Write Your Résumé

1. Identify what’s relevant.

A valuable saying to keep in mind is: “Get out of your ego and into the
employer’s ego.”

As you decide what information to include or leave off your résumé keep one word
in mind: Relevant. What is most relevant to the employer? The experiences you
include, the details you provide, and the language you use should all relate to the
job you’re seeking and what the employer would want to see.

Don’t make employers work to figure out your value or how what you’ve done
relates to the job. Tell them. Focus on the employer’s needs, not yours.

Look at your résumé from an employer’s perspective. Can you

immediately make the connection between what you’ve described on
your résumé and the job you’re applying for? Revise accordingly.

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

2. Prepare your résumé for scanning.

Surveys show that employers spend less than a minute reviewing your résumé
the first time. Some employers even use scanners when they anticipate a large
number of applications for their position. But whether your résumé is being
scanned by human eyes or a computer, certain features will make it more likely to
be selected for further review.

Use keywords for the industry you hope to work in, not your current industry or
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former work before you went back to school.

Use standard typefaces like Geneva, Times, Helvetica, or Palatino. Use a font
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size of 10-14 points. Do not use tiny fonts which are hard to read.

Use boldface or all capital letters for section headings. Avoid fancy features
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such as italics or underlining which a computer can’t scan.

Do not use horizontal or vertical lines.

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Use active, concrete phrases and worlds to describe your experiences.

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Does your résumé follow the suggestions above? Revise accordingly.

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

3. Create a powerful heading and opening summary.

The opening of your résumé has the chance to grab potential employers or make
them move on to the next candidate. Make sure your résumé emphasizes your key
strengths and skills in a powerful way.

Start by making sure all your contact information is at the top of résumé: name,
address, email, and phone. Your email should sound professional (as should the
message on your voicemail). Do not use a fancy font for your name—use the same
or similar font as the rest of the résumé.

After the heading, consider a strengths section which will contain 3-4 bullet points
emphasizing your key technical skills and education related to the position you’re
seeking. Make them clear, focused on the employer’s needs, and easy to read.
Don’t load them with jargon and unnecessary bragging. Tell the reader what you
can do for them by focusing on your skills and outcomes.

Does your résumé quickly “get to the point”? Can you tell from the first
few lines what job you’re seeking and what strengths/skills/knowledge
you have that relate to the position? Revise accordingly.

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

4. Sell your education.

If you are graduating soon or recently graduated and you acquired a degree which is
directly related to your employment, you will want to put your education ahead of your
experience. You should also put your education first if you haven’t had professional
employment and are relying on the strength of your degree to help you find your first
professional job.

Keep in mind the relevance rule when you write your education section: what will
the employer be most interested in?

Use this section to highlight any features of your education including academic
achievements or awards, special projects you completed, and study abroad
experiences. Include your g.p.a. if it’s at least 3.00. If your major isn’t directly
related to your career field, but you took specific courses that do relate, consider
listing those courses in your education section.

Once you have an A.A. or B.A. degree, you can remove your high school information.

Take a few moments to think about what was most valuable about your
education as it relates to your future employment. Have you found a
way to include that on your résumé?

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

5. Make the most of your experience.

The experience section typically includes the key information about your
former employers (names of companies, their city and state, the dates of your
employment) as well as an explanation of what you did there.

Remember that experience doesn’t always mean full-time paid experience: you can
include leadership roles in activities, volunteer opportunities, summer jobs, part-
time jobs, internships, research studies, academic projects and more.

This is arguably the most important section of your résumé, so take your time
writing it and describing your various experiences. Make sure that you write your
entries with the employer in mind—focus on the experiences and skills which are
most relevant to the job you’re seeking.

One way to think about your descriptions is to consider: problem, solution,

outcome. Think about a problem you had to solve, the method you used to solve
it, and the outcome which came as a result. Using numbers to indicate the positive
changes (as in “resulting in 50% more sales”) will greatly enhance your chances of
getting an interview—and a job.

Review your experience section with the employer’s point of view: why
would s/he care about what you’ve described? Make sure you focus on
outcomes and action—not duties.

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

6. Make your interests interesting.

Employers are divided about whether they like to see Hobbies/Interests on a résumé.
Some enjoy learning something about the personal interests of job candidates; others say
that personal information has no place on a résumé.

Both arguments are valid, so the decision to include an interests section comes down to
your preference. You should only include an interests section if you are trying to add
more information to a résumé that is too short, or if you believe it will enhance your
chances of employment.
If you meet those criteria, consider the following:
Hobbies or activities that demonstrate achievement or goal-setting like triathlons or a
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black belt in karate.

Well-known organizations you volunteer with such as the United Way.
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Unique experiences that highlight a special quality-- such as speaking 5 languages.

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Successful examples of writing such as a published novel.

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Activities where you have won a competition.

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Do not include:
Potentially controversial hobbies or interests.
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Religious activities (unless relevant or related to the job).

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Odd hobbies such as unusual collections.

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Review your résumé. Do you have room for an interest section? Do you have
anything that will enhance your chances of getting a job? If no, leave it off.

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

7. Format your résumé like a professional.

Professional résumés all have certain characteristics that make them stand out:

They are generally one page in length, particularly if you’re going into business.
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If you must use two pages to avoid a crowded looking résumé, make sure the
most important information is on the first page.

They are organized, neat, and contain no spelling or grammatical errors.

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They have a balance between text and white space so they don’t look cluttered
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or too empty.

They are consistent in punctuation and verb tense.

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They are consistent in their use of bolding, italics, and other special characters.
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They are printed on professional 24-lb bond paper in white, cream, or gray.
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They don’t contain unusual fonts, pictures, or other attention-getting devices.

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Take a look at your résumé from a distance without reading any of the
words. How does it look? Is it centered with white space around the
edges? Does it look cluttered? Can you see a consistent pattern of
bolding or layout with each of the entries? Adjust it as needed.

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

8. Watch your language.

Résumés are written in an unusual style, almost like a telegram. They rely on short
bursts of information rather than full sentences. Always lead with action verbs that
convey the skills you have developed.
When describing your experiences use words like:
n Managed
n Supervised
n Accomplished
n Classified
n Organized
Avoid weak or passive phrases like:
n Was responsible for…
n Was in charge of…
n Did some work with…
n Duties included…
n Handled assorted jobs….

Go through your résumé carefully and remove any passive phrases,

particularly any time you wrote “responsible for.” Change it to an
action term, as in going from “Responsible for reconciling accounts” to
“Reconciled accounts.”

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

9. Find the résumé format that fits you.

There are generally three résumé formats that will work for most jobs. You will want
to select the style which best showcases your work and life experiences.
1. A Chronological Résumé is the most traditional and widely used format. You
simply list your education and experiences in reverse chronological order—
that is, with the most recent first. It works best when you are following a fairly
consistent and straight career path.
2. A Skills-based or Functional Résumé focuses on the skills and knowledge
you have acquired rather than the specific places you worked or the dates you
worked there. For that reason, it is often used by people who have been away
from the workforce for awhile for reasons other than schooling. If you have
been away from the workforce for more than two years, you might want to use
a functional format. Just be aware that employers can be suspicious of this
format since it is sometimes used to hide problems.
3. A Combination Résumé uses the basic chronological style, but divides your
experiences according to type. Instead of just listing your 4 most recent jobs in
order, in a combination résumé you might divide those jobs by a category, for
instance “Advertising Experience” and “Hospitality Experience.” The advantage
is you can organize your experiences to better fit what the employer is seeking.

Go online and look up the three different résumé formats. Look at samples
and decide which format would best highlight your strengths and appeal
to an employer. Then adapt your current résumé to the new format.

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

 Write Your Résumé

10. Join a professional organization to improve your résumé.

One advantage of joining a professional organization is that you can include it on
your résumé even if you never do anything beyond joining the organization.

Just having the name on your résumé implies that you are serious about your
career field. This can be particularly helpful when you are switching from one
career field to another.

You may not have experience yet in your new field, and a professional organization
can help you build that experience before you graduate. By volunteering and
working with a professional organization you not only build up the experience
section on your résumé, you will make new connections who might serve as
references for you in the future.

Professional organizations are almost always looking for people who want to help:
you can provide a service while at the same time derive a lot of benefit for your
résumé and career.

Identify one professional organization for your career field. Join it today.

© 2011 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office