What is a Resume

 

A resume is a marketing tool that highlights those aspects of your background you wish to draw an employer’s attention

A document that contains essential information about you

•               Presents you in the best possible light

•              Is essential for job applications

•             Is 50% of the means by which you get an    interview

•              Can be referred to by both parities during an interview

 

 

  Terms: C.V.  resume

 C.V. : the initials of Curriculum vitae   meaning the course of your life

 (Doesn’t mean to put down everything about your life)

 

Difference between C.V.  and resume

 Usually they are the same outside of America while in America 

C.V. is a cumulative record of your professional achievements, academic preparation and qualifications in your                     discipline.). It is used for academic position (assistant professor, a research position in University ect.

Resume  is used for internship, part-time job, full-time etc.; a  perpetually unfinished document..

to be professional: what is a cv and how does it differ from a resume

 

 what is the appropriate length?

 

1-2 pages

Not the list of your life story

Not an autobiography

 

what is the purpose?

 

To market yourself

Before writing ,

you must do both research on you and the job ( what you can offer and what the employers are looking for )

want /need         

 Your  need : money, a job where you can achieve personal fulfillment ect.  

Your offer:  skills , experiences, expertise, personal qualities (can’t be learned， like being meticulous (detail-oriented, responsible etc. )

Analyze your strength and weakness

Know what position you are qualified :

Not too overqualified ( eg. Postgraduate for a entry level job)

Not underqualified (eg. an undergraduate for a master level job )

A good fit

 Know and talk about what you can offer

Research on the job

Research on the prospective employer /career

Pursue multiple options

Be flexible : don’t get stuck in one option

Maintain positive and realistic

 

Summary :

l        Reflect upon your academic credentials, skills , experience

l        List jobs, internships, teaching assistances, with dates and specific duties for each

l        List awards, grants, honors, publications or paper presentation

l        Write down fields of specification and course work

l        Make a list of references and contact information

 

 

what to include?

 

l        Contact information :  name address

    email address

phone number (it’s better to just put your cellphone which is reachable)

                       .

            No Personal information like age, gender, marital status, social security number, height/weight (unless you would like to share)

 

l        Education

             Starting with the most recent, with current and work back in time, in reverse chronological order

            Showing high school education and activities on a resume is only appropriate when you are under 20 and have no education or training beyond high school. Once you have completed either college courses or specialized technical training, drop your high school information altogether.

      Continuing education shows that you care about life-long learning and self-development, so think about any relevant training since your formal education was completed. Relevant is the key word here. Always look at your resume from the perspective of a potential employer. Don't waste space by listing training that is not directly or indirectly related to your target job.

l        You can put other sections like GPA if you want

          

l        Work experience

For each job held, list

•             Job title

•             Company name

•             Date of employment

•             Primary responsibilities and key accomplishments.

If you don’t have any real work experience, you can put down:

•       Internship

•       volunteering experience

•        part-time jobs…

listed in reverse chronological order or in order of job relatedness

 

How to put if I don’t have not much/ little to show?

 

Think about the following situation:

  Anne is coming back to work after a break for bringing up children. When pressed, she revealed  the following information:

 

•       She was bringing up 2 children

•       She was secretary to her local residents’ group

•       She sometimes helped out at her children’s playgroup

•       She did the paperwork for her husband’s small farm

•       She helped out on the farm

 

On a CV, this might be shown sth. like this

•       2000-2004  home responsibilities

                                 cared for children

                               undertook secretarial duties

                                 assisted with early-years

                                                   education

                                kept business accounts

                                cared for farm animals

Whatever you’ve done, it can be made to look interesting by putting it into formal language

  

l        Skills and qualifications

Three types of skills

1.      Job Specific

Knowledge and abilities needed to perform the work .knowledge you got on books…) 

2.      transferable

abilities that are needed and apply to a variety of jobs (cooperative,….)

 

3.      personal characteristics

personality traits, attributes (trustworthy, enthusiastic…)

 

Questions to ask yourself when putting skills on:

Have you demonstrated the competence your employers seek?

 

Q1. what skills have enabled you to be successful (evidence, examaples)

Q2. Do your strength meet their needs?

 

Employers are looking for evidence of

Motivation/initiative/drive to succeed

Team work

Leadership

Academic credentials /active learning

Interpersonal skills

Analytical /problem-solving skills

Planning /organizing

Adaptability

 

attention : not just a list, but specific : (how did you do ? in a team? Include  numbers; show the positive result, ect. )

 

Transferable skills list

 

Top 10 skills  US employers want

1.      communication skills

2.      strong work ethic

3.      initiative

4.      interpersonal skills

5.      problem-solving skills

6.      team work skills

7.      analytical skills

8.      flexibility and adaptability

9.      computer skill

10.  being detail-oriented

 

l        References

 

Full name

Title

Institutional Address

Telephone, /address, /email /fax

Make sure your references know they are listed( asking for permission in advance) and have a copy of your CV.

Or: available on request( if you don’t want to put it on )

 

Your personal Profile

•        A personal profile at the head of their resume

•        Three or four lines explaining the kind of person you are

•        Together with an outline of your skills, abilities and achievements

•        The profile reads like an advert and generally contains no working verbs

•         

  Examples: 

Suppose you have worked as a secretary, managed a small office and now applying for a job in personnel work in a big company. Your personal profile might read like this

    A confident and conscientious administrator with proven office experience and the ability to work under pressure either alone or as part of a team, and having a keen interest in all aspects of personnel work.

 

 

If you have helped run a playgroup since your children were born and are studying to be a primary teacher, you might write

An efficient organizer who has run a playgroup while managing a home and bringing up children and is able to empathise with early-years children, helping them to learn and to practice their social skills. Adaptable, resourceful and keen to participate n all aspects of primary school work.

 

Sometimes, this piece is headed career profile.

    This heading can be used if you already have considerable experience in the field of work you are applying for and can show what you’ve covered. You want to show that you are building on a strong background

A highly motivated engineer with successful experience of leading teams throughout his wide experience of construction gained in the Armed

   Services. Now looking to take on a management role. Confident, ambitious,  diligent and resourceful.

 

Career objectives

This heading might be used if you are sending out your resume “on spec” to a number of different employers. In this case, you want to show that you have clear goals and lots of determinations, your profile might look like this:

A language specialist, fluent in both French and German, who has lived and worked inEuropeand will shortly hav  a BA (Hons) in Russian. Planning to work

      as a translator or interpreter.

 

The format of a resume

 

Two types of resume

Chronological resume (also called the traditional resume) (refer to your textbook p.192)

Based on a traditional organization format

Focus on dates   

Focus on your current qualification and also the time in which you receive these qualifications

Two headings normally appear in the portion that presents qualification: Education” and “work experience”, in both parts, the reverse chronological order is usually used.

 

Functional resume (also called skills-based resume ): (refer to the textbook, p.193 )

Doesn’t focus on dates

Focus on your skills acquired throughout your education or your experiences

  Points of primary interest to employers, like transferable skills, appear in major headings.

Under each heading an applicant could draw from education background and /or work experience to provide supporting evidence.

 

The profile section must be relevant to the type of job for which you are applying. It might be true that you are "compassionate," but will it help you get a job as a high-pressure salesperson? Write this profile from the perspective of a potential employer. What will convince this person to call you instead of someone else?

 

 

Stylistic features of a resume writing

1.  omit pronouns referring to yourself

                  2. sentence fragments with action verbs and adjectives preferred which sound powerful

 

参考视频：（备注: 一下视频来自网易公开课上传的Harrisburg Area Community College 的在线课程）