The document provides tips for creating an effective resume, including capturing the reader's attention at the top, showcasing achievements and skills specific to the position, remaining concise and focused, listing results rather than responsibilities, and using keywords. It emphasizes quantifying achievements, telling career stories using the CAR (challenge, action, result) formula, and targeting the resume to the specific job. The document also warns against including irrelevant information and discusses strategies for addressing career gaps or changes in work history.

1. Rebecca Page
rebeccalpage@yahoo.com
Resume
Can Your

2. Marketing Document
Promote YOU !
— modesty’s not effective approach
 Intrigue — Capture reader above the
fold (top 1/3 of 1st page)
 Focus — Showcase
achievements &
skills specific to Sell it !
position sought Don’t tell it.

3. Don’t Lie !

4. Hiring Managers
 Receive 50-500
resumes per position
 Review resume in
5-10 seconds

5. Long Line of Applicants
Competition’s Fierce
 Showcase your personal brand,
achievements and value
 Remain compelling, concise
and focused
 List RESULTS not
responsibilities
 Use keywords
& buzzwords

6. Start with Blank Slate
Type Career Achievements
 CAR Stories — Challenge, Action, Result
 Quantify — $, %, #
 Use in highlights
& work experience
sections

7. Stay on Course
 Achievements / experience relevant to
position sought
 Not too little / too much information
 TARGET your job search
Mall Corp. needs a technical
writer. Courtney’s a software
developer. Should she apply?

8. Tenicia sums up
her objective
and expertise

9. Title + Profile
Achievements
Front and Center

10. Define Expertise
 Add skills under profile
 Specific to position sought
 Pull from job description

11. Umar’s a
Senior Lending
Officer

12. Leadership Achievments
Acquisitions : Led team to develop RFP –
>$100M Enterprise Pre-D Recording Service to
National Reconnaissance Office as SETA at SAIC.
Contract Management : Slashed budget from
$150M to $105M by improving staffing and
technology efficiencies for EPRS as Lead SETA
for SDDS programs at General Dynamics.

13. Or CAR Statement
Challenge : Resolve operational performance—high
costs and productivity bottlenecks in travel division.
Action : Streamlined processes, realigned key
personnel, and re-engineered banking functions by
establishing relationship with high-tech bank.
Result : Improved customer service while slashing
invoicing and collection costs—from 10% to <5% and
$5M. Volume grew to $30M, reducing ratio even
further.

14. So Far — Compelling !

15. Career Experience
Director of Human Resources
and Operations
 Responsible for restaurant staffing
needs and recruitment.
 Responsible for food concessions —
sales and payment system.

16. Highlight Results !
 Secured a group of motivated general
employees who were paid 15% less by
law.
 Cut additional labor costs from 28% to
20%, significantly increasing net profits
to investors.
 Increased concession sales 22% to $2.5M
by re-engineering food service stations
and fast response payment system.

17. Add a Testimonial
Pull from performance
evaluations or
recommendation letters
Ben showed initiative
as our head nurse. He
redesigned our walk-through
and time-keeping systems,
saving both manhour and
billing costs.
Philippe Martine, MD
Charleston VA Hospital

18. What’s Wrong ?
Directly under Heading
EDUCATION
MA – Clinical Psychology, Case University, St. Louis, MO 1994
- Successfully managed the demands of working full time while
carrying a full time graduate school course load.
- Senior thesis project : Organizational behavior—How can
Barnes & Noble and Amazon co-exist?
- Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society
BA – Management, Florida State University, Tallahassee 1990
- Developed Telemedicine System as member of Florida
Neurological Institute team
- Noles Daily Photography, Editor
- Member women’s tennis team

19. Education Not Top Appeal
Alyssa’s Worked 18 Years
Degrees no longer top selling
point. Move to the end —
unless required in job listing.
MA – Clinical Psychology, Case
University, St. Louis, MO 1994
- Beta Gamma Sigma Honor
Society
BA – Management, Florida State
University, Tallahassee 1990

20. And Here?
CAREER
Software Development Lead 1986-1990
Raytheon Seattle, WA
Software Developer 1984-1986
Microsoft Seattle, WA
Computer Programmer 1980-1984
IBM Seattle, WA
Administrative Assistant 1977-1980
Gulf Oil Fairbanks, AK
EDUCATION
BS – Computer Science Duke University, Chapel Hill, NC 1976

21. Ageism Exists
 Show only 10-15 years’
work experience
 List prior experience
without dates or
responsibility bullets
 No dates for college
 Plus 1st job not
relevant to career
path

22. Is This Relevant ?
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
The Salvation Army
Serve as mentor for the Team in Training program, which
recruits persons to raise funds while preparing as a group for
marathon. Led 15 persons to instruct and assist with meeting
their fundraising goals.
Wharton Civic Association
Fundraising Committee – Preparing events for tree planting
and playground projects. Held dinner with silent auction and
50-50 raffle.
PERSONAL
Married with 3 children. Enjoy hiking and reading.

23. Don’t Waste Space
 Showcase your career
qualifications
Certifications, technical
skills, professional
memberships, awards
& publications
 All illegal — social
affiliations, age, marital /
family status, nationality,
disabilities & medical
conditions

24. Career Knocked
Off Course?

25. Avoid Gaps
 Out of work for a while?
List courses, volunteer, HONESTY is BEST
related temp jobs
State why
 Back to school? Laid off or let go?
Place at top or within Contract not renewed
work history Company relocated to NY
Page 2 not always read
Left the workforce?
Assisted terminal parent
Raised child for 3 years

26. Format Strategies
 Ample white space  Usual techniques
Bold, italics,
 Modern fonts
Arial, Helvetica, Calibri
ALL CAPITALS
 Traditional fonts  Bullets
Times, Century, Palatino  Simple lines
 Font size 11 / 12 points  Minimal use

28. Electronic Resume
 Title & key words
Strip Formatting
in job posting
- bold, italics, underline
 .txt file extension, - bullets
unformatted ASCII
- tabs
 Sans serif font - tables
 Left justify all text - text boxes
- page breaks
- page numbers
Use symbols to replace
bullets 
or create lines — — —

29. E-mailing Resume
 Follow ad’s instructions
 Word preferred over pdf
(if not .txt)
 Name ―FullName_Resume.docx‖
Helps recruiter file & find it
 Subject line, your
name & ad’s position
 Body, paste resume
 Attach resume &
cover letter

30. Resume Strategies

31. Rebecca Page
rebeccalpage@yahoo.com