1. HOW TO TARGET YOUR
RESUME TO WIN YOUR
WAY TO THE EMPLOYERS’
SHORTLIST
Workshop
2. PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE RESUME WRITING
RESUME CONTENTS/FORMATS/ LAYOUTS
OVERVIEW OF RESUME TEMPLATES AND SKILLS
STATEMENTS
COVER LETTER AND REFERENCES
3. Learn about the purpose, structure and
content of the Resume
Learn basic principles of effective resume
writing
Be able to create a targeted resume , a
cover letter and reference list
4. RESUME DRAFT’S CRITIQUE
GUIDED COMPLETION OF A
SUPPORT WITH JOB LEADS/POSTINGS
SUPPORT WITH FOLLOW UP CALLS, COLD
CALLING, JOB APPLICATIONS
5. RESUME
JOB SEARCH
COVER
LETTER
NETWORKING
INTERVIEW
PREPARATIO
N
LABOUR
MARKET
INFORMATION
PORTFOLIO
CAREER
EXPLORATION
6. HIRING AN
HIRING FROM
UNKNOWN WHO
EMPLOYER WITHIN
BRINGS PROOF
(PROMOTION)
OF ABILITY
FRIEND/ AGENCY ONLINE/NEWSPAP
BUSINESS • RECRUITERS ER
ADVERTISEMENTS
CONTACT • SEARCH
• REFERRAL FIRMS
• JOB FAIR
RESUME YOU
7. TARGETED TO A SPECIFIC EMPLOYER AND/OR
JOB POSITION
FACTUAL AND TO THE POINT –
YOUR BEST MARKETING WEAPON –
EASY-TO-READ AND PROFESSIONAL IN
APPEARANCE
8. NAME AND PROFILE/ RELEVANT
CAREER
CONTACT PERSONAL QUALIFICATION
OBJECTIVE
INFORMATION SUMMARY S
RELEVANT
EDUCATION TRAINING PROFESSIONAL
WORK
MEMBERSHIP
EXPERIENCE
TAGLINE –
AWARDS AND VOLUNTEER INTERESTS
REFERENCES
ACHIEVEMEN EXPERIENCE (OPTIONAL)
AVAILABLE
TS (OPTIONAL)
(OPTIONAL)
9. KIMBERLY ANN HURST
2222 Dixie Rd #112
Mississauga, ON
(905) 336-4432
k.hurst@gmail.com
Put your name, permanent address,
phone /voicemail numbers, and email address
10. The number of years experience in the
field
Any important certifications
Any programs or technical equipment
Any other languages
Any relevant personal qualities
11. State your experiences and achievements
(in reverse order )
Show the positive results of your actions,
the benefits to the company
Quantify your accomplishments
12. DUTY SKILL RESULT
DESCRIBE WITH WHAT VALUE
HOW DID YOU DO
AN ACTION WAS ADDED BY
IT?
WORD YOUR ACTION
USING
CREATED NEW BETTER
COMPUTER
INTERNAL INVENTORY
ACCOUNTING/TIM
AUDITING CONTROL/REDUC
E MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM ED LOSS
SKILLS
13. presents your
strictly by date, with the most recent first
(reverse order)
When to use:
To show lateral or vertical career growth
To emphasize previous job titles or
companies
.
Your current or most recent position is one
you are proud of and enjoy.
14. contains that is
organized by education, experience, and skills.
When to use:
or very little work experience
Re-entering the job market /
/job hopping
De-emphasize
15. A mix of the best of the chronological and
functional resume formats
When to use:
Highlight a or
company name
Relevant skills obtained from other, non-paid
work experiences
16. PAGE MARGINS
• CONSISTENT , EQUAL ON
EVERY SIDE
• BETWEEN 1 INCH TO 1.25
INCH
FONTS
• COMMON, EASY-TO-READ
EX. : ARIAL, TAHOMA,
FRANKLIN GOTHIC
• E-MAIL IN PDF FORMAT, TO
AVOID
ANY CONFLICT IN MS WORD
• SIZE IS APPROPRIATE TO FONT
AND PAGE SPACE
17. PARAGRAPHS AND BULLETS
DO NOT OVERUSE THEM
USE EXTRA SPACE IN
BETWEEN
TEXT ENHANCEMENTS
BOLD IS PREFERRABLE
TO ITALICS
UNDERLINES COULD BE
CONFUSING
UPPERCASE SHOULD
ONLY BE USED FOR
SHORT PHRASES AND
SINGLE WORDS
18. TYPES OF GRAPHICS
• SHOULD BE SUBTLE
AND SUPPORT, NOT
OVERPOWER THE
OVERALL MESSAGE OF
THE RESUME
• CAN BE USED AS
• A BACKGROUND OR
WATERMARK
• COMPARE THE IMPACT
OF THE GRAPHIC ON
SCREEN AND IN PRINT
19.
20. Avoid vague wording such as "a few months."
Leave out the "I's,' as in "I directed..."
Leave out the negatives or any irrelevant
information.
Avoid jargons, acronyms or unusual
abbreviations.
Don't write a meaningless job objective.
Do not rely on the spell-check programs
21. Use lots of
Use
Use the correct buzzwords /
Emphasize the positive
Focus on
22. Words that keep popping up in
Company key values from its
posted on a web-site.
Scan to identify key trends
in your industry.
23. Introduction to the employer
Summarize who you are, why you want to
work for this employer and what you can do
It communicates:
- your writing skills
- professional approach
- knowledge of the field
24. 1 page, typed
Broken into short paragraphs
(introductory, body, closing)
Highlights how your skills and
qualifications will benefit the
employer
Attached to your resume
Direct and concise
25. Former managers/supervisors
Current or former teachers, coaches, and club
leaders
Volunteer coordinators/supervisors
A respected member of the community (doctor,
lawyer, social worker, and police officer)
Family members that you have worked for
Your career counsellor
The resume workshop is comprised of two parts, delivered in 2 days – On the First day, currently each Friday, our participants will learn: purpose and principles of effective resume writing. They will get basic knowledge of resume contents/formats/layouts. Develop practical skills in creating targeted skills statements.At the end of the first day we will provide clients with various resume templates, skill statements set and Job Search websites’ database (both electronic and printed versions) –therefore, USB keys will be required for every participant . These materials will help our participants in preparation of their resume drafts and other JS activities.
Get knowledge of resume purpose, format styles and contentsBe able to create a targeted resume, cover letter and reference list , using provided templates and aid materialGet familiar with the facilitative approaches to the workshop
During the resume clinic , the role of a facilitator is to provide guidance and support with the completion of the targeted resume from the rough draft,for example:Finalizing choices over different formats and layouts of resume, help participants to emphasize their strengths vs. weak points;coach clients how to tailor resume – HOW TO find LMI on the selected job title on the Working in Canada or the NOC web-sites; use approaches (D-S-R) specific vs. generic: brainstorm technical and transferrable skills, use templates for generic soft skills.Participants will be encouraged to send their resume to a prospective employer right after the activity both via fax and e-mail. It will drastically increase sense of accomplishment and will be motivational incentive for our participants. Especially, if some of them will get response(an invitation for an interview) during the same week! The section of EC will be reserved for resume clinic workshop each day from11 am to 12 pm; clients will be scheduled under divisional schedulerParticipants, who are unable to finish their resume in 2 days, can continuously work on their resume. The second part of the resume workshop will be available to enter for the participants who previously have finished our first resume workshop and/or already have their draft resume. In fact, on monthly basis we will held an open resume clinic sessions for any clients. These monthly events will be attached to the up-coming city of Toronto job fair events.
From the starting point of the workshop it is important to convey the thought that Resume alone does not guarantee you a job! There are many other factors or STEPS that need to be taken into consideration, such as: (Distribute handouts of the JS steps). … We will be able to cover some of these steps during our workshop, however interview preparation, LMI and Job Search are big enough topics to organize another workshop .What we want to show to our workshop participants, that there are several keys to successful employment. And resume alone is not going to get them a dream job.
We will also try to put our participants in their prospective employers’ frame of mind. We will show how many shortcuts to the employer exist if you get a little creative with the ways to contact him/her. and same with the methods how you can send your resume – in person, by fax, or by e-mail or regular mail.
Don't leave any doubt in the recruiter's/or employer’s mind that you are a perfect fit for the jobs you want. You have to be as effective as you can in targeting your resume to the position. Have to use factual and to the point language. Focus on your talents and strengths to market that you are the best candidate for a position. And make resume a document that is easy-to-read and professional in appearance! Why? Because your resume has only 10 -30 seconds to impress employers or their subordinates during the screening process.Our role as a career counsellors, is to assist our clients to market themselves effectively. To help them to create relevant to their field, but very unique, reflective, and informative resume.TARGETED TO A SPECIFIC EMPLOYER AND/OR JOB POSITIONFACTUAL AND TO THE POINT – stick to the facts and to be as concise and clear as you possibly canYOUR BEST MARKETING WEAPON – helps you focus in on your unique strengths and talentsEASY-TO-READ AND PROFESSIONAL IN APPEARANCE
Lets get through the short overview of the resume building workshop: There are regular components of a resume.NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATIONOBJECTIVEPROFILE/PERSONAL SUMMARY RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONSRELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCEEDUCATIONCERTIFICATIONSPROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPSAWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTSVOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE (OPTIONAL)INTERESTS (OPTIONAL)
This part is central to any type of resume and despite the different headings always describes person’s most powerful selling qualities, abilities and skills. People can use Highlights of qualifications to describe themselves during future interviews.It includes:The number of years experience you have working in the fieldAny important certifications you haveAny programs or technical equipment you can use on the jobAny other languages you speakAny personal qualities you think are important to mention
Start with action, end with a resultFor example: Created new internal auditing system (action) with better inventory control and reduced cost (result)State your experiences and achievements you acquired at that job (always in reverse order and not further then 10 years from the current date)Show the positive results of your actions, indicating the benefits to the companyQuantify your accomplishments whenever possible
Start with action, end with a result (activity)Work in pairs and create from a general statement – result/value-oriented statementFor example: Created new internal auditing system (action) with better inventory control and reduced cost (result)
Usehand-outs with the samples of three types of resume.When to use:If you have been promoted within the company (lateral or vertical career growth )If you want to emphasize previous job titles or companies you have worked forEmployer preference. An employer may specify a particular format Your current or most recent position is one you are proud of and enjoy.
contains a summary of qualifications that is organized by education, experience, and skills. There is not much emphasis on specific employer work historyWhen to use:If you are looking for your first job or have very little work experienceYou are re-entering the job market after a current span of unemployment/or have difficult-to-explain gaps in employment or job hoppingYou are changing your careerYou want de-emphasize your age or previous job titles
It is important to remind our participants at this point that decision on which format to choose is varied, depends on many factors and sometimes it is wise to have several formats of the resume for various type of employers or positions.A mix of the best of the chronological and functional resume formats to highlight both your work history and your relevant skills.When to use:If have very little work experience/or gaps in employmentWant to include or highlight a particular work experience/company nameWant to include some relevant skills obtained from other, non-paid work experiences (volunteer, co-op, extracurricular) to round out your resumePersonal preference - you DO need to be comfortable with how you're going to present your information.
No matter what type of resume you choose, or what layout you will select:PRINTABLE PAPER , OR ELECTRONIC TO BE DISPLAYED ON A WEB-SITE or ALL TEXT, OR HAV E PICTURES, COLUMNS, BOXES Or PLAIN TEXT FILE OR MS WORD FILE, OR PDF FILETARGETED OR GENERAL RESUMEthe most important rule/ golden rule/ rule of thumb is to keep it clean, organized and consistent! Following are simple recommendations that can drastically improve the layout of you resume. Look also through some samples of our resume templates to get a feel for how graphics can be used successfully! The easier you can make your resume reading, the better. “If this a way you organize your resume, maybe this is the way you would organize your whole life!” Never forget – you have only 10 to 30 seconds to get an attention of the reader…
a key to create an effective layout - to highlight your qualifications using text enhancements – bold, uppercase are more preferable…
types of professions that might benefit from this "designed" resume layout style are architects, web designers, graphic designers, artists, and authors. You can have also more than one resume formats, and layouts depends – then it will be easier to target your resume in the future.
These two resume definitely stand out of many others. Of course, you must know your market, too. These types of resume may go over much better for professions such as architects, web designers, graphic designers, artists, visual merchandisers, or/and authors. For a loan officer, you will still select a conventional type of a resume. You can also have more than one resume formats, and layouts depends – then it will be easier to target your resume in the future.
ORGANIZE AN ACTIVITY: RESUME CRITIQUE. USE HANDOUTS”STEVEN CAMPBELL RESUME” Based on activity, brainstorm resume do’s and don’ts and then summarize the results.Avoid vague wording such as "a few months." Specific dates are more powerful.Leave out the "I's,' as in "I directed..."Leave out the negatives or any irrelevant information, ESPECIALLY YOUR BIRTHDAY, FAMILY OR MARITAL STATUS.Avoid jargons, acronyms or unusual abbreviations.Don't write a meaningless job objective. DO NOT RELY ON THE SPELL-CHECK PROGRAMS, ALWAYS ASK FOR A FEEDBACK AND SPELLCHECK
Use lots of action words, words that convey that you "did" something (PAST OR PRESENT TENSE)Use bulleted, short phrases,rather than lengthy sentences and paragraphsUse the correct buzzwords or keywords for the industryEmphasize the positive.Be concise. You want it to be easily digestible.Focus on accomplishments and specific results, rather than a routine listing of your job duties.The easier you can make your resume reading, the better.
INTRODUCE THE ACTIVITY: Take/find a JOB POSTING, that meet your skill level or interests you. Find key words in it and describe yourself, using these words in your own statements. What are the hard skills (technical) in the ad that you have? What are the soft skills (personal)? OR we can demonstrate how to find key words for a particular job title on the Working in Canada web site.What are the educational requirements for the position – do you match them? (Write out the highlights of qualifications using 3-5 statements from the job posting. – optional)We will teach our participants how to find key words and targeted skills statements in LMI web-sites such as Working in Canada, NOC or O-Net on-line. Words that keep popping up in company job postingsCompany key values from its mission statementposted on a web-site. The annual report is another great source of key values.Scan LMI web-sites to identify key trends in your industry. Then, select resume keywords from that list.
Cover letter, as important as your resume. Benefits: marketing tool, more creative and less formal than resume, get employer attention, can add additional skills, experience and accomplishments, which did not use in your resume. That is why we will provide with the basic knowledge of cover letter purpose and structure. It introduces you, describes your strengths and skills, and expresses your interest in a particular job.
Prepare and distribute a template for a cover letter. – better one time to see, than 7 times to hear
Most employers will ask for three references. Identify these people for yourself.
They should be able to comment on your work-elated skills, habits. Provide your references with the copy of your resume. Advise them every time you go to an interview and give out their names. Do not overuse them – rotate though the 5 names you have from the list.Always ask your references, if they will provide a reference for you (don’t assume!)Choose references that can speak about your skills and abilities that relate to a particular position you are targeting