Designing a Resumè

[Syntex]

So I had to make one a while back when I applied for an entry level position in a shop and since then I have been hopping jobs for a little better pay/hours here and there but now that I have some schooling under my belt I am prepared to make a somewhat serious Resumè but I have no idea what it should look like.

I did buy a book that has about 100 sample resumè's but in the end none of them fits my experience or format as they have years of experience, tons of past jobs, college degree's to list where I have,.... none of that.

I guess what I am asking is if someone could post their resumè(info changed/removed of course) to get some idea's going for someone who has just some schooling, a few classes done and no serious job history just dead-end jobs I worked to pay the bills.

If you must know its for a entry level Catia V5 position as a detailer for a serious company and I have taken all 4 classes to get certified and there is not much else I can think to put on it that they would give a damn about.

Was hoping that someone in a similar position might be able to throw up a resume they used or one they know of that landed a job,.. hell even one that looks good will work as listing 5 years of past jobs which have no connection to what I am doing seems stupid to list.

I was hoping BG could help me out.

[kuronosan]

Some tips I would give for a resume:

1) Provide a phone number, e-mail address, and your name every time.
2) When listing your objectives, make it relevant to the job you are applying for.
3) List your education first, starting with most recent.
4) List any particular skills you feel are relevant to the position.
5) List employers, starting with the most recent. Keep job duties to about 2-3 sentences.

Here's an example:

Will Williamson
Home - (555) 555-2123
Cell - (555) 557-2346
[email protected]

Objective: To build a career in sales and marketing and form business relationships that can enhance my status in the company.

Skills:
- Able to type proficiently at 80 wpm.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Money, and Quicken software.
- Fluent in English, Japanese, and Spanish.

Education:
- Master's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing
Attended New York School of Business from 1995-2001.
- President of the Business Administration Club (1999-2001)

Employment History:
- Marketing Supervisor, General Electric Sales Division (2001-2008)
Responsibilities included managing several sales accounts and clients at once, maintaining diplomatic relationships with foreign clients by traveling to other countries to close deals and make presentations. Also responsible for training new sales associates.

---

The basic thing is that you want your accomplishments to stand out so that they know you are worth more than other resumés.

[Correction]

If certifications and recent employment are more relevant to the position I'd put them up top, before your education and ability to type.

NAME
CURRENT CONTACT INFO

SUMMARY OF ABILITIES/CHARACTERISTICS RELEVANT TO DESIRED POSITION

EXPERIENCE/CERTIFICATION

EDUCATION

Like that. List experience in reverse chronological order (latest jobs first)

[Penthesilea]

Keep the font's normal, sans serifs. While your resume will be the first thing looked at, DO NOT FORGET that the cover letter is just as important. You'll want your cover letter to focus on what YOU can DO for THEM.

[The Stig]

No more than 2 pages excluding cover letter. That is the UK standard afterall. Anything over 2 pages and we'll get bored/uninterested. Correction posted the format I would personally use.

**Extras**

I will now present you all with a terrible example. This is PUBLIC information; backstory is that somewhere in another forum this dickhead came into our forum and acted like a Urat.

The result? He had a homepage, with a URL, unprotected, which resulted in us scrutinising it down to the very inch. Nothing interesting in there but a CV we managed to download.

Please see attached file. We used this CV and further pwned this guy because he was such a fucking dickhead with his absurd claims. Anyway, his CV is a TERRIBLE example and his "big long projects" he claimed to do was also under scrutiny by us after seeing the CV. Overall he's a cunt and left with his dick considerably smaller.

[Elesirdur]

If you don't have years of experience, highlight your skills and competencies on the first page as others have mentioned. This might be more general info for more non-trades type work, but I think this should still help you.

When discussing your past work experiences, try and describe specific things you did and make it achievemnt-based. Example for a sales job:
Bad/Boring: "Facilitated customer relations and sales duites." Well yeah, every sales job does that, what's special about you?
Good: "Achieved top sales figures in the store for four months running during Q3/4 2008"
Better: "Maintained a minimum average monthly sales volume of $7,500 during F2007/08, 25% higher than sales staff targets."

You want to try and make yourself stand out, and making your job experiences section read like the want ads doen't help. Use examples that highlight your skills and competencies - if you say you have good planning and organization skills, indicate that in your job experiences by talking about organization and planning projects you succeeded in.

If you don't have a lot of work experiences, but your schooling is of the vocational/trades type identify projects or particular successes you had during your training. Were you the best in your class at writing Perl code, or did you take a leadership role in a group project that help others organize? Maybe you showed real aptitude in fine finishing carpentry, indicating a significant attention to detail?

Anyway, what I'm trying to get across (laboriously, I know) is that you'll probably have more success when you discuss things you did, specifically, which set you apart from others. If you write generically, then you don't differentiate yourself from the other applicants.

Oh and a word on "Job Objectives", I would say skip that and discuss why you want to work for this company and especially why you would make the best candidate in your cover letter. Most job/career objectives go like "...to continue a career in information systems management." Yes, that's good and all but isn't that why you're applying for this job in the first place? I get the feeling that the Objective section is losing popularity.

Make sure to tweak your resume to fit each job you're applying for if you can. Since you don't have a lot of experience, this may be hard to do. But try and identify some important qualifications or competencies in the job posting, and speak to those in your tailored resume.

And one last word on cover letters. If you're serious about a job you're applying for, write a cover letter. These are hard, make no mistake.

What you're trying to achieve in a cover letter is highlight certain elements of your resume to indicate why you make the best candidate and what you are going to do for this employer. Don't just write a page about how much you want this job, write about how you would do the job the best and why you are the best candidate amongst all the others. Don't trash talk, and try not to boast, but a bit of hubris goes a long way here. You are wanting to get noticed, so do what you need to do that.

Anyway, cover letters are a whole different story but they allow you really set yourself apart - not to mention showing that you've taken the time to think about this job application.

Good luck!

[Maguspk]

Yeah, the Objectives section is generally disliked by a majority of resume readers so it's best to leave it out, it's bullshit anyway. I start my resume with a description of my experience, basically a section on my current job, my tasks and an overview of my job. Then I list my recent, relevant publications and then depending on the place, I list 1-2 or 3-4 projects with what they were, what I did, etc. This is the crucial part though, you need to cater this section to detail your work in such a way that it is appealing to whoever will be reading your resume. Like if I'm applying for something involving integrated systems I'll mention my work with workflows and web services. Then there's really short educational info and 1-2 references.

edit: Elesirdur knows his stuff

[Elesirdur]

edit: Elesirdur knows his stuff

That's nice of you to say, but it's still not helping me find a job - stupid shitty economy.

Maguspk's post also reminded me of something else: references. If you've got space, go ahead and list your references at the end of the resume. If you find yourself hard up for space to keep it in the 2pg limit then just drop it. Employers know that references are always "available upon request" and if they like your info then they'll call you and ask either before or after an interview.

Don't bother with hobbies or interests or anything like that. To an employer that really just says "so this is what you would rather do than work" (if they are cynical, like me hah) and takes up space that could better be used describing how you fit the job. Now I should say that if you're applying for a job where sports and certain activities are part of the job (like working at a sporting goods store, or in industries like adventure tourism or as like an events coordinator at a hotel/cruise ship/etc) then go for it, that will indicate some preferences for activities and show that you have (hopefully) diverse interests that will make you a better employee.

DO put on any volunteer activities you do, even if you don't think they relate all that much to the job. Volunteer work indicates that you have a good work drive and are willing to be selfless with your time - pretty good qualities in any good worker. If you don't have a lot of work experience, go ahead and put up volunteer positions you've held or projects you have participated in. You can use them to demonstrate teamwork, writing and creative skills, leadership and organization, and all sorts of stuff.

Regarding education, if you graduated from your school at the top of your class or on the Dean's List or something then go ahead and list your academic acheivements and your GPA if its awesome. If (like me) you weren't the most remarkable student then just leave it off. I don't know how many jobs these days that will ask you for a transcript from your last institution but if it's that important, your prospective employeer will ask for it.

[Linliel]

My tips:

* No more than 2 pages (not inc. cover letter).
* Spell check and grammar check it. Get some people to look at it for spelling/grammar. Nothing looks worse than a badly spelled or written CV.
* Don't over-exaggerate. Talk about your achievements positively, and your previous job responsibilities accurately, but if you over-exaggerate you will fall hard.
* Don't list irrelevent stuff. If you're going for an IT programming job, they probably won't care particularly that 10 years ago you waited tables in a retirement village. That said, if you only have experience in unrelated areas, explain how you think these areas have prepared you for the area you want to branch into. Real experience is better, but if you don't have it, skills you picked up elsewhere but which are relevant are good enough.
* Do your homework. Find out as much as you can about the company, the people involved, etc. This won't help you with the CV exactly but it will help you with the following (and an interview if you get it):
* Write a cover letter. In it explain exactly what excites you about the job, what you think you can give to the company and position, why you are the best candidate. Sound positive, enthusiastic and confident.

Biggest point is this:

* If you're applying to several jobs at once, rewrite your CV for each. Tailor it as much as possible to the position you're applying for. You can probably use some bits and pieces you've used before but be careful when copying and pasting to make sure it still makes sense

Good luck!

[Syntex]

I really think you guys are over examining this. Maybe I didn't communicate how much experience I have or exactly what I have to offer to a company but let me see if I can paint a better picture per say since everything that has been said in this topic thus far is the same thing I have read about. Don't get me wrong I appreciate the help but it seems its more directed at someone with a bit more experience then I have.

I guess what I am asking is if someone could post their resumè(info changed/removed of course) to get some idea's going for someone who has just some schooling, a few classes done and no serious job history just dead-end jobs I worked to pay the bills.

Basically I have about 10 classes of general ed classes done(math, chem, bio) No experience, no job history thats even related to this field, no accomplishments, no references unless my old manager counts, no special unique skills, no desirable employee traits like "top sales for 3rd quarter 2008" ect.

Basically I am going into this job fresh out of a year or 2 of college and don't have any experience other then the 4 classes I took.

All this stuff about your skills and desirable traits just don't exist for me or just isn't something I have been able to get to and I am sure there are others in my position who are going for a first career job and have the same problems I have.

So with all this in mind is there something I can do to make a resume with this limited experience of mine?

[Zhais]

I have a question in regards to the cover letter...

Is there anything you /can/ put for a general submission of a resume (ie, not for a particular job opening?). Lockheed Martin is gonna be at my school Tuesday looking for new hires as a developer, getting my resume up to date to submit to them and figuring out what all I might need to impress them ._.

[Maguspk]

I really think you guys are over examining this. Maybe I didn't communicate how much experience I have or exactly what I have to offer to a company but let me see if I can paint a better picture per say since everything that has been said in this topic thus far is the same thing I have read about. Don't get me wrong I appreciate the help but it seems its more directed at someone with a bit more experience then I have.




Basically I have about 10 classes of general ed classes done(math, chem, bio) No experience, no job history thats even related to this field, no accomplishments, no references unless my old manager counts, no special unique skills, no desirable employee traits like "top sales for 3rd quarter 2008" ect.

Basically I am going into this job fresh out of a year or 2 of college and don't have any experience other then the 4 classes I took.

All this stuff about your skills and desirable traits just don't exist for me or just isn't something I have been able to get to and I am sure there are others in my position who are going for a first career job and have the same problems I have.

So with all this in mind is there something I can do to make a resume with this limited experience of mine?

You have no job experience related to the field but it doesn't matter. Whatever you did can go on your resume, you aren't a lifeless vegetable who's never done anything in his life, take what you've done and describe in such a way that you highlight your best traits. You'll obviously want to keep your resume to one page, exactly one page not too short or just over a page since your don't have much to put on it.

[Syntex]

You have no job experience related to the field but it doesn't matter. Whatever you did can go on your resume, you aren't a lifeless vegetable who's never done anything in his life, take what you've done and describe in such a way that you highlight your best traits. You'll obviously want to keep your resume to one page, exactly one page not too short or just over a page since your don't have much to put on it.

I was thinking one page is best as well not having an objective and references available upon request but I want to put more then just a 1 line of my qualifications for the job which is just the 4 classes then my job history after that.

Putting achievements and accomplishments seems pointless unless its related to the field. I could see special skills listing my 4 years of Japanese under this would be good but other then that and about 80 wpm typing I can't think of anything that might matter. Maybe I am just nt picking and thinking everything has to be important info and no filler but thats how I see it.

Would still like to see an example resume with similar characteristics of what I have going for me.

[Nystul]

Hi, I'm a recruiter in the Biotech and Pharmaceutical industries. I spend about 80% of my days looking at resumes all day long. Here's my resume- I was just out of graduate school and looking for jobs both inside my educational career and outside (which is where I eventually went)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...resumepic1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...resumepic2.jpg

My suggestions:

First of all stop worrying that you have no experience. Someone out there is looking for no experience. I eliminate people for jobs all the time because they are too senior for the position. Don't try to make yourself look like something you're not because then you'll attract the wrong people and run off the ones that will actually offer you a job. It's like if you want to pick up a mormon girl, you don't go to bars. They won't be there and the girls that are there won't want you either. Just admit you're a fucking mormon and go to where they are.

Page limit is irrelevant. It gets you to focus on the WRONG thing. You think about jamming shit into 2 or 1 pages when you should be focusing on presentation. A cluttered, crammed 1 page resume is not as good as a nice, clear, spaced out 3 page resume. Just put down what is essential. Don't write down your whole life. Ask yourself "is this information useful in getting the position to which I'm applying?" When you are about to include that line that people like to put at the bottom "Interests: Kayaking, cycling, and long walks on the beach" you should say no and not include that line. God those are lame.

Here's the kicker- you have about 15 seconds to get someone to decide to read more deeply into your resume. Maybe less. So your resume is really divided into 3 parts:

1. Personal info (and don't get cute and blind shit like your email or phone) which should include mailing address, email address and at least one phone if not two (work+cell or home+cell etc). DO NOT PUT A FUCKING PICTURE OF YOURSELF ON YOUR RESUME. Not only is it really lame and also make you look arrogant but it fucks up any place that has stringent equal opportunity policies etc.

2. I didn't really have this section. This is the bait and hook section. You will change this for every job you apply to. Every job description has a list at the bottom (must have BS in Biology, 0-3 years laboratory experience, experience with HPLC). You're then going to have a bit at the top that addresses those requirements as best you can:

Key Skills:
* BS degree in Biology
* 1.5 years laboratory experience at University of Balls
* Experience using HPLC to quantify and purify various small molecule and organic compounds

Yea, you're going to repeat basically all that later. So what. Now the person reading your resume knows that you already meet their basic qualifications. Now they will probably call you and bother to start going deeper. DO THEIR WORK FOR THEM!

3. This is the bulk of your resume. Education, work history, etc. Since you don't have "relevant" work history at this point, try to expand on your education. Focus on courses you took that are relevant, any projects, any awards and honors, any groups you were a member of (especially if you held some kind of office) etc. Later when you have relevant work experience your jobs as a gardener and landscaper to pay the bills here and there will be cut. Note in my resume I didn't include my time at temp agencies or other odd jobs I'd done. Eventually your education will be simply that you got x degree at Y university. Like I said earlier, no cutesy shit here either.


Something that I think is very important: WHITE SPACE. I could have made my resume a 1 page resume. But I increased spacing to 1.5, I had a lot of white space. It makes the resume a lot easier to scan read. Don't "Wall-o-text" the person reading your resume.


other tips:
1. basic font, Only use 1, 2 fonts max.

2. don't get cute with graphics. 1 bullet throughout. limit borders. Don't use a colored background and a lot of fancy shit. Simple is better. You're not up for a job in resume design they want to see the content and not be distracted by the fact that you have animated butterflies as bullet points.

3. repeating another thing I said: Assume that the person looking at your resume is lazy. Not that they are but do their work for them. Make it seem like your resume just fell out of the sky destined for the position. WHen I qualify people I often have to search around for stuff and the more I have to do it the more I start thinking that maybe this person isn't that great and I can find someone else that is. The "bait and hook section" is really useful

4. Be honest. If you haven't finished your degree then put "expected graduation summer 2009." If you lie on your resume about something like that then I immediately don't trust anything else you have and I'm not going to consider you.

[Ardent]

Good advice but dont forget to tell them what missions you have completed and what gear you have in ffxi.

[Khamsin]

This may not be your exact situation, but it may help. My resume got me like five phone calls the day I put it up on Monster, after being laid off from a previous job.

It went something like:

Name/Address/Phone/email (centered on top)

CAREER SUMMARY
Professionally licensed civil engineer with over 5 years of increasing responsibility in the design and management of roadway projects.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Firm #3 * Bothell, WA * March 2004 - September 2008
Brief description of responsibilities, and things I did that made a difference.

Firm #2 * Bellevue, WA * August 2003 - December 2003
Brief description of responsibilities, and things I did that made a difference.

Firm #1 * Mountlake Terrace, WA * December 2001 - November 2002
Brief description of responsibilities, and things I did that made a difference.

SPECIAL TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE
AutoCAD, LDD, Civil 3D * Proficient in the use of CAD and LDD functions.
AGI32 * Skilled in the analysis and design of illumination systems.
WWHM * Experienced in the design of storm detention and water quality treatment systems.
MicroStation, InRoads * Familiar with the use of MicroStation and InRoads.
MS Office (probably a given, but just threw it in just 'cause)

LICENSE
Professional Engineer, Civil Engineering * (license number) - (expiration date)

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering * University of Washington 2001

REFERENCES
Available upon request.

I've only had 4 jobs (on the 4th now) since graduating, but I've found a resume in this format tends to work. I know some have advised against a "Career Objective" section, but I don't think a "Career Summary" is a bad idea. In general, I find the order in the resume to be good, too. Experience first, then skills, certifications, and education.

[Tubbers]

Serious question: Why would you ever reject someone for being over-qualified? It's like saying, hey you look like you could definitely do this job, we're looking for someone who isn't quite as good as you, GL buddy, I'm sure you understand!


Advice:
1 page
bullet important stuff
bold really relevant stuff
it's Résumé if you want to have the accents in there

[The Stig]

Serious question: Why would you ever reject someone for being over-qualified? It's like saying, hey you look like you could definitely do this job, we're looking for someone who isn't quite as good as you, GL buddy, I'm sure you understand!


Advice:
1 page
bullet important stuff
bold really relevant stuff
it's Résumé if you want to have the accents in there

If you're over qualified, they know you will get bored of the job pretty fast and therefore will have to either move you up or get rid of you anyway (or the person leaves).

On the subject of job hunting...

I spent 4 months job hunting and I did too put my CV up on Monster, what I found was that it's normally recruitment agencies will ring you and talk to you to see how you are and send you to an interview with the client.

What I also discovered (this may be just bad luck on my side) is that during the ~20 interviews I had, it SEEMS that these companies are BORED (this was during summer) and are just interviewing for fun. I'm not quite sure but the fact that most of them absolutely refused to give the agency (or me, directly) feedback on the interview, even if it's a simple "no" (which I will gracefully accept and move on, their loss, right?), they ignore you after the interview.

Which was a shame as one of the interviews I had was with Gartner (Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for our clients to make the right decisions, every day. & Gartner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) for an 2nd Line IT Support position and MY GOD the offices were fucking amazing and they even had their own Starbucks, and the whole IT Team plays Counterstrike/Unreal Tournament + other games during breaks/lunches/after work (or even while bored), the IT Team MANAGER (or director of IT) is some hot woman in her 27~30 with nice boobs (not huge but awesome enough for someone quite petite) that you can tit fuck all day or just bury your face into them. She perma-burned an image in my mind because during the interview they stood out a lot (air conditioning made her nipples stood out, haha).

The interview went really well, but the HR Rep, despite several of my e-mails/phonecalls, never gave me a feedback or a response, saying that they're "still interviewing, but you're a very strong candidate" (bullshit, in my opinion). 2 more interviews elsewhere I found a job and took it (despite me waiting until the very last hour/deadline for accepting the other job, for a response).

Interviews

I have to say that when looking for a job, unless you're really good/charming/confident/lucky, your first few interviews are likely going to be shit/warm up sessions for you. Just go in there and do it. My Gartner interview went extremely well (judging from our chat/reactions and the flow/pace of interview) but that was towards the end of my last few interviews.

I have to admit my initial ones were crap because I was out of touch so I wasn't too used to it (not to say I was good, but maybe my responses/replies weren't very "on target" making myself seem poorer than usual), but by the end lot of my interviews each of them were done with full effort and enthusiasm.

[Maguspk]

Serious question: Why would you ever reject someone for being over-qualified? It's like saying, hey you look like you could definitely do this job, we're looking for someone who isn't quite as good as you, GL buddy, I'm sure you understand!


Advice:
1 page
bullet important stuff
bold really relevant stuff
it's Résumé if you want to have the accents in there

In addition to what Stag mentioned usually over qualified applicants will expect higher pay too, it's not uncommon for a company to accept an undergraduate and deny a master's student with fairly equal credentials otherwise simply because the master's student is expecting a higher position/pay.

[Nystul]

Serious question: Why would you ever reject someone for being over-qualified? It's like saying, hey you look like you could definitely do this job, we're looking for someone who isn't quite as good as you, GL buddy, I'm sure you understand!


Advice:
1 page
bullet important stuff
bold really relevant stuff
it's Résumé if you want to have the accents in there

As people stated, salary and "boredom" are two important reasons. If you had 10 years of experience and were getting 100k a year salary would you take a position that paid 70k that was intended for someone with 2 years experience? Especially when working with a recruiter- the company has to pay us a substantial fee (typically 15-25% of the placements base salary) if they use one of our candidates. So for a 100k position thats anywhere from 15-25k (typically 20k is average). They don't want to shell out all that cash and then in a year and a half when the person is bored and finds a new job do it all over again.

We work with pharma advertising companies that seek young employees too- they want them to move up through the ranks, to bring in new/fresh ideas, to provide youthful enthusiasm. Things like that.


Also, again...the 1- page limit thing (or 2 page, or whatever) is nonsense. I've seen resumes where they were so focused on 1 page limitations that they crammed 5 pages worth of shit on there. No line breaks, small font, etc. Unreadable. Don't do that. Space and ease of reading are important. Just be focused on the details that you include. Only include RELEVANT information.



If you want a huge tip in this day and age of internet sites like monster.com- Key Words. Find job descriptions for positions you want. they don't have to be ones you'd apply to. Just find job descriptions anywhere. Then find what words they repeat. What are the key skills, techniques, etc that come up again and again. Speak the language of the industry. The more you can incorporate those key words into your resume the more likely that you will come up at the top of a search by someone looking for candidates.

The interview went really well, but the HR Rep, despite several of my e-mails/phonecalls, never gave me a feedback or a response, saying that they're "still interviewing, but you're a very strong candidate" (bullshit, in my opinion). 2 more interviews elsewhere I found a job and took it (despite me waiting until the very last hour/deadline for accepting the other job, for a response).

This is often a problem for any number of reasons. Our best clients give us regular and specific feedback. Recently I had a guy go in for an interview for a VERY tough to fill position. He was *PERFECT* because they wanted a very specific background and he had it all. He was always a nice guy on the phone with me too. Went for the interview and a few days later they got back to me with "not interested." They still won't tell us why. I have another person that got turned down because word got out she was interviewing and someone she had worked with in the past objected, saying she stabbed people in the back etc. Who knows how true it is. Could be spite. Could be real. Could be someone doesn't want someone else coming in that may surpass them in the promotion line. Could be that they were arrogant in the interview. My dad served on a hiring committee once for a university professor and one member voted no on a candidate because they wore brown shoes that didn't match their black pants or something. These aren't things you tell people.

They could be waiting to see if funding comes through. Sometimes the hiring manager wants to hire but he can't get budget approval. Sometimes the hiring manager is being TOLD to search because people under him are complaining about work load so they put on a show but never bother actually hiring because they can't afford it. Sometimes the hiring manager and the HR people don't get along or the hiring manager is a loser and doesn't have his shit together. You never know. I'd say we get specific feedback like 40-50% of the time.