5 Keys to Creating a Targeted Resume
1
Analyze the Job Description Review job descriptions for the skills, abilities, and qualifications employers are looking for. It is recommended that you have a specific job in mind when creating a targeted resume.
2
Organize Your Thoughts Make a list of the categories you wish to include on your resume . This list can include education/training, volunteer opportunities, jobs, academic research, travel, and extracurricular activities. If possible, quantify results and use commonly understood terms. Learn and use terminology on your resume that is common to the field you are pursuing. List strengths and skills used to achieve your accomplishments. Always write out or explain technical terms and abbreviations on your resume.
3
Create Descriptive Phrases Create short phrases to describe your job duties. Avoid using diluted phrases such as “responsible for” or “in charge of.” Arrange the descriptive phrases in order of importance to the position.
4
Ensure Resume is Without Grammatical and Spelling Errors Misspelled words, grammatical, or punctuation errors will generally disqualify you from any position for which you apply.
5
Have Your Resume Critiqued By A Career Coach You may have the Career Center liaison assigned to your specific college critique your resume.
Resume Evaluation Form Objective Yes No Does the objective explain what job you want (entry level, Marketing Assistant, etc.)? Yes No Does the objective say where you want to do it (healthcare, banking, construction, etc.)? Yes No Does the objective contain 3 major skills or task areas you want to use that are relevant to this position? Qualifications Yes No Does the resume prove you have the necessary qualifications? Yes No Do your qualifications clearly summarize your value to an employer? Yes No Does it present the key strengths required to be successful on the job? Yes No Does it demonstrate that you have the appropriate technical skills? Yes No Have you listed relevant professional affiliations? Yes No Is the language of the resume future-oriented and focused on what you can do to benefit an employer? Accomplishments Yes No Are there separate accomplishments for your key work experiences? Yes No Do all of the accomplishments listed clearly support your job objective and qualifications claims? Yes No Are they presented through the use of powerful and action verbs? Yes No Are there clear, quantifiable results?
24 The Career Center CAREER SUCCESS GUIDE www.ecu.edu/career
Education & Certification Yes No Do you have the appropriate educational degrees that support your objective? Yes No If not, have you used other training workshops and seminars to further enhance your qualifications? Yes No Does the information include type of degree, major, school, and year graduated? Yes No Does it provide key aspects like certification or licensure? Experience Yes No For each experience, do you list a job title, company name, location, and years (but not months) worked? Yes No Are the experiences listed important to the employer? Extracurricular Activities Yes No Do your extra curricular activities demonstrate your ability to juggles many activities at once? Marketing/Advertising Yes No Does the resume clearly address the employer’s needs? Visual Impact Yes No Is everything on the resume important to the employer? Yes No Have you been honest, but not overly detailed? Yes No Do you use italics, bolding and underlining to indicate importance?