THE STRATEGY BEHIND MAKING A RÉSUMÉJames Crook

“A tool in the form of a document used to garner interest from a perspective employer.”

Each résumé you submit for a potential job must be tailored to that job for the best results.

What is a résumé?

Space is a precious commodity.

Sections in a résumé should be ordered by importance and relevance to the job being applied for.

The three things that you MUST put on a résumé are Personal Information, Employment History, and Education.

Important Résumé Principles

Let’s talk about the most important

principle in all of résumé making. Versatility.

Versatility is the key. Versatility in the realm

of résumé making means that you are not

held bound by one specific format. The

different content of your résumé should flow

in order of what is most relevant to the job

being applied for.

Before we go any further…

1. Personal Information2. Title 3. Qualifications (Skills, Abilities, etc.)4. Achievements/Accomplishments 5. Experience6. Education 7. Endorsements (Remember Versatility!)

Anatomy of a Résumé

Personal Information

If you use an unprofessional email address you are crippling yourself! (partygirl@example; rodeoking@example; alliwanttodoisfish@example) Make a new email using a rendition of your NAME.

For the sake of space keep your name on one line and the rest of your information (email, phone, address, LinkedIn) on one or two lines.

Titles The title of the résumé should reflect

the name of the position the candidate is interested in.

If the job is a Bank Teller position, “Bank Teller” would be the title.

The title makes the résumé easier to read.

How to turn a “Me in 30 Seconds Statement” into a Title

The next two slides will show how to convert a properly constructed Me in 30 Seconds Statement into a Title.

Me in 30 Seconds I am an Employment Specialist with 1 year of

experience. During my time as an Employment Specialist; I have become an excellent résumé maker, have become adept at counseling candidates about their employment needs, and have developed very strong networking abilities. I have helped 17 people find work over the past year. Even with the success I have had, I know that I have room to grow. I am a quick learner and am ready to take another step forward in my development.

TitleEmployment Specialist Résumé Making Abilities – Employment Counseling – Networking Skills

The “Qualifications” section is the most important part of the résumé.

The next three slides will demonstrate how to take the information you know about an opportunity and turn that into a qualifications section.

Qualifications

BYU Idaho Career Networking Center

How can I tailor my résumé to match the needs of this office?

The Career Networking Center is located at MC 127A. The Center is open from 8am - 5pm Monday through Friday and is staffed with trained peer mentors to help you with the following:

Career Preparation Services at the Career Networking Center: Walk-in Resume and Cover Letter Help BYUI Connect, Alumni Mentoring - Database of Alumni Ambassadors Career Networking Crash Course LinkedIn Tutorials Major Exploration at the Career Networking Center: Occupational Literature Aptitude Testing Career Exploration Testing Career Research Peer Mentors Other Networking Resources: Campus Societies BYU-Idaho Career Fair held Fall and Winter Area Coordinator Service Missionaries

Info Found on Website

Résumé writing and formatting Networking in person and onlineEmployment counseling and advice Cover letter writing LinkedIn knowledge1 year of experience in an LDS Employment

Resource Center

My Qualifications Section

Accomplishments

•The second most important asset to your résumé are “accomplishments.” (Good Bullet Points)

•These give you the opportunity to explain your value.

•Ideally, these should take up the most space on the page compared with the other sections in the résumé.

What is an Accomplishment ?

•Any praise you have been given, any awards you have won, any extra responsibility you have taken, anything that you feel proud about.

•Power Statements

Accomplishment vs Job Description

•The next two slides will show examples of Accomplishments and Job Descriptions.

Job Description

•Counseled with candidates regarding their employment needs.

•Delivered documents to courts and businesses.

•Completed administrative tasks as needed.

Accomplishments •23 of the 25 candidates I worked closely with

(résumé, job search strategies, networking etc.) found employment.

•Created new projects of my own initiative to help the Employment Center run more effectively.

•Created or revised over 60 documents, charts, and graphs that improved the efficiency of the Employment Center.

What if I don’t have any accomplishments?•Essentially everyone has

accomplishments. Sometimes you have to pull accomplishments out of your descriptions.

•Instead of “I contacted new candidates who registered on the site.” Say “Because of my performance in other areas of my job, I was trusted to contact new candidates who registered on the site.”

Where do Accomplishments Go? That’s the question Jimmy!•Accomplishments are very flexible. You

can put the accomplishment under the job or experience it corresponds with, or you can create an “Accomplishment section.”

More Help on Writing Great Accomplishments•Check out this article by Laszlo Bock on

LinkedIn. It is a great help to writing good accomplishments.

“My Personal Formula for a Winning Resume”https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140929001534-24454816-my-personal-formula-for-a-better-resume

Employment HistoryEmployment is an easy section. All you need

are: DatesEmployer NamesJob TitlesBrief Description (Possibly Accomplishments)

EducationEducation is simple as well. You need:Name of SchoolDegree Earned (If high school put diploma

or graduated. If college was not completed put some college.)

Dates

Endorsements Using recommendations and

endorsements is highly recommended, and not a lot of people do it. An endorsement is something like this:

“James is a pleasure to know and to work with. His positive outlook, willingness to assist, and the quality of his performance are exemplary.”

(Brett Messer, Sr. Director Operation Strategy at Neutraceutical) www.linkedin.com/in/brettmesser

Why should I use an Endorsement?Are you more or less likely to buy a

house if a third party can verify that the house is in a good location?

Would you like to see a movie with no stars or 4 stars?

Are you more likely to go to a restaurant because the restaurant owner tells you his food is good or because the restaurant has 4 stars?

It has become status quo for an employer to ask you for references if the company wants them.

Do not put, “references upon request” at the bottom of the résumé either. If you do that you are wasting space you could be using for an accomplishment.

Why no references?

JAMES CROOK 304 W 1200 N CENTERVILLE, UT • 801-245-9030 • jimpcrook@gmail.com • www.linkedin.com/in/jamescrook1

Employment Specialist Résumé Making Abilities-Employment Counseling-Networking Skills

Qualifications

• Résumé writing and formatting • Networking in person and online • Employment counseling and advice • Cover letter writing • LinkedIn knowledge • 1 year of experience in an LDS Employment

Resource Center Achievements LDS Employment Resource Services Center

• Successful-18 of the 21 candidates I worked closely with (résumés, job search strategies, networking etc.) found employment. (The three who have not found work yet are still looking.)

• Improved Efficiency of the Office-Created or revised over 50 documents, charts, and graphs. • Leadership-Managed the center whenever the manager was fulfilling responsibilities away from the office. • Trusted with Responsibility-Was asked by manager to take care of contacting all new employer editors and

candidates who registered on our website. • Can Handle Large Tasks and Projects-Helped the workers at Deseret Industries complete their résumé profiles. • Computer Skills- Excellent with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher. Capable of learning new programs

quickly. Was regarded as the computer expert of the office and was given all computer related responsibilities. • Self Starter-Created new projects of my own initiative to help the Employment Center run more effectively. • Accomplished-Was given my own assistant so that I could work on side projects given to me by upper

management. Arnold & Crook PLLC

• Efficient-Delivered documents to appropriate businesses and courts with a 100% completion rate.

Missionary and Employment Experience LDS Employment Resource Services Center Centerville, UT Employment Missionary 08/2013-Present Regarded as the résumé expert of the office. Counseled with candidates regarding their employment needs. Managed the office whenever the manager was at meetings or fulfilling other tasks. Performed all administrative duties. Arnold & Crook PLLC Salt Lake City, UT Office Assistant/Errand Runner 04/2011-07/2013 Delivered documents to courts and businesses. Completed administrative tasks as needed. Education Graduate of Viewmont High School

“James is a pleasure to know and to work with. His positive outlook, willingness to assist, and the quality of his performance are exemplary.” (Brett Messer, Sr. Director Operation Strategy at Neutraceutical) www.linkedin.com/in/brettmesser

The End!