What’s going to stand out to an employer?

The first page The first listing under a section The first bullet under a job Anything bolded, underlined, or italicized

Make these count!

Layout/format that is clean and consistent Gather essentials in 30 seconds Concise, yet descriptive details Action and achievement oriented Most relevant and recent information Put your “best foot forward” Your main goal is to land an interview

Brainstorm◦ Take time to list everything you’ve done

Create a “base” resume◦ Don’t worry how it sounds yet

Fine-tune your “base” resume◦ Several editing cycles are needed

Tailor-make various versions◦ Each resume you send will be unique

Limit resume to 1 – 2 pages Use standard fonts (Times, Arial), no smaller than size 10 Margins: .75” – 1.25” Use italics, bolding, and underlining

carefully to place emphasis

Most widely used

Start with present job and list back from there

This style works well if you have had several jobs or internships

Organized by skills/topic areas

Works well if you have gaps in employment

Works well in emphasizing transferable skills

Works well if you have a lot of experience or very little experience

1.

2.

Keys to writing a career objective:◦Clear◦Relevant◦Concise

Change objective as often as needed Should be as specific as possible Identifies the position you are targeting

Vague/General

1 - To obtain a position as a dietician in a hospital setting.”

Specific/Direct2 - Seeking a position utilizing nutritional

counseling and program management experience to serve at risk youth of Eastern Kentucky.”

Contrast these examples:General -◦ “A challenging position that uses my education

and creativity”

Specific -◦ “A position as a writer in a public relations

department or advertising firm”

List degrees in reverse chronological order

School name(s) Most Recent First Location Degree, Major, Minor GPA if above 3.0 Graduation date (month/year) Do not include high school information, community colleges where you did not

obtain a degree

May provide RELEVANT coursework:◦ 4 – 6 targeted courses◦ upper level, specific training/knowledge

Study abroad experience

Awards or Honors

Include paid work and unpaid relevant work Organization/Company Name City, State Position Title Dates of Employment

◦ Consider using terms like “Summers 2006-2007” or “2007-2008 School Year”

Job Description Bullets

Accomplished Achieved Attained Completed Created Delivered Demonstrated Enhanced Expanded

Improved Increased Managed Obtained Performed Produced Secured Succeeded Surpassed Wrote

Start each bullet with an action verb Focus on accomplishments Emphasize transferable skills Use quantifiable information when

appropriate (like #s)

Create 2+ experience sections:

◦Social Work Experience◦Sales & Marketing Experience◦Research Experience◦Relevant Experience◦Practicum Experience◦Other Experience

Choose whether to emphasize the company or the position title, whichever is more impressive (be consistent)

Use terms/language common to your career field

Task – “Wrote weekly reports on sales and submitted them to home office.”

Accomplishment – “Completed 156 summary reports on sales, including weekly volume, percent of increase, new clients seen. Received recommendation from sales manager for accuracy.”

Task – “Responsibilities included developing various new course materials and instructional aids.”

Accomplishment – “Developed training materials on customer service now used for all new interns.”

Spin the mundane tasks to emphasize your transferable skills

◦ Answered phones all summer vs.

◦ Assisted clients by responding to daily inquiries and directing calls

Employers are most interested in this section

Include summer jobs, internships, part-time positions

May include consistent volunteer experience, just label as such◦ Fundraiser (volunteer)

Shows well-roundedness

Choose what to list by considering your objective

List co-curricular activities◦ translate “UKisms” Ex. Career Ambassador

Include any international travel

Focus on leadership and/or volunteer activities

Honors can include: scholarships, awards, special recognition

Do not list hobbies or personal information

Name of group Dates of involvement (just year) Positions held Skills acquired Accomplishments

◦ Try to quantify involvement by listings # of hours volunteers, $ of money raised, # of projects completed.

◦ Treat significant activities like you would your experience – use bullets to expand on the work that you accomplished.

Choose according to the objective Use to list any computer skills Or use to list your overall skill set

Examples:◦ Computer skills: PC and MAC operating systems,

Word, Excel, Access, Publisher, Quark◦ Genuine concern for individuals and their health

and wellness◦ Bilingual in Spanish and English◦ Excellent public speaking and group facilitation

skills

Resume Example

Avoid large amounts of text

Use bulleted points or brief phrases

Be brief, clear, and concise

Include everything on “base resume” then tailor each resume you send

Never lie about anything on your resume Report accurate GPA (a 3.9 does not round

up to a 4.0) Do not adjust dates of employment to hide

gaps Do not make up titles for jobs you’ve held

57% of employers have caught lies on resumes. 93% would never hire a candidate who lied on a resume.

◦ No need to list on resume “Available upon request” – so obvious it isn’t necessary

◦ Request Permission prior to sharing their contact info

Sample Reference Page◦ Format-full contact information

Name Job title Address Email Phone numbers

Clarify if it is (home) or (work) numbers

View job postings from the following sources◦ Postings sent to UK (Wildcat CareerLink Jobs)◦ NACElink Network

Utilize search agents

Upload resumes and post in resume books

Get employer contacts from employer database

Apply for on-campus interviews

Get details about job fairs

Tuesday – Thursday from12:00-3:00

15 minute or less career consultations◦ Resume critique◦ Cover letter critique◦ Questions regarding internships, job searching,

interviewing, and graduate school

Career counselors are available for individual appointments with students and alumni that include:◦ Interpreting career assessments ◦ Exploring careers related to majors◦ Critiquing resumes and job search letters◦ Practicing with “mock” interviews◦ Discussing job search strategies◦ Evaluating job offers and salaries

If you want individualized assistance with this process you can make an appointment with a Career Counselor

Contact the Career Center 859-257-2746

RESOURCES

Join us on FACEBOOK, TWITTER

andBIG BLUE NETWORK

www.uky.edu/CareerCenter

408 Rose Street

859.257.2746

www.uky.edu/CareerCenter