
Updated
Upgraded
Upheld
Urged
Used
Utilized
Validate
Validated
Valued
Vaulted
Verbalized
Verified
Viewed
Visited
Visualized
Vitalized
Voiced
Volunteered
Waged
Weathered
Weighed
Widened
Withstood
Won
Worked
Wove
Wrote
Yielded
Verbs – yes more on them
• Write what you did, then turn to the verb
list and find a more distinct, vivid verb for
the action you performed
• Add these descriptors to your job titles or
memberships, etc…
• Make sure you have no duplicates
EDIT EDIT EDIT!!!
•NO
ERRORS
ALLOWED
• Have
multiple
people read
your resume
for errors
Watermarks and Borders
• Optional, depends on career and specific
business
• On resume or cover letter (water mark could
be logo from business where you are
applying)
• The border is a taste thing – you decide if it
looks good
• Keep both simple, please
This is what a watermark looks
like UNDER your words on your
resume
Personal Touch
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Be creative
Add something unique (but not weird!)
Use a border
Use textured paper
Make the watermark the logo to the
company to which you’re applying
• What else can you think of?
Best thing EVER to do?
Hyperlink your resume!
See Mrs. Grimm for details.
It’s legit!