FACT: You may be competing with 100+ other highly-qualified applicants for the same job.

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1 Competitive Resumes 2013 Copyright Robin G. Walker, PhD Today s 4 Aims 1. Quick review of résumé types 2. What makes a résumé competitive 3. Knowledge Skills Abilities - Duties 4. Making your résumé competitive So what is a résumé? Your resume is summary of your education & career experiences marketing tool for selling your skills & abilities reflection of your professionalism & attention to detail Review: 3 Basic Résumé Types 1. A chronological resume is the traditional format. It lists your education, work and volunteer experience. Each section is in reverse chronological order. It tells, This is what I did in the past. 2. A functional resume is generally reserved for those with significant gaps in employment history or others who prefer to highlight skills and abilities over education and training. It tells, This is what I am able to do. 3. A combination resume combines the best elements of a chronological resume and a functional resume. At the top, it tells what you are able to do (your skills and accomplishments.) The balance of the resume documents how you gained your knowledge, skills and abilities (with work, education and volunteer sections, for example.) So why does your resume need to be competitive? FACT: You may be competing with 100+ other highly-qualified applicants for the same job. FACT: An employer may take less than 15 seconds to decide if you should get an interview. A competitive résumé is Professional Easily scanned Emphasizes knowledge, skills & abilities Targeted to a specific job opening Distinct, memorable [The next slides contrast a messy resume to a simple, clean and professional formatted resume. The messy example shows a silly address and unrelated webs url; too much bold and underline; crowded margins; different type faces; and bad alignment. The professional resume has a clean look with consistent alignment; easy-to-find subheads; and 1 margins.] 1

2 Warning sign: If you are applying to a mid to large size company, your resume may be screened by a computer before it goes to a human being. Generically known as applicant tracking systems, these computers rank your uploaded documents on how well your keywords match the job description. The PROBLEM: Applicant tracking systems work differently. Some ATS s cannot read tables, lines, or bullets. If the computer cannot read your documents you will rank low (or not at all) on the list of applicants. The SOLUTION: Attempt to learn the formatting requirements for the ATS used by the company or upload a minimally-formatted version of your resume. Generally, an ATS format is plain: no graphics, symbols etc. use a dash, not bullets 1 margins Left justified Basic font (Arial, but check) Basic labels 1 item per line No headers/footer and more Next section A few working definitions: Knowledge, Skills, Abilities & Duties Knowledge: subject matter expertise necessary to perform the job requirements Skills: manual, verbal or mental manipulation of data, people or things; measurable Abilities: power to perform an observable activity; demonstrated behavior Duties: tasks that you have performed on the job Note: The definitions for Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are from the US Government. You will often see these terms in local, state and federal government job postings. Examples of K-S-A & Duties Knowledge: obtained from course content and hands-on learning; technical knowledge and knowledge of processes or systems are included. Skills: these are the competencies gained from performing tasks; include motor, verbal & cognitive skills Abilities: observable (e.g., problem solving or multi-tasking) or behaviors (e.g., leadership or teamwork) Duties: (tasks performed on a job): drafted a report; organized an event; supervised others 2

3 How to target your résumé to a specific job announcement 5 steps to a targeted résumé 1. Analyze the job announcement. Ask yourself: What knowledge, skills & abilities do they seek? 2. Obtain and the study complete job description; ID key words 3. On the top of your resume, write a powerful summary of your related K, S & A s 4. Under your summary, list the skills you possess that are most relevant to this job 5. In the employment section, add action verbs to the related duties you performed in past positions; quantify size of task whenever possible Summary Section: What to include? Powerful statements that grab attention & set you above all of the other highly-qualified candidates. Can be a combination of KSA s plus experience. Use keywords that match the position requirements Quantify whenever possible. Don t inflate your claims or sound too arrogant Aim: Convince a prospective employer you are right for the job! New Summary Expectations: Avoid making assertions about your character and abilities. Don t use buzz words, superlatives, or clichés like high-energy. Instead, cite years of experience, languages spoken, and quantify the outcomes of your efforts. Here s a good example: Doctoral candidate in public affairs, scheduled to defend dissertation research in April Expertise in mid-size city (100,000 population) urban planning. As an urban planning intern in Springfield, MO, gained budgeting experience. Recognized by the city for innovative project management resulting in a $5,000 cost savings. Skill Section: You can add one or more sections to highlight your skills. Your decision should be based on the type of job you seek and how well your skills match the key words found in the job announcement and position description. An example of simple skill section is a simple bulleted list of no more than 3-5 items that are directly related to the position description. Example: Skills Relevant to this Position Needs assessment and strategic planning Team leadership and group facilitation Public speaking and presentations Research and technical report writing 3

4 If the position calls for skills in more than one are, you might consider two short bulleted lists. For example, a position that requires both management and marketing skills, you might list Management Skills Employee supervision Performance assessment Budgeting and quarterly reports Marketing Skills Target audience identification Strategic communications planning Cost-return analysis If the position calls for technical skills, you might consider categorizing them such as Database & Languages Oracle, MySQL, IBM DB2 PHP, XHTML, CSS, CMS, Java Web Development Dreamweaver, Flash, Apache Adobe: Acrobat Professional, Illustrator & Photoshop It is also common to see transferable skills (AKA soft skills) listed in an announcement. Again, a good strategy is to categorize similar skills. Take for example, if he add mentions both communication skills and leadership you might do this Communications Public speaking with groups of 500+ Professional reports and white papers Effective listening and interpersonal skills Leadership Plan complex public outreach events Conduct efficient business meetings Educate legislators on impact of regulations Above all else, remember that 100% accuracy is required For beginner or entry-level experience you might say 4 X years experience with Completed courses in Received training for Acquired ability to Intermediate skills with

5 If you have advanced-level skills (at the professional level), you might use Versed Proficient Certified Adept Mastery IMPORTANT: Do state facts. Don t exaggerate! Be able to explain everything you claim! Duties (Listed in your employment section under each job you have help. Describe the essential tasks you performed on the job. Select 4-6 duties that most closely relate to the job description.) Make your duties sound powerful, but remain accurate. use phrases or fragments (no sentences) start with a strong (action) verb be accurate summarize or categorize like responsibilities quantify the size or scope of the tasks organize & reorder tasks to target job ad Examples of Duties Answered phones for 5 administrators. Organized an event for 500 attendees. Submitted a 100 page progress report. Recruited 25 new club members. Implemented a campus recycling program. Thank you for joining me! Competitive Resumes 2013 Copyright Robin G. Walker, PhD University of Missouri Office of Graduate Studies 5