Making a Resumé

treecow_ · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 5:31 pm Post subject: Making a Resumé :?

I'm going to apply at some places for summer jobs soon but I'm missing the most important thing...a resumé! Sad

I have no idea what to include in it!!! And I don't know how to write down my volunteer experiences...do I just write down what I did (like "volunteered at a summer camp") or is there any way that I can make it sound better? Sorry if this is a little confusing Confused

but thanks in advance for whoever answers! 8)
_________________
used to be 'sw33tlilhugz' on the old f18. (;

alexisgeek · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 2:15 am Post subject:

This is like a month too late.. but yeah..

I'm updating my resume *right now*. And I have some stuff I can suggest. Some of these things I've learned when I was in school, some other things I've learned from my manager "Helen" who does recruiting (remember, the company I work for is also a recruiting company - writing ads, doing interviews, recommending potential employees to clients, etc). I've also worked in a management training / recruiting agency for 3.5 years. I've seen a ton (hundreds... maybe even thousands) of resumes over the years.

Be sure to include:

Your name & address:
- Name ALWAYS goes at the top. It doesn't have to be the absolute first thing, but make sure it stands out somewhere AT THE TOP.
- Current home address
- Contact telephone number (home or cell)
- Email address
- Personal website if appropriate

Notes:
+ Your email address should have your name. Your real name. DO NOT put down something like "sweetiluv69@hotmail.com". That's definitely not appropriate. Something like "megancasey87@hotmail.com" is appropriate. If you haven't made one, make it.. and check it often.
+ Like the email address thing, only include your website if it's appropriate. Keep it professional. If your website is full of funky colours and crazy animations and info about your family, boyfriend, dog, friends and wRiTiNg LiKe tHiS... DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR WEBSITE ADDRESS. If your website just has an online version of your resume but with links to the companies/organizations you've worked/volunteered for, then include it. That said, including your website should only be applicable to the job level.

Your Objective / Cover letter:
Employers like to know why you want to work for them.
- If you're just going door-to-door handing out resumes, then it's acceptable to just have an objective section near the top of your resume...
- ...BUT if you're applying for a postion where the job was posted online or whatever (i.e. Monster.ca or Craigslist or Workopolis or the company's website) it would be good to include an actual Cover Letter.
- The objective is a good place to subtly suck-up to the company that you're applying to.

Notes:
+ I'm not sure how else to put it... but here's what I put for my objective for a retail job as an example:
"Full-time college student extremely interested in improving customer relation-interaction skills in the retail industry. Trying to support through college and would love to work for a well-respected retail clothing company to learn from and keep up interest in the latest trends in fashion & style."

Your work history (as much as you're willing to put):
- Usually headed as "Work Experience"
- Places (company name, address)
- Dates (from when to when)
- Description of the company (just because you know "Henry's Store" is a men's fashion store, doesn't mean your potential employer does)
- Your position
- Description of your job (what you did, responsibilities - emphasis on the skills you could possibly use for your next job)

Notes:
+ Also, include your volunteer experience. If you don't have much paid work experience, put as much volunteer experience as you can down. Include all the same things as ^above^.
+ If you have very little of either one (paid or volunteer), combine both under a single section (just say next to your job position that you volunteered or whatever) to make it look like you've worked enough.
+ It's up to you, but people usually order their resumes chronologically by put the most recent thins at the top of their respective sections.

Your education:
- If you're still in high school, be sure to include your extra-curricular activities - especially if they give you some sort of responsibility or skill in them (i.e. debating team, soccer team, etc)
- Include your GPA and awards (i.e. B average, service award, honour roll, etc)

Other skills:
- It would be good to include any extra skills you might have... like languages you're comfortable communicating in, words you can type per minute, etc.

Activities & Interests:
Employers like to know that you have some sort of life. Really. It's not all just work - you gotta be human SOMEhow. So you can include:
- Anything APPROPRIATE like reading, writing, movies, shopping, etc.
- Of course, don't include INAPPROPRIATE things like... sex. Unless you're applying to be a porn star or whatever... but even then, they might be interested in the other things.
- Unless the job you're applying for actually deals with it, don't include controversial interests/activities like Human Rights or Animal Rights or anything (i.e. A clothing store that sells furs probably won't hire you if you're a member of PETA).

Other stuff to mention
- Don't put EVERYTHING. Like when you graduated from preschool. The rule of thumb is only include things that happened within the last 3-4 years... Unless you worked at a job for the past 5 years, then ok.. include that. Otherwise, no.
- I know that in school they told us to keep it to one page and all that. DO NOT DO THIS. I read it in the Workology section of the Metro, and I've heard it from "Helen". Make it 2 pages. Make it 3 pages. Whatever. Employers like to know what you've done. Saying you worked at mcdonald's for a year as a server says nothing of WHAT you did there. Not all employers know what your job would entail. BE DETAILED.
- Don't make it complicated. Alot of info doesn't necessarily mean it has to be packed with info EVERYWHERE. It's gotta have a flow to it. Info should be easy to find. You don't want to confuse the person reviewing your resume - when they skim it.
- They also told us in school to keep it simple. Simple font, simple formatting, no colours, lots of space. Don't listen to them.
Imagine this: You're looking at a webpage that has zero formatting, all the text is in Times New Roman (default Windows font), there's no colours, etc. So you just scroll through the whole thing. On your way down, you see colour. It caught your eye, right? It stuck out. You want to do something similar with your resume. Don't go over the top with rainbow colours and pictures of pink bunnies and whatnot. Sure, it'll stand out, but it'll give the employer the impression that you're not really serious about the job you're trying to get. Pick one or two colours other than black that you think would let your resume stick out a bit. Include a simple picture at the top (NOT OF YOUR FACE) if you want - whatever you think will be appropriate AND would help you.
This might sound a bit funny, but if you think it'll benefit you, be my guest: have you seen Legally Blonde (Reese Witherspoon)? Yes? Remember how her resume was pink AND scented? It stood out.
+ If you can afford it, print on nice paper. When your potential employer is actually HOLDING your resume in their hands, they're also feeling it. FEELING a nice resume totally improves the impression that that person has of you. They feel like you're trying and putting in the effort already - and they haven't even met you yet.

That's all I can think of for now... if I come up with more, I'll add it.
Hope that helps!

Lil_PinkBunnie · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:00 pm Post subject:

^Wow that's lots of great info! Thanks so much!
_________________

"sometimes the road ahead is paved with anything but good intentions."

treecow_ · Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:57 pm Post subject:

.beautiful. · Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 7:34 pm Post subject:

Wow thanks for that outline! Super helpful!! Very Happy

_________________

“There's always that one person that you'll go back to, but you'll date other people but you kind of want to run into them when you're out”
-Lauren Conrad

“Fashions fade, style is eternal.”
-Yves Saint Laurent

st3ph · Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 2:32 pm Post subject:

^^That looks good! The only thing I would suggest is to do point form instead of sentences. The reason for that is it's easier to skim over and key points will jump out at the employer. It also looks a little more organized, plus you can make the bullets look cool Happy

_________________

s-to-the-t-e-the-p-the-h-the-anie

miss you D
05/05/92-06/16/08 (L)