This is the Slides to the "How to write a better resume" talk that was delivered to the ICT Graduate school in Wellington. This shows the fundamentals around good CV structure and how to write content for your CV

1. How to write
a better
resume
John Clegg - Summer of Tech
Ruth McDavitt - Summer of Tech

2. 1) Why do you need a resume?
2) What are companies looking for?
3) What does a good resume look like ?
4) How to write a resume
Today

3. When I was in India,
An ad for a Java programmer got
>1500 responses in the first day

4. Disclaimer

5. Why am I doing this ?

6. The process of getting a job sucks

7. Your CV is the first contact
with a company

8. I’m here to help you get to
the top of the pile

9. Quick thoughts...
1. Jobs are connected to people
2. What are you good at?
3. Participate and create a track record
4. Take opportunities to learn
5. Your career has already started!
6. Find a mentor

10. How long do does a
recruiter read a
resume ?

11. You’ve got 20 seconds to
impressYou have 20 seconds to impress
(Study 2005)

12. You’ve got 20 seconds to
impress
X

13. (Research 2012)

14. Eye Tracking shows CV Format matters

15. Why do you need a good resume?

16. Recruiters: Friend or foe?

17. Bots - Resume terminated

18. HR Dept - The gatekeepers

19. Networking....

20. Who do you know ?

22. What is the purpose
of a resume ?

23. To get you an
interview !

24. What does a
typical resume
tell me about
you ?

25. Example: Bad CV :-(

26. Example: Bad CV :-(

27. 1. What your role was
2. Where you have worked
3. What you have done in that
role ...
A normal resume tells
me...

28. ...
Job –> Role -> Results
A typical resume tells me...

29. Houston, we have a problem!

30. This type of resume
doesn’t show
what you’re
good at !?!?

31. Analogy...

32. What if you looked for a date
the same way you wrote
your resume ?

33. So what do
companies really
want to know
about you ?

34. What you are going to do for me?

35. Why do you want to work for us?

36. What are you good at ?

37. What are your core skills?

38. How do you learn?

39. So what does a good
resume look like ?

40. Example: Good CV :-)

41. Example: Good CV :-)

42. Example: Good CV :-)

43. Example: Good CV :-)

44. Example: Good CV :-)

45. Example: Good Long CV :-)

46. Example: Good Long CV :-)

47. Example: Good Long CV :-)

48. The resume told me ...
1) Who they were
2) What core skills they has
3) Where / How they has
performed those skills
repeatedly
Why was it good?

50. OK
Now what ?

51. What’s in a good
resume ?

52. 1. 1-2 page resume
2. Technical summary
3. Experience Resume
4. Qualifications summary
5. References
Your “resume” should have...

53. 1. Your personal promise
2. 4-5 core competences / skills
with proof
3. 1-2 Key career achievements
4. Career and Education History
Your 1 page resume should
have...

54. How do we find out
what we are good
at ?

55. For each project / work look at
Objectives - What were the goals?
Analysis - What did analysis did you make?
Actions - What action did you take ?
Results - What were the results?
OAAR approach

56. behaviours
which lead to
core competencies
OAAR approach highlights

57. Example - Summer of Tech Project

58. Determined, Problem Solver,
Challenges convention,
Consistent, Lateral Thinker,
Passionate, Results driven, Finds
Patterns, Fast learner, Analytical
Examples of behaviours

59. For each skill:
ie:
What did you learn (SKILL)
By what actions (PROOF)
to achieve what result (RESULT)

60. Example 1:
Learning
Gained competency in Java, Python and C++ by
completing several course projects in OO design and
concurrency over the last 6 months. Implemented
Disrupter and Reactor patterns in Java.

61. Example 2:
Leadership
Led a 5 person project team to build an Android app
- the Bubble game. The team developed a
multi-level game which required cross function
specialisation across graphics, level development
within a 2 month time frame. The game was
submitted to Google Play store and has been
downloaded 3000 times.

62. Key Achievements
● Across all your roles
○ List 2 or 3 key achievements
○ Make sure you explicitly state your
role and outcomes

63. Career & Education summary
Education
● 1 line per qualification
○ Timeframe, Degree , University ,
country
○ Add awards you received
Career
● 1 line per role at each company
○ Timeframe, Role , company , country

64. Takeaways for Resume
4-5 Skills
2-3 Technical skills
1-2 Soft / Communication /
Team skills
Skill order is important

65. Provide one page about your technical skills:
–Skill
–Examples
–Level of Experience
–Is experience current
Drop anything that isn’t relevant
- “Should I include word and excel ???”
Technical Skills Resume

66. Technical Skills Example

67. Experience resume
● Role
● Company
● Key Skills
● Actions

68. Experience resume
● Explain what you did
● Bullet points are OK
● Look for at most 5-6 things
○ prioritise
○ If your role changed break out into
another component
● If the company does “secret” stuff,
then abstract to generic tasks

69. Previous career experience
● Understand the context of your skills
● Personal / Soft skills matter a lot

70. Experience resume tips
● Be explicit - if you don’t tell me what
you did - “you swept” the floor.
● Don’t “name” drop, don’t “budget”
drop unless you ran the project
● Think in terms of outcomes

72. 5 resume tips

73. Tip #1
Format is
EVERYTHING

74. Tip #2 Adapt your resume to EVERY job

75. Tip #3
Tip #3 Put non-important
stuff in the back

76. Tip #3
Tip #4 Write it with
an employer in mind

77. Tip #5 Only use PDF

78. • Put the important stuff first
• Resume only 1-2 pages and PDF
• Resume contains
○ Your Goals / Aspirations
○ 5 core skills / attributes
○ Education Summary
• 1 page technical skills summary
• 1 page qualifications
Summary...

79. What should the employer
see in your Resume ?
- Who you are
- What you want to do
- What you can do for them
- Why you are interested in them
Summary...

80. Bonus tips

81. How do I beat the myths ?

82. Recruiters:
Call them
Always ask where you’re

83. Recruiters Tips
● Be polite
● Ask how you are being represented
○ What number in the you in the Queue?
● Recruiters are terrible at responding
○ CALL CALL CALL
○ Keep looking for good ones
○ There may be tests...
● Talk to them first
● Ask for more information about roles
● Get feedback on why you failed
● Request that you can customise your CV for different
type of roles
○ Developer vs BA vs Project Manager vs X

84. Bots
Keyword match specific roles

85. HR Dept
Call them, talk to the Team Lead

86. Networking....
Meetups

87. General Tips:
● NEVER Apply for a job “blind” - ALWAYS talk to
someone first
● CUSTOMISE your CV for EVERY job
○ NEVER blanket apply for every job out there
● CONFIDENCE is the MOST important thing
○ Don’t try too hard - Saying you can do
everything won’t work - Employers will figure
out you are lying
● You have plenty of skills from your “previous”
life
○ Put them in context and use them

88. International Student Tips
● Talk to the people
● Get local referees
● Have local projects
● Go to meetups - show your passion
● Don’t be too pushy - lots of companies are
super relaxed

89. Questions?

90. See you next time for part 2