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Creating and Effective Resume

by Pat Goodwin, CPC

 

Why are resumes so important? Creating an effective resume is one of the most important tasks that a job seeker must accomplish.

 

A carefully thought out resume will: 

  • Show the chronological order of your work experience.

  • Demonstrate and highlight your skills and expertise.

  • Provide examples of your accomplishments. 
     

The example below will help you outline your experience in chronological order. When writing your resume, it’s important to convey the what, when, and where of your work experience.

 

The following Resume Form is designed to help you structure your resume. While it consists of several pages for ease of drafting, your final resume should consist of two type written pages with a possible third page for supplemental information. Download or follow this form to help you create an effective resume. Please see Part II - Example of an Effective Resume Format.

 

NAME:  

ADDRESS:  

CITY/STATE/ZIP:  

OFFICE PHONE:  

HOME PHONE:  

E-MAIL ADDRESS:  

OBJECTIVE

SPECIFIC TITLE:

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

(Brief Description of professional work history)

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

The following information is to help you identify your experience. Use a separate worksheet for each position. Each “ • bullet” is to help you describe an accomplishment. Remember that an

Accomplishment = Action Verb + Activity + Result.

In the Skill Column indicate skills represented by each accomplishment. Each accomplishment may represent more than one skill and may overlap into three main categories: Technical, Organizational and Interpersonal. To further refine skill identification indicate specific sub-skills within each category. For example a specific accomplishment may involve Planning and Directing which would be a sub-category for Organizational Skills.

COMPANY NAME & LOCATION: 

TOTAL YEARS WITH COMPANY: 

POSITION – TITLE: 

YEARS IN POSITION: 

RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT: 

 

INSTRUCTIONS

ACCOMPLISHMENT STATEMENTS

Describe accomplishment (briefly tell what happened).

 

What did you do?

 

What task did you perform? - by yourself or as part of a team.

 

What was the result of the action?

 

Express the result in terms of revenues created, costs saved or processes improved, etc.

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EDUCATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL EDUCATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TECHNICAL SKILLS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LANGUAGE FLUENCY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PUBLICATIONS / PRESENTATIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROJECTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CIVIC / COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS AND / OR ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Pat Goodwin, 2009. Pat E. Goodwin, CPC is an executive coach, trainer and career development professional in Austin, Texas. She has spent the last 20 years coaching clients from numerous industries providing guidance, motivation and career direction. Her clients have benefited from her expertise in articularing their accomplishments in a more clear, confident and concise manner. Pat has developed a training program that guarantees a client to improve their success when preparing for the interview and during the interview process. Find our more about Pat at www.patgoodwinassociates.com.

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