Introduction
We’ve talked about ways to overcome obstacles in your career path like volunteering and identifying internships. Consistent growth and your desire to become better in your vocation can be integrated in your resume and your professional profile. You want to be consistent in giving an accurate presentation of your experience, strengths, abilities, and goals.
Today, introducing yourself to a potential employer not only involves handing them a paper resume but often involves having a clean and well-developed profile on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Career Builder, Monster, or some other site you are utilizing.
It will take some extra time to make sure your professional and social media profiles are consistent across platforms, but the results will be worth it!
Elements of a Good Resume
Professional Profile
According to Professor Heather Austin, a professional profile that gives a clear, concise summary of your experience is the first thing a hiring manager will look for. Include here the number of years of experience you have in a particular field and what is your greatest accomplishment in that field. This is a great place to show who you are and what you are capable of. If you are a student or don’t have a lot of work experience this is a good place to put volunteering or extra- curricular activities.
Here is a video by Professor Austin on making resumes that stand out.
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What did you learn from Heather? She talked about a professional profile section as well as employment history and Key Words. It is always good to consider the perspective of a hiring manager. What are they looking at? How can I connect to what they need? How can I project confidence and act on that?
Employment History and Key Words
Start with your most recent work experience and list that first. Put the company, your job title, and dates of employment. Some think you should have a long list of bullet points under each job showing responsibilities and achievements. Others will point to your skills section for this. If you are prepared in the interview process sometimes less is more. Consider adding 1 or 2 bullets at most for each job listing.
Use a lot of key words in your resume, from the title in your professional profile, to your employment history, to your skills section. Look up the specific job titles and responsibilities in the field(s) you are searching for employment and add those key words to your resume and your online profiles. This will connect your resume with recruiters and search engines.
Resume Tip: If your employment history is less than 5 years limit your resume to 1 page. If it is more than 5 years, 2 pages are appropriate.
Skill Section
The lesson in day 2 of this module talked about discovering your unique personality utilizing the Myers Briggs Personality Inventory and how that can translate into connecting to a satisfying career. In the skill section of your resume list the hard skills (technical, software, tools, machinery, certifications, etc… and soft skills (communication, collaboration, management, problem solving, etc…) that you have learned and are developing.
Skills Tip: This section can be matched up with the job responsibilities/skills section employers list in job descriptions bullet for bullet. Never put down a skill you don’t have.
Media Profiles
It starts with a great picture! Take and upload a great, professional picture of yourself. You can’t overdress! Men wear a button shirt, tie, and a suit jacket if you have one. Women wear a pant suit, jacket or nice blouse. Of course, you want to smile! Let your sincerity and confidence shine through. Take a picture with good
lighting. You don’t want a shadow going across your face. You can even squint your eyes just a little bit to focus your energy for the shot.
Linked In
Linked In is considered a standard professional media page for your resume. Many employers will look at a Linked In page along with a standard CV or resume. Some will even look at your media page instead of a standard resume. So, you will want to spend some time making it look good ensuring it reflects your best side and experience.
Here are tips for a great Linked In page by Linda Raynier
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Suggested Action Step
Print out a copy of your resume and compare it to some of the tips found in this lesson. How is your profile picture? Use the same picture on your resume and all professional/job profile pages. Take a new one that has impact and insert it into your pages. How about your professional profile? Do you have one at the beginning of the resume? Spend some time working on that. Check the flow of your employment history and add volunteer work as appropriate. When you have revised your resume give it to someone you trust to review and make suggestions before you turn it in to potential employers. Have fun with this!
Personal Branding
Identifying your unique strengths and style are helpful in communicating who you are and the work you want to do. With so many different platforms to post and present your resume and profiles, it is important to be consistent in your message. This message includes:
Your profile picture: use the same one on each site (and a current one!).
Your professional profile: Make your clear concise statement the same wherever employers are searching for someone like you.
Keep it clean: Make sure your media pages are professional and will not distract an employer from calling you in for an interview. It may have been fun to post crazy pictures of the party you had a few months or years ago, but will that have a negative impact on your personal reputation or branding? Consider removing content that does not strengthen your professional profile.
Question for Reflection: If you were going to change career paths, what area would you most want to move into? What are some first steps to getting there?