Creating a Résumé

Skills and Experiences

Identify and acknowledge all your skills.

List all personal qualities, characteristics and skills.

1. Begin your statements with strong action words.
2. Highlight your skills with strong descriptive words.
3. State the skill clearly, indicating how or where you used it.
4. Convert all statements to past tense.

Work History

List in reverse chronological order all jobs for the past 15 years. Use accurate dates, company names and job titles.

1981 – 1999
ABC Company, Inc.
Program Manager

1979 – 1981
John Jones, Inc.
Office Manager

Education

If a position requires a specific educational background, make sure to include an education section on your résumé.

List in reverse chronological order all education history. Use dates/years education acquired, name of institution city and state.

1975 – 1979 Bachelor of Business Administration
Business Administration
University of Central Arkansas
Conway, Arkansas

1971 – 1974 High School Diploma
Little Rock High School
Little Rock, Arkansas

Personal Additions

Personal additions can include statements about your suitability for the position, as well as statements about your experience for the job.

1. You can also include volunteer experience you might have.
2. Begin with most relevant reasons an employer should hire you.
3. Illustrate with strong personal and /or work related characteristics you may include personal interests, activities or hobbies.

References

Create a list of individuals who would present you positively to a prospective employer, preferably choose those who can discuss your work habits. Three references are ideal. Possible references might be:

1. supervisors (past or present)
2. co-workers
3. volunteer coordinators

Do Not include family members or relatives as references.

Note: Call your references and ask for permission prior to giving their name. Also, verify their current employer, title and phone number. If your reference has changed jobs, include their current title, company and phone number, in addition to the company where you were employed together.

Examples:

1. John Q. Smith
   Office Manager
   ABC Productions, Inc.
   501-555-1234
2. John Q. Jones
   Supervisor
   Quid Productions, Inc.
   501-555-1234

Letters of Reference

Attach positive letters of reference to your résumé. Choose the three best.

Optional Information

Include additional information only if it would provide insight to your character and is pertinent to your job objective. Examples might be:

1. Associations
2. Awards
3. Interests
4. Special Qualifications
5. Future Goals

Tailor each résumé so the information included is relevant to the particular position you are applying for.

1. Consider all of the following when printing your résumé:
2. Paper quality: Look for a good quality of paper.
3. Paper color: Subtle, white or beige are good options.
4. Print quality: Use dark ink, make sure your printer cartridge prints dark.
5. Print style: Readable, different print styles are okay, but make sure you can read them.
6. Layout: Be creative.
7. Spacing: Leave spaces for a break on the eyes.

Have someone check your résumé once you think it’s ready. Have them look for:

1. Your correct address and phone number
2. Spelling errors
3. Capitalization errors
4. Consistency
5. Grammar errors
6. Punctuation errors
7. Spacing errors

A professional-looking résumé MUST be done on a computer or typewriter.

Sample Résumé

Brandon Davis
921 Davis Road
Little Rock, AR 72201
501-555-1234
BrandonDavis@emailaddress.com

Professional Strengths and Highlights

Extensive managerial experience within ABC Company, Inc. operations
Efficient management of staffing
Excellent communications skills

Management/Organizational Experience

Administered human resource functions: Hiring, evaluation, compensation, discipline and termination
Monitored various program operations by identified problems and provided solutions
Efficiently administered program budgets
Ensured accurate and efficient program operations
Monitored proper usage of agency policies, procedures, and goals

Communication Skills

Provided effective two-way communication between staff and management
Acted as a liaison with staff, regional office, and national office
Promoted efficient customer services

Employment History

Operations Manager:
ABC Company, Inc. 1991 – Present
Responsible for efficient and accurate operation of various programs
Coordinated and administered program budgets

Program Manager:
ABC Company, Inc. 1988 – 1991
Developed annual budgets
Administered efficient utilization of human resources

Research Analyst:
ABC Company, Inc. 1984 – 1988
Develop statistics on company programs
Coordinate programs with contracted entities

Education

Diploma in Management
University of Central Arkansas

High School Diploma
Little Rock High School

Awards and Achievements

Employee of the Year 1989-1990
Program Performance Award 1988-1989
Served on Employee Recognition Committee 1988 – PRESENT