Resume Writing Tips

 

Your Key to Interview!

 

Appling for Provincial Government Opportunities.

 

 

Purpose of a Resume:

• Your Key to that Interview.
• Showcase your.
  1. Knowledge, skills & abilities.
  2. Your experience & accomplishments.
  3. Your education & trainings.

 

Common Questions:

• The format and style of the resume.
• What to include.
• How long should the resume be.
• How old/dated experience should I include.
• Do I customize.
• Do I include cover letter.
• We will help address them throughout this presentation.

 

Style of Resume:

• Chronological (most preferred) (example further below).
  • Focuses on work history.
    
  • Recent most job on top.
  • Can help portray career progression.
  • Most used and preferred.
  • Ideal if you have no major gaps in career.
    
• Functional/skill based (example further below).
  • Focus on transferable skills.
  • Group key skills and experience related to the job.
  • Most information on skills section.
  • May list work history without details.
  • Used mostly when changing industry/profession.
    
• Combination (example further below).
  • Elements of both chronological & functional.
  • Can be used to showcase specialized skills.
    
  • Transferable skills and details of work history. 
    

 

Chronological:

Resume Summary – introduce your relevant experience, achievements, and skills.

Example:

Administrative Assistant with 6+ years of experience organizing presentations, preparing facility reports, and maintain the utmost confidentiality.  Possess a B.A. in history and expertise in Microsoft Excel.  Looking to leverage my knowledge and experience as a Project Manager.

 

Professional Experience – past jobs or relevant experiences (most recent at top). 3-5 descriptive bullets per experience.

Example:

Redford & Sons, Boston, MA.

Administrative Assistant, September 2015 – Present.

• Schedule and coordinate meetings, appointments, and travel arrangements for supervisors and managers.
• Trained 2 administrative assistants during a period of company expansion to ensure attention to detail and adherence to company policy.
• Developed new filing and organizational practices, saving the company $3,000 per year in contracted labour expenses.
• Maintain utmost discretion when dealing with sensitive topics.
• Manage travel and expense reports for department team members.

 

Bright Spot Ltd, Boston, MA.

Secretary, June 2011 – August 2015

• Typed documents, such as correspondence, drafts, memos, and emails, and prepared 3 reports weekly for management.
• Opened, sorted, and distributed incoming messages and correspondence.
• Purchased and maintained office supply inventories, and being careful to adhere to budgeting practices.
• Greeted visitors and determined to whom and then they could speak with specific individuals.
• Recorded, transcribed and distributed minutes of meetings.

 

Education – highest degree, school name, and academic honours.

Example:

Richer Brook University, Chicago, IL

 

Additional Skills – relevant technical skills and soft skills (bullet format).

Example:

• Expert in Microsoft Office, with focus in Excel.
• Bilingual on Spanish and English.
• Web and tech savy, require little to no training.

 

Functional:

Resume Summary – introduce your relevant experience, achievements, and skills.

Example:

Experience customer services representative with a proven track record of boosting month-to-month sales. Able to predict, evaluate, and meet the specific needs of a customer while maintaining an efficient work schedule.  Awarded ‘Employee of the Month’ for consistently receiving positive customer feedback.  Seeking to leverage my experience in customer service to fill a Sales Clery position at Blarneys.

 

Relevant Skills – create skill categories (instead of job titles). 3-5 bullets under each that proves you have the skill.

Example:

Customer Service

• Receive a 95% on customer service feedback surveys on a consistent basis by providing a friendly in-store environment.
• Enhance the customer experience by providing quality assistance and in-depth product knowledge.
• Educate customers on up-and-coming brands and the latest fashion trends.

Sales

• Exceeded sales goals on average of 10% for 5 straight months.
• Upsell customers through the recommendation of products that meet their specific needs.
• Process 30+ customer transactions a day and factored sales, discounts, and promotions into the final price.

Merchandising:

• Restock and organize new shipments of inventory in a timely manner, cutting average of 2 days off the merchandising process.
• Develop and create unique displays that attract customers to a desired product.
• Team worker who is able to adapt in highly dynamic and changing situations in the office.

 

Work History – short list of past jobs (employer name, job title, years employed).

Example:

Ulta, Manhattan, NY

(2016-2017)

Sales Clerk

 

GAP, Albany, NY

(2014-2015)

Sales Representative

 

Education – highest degree, school name, and academic honours

Example:

Associates Degree / Fine Arts

Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY

3.77 GPA

 

Combination:

Resume Summary – introduce your relevant experience, achievements, and skills.

Example:

A general bookkeeper with 8+ years of experience using both single-entry and double-entry systems for medium-sized businesses. Specialize in performing bookkeeping for multimillion-dollar companies.  Possess expertise in numerous pieces of bookkeeping software.  Identified and eliminated departmental inefficiencies to increase productivity by 15%.

 

Technical Skills – organize your relevant hard skills (best for senior-level, managerial, or highly skilled job seekers).

Example:

Finance

• Corrected spreadsheeted error saving A/P $3,500.
• Performed financial calculations such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal for multimillion-dollar company.
• Certified QuickBooks Accountant.

Organization

• Checked figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical  accuracy, and proper codes.
• Performed general office duties such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence.
• Maintained error-free financial books for over 7 years.

 

Work History – 2-3 relevant jobs highlighting your expertise (skills + accomplishments). 3-5 bullets per job.

General Bookkeeper.

Franklin & Rodgers Business Solutions, Scottsdale, AZ / September 2012-present.

• Accessed computerized financial information to answer general questions as well as those related to specific accounts.
• Formulated, prepared, and issued bills, invoices, and account financial statements with 10% increased efficiency to ensure timely deliverable.
• Trained 3 new administrative assistants and junior bookkeepers.

 

Administrative Assistant Bookkeeper.

Patton Group, Tempe AZ / June 2010 – August 2012

• Operated computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.
• Operated 10-kep calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.
• Matched order forms with invoices, and record the necessary information.

 

Education – highest degree, school name, and academic honours.

Example:

B.S. Accounting – Wilhem University, 2010 – Pheonix, AZ.

A.S. Accounting – Wilhelm University, 2008 – Pheonix, AZ.

Certified Bookkeeper – American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers, 2006.

 

Where Should You Start:

• Research the organization & department you are applying for.
• Focus on the posting you want to apply for.
  • Look at the Duties to understand the deliverables of the role.
  • The Qualifications section outlines the experience, skills and abilities required.
• Understand the Requirements and Assets.
  • Requirements are listed as should have, must have, need to exhibit etc.
  • Assets are listed as good to have, preferably, will be given preference.
• Practice doing this:
  • Identify what is the job looking for.
  • Do you have that experience/skill.
  • What example/evidence/accomplishment/lived experience you have to support that.
• Plan what to include in the resume.

 

Debugging the Job Posting:

Primary Accountability – talks about the position and deliverables.

• Ask yourself what experience/skill/competency do you have to speak to this.
• What example/evidence/accomplishment/lived experience you have to support this.

 

Qualifications and Experience – outlines the experience, skills, and abilities required.

• Focus on the requirements and assets.
• Identify your related/transferrable skills.

 

Equivalency – outlines if you do not have a certain degree/experience what will be considered equivalent and suffice for the application.

 

Putting Your Pen to Paper:

• Decide on the style of the resume, Chronological resume is the preferred style for Government of Nova Scotia.
• The length will depend on individual experience and stage in career.
  • Recommended length 2-3 pages; make sure its legible.
• Do not just list responsibilities of each role, focus on WHO, WHAT, HOW, OUTCOME.
• Use action verbs and write the sentences in active voice.
  • Example:
  • Responsible for creating a training program for new employees on wastage reduction.
  • Created a training program for new joiners on wasted reduction.
• Portray accomplishments and quality where possible.
  • Can be impact, size or complexity of what you did in your role, end results etc.
  • Example:
  • Created a training program for 25 new joiners on factory safety protocol which resulted in 15% reduction in wastage.
• Put most relevant and impactful points first.

 

What to Include:

• Name & Contact Information:
  • A number where you can be reached.
  • An active voice mail.
  • A professional email address.
• A summary, a brief profile of yourself.
• Work History:
  
  • Mention Name of employer, time worked there including Month and Year.
  • Highlight skills , competencies and accomplishments.
• Education & Training:
  • Formal education.
  • List of relevant training & certifications.
• Other:
  • License & Professional memberships.
  • Awards, publications .
  • Volunteering experience.

 

Things You Can Leave Out:

• Details of very old/dated experience.
• Details of experience not relevant to the job being applied for.
• Personal interests/hobbies/passion.
• Reference (will need to be provided post interview).
• Career Objective.
• Trainings not relevant to the job being applied for.

 

The Don’ts:

• Include your personal details like age, height, marital status.
• Include a picture of yourself.
• Use colorful font, fancy graphics.
• Use contact information you do not check/use often.
• Be dishonest.
• Include personal identifiable information like SIN.
• Include salary rates.

 

Cover Letter:

• Supplements you resume.
• Format of a formal letter.
• Address to the Hiring Manager, include name if you know.
• Mention the position you are applying to.
• Dated & Signed.
• One pager preferably.
• Describe how you are qualified for the role.

 

Check Before You Apply:

• Check for typo/dates.
• Check you referred the right competition in your cover letter.
• Make sure if you are applying to the right competition.
• Make sure you customize your resume and cover letter.
• Have a master resume, edit that to speak to the role you are applying and it separately with the title of job you applied for.