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Compliments of… How to Write a Powerful Resume Copyright © 2006 Bonney Staffing. All rights reservedWhy do I need a resume?A powerful resume does two things:1. Tells prospective employers what you can do for them2. Proves you can do it better than anyone elseA powerful resume will bring results. The phone will ring. Interviews will be set. Opportunitieswill be presented.A powerful resume makes an immediate positive impact on its reader. It must, since the averagerecruiter will spend no more than one-minute to decide whether or not to read on or stick it in thefile of lost resumes. Your resume may be one of 300 others. Most often, you do not have asecond time to present yourself. Be as specific and as direct as possible about what you can dofor them.If your resume is a strong, accomplishment-driven example of your experience, it can open doorsand lead you to great opportunities. If your resume is poorly written or boring, it won’t bringyou the desired results.When preparing your winning resume remember to include the following:HeaderDon’t forget your contact information. List your full name, address, phone number(s), and Emailaddress. And above all, be absolutely sure it’s correct and up-to-date at all times. If you need toupdate anything, make corrections in advance of your submission. Do not hand-writecorrections or updates under any circumstances!Summary or Career ObjectiveIt would be wise to stay away from objectives as they can limit your scope of opportunities.Instead, work at developing a summary of your experience. Your summary should be no morethan one or two sentences. It is most effective to customize the summary to suit the demands ofa specific opportunity. Be sure to match your skills, experience and education to their needs.Keep in mind to be honest at all times. EducationList your most recent education first and work backward. List your degree, major, minor, datesof attendance, name of school. Also list your GPA if it is a 3.0 or higher. Include high schoolinformation only if you have no college or university credit. If you are applying to a position that specifically requires a certain degree or are a recent graduate with little (or no) work experience, it would be best to list your education immediately after your summary. Otherwise, education can be listed after work experience on your resume.Work ExperienceList your experience, chronologically, with your most recent job first. Include the employer’sname, city and state, along with dates of employment. List your job title. Outline your jobduties and accomplishments in concise descriptions.Remember to: • Highlight your most important job responsibilities • Use action phrases (see attached list) • Incorporate tangible results when listing your accomplishments. Quantify your achievements with percentages or numbers like “increased customer enrollment by 30 percent” or “managed three-person project team” • Use bullets to draw attention to your achievements • Keep tenses appropriate! For current position, use present tense such as, “Answer phones.” For previous positions, use past tense, for example, “Answered phones.” • Do Not Be Repetitive ~ it can be boring and turn off the reader.Skills & ExpertiseBe sure to list your technical and computer skills. List programming languages, softwareprograms and operating systems you’ve used as well as certifications you have earned. Also besure to highlight “soft skills” like foreign languages.It’s a good idea to include memberships in professional organizations. It shows you’re seriousabout your career.We recommend that you not list your hobbies or include personal information, such as maritalstatus, number of children, etc. By doing so, you may be subjecting yourself to your prospectiveemployer’s judgment.ReferencesYou don’t need to waste valuable space on references. Most employers will ask for them later.However, if you need to fill an empty space at the bottom of your page, go ahead and put“Excellent references are available upon request.” Prepare a separate sheet listing three tofive professional references. Hold onto this information until you are asked to provide them. Some Resume Disasters to Stay Away From…Never lie about job titles, dates of employment, and awards. Don’t inflate statistics orpercentages when speaking of accomplishments. Don’t falsify college or grad school degrees.Background checks are commonplace in this market. Honesty is always the best policy!Inconsistencies, job-hopping or changes in your career may raise red flags about your ability tomaintain stability within an organization. Although we highly recommend that you present yourresume in chronological form, if you have inconsistencies in your work history, it may be in yourbest interest to group these positions by category (a functional resume). List the category, forexample “Customer Service” and then present the related work experience. Then list the nextcategory “Sales” with its related job information. Keep in mind that some recruiters andpotential employers tend to view functional resumes as red flags!Keep your resume to one or two pages in length. If you ramble on and on about yourself forthree or four pages, or use wordy paragraphs to describe your responsibilities in a job, yourresume may be passed over. Be concise. Break up the information with bullets to highlightspecial accomplishments or responsibilities that are specific to the position for which you areapplying. Be brief but powerful!Never use the pronoun “I” when writing your resume. Resumes should be written in the thirdperson. Rather than “I was responsible for the day-to-day accounting functions of a busymanufacturing plant,” try, “Managed day-to-day accounting functions for $2M manufacturingplant.”Proof your resume before it goes anywhere! Your resume is a valuable tool only if you treat itlike one. If it is presented to a company with typographical errors and chocolate fingerprintsmudges, you are presenting a personal image that few prospective employers will look uponfavorably. It’s a good idea to have another person proof read your resume. Another set of eyeswill often pick up an error that you have missed. ACTION WORDS!It is important to incorporate active or strong language in your resume. It grabs the reader’sattention. Be sure to use words that accurately describe your duties and use a variety of actionwords rather than repeatedly using the same one.A G P (cont’d.)Accomplished Gained PrioritizedAchieved Generated ProducedActed Guided ProjectedAdapted ProvidedAddressed H PurchasedAdministrated PursuedAdvised HeadedAided Helped Q–RAnalyzed HiredApplied QualifiedApproved I QuantifiedAssembled RecommendedAssigned Identified RemediedAssisted Implemented ReorganizedAttended Improved Represented Increased ResearchedB Informed Resolved Initiated RevampedBalanced Innovated ReviewedBroadened Installed RevisedBudgeted Instituted RewardedBuilt Interviewed Instructed SC J–M ScheduledCalculated SecuredCatalogued Joined SelectedChallenged Judged SolicitedChecked Launched SolvedCommunicated Led SpecializedCompiled Lightened StreamlinedConducted Located StudiedContributed Maintained SuggestedCoordinated Managed SummarizedCorrected Marketed SupervisedCreated Merged Supported MetD Minimized T-W MonitoredDecided Motivated TabulatedDelivered TargetedDemonstrated N–O TrainedDesigned TransformedDeveloped Named TranslatedDevised Negotiated TransmittedDirected Observed TypedDistributed Obtained Updated Operated UpgradedE-F Orchestrated Used Originated UtilizedEdited Organized ValidatedEliminated Overhauled VerifiedEnhanced Oversaw WelcomedEstablished WorkedEvaluated P WroteExhibitedFacilitated ParticipatedFiled PerformedFounded Planned Prepared Presented Kathleen Connor 1234 Main Street Portland, ME 04101 H: 207-773-3333 C: 207-650-1234 [email protected] Assistant with over 13 years of experience working in demanding, high level corporate positionsoffering extensive computer knowledge, strong people skills, precise attention to detail, and polished businessetiquette.Work ExperienceX-Cel CORPORATION, Portland, ME 12/96 to PresentAdministrative Assistant to the PresidentInternational sales company headquartered in Portland with offices throughout Europe and Southeast Asia. Responsible for providing administrative support to the President, as well as to other high level executives within the organization Organize and facilitate corporate events, national board meetings and executive conferences Coordinate extensive travel itineraries and maintain detailed expense reports Maintain a high level of confidentiality at all times Supervised corporate-wide computer software transition project from Access to customized databaseAXE COMMUNICATIONS, INC., Portland, ME 4/89 to 12/96Administrative Assistant – Human ResourcesLeader in the telecommunications industry with over 300 branches nationwide. Consulted with managers regarding recruitment, hiring, employee relations and other related issues Edited, co-wrote, and formatted biweekly company newsletter Developed and maintained the HR section of company web site Produced monthly computer-generated employment reports for the corporate office Provided assistance in interpretation and application of company policies and procedures Performed wide range of administrative and organizational activitiesSkills and Languages Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, PeopleSoft Proven communications and writing skills Multilingual ~ Fluent French and SpanishEducationUniversity of Southern Maine, Portland, MECurrently working toward BS with an emphasis in Human Resources ManagementAnticipated graduation May 2007Andover College, Portland, MEAssociates Degree - Computer SciencesMay 1989 G.P.A. 3.1References Available upon request