CREATING RESUMES
WHAT IS A RESUME?
• A resume is the summary of your education,
employment history, skills, and accomplishments.
• It is the “story of you.” It is also a “living” document,
because it will change every time you acquire new
knowledge, a new skill or a new job.
• The purpose of a resume is to give a prospective
employer a snapshot of what you have done and
what you have the ability to do.
• When combined with a cover letter, it becomes an
effective marketing tool – one that is marketing
YOU!
A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
• A resume should make a good first
impression and make the employer want to
know more about you. How can you
accomplish this?
• Make it short – it should be no more than
one or two pages.
•.
A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
(CONTINUED)
• Organize it – the information should be
coherent and presented in an attractive
and tidy way.
• Focus it for the employer – show how your
skills and accomplishments can benefit an
employer.
• Have proof – be able to prove every
statement about yourself with a specific,
recent example.
THREE MAIN TYPES OF RESUMES
• Chronological – lists education, skills, and
experience in reverse chronological order (the
most recent experience first), with the focus on
relevant experience.
• Skills-based – List skills and talents in order of
importance. This form is more suited to those with
limited experience.
• Combination – The most common format –
combines prominent skills and relevant
experience, with the most recent history
presented first.
FORMATTING HINTS FOR WRITING
YOUR RESUME
Creating a good resume starts with gathering
all the information an employer will want to
know about you. Once that is done, the
writing begins. Here are a few things to keep
in mind:
• A resume must be typed and easy to read.
• Do not include your race, birth date, or
Social Insurance Number (SIN)
FORMATTING HINTS FOR WRITING
YOUR RESUME (CONTINUED)
• Important information should stand out and
be easy to find.
• Avoid lengthy paragraphs – use bullets to
highlight information
• Make it perfect! Have someone proofread it
for spelling or grammatical errors
FORMATTING HINTS FOR WRITING
YOUR RESUME (CONTINUED)
• Do not handwrite corrections on the final
copy.
• Use action words or verbs (e.g. coached,
designed, built, organized) to describe your
skills and experience.
WHAT IS A RESUME OBJECTIVE?
• A resume objective is similar to a ‘topic sentence’
for your resume. It should be no more than 2-3
sentences long and it should tell a prospective
employer exactly why you are looking for work.
• Your resume objective should answer the
following:
1. What job are you applying for?
2. Other than money, why are you looking for
work? What skills do you want to use or
develop?
3. What is your long term career goal?
EXAMPLES OF RESUME OBJECTIVES
• To utilize and further develop my strong
communication and customer service skills.
In the future I hope to become a hotel
manager.
• To gain a better understanding of sales and
marketing by working as a sales clerk at
Roots. My future goal is to pursue a career
in business.
EXAMPLES OF RESUME OBJECTIVES
(CONTINUED)
• To gain work experience and provide
excellent customer service in retail sales. My
long term goal is to complete a degree in
science.
• To obtain employment as a server and utilize
my strong interpersonal and organizational
skills. In the future, I would like to open my
own restaurant.
COLLECTING ALL YOUR INFORMATION
• Before creating a resume, you have to
collect the information you will use to create
a resume.
• Gathering the information before sitting
down to write your resume will help you
create an effective, concise, informative
marketing tool to sell your talents, skills, and
abilities.
• Use the Resume Guide to gather
information.