Notes

Outline

Resume Writing COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY CAREER CENTER Judy Brobst:    College of Natural Sciences Erin Fendrich:  College of Veterinary Medicine                and Biomedical Sciences

Purpose of the resume To present a total picture of your skills as they relate to a specific job To entice the employer enough to grant you an interview

Preparation Perform a self-assessment First, list your experiences: work, internships, volunteer, labs, and class experiences Next, create a list of the skills you obtained from those experiences Lab, technical, interpersonal, self-management Spend time researching job descriptions construct a list of the qualifications and skills required for the types of positions you are seeking

Example: Job Description Research Assistant:  BS or MS in a biological science plus one year of relevant microbiology laboratory experience such as Sterility Testing, USP Microbial Limit Testing, LAL Testing, USP/EP water testing, media preparation, Antimicrobial effectiveness testing and isolate identification using VITEK, differential and selective media. Demonstrated computer skills are desirable.

General Guidelines: Length: Entry level:  One page unless: you have extensive experience that is applicable; two are more pages are customary in your field you are writing a curriculum vita Appearance: Create a well-organized, readable layout to increase the chances that your resume is read Do not use resume formatting programs such as Resume Wizard Be concise: Avoid dense text that is difficult and time consuming to read Use bullet statements instead of paragraphs

More Guidelines… Fonts - use traditional fonts that are easy to read (e.g. Arial & New Times Roman) Make sure there are no typographical, spelling or grammatical errors Have multiple people critique your resume Revise, revise, revise Paper and printing Use high-quality white or off-white paper--avoid bond paper that smears the type Use a laser printer

Content Be selective about what you include: Limit information to what is pertinent to the job description Never falsify information Concentrate on the positive and use action verbs to describe your background Buzz words - label your past experience with language that fits your industry Provide depth of information and quantify your accomplishments, when possible and appropriate

Hottest Skills Employers are Seeking:  Do you have them? Oral Communication Skills (#1) Interpersonal Skills Analytical Skills Teamwork Skills Flexibility

Your resume Let’s spend some time working on YOUR resume

Submitting Resumes to Employers: Although almost 85% of the employers who responded to NACE’s Job Outlook Winter 2003 Update Survey said they do accept hard copy resumes, nearly 90% said they prefer to receive resumes electronically; through their web sites or via e-mail.

Electronic resume submission 47.8% indicated they prefer to receive resumes that are submitted electronically through their web sites Another 42.1% favor receiving resumes via e-mail Just 8.2% of the respondents prefer to receive hard copies of resumes, while 1.9% like to receive resumes by other means

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"Questions?" Questions?

Contact information Judy Brobst: judy.brobst@colostate.edu (970) 491-1190 Erin Fendrich erin.fendrich@colostate.edu (970) 491-0526