Identify Your Competencies
The most important step in developing your resume is to collect and organize your core competencies along with job specific skills and prsent them as effectively as possible. The broad categories of intellectual disposition - an innate inclination toward ways of processing knowledge and information and intellectual maturity — the ability to think critically about information will help you establish your
competencies and skills.
Video - Resume Tips
- Intellectual Disposition: Maturity, Creativity, Curiosity, Enthusiasm, Imagination, Predisposition for Discovery, Sympathy/Empathy
- Intellectual Maturity: Analysis, Assimilation of Information, Communication, Conceptualization, Critical Judgment, Cultural
Perspective, Decision Making, Discrimination, Interpersonal Nominalization, Problem Solving
Identify Your Skills
Record your competencies and skills and their applications in a list. Ignore the sequence and priorities of each one in the list. The objective of the list is to generate as much information about yourself as possible.
Some Action Words
- Accomplished
- Achieved
- Attained
- Completed
- Created
- Delivered
- Demonstrated
- Enhanced
- Expanded
- Improved
- Increased
- Managed
- Obtained
- Performed
- Produced
- Secured
- Succeeded
- Surpassed
For resumes that will be scanned into a computerized applicant retrieval system, commonly used in larger companies, you should not
underline or use fancy graphics, colored paper, or elaborate fonts. Use terms and jargon often used in your field and a resume format that is commonly used in your field.
Readability is the most important quality of an effective resume. A resume should be formatted in such a way that it invites a prospective employer to read on, and the content should be itemized as bullets, each item leading off with a dynamic verb that is specific and action oriented so that at a glance, within three seconds, the employer will have an immediate sense of what you have done and what you know. If the resume is readable in these two areas, the employer will be motivated to take a closer look.
Focus the Needs of the Employer
It is virtually important that the resume speak to an employer's needs, not the job seeker's. Employers are not usually interested in the fact that you are looking for a challenge or the next step in your career. Instead they want to know how you can help them solve their problem. After all, if they didn't have a problem they would not be hiring. So find out what they are looking for as best you can by doing your research, and give examples by accomplishments through out your resume that demonstrate that you are the best person for their organization.
Previous Experience
Detail your previous experience. Think about your background and past experiences. Take what you learned in business school and apply it to the job you seek. Emphasize relevant skills and related accomplishments.
Your Certificates
If you have degrees, certifications, or specialized training, note it. Try to include any related unpaid work that you have done, such as internships.
Whatever you do, don't list your hobbies unless they directly apply. Concentrate only on what demonstrates your value; leave everything else out.
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