3. Resume
Your 1st and only chance to make an impression
It’s your job to make a recruiter’s job
easier to qualify you!
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4. Key Concepts
Top ½ of your resume should include the
things you really want a recruiter to know.
Add a qualification summary & delete
your objective.
Only list jobs from the past 10 – 15 years.
Use a consistent format (style, font, layout).
Add a bit of color.
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5. More Concepts
White space is ok
Your resume is a snapshot
of your experience.
Don’t try cramming
everything in.
Need more room?
Add a 2nd page only if you
can fill at least ½ of it.
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6. Do’s
Do focus on what is relevant
to the job.
Do keep job descriptions
short & sweet.
If it’s more than 2 lines long,
add a new bullet.
Write in the past tense.
Do proofread your resume,
look for typos and repetition.
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7. Don’ts
Do NOT include personal
information.
Do NOT list your references
on your resume.
Do NOT type in 9pt or smaller
or over 14pt.
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8. Contact Info
Name
Email
Phone Number (only 1)
Address (optional)
LinkedIn (optional)
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9. Qualification Summary
Elevator speech…
Skills, experience & passion
Describe how you meet the
basic qualifications.
5 – 7 bullets. No more than 2 lines each.
Use action verbs & result oriented statements.
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10. Education
List what is required for the job and/or your
highest level of education.
Technical training can also be listed.
Include the following:
Type of degree/diploma
Major/Minor
Name of Institution, City, State
GPA & expected date of graduation if in
progress or applying for an internship
Completion date of degree not required
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11. Experience
Chronological resumes work best… gives a recruiter
the most information.
List jobs present first and back 10 – 15 years.
Include the following:
Job Title
Employer
Start and End Dates (MM/YYYY)
City, State (optional)
Do NOT include reason for leaving
Do NOT include personal information – illness, pregnancy,
marriage, religion, etc.
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12. Experience – What If’s?
Little experience/new grad
Internship
Large Projects
Volunteer/ Leadership
Job hopper/various assignments
Combine similar jobs and dates
List jobs where you worked the longest
Recently unemployed
Be sure to list past employment
Anything to fill in the dates of 6+ months (i.e. volunteer,
training, education, etc.)
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13. Skills
Companies love knowing they can put you
right to work.
If you have room on your resume list the types
of tools you’ve used and skills you have.
AP/AR
Forecasting
Presentations
Excel abilities (i.e. pivot tables)
SAP/ JD Edwards & other computer systems
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15. Basic Tips
Answer the phone if you are fully awake!
Recruiters will make first contact via phone
between 8am – 6pm.
Schedule the phone interview so you can
prepare and do research.
During the interview make sure you find a
quiet place.
Stand or sit in front of a mirror – your facial
expressions can be heard.
Relax! Be yourself.
Research the company.
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16. Interview Them
Write down 3 – 5 questions to ask.
How well do they perform?
What does the company value?
What type of overtime is required?
How does the supervisor define success?
How would they describe their team/
company culture?
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17. Basic Questions to Answer
Why did you apply?
What interests you most about the
company?
Confirm dates and gaps of employment,
education and experience.
Why did you leave/change jobs?
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18. More Basic Questions
Be prepared to share
“negative information.”
Its not what happened
necessarily … it’s how you
dealt with it.
Answer some behavioral
interview questions.
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20. STAR Concept
Past behavior… Predicts future behavior
Recruiters look for specific examples of
how you performed in the past.
Think of telling a short story including:
Beginning = Situation/Task
Middle = Action
End = Result
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21. STAR Situation/Task Action Result
associate
the STAR
to a story
Beginning of the story:
Describe the
setting and
characters….
Middle of the story:
This is the core
of the story…
End of the story:
How it ends…
be sure to finish
the story!
questions
to ask
yourself…
• what was the issue,
task, project, or
problem?
• when did it take
place?
• where did you
work at the time &
who was involved?
• what was your
role?
• what steps did
you take?
• how did you deal
with the situation?
• how did you react
• why did you make
certain choices
• how did your
actions impact
the situation?
• how did things
work out, $/time
savings?
• what did you
learn/do
differently?
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22. Prepare
Write down 3 – 5 specific examples of
Projects
Situations
Improvements
Tasks you are proud of
Associate your examples to the STAR story.
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23. Practice Questions
initiating
action
Tell me about the last time you initiated a project with little or no
direction.
(Why did you have little/no direction? What did you do? What steps
did you take to complete the project? Who did you have to talk to?
What challenges did you encounter? How did it work out? Did you
save time or money?
conflict
Tell me about a boss you had difficulty working with.
(Why did you have difficulty? How did you react? What
happened? What would you have done differently?)
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24. Practice Questions
stress
tolerance
When was the last time you felt stressed at work or were required to
work long hours for a long period of time?
(What were you working on? Why did you have to work more
hours? How did you feel about it? How did you react? Why did
you react a certain way? When did the stress stop/hours reduce?
Looking back what would you have changed?
leadership
Describe a technique you have used to lead and motivate others?
(Why did you use the technique? What steps did you take? What
impact did your technique have on others?)
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25. Motivational Fit
Location
Job Fit
Company Fit
A recruiter is trained to analyze these.
Be sure you are interviewing for the job
you are ABLE to do and LIKE to do.
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26. Face to Face Interview
Be yourself, come prepared, dress appropriately
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27. Before
Research
Know the schedule
Prepare questions
for the interview
team
STARS: remember
the high points in
your career
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28. During
Be prepared
Communication
Body language
No gum, candy
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29. After
Thank you notes/emails
Don’t overly bug the interview team
Be patient
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30. How I Can Help You…
Custom prepared resume documents
Link to your social networks
Creative color graphics
Free revisions for 60 days
Interview skills
Mock behavioral based interview questions
Personalized phone/skype consultations
Interview preparation worksheets
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31. Want More Help???
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Jessica Karnes
business consultant, owner
719.289.8432
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jesskarnes
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