Section 3: Writing a Résumé
Learning Objective 3: Describe the tasks involved in writing your résumé, and list the major sections of a
traditional résumé.
Note: Figures 18.4 through 18.6 show students how to apply this résumé-writing advice to three different
job-search scenarios.
As you follow the three-step process to develop your résumé, keep four points in mind:
Treat your résumé with the respect it deserves. A single mistake or oversight can cost you
interview opportunities.
Give yourself plenty of time. Don’t put off preparing your résumé until the last second and then
try to write it in one sitting.
Learn from good models. You can find sample résumés online at college websites and on job
boards.
Don’t get frustrated by the conflicting advice you’ll read about résumés. Résumés are as much art
as science, and there is more than one way to be successful with them. Choose the approach that
makes the most sense to you and is compatible with what you know about business
communication principles and practices.
If you feel uncomfortable writing about yourself, you’re not alone. Considering finding a classmate or
friend who is also writing a résumé and swap projects for a while. You might be able to speed up the
process for both of you.
Keeping Your Résumé Honest
Applicants with integrity know they don’t need to stoop to lying on their résumé.
If you are tempted to stretch the truth, bear in mind that professional recruiters have seen every trick
in the book, and frustrated employers are working aggressively to uncover the truth.
Nearly all employers do some form of background checking, such as using these methods:
Contacting references
Verifying employment
Checking criminal records
Sending résumés through verification services
Designing interview questions specifically to uncover dishonest résumé entries
Withdrawing formal job offers, if falsification is discovered
Given the networked nature of today’s job market, lying on a résumé could haunt you for years—and
could force you to keep lying throughout your career to hide the original misrepresentations on your
résumé.
Adapting Your Résumé to Your Audience
The importance of adapting your résumé to your target readers’ needs and interests cannot be
overstated.
In a competitive job market, the more you look like a good fit, the better your chances will be of
securing interviews.
Address your readers’ business concerns by showing how your capabilities meet the demands and
expectations of the position and of the organization as a whole.
Adapting to your readers can mean customizing your résumé, sometimes for each job opening.
Express your experience using the terminology of the hiring organization. Take general concepts and
present them in common business language.
Class discussion question: How should you handle the conflicting advice you can read about résumés
from various online and print sources?
Composing Your Résumé
Write your résumé using a simple and direct style:
Use short, crisp phrases and focus on what your reader needs to know.
Avoid using the word I, which can sound both self-involved and repetitive.
Quantify results so that your claims don’t come across as empty.
Offer concrete proof of accomplishments.
Use active statements that show results.
Provide specific supporting evidence.
Don’t go overboard with small details.
In addition, most résumés are subjected to keyword searches in an applicant tracking system.
Recruiters search for résumés most likely to match the requirements of a particular job so it’s
essential to use the words and phrases that a recruiter is most likely to search for.
Keywords that catch a computer’s attention are usually nouns that describe the specific skills,
attributes, and experiences an employer is looking for.
Study job descriptions carefully to understand your target audience’s needs. Keywords can include:
Business and technical terms associated with a specific profession
Industry-specific jargon
Names or types of products or systems used in a profession
Job titles
College degrees
Beware of clichés that are used on so many résumés and social media profiles that they’ve lost most
of their impact. These are the buzzwords and phrases that are among the most overused (notice how
vague and generally unquantifiable most of them are):
extensive experience
innovative
motivated
results-oriented
dynamic
proven track record
team player
fast-paced
problem solver
entrepreneurial
Instead of saying you are all these things, show how you are, using solid evidence.
Name and Contact Information
Your name and contact information constitute the heading of your résumé; include the following:
Name
Physical address (permanent and temporary, if you’re likely to move during the job search
process)
Phone number(s)
Email address
URL of your personal webpage, e-portfolio, or social media résumé (if you have one)
Be sure that everything in your résumé heading is well organized and clearly laid out on the page.
Introductory Statement
You can put one of three things here:
Career objective—identifies either a specific job or a general career track you would like to
pursue. If you have little or no work experience in your target profession, this might be your
best option.
Qualifications summary—offers a brief view of your key qualifications. Consider using this if
you have one or more important qualifications but don’t yet have a long career history, or you
want to highlight your educational preparedness.
Career summary—offers a brief recap of your career, with the goal of presenting increasing
levels of responsibility and performance. This is most useful for experienced professionals
and executives.
Education
If you’re still in college or have recently graduated, education is probably your strongest selling
point. Present your educational background in depth, choosing facts that support your “theme.”
Starting with the most recent, list:
The name and location of each school you have attended
The month and year of your graduation
Major and minor fields of study
Significant skills and abilities developed in your course work
Degrees or certificates earned (or expected date of completion)
Courses that have directly equipped you for the job you are seeking
Scholarships, awards, or academic honors you’ve received
Relevant training sponsored by business or government organizations
High school or military training only if the achievements are pertinent to your career
goals
Grade point average (depends on the job you want and the quality of your grades)
You don’t have to show your GPA on a résumé but be prepared to answer questions about it
during interviews (many employers will assume it is not spectacular if you don’t).
Work Experience, Skills, and Accomplishments
The work experience section should focus on your overall theme, showing how your past can
contribute to an employer’s future.
Use keywords to highlight skills you’ve developed on the job and your ability to handle
increasing responsibility.
List your jobs in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent. Include any relevant:
Military service
Internships
Part-time or temporary jobs related to your career objective
Name and location of the employer
Brief description of what the company does (if readers are unlikely to recognize it)
Before or after each job listing, include:
Your job title
Years you worked in the job; use the phrase “to present” to denote current employment
Whether a job was part time
Devote the most space to jobs related to your target position.
If you were personally responsible for something significant, mention it.
Facts about your skills and accomplishments are the most important information you can
give a prospective employer, so quantify them whenever possible.
If you have a number of part-time, temporary, or entry-level jobs that don’t relate to your career
objective:
Use your best judgment when it comes to including or excluding them.
If you don’t have a long employment history, including these jobs shows your ability and
willingness to keep working.
Activities and Achievements
Include activities and achievements outside of a work context only if they make you a more
attractive job candidate. If applicable to the job you’re seeking, include such things as:
Traveling
Studying or working abroad
Fluency in multiple languages
Community service activities that suggest leadership, teamwork, communication skills,
technical aptitude
Athletics or other organized student activities
Publications, projects, and other accomplishments that required relevant business skills
Avoid listing religious or political affiliations (unless you’re applying to such an organization).
Personal Data and References
Your résumé should not include any personal data beyond the information previously described.
When applying to U.S. companies (expectations vary in other countries), never include any of the
following:
Physical characteristics such as height or weight
Age
Gender
Marital status
Sexual orientation
Religious or political affiliations
Race
National origin
Salary history
Reasons for leaving jobs
Names of previous supervisors
Names of references
Social security number
Student ID number
Employers assume references are available; be sure to have a list of several references ready
when you begin applying for jobs and keep it in your files for a time when they are requested.
List three or four people who have agreed to serve as references.
Include each person’s name, job title, organization, address, telephone number, email address, and
the nature of your relationship.
Section 4: Completing a Résumé
Learning Objective 4: Characterize the completing step for résumés, including the six most common
formats in which you can produce a résumé.
Completing your résumé involves some essential steps:
Revising it for optimum quality
Producing it in the various forms and media you’ll need
Proofreading it for any errors before distributing it or publishing it online
The advent of applicant tracking systems, social media, and other innovations has dramatically changed
the nature of résumé production and distribution.
Be prepared to produce several versions of your résumé, in multiple formats and multiple media.
Even if most or all of your application efforts take place online, starting with a traditional paper résumé is
still useful, for several reasons:
Creating a traditional printed résumé helps organize your background information and identify
your unique strengths.
Planning and writing tasks help generate blocks of text that you can reuse in multiple ways
throughout the job search process.
Preparing for when someone might ask for your résumé during a networking event or other
in-person encounter ensures that you don’t let that interest fade.
Revising Your Résumé
Revising your résumé for clarity and conciseness is essential.
Recruiters and hiring managers want to find key information about you in a matter of seconds. If you
make them work for it, they’re likely to toss your résumé aside and move on to the next one.
The ideal length of your résumé depends on the depth of your experience and the level of the
positions for which you are applying:
Recruiters appreciate brevity, and presenting yourself in a single page shows your ability to
write concise, focused, audience-oriented messages.
For online résumé formats, you can always provide links to additional information.
If you have more experience and are applying for a higher-level position, you may need to
prepare a somewhat longer résumé.
Producing Your Résumé
A clean, professional-looking design is a must:
Resist the urge to “get creative” with your résumé layout, unless you are applying in a
creative field such as graphic design.
Recruiters and hiring managers want to skim your essential information in a matter of
seconds, and anything that distracts or delays them will work against you.
Consider supplementing your résumé with other, more visually creative materials, including a
second version of your résumé, but make sure you have a baseline résumé that is clear,
simple, and easy to read for both humans and ATSs.
Choosing a Design Strategy for Your Résumé
You’ll find a wide range of résumé designs in use today, including full-color infographics with unique
designs.
As with every type of business message, keep your audience, your goals, and your resources in mind.
For example, trendy infographic résumés are often created by graphic designers who are applying for
design-related jobs, so the résumé serves as evidence of their design skills.
However, don’t choose a style just because it seems trendy or flashy or different.
Class discussion question: What are the potential advantages and risks of producing your résumé in
unconventional formats? (If necessary, remind students that many companies use computerized applicant
tracking systems to “read” résumés.)
You might want to produce your résumé in as many as six formats:
Printed traditional résumé
Printed scannable résumé
Electronic plain-text file
Microsoft Word file
Online résumé, sometimes called a multimedia résumé or social media résumé
PDF file
Find out what each employer or job posting website expects, and provide your résumé in that specific
format.
Considering Photos, Videos, Presentations, and Infographics
Unless requested, do not include photographs in materials you submit to employers; some
companies will refuse to look at your résumé if you do.
In addition to these six main formats, some applicants create PowerPoint presentations, videos, or
infographics to supplement a conventional résumé. Each can provide some compelling
enhancements to your job search portfolio, but they must be done well and used in the right
circumstances.
Be aware that unconventional résumés may not make it past a company’s screening and filtering
system.
Producing a Traditional Printed Résumé
Traditional paper résumés still have a place in this world of electronic job searches. Have a few
copies ready whenever one of your networking contacts asks for one.
Avoid basic, low-cost white bond paper intended for general office use or gimmicky papers with
borders and backgrounds. Use heavier, higher-quality paper designed specifically for résumés and
other important documents.
Use a high-quality, well-maintained printer.
Printing a Scannable Résumé
Scannable résumés are a type of printed résumé that is specially formatted to be compatible with
optical scanning systems that convert printed documents to electronic text.
Their use appears to be declining rapidly as more employers prefer email delivery or website
application forms.
A scannable résumé should include a keyword summary and be formatted in a simpler fashion
that avoids underlining, special characters, multiple columns, and other elements that can confuse
the scanning system.
Creating a Plain-Text File of Your Résumé
A plain-text file is an electronic version of your résumé that has no font formatting, no bullet
symbols, no colors, no lines or boxes, or other special formatting. The plain-text version can be
used in two ways:
Include it in the body of an email message.
Copy and paste the sections into the application forms on an employer’s website.
Creating a Word File of Your Résumé
In some cases, an employer or job-posting website will want you to upload a Microsoft Word file
or attach it to an email message.
This method preserves the design and layout of your résumé and saves you the trouble of creating
a plain-text version.
Make sure your computer is free of viruses; infecting a potential employer’s computer will not
make a good first impression.
Creating a PDF Version of Your Résumé
Creating a PDF file is a simple procedure, but you need the right software. Adobe Acrobat is the
best-known program, but many others are available.
Creating an Online Résumé
A variety of terms are used to describe online résumés, including:
E-portfolio
Interactive résumé
Social media résumé
Multimedia résumé
All these formats provide the opportunity to expand information contained in your basic résumé
with:
Links to projects, publications, screencasts
Online videos
Course lists
Social networking profiles
Other elements that give employers a more complete picture of who you are and what
you can offer
Regardless of the approach you take to creating an online résumé, keep these helpful tips in mind:
Remember that your online presence is a career-management tool:
oThe way you are portrayed online can work for you or against you.
oMost employers now conduct online searches to learn more about promising
candidates, rejecting many applicants because of information they dig up online.
Take advantage of social networking links.
Don’t expect or ask employers to retrieve a résumé from your website.
Proofreading Your Résumé
Employers view your résumé as a concrete example of your attention to quality and detail.
It needs to be perfect. Although it may not seem fair, just one or two errors in a job application
package are enough to doom a candidate’s chances.
Your résumé is one of the most important documents you’ll ever write, so don’t rush or cut corners
when it comes to proofreading. Check everything:
All headings and lists for clarity and parallelism
Grammar
Spelling
Punctuation
Dates
Phone numbers
Email addresses
Other essential data
Ask at least three other people to read it, too. As the creator of the material, you could stare at a
mistake for weeks and not see it.
Distributing Your Résumé
How you distribute your résumé depends on the number of employers you target and their preferences
for receiving résumés.
Employers usually list their requirements on the career pages of their websites, so verify this
information and follow it carefully. Here are some general distribution tips:
Mailing printed résumés. Take some care with the packaging. Mail these documents in a 9 x
12 envelope or a Priority Mail flat rate envelope.
Emailing your résumé. Some employers want applicants to include the text of their résumés
in the body of an email message; others prefer an attached Microsoft Word file. If you have a
reference number or a job ad number, include it in the subject line of your email message.
Submitting your résumé to an employer’s website. Many employers, including most large
companies, prefer or require applicants to submit their résumés online. In some instances, you
will be asked to upload a complete file. In others, you will need to copy and paste sections of
your résumé into individual boxes in an online application form.
Posting your résumé on job websites. You can post your résumé on general-purpose job
websites, more specialized websites, or with staffing services.
Before you upload your résumé to any site, learn about its confidentiality protection. Don’t post your
résumé to any website that doesn’t give you the option of restricting the display of your contact
information. Only employers that are registered clients of the service should be able to see your
contact information.
HIGHLIGHT BOX: DIGITAL + SOCIAL + MOBILE: TODAY’S COMMUNICATION
ENVIRONMENT
Job Search Strategies: Maximize Your Mobile
1. No, it would not be a good idea to present your online portfolio on your smartphone during a job
interview because the screen is far too small to make a positive impact.
2. No, it would not be wise to shun a company that doesn’t have a mobile-friendly careers website or a
career app. The company may have other priorities at the moment, or it could be close to launching a
mobile recruiting presence. The lack of mobile career sites isn’t necessarily indicative that a company
is behind the times.
HIGHLIGHT BOX: THE ART OF PROFESSIONALISM
Striving to Excel
1. Yes, it is both sensible and ethical to sell yourself into jobs for which you are not 100 percent
qualified, on two conditions. First, it is clearly unethical to lie about your qualifications. You can
present yourself persuasively, but you must do so honestly. Not possessing 100 percent of a job’s
qualifications is not unusual; smart employers know that employees with strong potential often need
to learn some aspects of a particular job. As long as both sides are honest and open with each other,
there is nothing unethical about the exchange. Second, you need to assess any skills mismatch
realistically. Will you be able to learn the skills you need in a timely manner, so that you don’t have to
struggle in the job for an extended period? If you or the employer overestimates your ability to grow
into the position, or you or the employer fail to take the steps necessary for you to gain the missing
skills, the job will be a negative experience for both of you.
2. First, you have an ethical obligation to strive to meet the agreed-upon expectations of the job for the
simple reason that you are being paid to do so. If excelling is the expectation, then you have an ethical
obligation to try to excel. (If for some reason an employer is satisfied paying you to be merely
adequate for the job, then being adequate meets your side of the ethical bargain.) Second, whether or
not you actually do perform at the expected level is not as clear cut. You might fail to excel (either
failing entirely or merely muddling along at an acceptable level) for reasons unrelated to your effort
and commitment.
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AT BURNING GLASS
Individual Challenge
Both descriptions are problematic. The first contains good information, but jumbles education together
with employment and other activities. The second is too long and chatty. However, the Morehouse
graduate has at least included specifics (3.65 GPA, worked 15 hours per week, names of organizations,
and so forth). The Wayne State applicant provides very little specific information on his or her
educational background. For this reason, the candidate whose education is described in option “a” would
be more likely to be selected.
Team Challenge
Students might be tempted to reject the application without further analysis, and an employer with an
abundance of quality applicants probably would. However, this could result in passing over a
well-qualified candidate who chose to submit an unconventional résumé. There is evidence, for example,
that the candidate possesses leadership abilities and relevant software skills, and has taken numerous
courses on topics related to the job. The exercise could lead to a discussion of the circumstance under
which a recruiter might be tempted to review the candidate’s web-based e-portfolio. However, it must be
emphasized that if the recruiter has more conventional résumés from other equally qualified candidates,
this candidate is likely to be rejected without further study.