How To Write A WINNING Resume

NOT put your contact information at the bottom of your resume! Recruiters as well as ATS(Applicant Tracking System) programs prefer your contact information at the top, and may notbother looking for it at the bottom. This is not the place to get original! Nowadays you do not needto include your street address for most professions; city and state are generally sufficient.2. Choose a HEADLINE that states who you are (e.g. Supply Chain Executive, Asset ManagementExecutive, Communications Specialist, VP Finance, Marketing Professional, Music Teacher,Administrative Professional, #1 Ranked Medical Device Sales Leader.) (See Tip #7 for more onhow your headline might look).IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are submitting to online systems where your resume will be read by acomputer, you must put the word SUMMARY before this section so the computers will recognizethe section.3. Under the headline, you might want to write a brief paragraph, preferably no more than 3 lines,describing your most important qualifications and accomplishments (make sure not to use worn-outphrases like “proven track record” and “team player”! (See Appendix C). You might follow thissummary with some bulleted HIGHLIGHTS of your accomplishments. This is called your brandingstatement (for more about how to create a compelling branding/summary statement, see Tip #1).4. If appropriate, write a list of your CORE COMPETENCIES or KEY STRENGTHS or AREASOF EXPERTISE. This can be a bulleted list if you wish, or you may list them with the pipesymbol ( ) or inserted bullets of your choice between them. Use the TAB key to format theseitems.Here’s what the top of a resume might look like taking into account points 1-4:13

5. If you are a recent graduate, you will almost always put your EDUCATION section first. Why?Because it is the most relevant.6. If you have been out of school for some time and have significant work history, yourEXPERIENCE section will come first. (Exception: for academic positions, Education alwayscomes first–and for academia, skip the summaries and headlines at the top!)7. You may then have sections such as TRAININGS & CERTIFICATIONS; PROFESSIONALASSOCIATIONS; VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES; PUBLICATIONS; SKILLS &INTERESTS; ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE; PATENTS; BOARD MEMBERSHIPS; oranything else relevant to who you are.8. Do NOT include References unless specifically requested by the organization. Generally, referencesshould not be on your resume but instead be listed on a separate document, formatted with yourresume header. There is no need for the line “References Available Upon Request” at the bottom ofyour resume. It just takes up space. Companies will always request references when they wantthem!The key: Relevance! Order things specifically for the position you’re applying for, and you won’t gowrong!For sample resume arrangements, see The Essay Expert’s sample resumes.Having trouble organizing your resume? Contact The Essay Expert at Resumes@TheEssayExpert.com of608-467-0067 and speak to one of our Certified Resume Writers!14

SECTION 3Content15

Tip #10Special Issue for New Graduates: Your Education SectionIf you’re a recent graduate, your Education section might be the most important part of your resume. Howwell are you organizing it? Here are some tips to make your Education section easy to read and efficient:1. What should be in bold?Choose what to put in bold by asking what is most important. Is it the degree you received or thename of the school you attended? The most important of these should be in bold.2. Do I need a separate line for my GPA and for each of my honors?If you need to save space, there is no need to put your GPA and honors on separate lines. You cancombine these onto one line, and you can even put them on the same line as your major. How youcombine things will depend on how much room you have on other lines. Here are somepossibilities:a. BA in Political Science, cum laude, 2006 (GPA: 3.41)b. Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, concentration in Psychology, May 20053. How should I list Honors & Activities?You do not need an entirely separate section for either Honors or Activities. To save space, putthem under the appropriate school and group them together. For instance, use a bullet that says“Honors:” and name your honors, separated by semicolons. Have a bullet that says “Activities:” andlist your activities, separated by semicolons. Not sure how to handle the dates of all these things?Try putting them in parentheses after the honor or activity, and before the semicolon.Examples:a. Honors: Undergraduate Honors Thesis Research Grant (Honors Program award); Phi KappaPhi Honor Society; Golden Key International Honour Society.b. Honors: Dean’s List (2006-2009); Baylor University Alumni Scholarship (2005-2009);Greek Women’s Leadership Award (2009).c. Activities: Latino/a Student Association, Secretary (2006-2007), Delegate/CommunityService Committee (2005-2007); Mexican Student Organization, Social Chair (2005-2006).d. Activities: Varsity Women’s Basketball Team, Four Year Letter Winner; Pi Beta PhiFraternity, Board Director (2006-2007) and Member (2004-2007).4. Do I need a separate section for Study Abroad?No! Study abroad is part of your undergraduate education. It can be a bullet, or if you want toemphasize it because of your international interest or language ability, you can bold it but do not puta space between your undergraduate degree section and the study abroad section.Example of bullet: Junior-year semester at University of East Anglia, Norwich, England (1993)16

Example of bolded section under undergraduate section:[end of undergraduate section here]Reid Hall, Columbia University, Paris, FranceSummer 2003 Study Abroad (Coursework: 19th Century French Painting, French Language)5. How long should the Education section be?Unless you’ve gotten five different degrees from five different schools already, your educationsection generally should take up a maximum of a third of a page. This means it’s important to gainother types of experience to put on your resume and not rely on your Education to get you a job!6. Should I include my GPA on my resume?If your GPA is lower than 3.0, I recommend omitting it from your resume. If it’s 3.2 or above, Irecommend including it. If it’s in between, it’s up to you. Be aware that employers might ask youfor your GPA whether or not it’s included on your resume, and that the absence of a GPA indicatesto employers that you might have a relatively low GPA.Another word on GPAs: There is no need to say “3.3/4.0”. Employers assume a 4.0 scale. Andround to two decimal points max. If your GPA is 3.401, just write 3.4. If it’s 3.405, you can roundup to 3.41.7. Should I list coursework on my resume?Yes! Don’t overlook your college courses as sources of skills and accomplishments. Include thenames of these courses or the details of projects, especially group projects, that you’ve worked on.You might choose to list courses in the Education section itself; another option is to include thetopics of the courses under your Skills section. After all, you DO have these skills – so claim themproudly!Similarly, consider the job-related skills and accomplishments you can report as a result of yourschool projects. What role did you play and what problem did you tackle? Did you win a classcontest? Did you persuade your teammates of something or take leadership in some way? Don’thesitate to include a description of these successes or things you learned, either in the Educationsection or, if substantial enough, in the Experience section itself! Maybe you could call it BusinessExperience or Project Management Experience. If you’ve participated in a significant way in schoolprojects that give you career skills, there’s no need for everything in your Experience section to beretail jobs or whatever positions you held to get through school.To see more top tips for New Graduates on crafting a WINNING resume, see my article, 5 Essential Tipsfor New Graduates. To see the resume I wrote that won a TORI Resume Writing Award in 2012 for BestNew Graduate Resume, click here!17

Tip #11The Dangers of “Functional” Resumes – and the Benefits of a “Hybrid”Most resumes—and those preferred by recruiters and hiring managers—are organized with the most recentposition first and go backward from there. Under each position is a bulleted list describing what thecandidate accomplished in that position.A “functional resume” is organized as a list of accomplishments without dates, and often without attachingthe accomplishments to a particular position.Recruiters and hiring managers are universally suspicious of these resumes, which are often constructedthis way in order to hide something.A much more accepted format is the “hybrid.” In this format, you list all your employers, positions anddates in one section on the first page of the resume; this makes it clear that you are not hiding anything.Then you can choose what to expand upon and what to present first. Here’s an example:This client’s most relevant experience was from 1990-1994. We gave details about this remote positionbefore providing details of more recent positions; and in order to allay any concerns that she was trying tohide something, we listed her entire work history before anything else. She was successful in obtaining aposition in OEM, which was her goal.There are many ways to present information on a resume; the hybrid format is one option that provides a lotof flexibility. If you have a challenging work history, you would benefit from speaking with a professionalto determine the best way to present your particular situation.18

SECTION 4FormattingYour Resume19

Tip #24Why Care About the Format Anyway?I’ll tell you a story. Not long ago, The Essay Expert worked with a client (I’ll call him Jim) on hisExecutive resume. We gave Jim a nice looking format and he had success in obtaining interviews.Jim’s wife (I’ll call her Mary) saw Jim’s resume and liked the format. She liked it so much, in fact, that shedecided to “steal” it and reformat her own resume, using her husband’s resume as a model.The year before, Mary had applied for a job at a university. She was not asked for an interview.Mary submitted her newly formatted resume for the same position she had applied for the year before.Guess what?Yep, you guessed right. She got an interview.Was it her new format that did the trick? It’s certainly a possibility.Remember, it’s not just computer scanners that read resumes. Humans read them too. You convey a certainattitude and impression to your human readers with your resume format.Take the time necessary to create a format that you like and that will make the right impression on thehumans who read it. Giving your format the attention it deserves can make all the difference.Click here to see samples of winning resume formats from The Essay Expert.If you are applying to jobs on-line through companies that use ATS (Applicant Tracking System)programs, format matters a lot! I have included formatting tips for ATS software in Section 6 (Technologyand Social Media), Tip #43.Tip #25Don’t Use Templates!Microsoft Word has many choices of resume templates. I encourage you to LOOK at them. Do not use thetemplates unless one of the following is true:a. You want your resume to look like everyone else’s who is using a Microsoft Word template (I hopeyou do not fall into this category!)b. You are VERY skilled with MS Word and can take the template and change it so it doesn’t looklike the template.Option #2 is tricky. The templates in Word are often filled with complex code, tables, columns, etc. Forexample:20

One of my clients had used a template from monster.com. The second page had someone else’s name on itand the lines forming the border did not intersect properly. Why risk these deadly snafus?As you have probably gathered, I highly encourage you not to use these templates. Instead, create yourown resume format. You will avoid the risk of an employer’s recognizing the template. You will also beable to edit your resume yourself, which will allow you to tailor it for each job application.Here’s a sample resume from Monster.com. It is professional but not unique.21

If you do use a template, you MUST understand the formatting tools used on the resume so you can easilyedit it yourself. User beware!Click here for more sample resume formats.Find one that meets your experience level and the image you want to portray, and feel free to createsomething similar.22

SECTION 5Cover LetterTips23

Tip #36Yes, You Need a Cover Letter!Just about every client I work with lately brings up the rumor they’ve heard that no one reads cover lettersanymore. This is ONLY a rumor. If you take action based on it, you will shoot yourself in the foot in yourjob search.In an article posted on Work Coach Cafe, “15 Job Search Tips from a Guy Who Just Got a Job,” asuccessful job seeker named John relates how the CEO of a company personally reached out to him tothank him for sending a cover letter! In fact, John was the ONLY candidate to send a cover letter, mostlikely because everyone else believed the rumor that cover letters never get read. John made an impression.This topic is also covered on Great Resumes Fast in “Cover Letters: Does Anybody Read ThoseAnymore?” The author points out that the cover letter is your opportunity to show genuine interest and tomake a case that you are specifically qualified for this job.Why would you tailor your resume to a job and then write a generic cover letter? If you are truly interestedin a position, it is worth your time to write a unique letter to the company about who you are and why youwould make a difference for that company. Do not write a generic cover letter and send it along with ageneric or somewhat tailored resume to zillions of job listings, hoping that you‘ll somehow win thenumbers game. That is NOT the way to get a job!Instead, begin building a relationship right from the start with the company that might be your futureemployer. Imagine yourself in this job and write down what you will bring to the position. Sell yourself.Anyone can spot a cover letter that is little more than a mail merge. Remember. you are a human beingand, if you get past the computer scanners, so is the person who reads your cover letter. By writing acustom letter, you reveal your humanity and respect the humanity of the HR person or hiring manager. Ifyou begin early to develop a relationship with that person, you are in great shape to be asked for aninterview.You do need to know your target audience. You might need to keep your letter very short and to the point,or you might have room to share more about yourself that is not obvious from your resume. Do someresearch on your industry to find out whether a longer letter will be welcomed or rejected. If in doubt, keepyour cover letter short, sweet and focused.24

Tip #375 Components of an Effective Cover LetterYour cover letter can give recruiters and hiring managers a sense of how you would show up in aninterview. Here are 5 tips that will get you in the door!1. Start the letter unconventionally. Perhaps instead of starting off with something about yourself, statewhat you know about what the company needs. For example:Initiative, dependability, and leadership acumen. These are attributes I will bring as [nameof position] at [insert company name].A skilled Development Manager must possess an intricate knowledge of quality assuranceand best practices and a keen understanding of how they affect the bottom line.Making strategic decisions, knowing the ins and outs of every project, and planning /anticipating errors are the hallmarks of a skilled senior planning engineer.Or, say something that only you could say and that takes the reader off guard. For instance:I may not be your typical internship applicant. My creativity and dedication, and my currenthonors status as a Creative Media student, were born out of an early life filled with gangsand crime.Sometimes you need to take chances to get an interview. The above student succeeded in obtainingseveral.Do you have a gap in your resume? Explain it in the cover letter:It takes a fighter to battle “terminal” cancer and come back to run five Iron Man triathlons.I’ll fight for your company with

Let’s get it from the horse’s mouth: Career Directors International conducted a survey of recruiters, human resource professionals and hiring authorities, entitled Global Hiring Trends 2012. The report is summarized in my blog article, What Do Recruiters Want in a Resume? Answers With