RalphOP83 Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 I'm a college grad with decent work experience, but I really dont know where to begin when writing my resume. I have a resume done, but I feel that it is not as professional looking/sounding as it could be. I have a few solid job leads that i would like to jump on, but i would feel more confident with a better resume. Any repsonses appreciated.
Chilly Posted January 22, 2007 Posted January 22, 2007 Does your former University offer career services? Most colleges/universities offer this for alumni who are trying to find careers. I know here at UT each college has one.
JimBob2232 Posted January 23, 2007 Posted January 23, 2007 Sadly, TBD may be better than a resume service! But I second the other opinion. Check with your university.
Fezmid Posted January 23, 2007 Posted January 23, 2007 Yeah, I don't know that I"d ever use a resume writing service. Why not post your resume here and have people look it over and give suggestions? There's a lot of hiring managers on TSW that would be able to give you some pointers. Also, talking to your university is also a GREAT idea.
RalphOP83 Posted January 23, 2007 Author Posted January 23, 2007 Checked with my school, and they only give 15 min max. resume consultations. Spoke with a friend of mine who works at a pharmaceutical company. He got hired as a college grad temp?? Well they provide these hires with services to obtain further employment, inclding resume writing services. So I forwarded him my resume, and we'll see how it turns out. I would be willing to post it on the board but i dont know how.
Fezmid Posted January 23, 2007 Posted January 23, 2007 Checked with my school, and they only give 15 min max. resume consultations. Spoke with a friend of mine who works at a pharmaceutical company. He got hired as a college grad temp?? Well they provide these hires with services to obtain further employment, inclding resume writing services. So I forwarded him my resume, and we'll see how it turns out. I would be willing to post it on the board but i dont know how. You can either just cut and paste the text (you lose formatting though), or you can host it on a website and post a link to it.
RalphOP83 Posted January 23, 2007 Author Posted January 23, 2007 Well here it is.....any help appreciated. Keep in mind it's a rough draft I put together in an hour or so. Hamburg, NY, 14075, State ZIP Code (716)310-7216 bckearns@gmail.com OBJECTIVE: To enhance a company’s performance by providing effective marketing, resulting in future career advancement opportunities. EDUCATION: University at Buffalo, The State University of New York Bachelor of Arts, Political Science. May 2006 WORK EXPERIENCE: Certo Brothers Distributing, West Seneca, New York Merchandiser: August 06 – Current • Maintained account satisfaction. • Designed and built displays. • Supported sales staff. the bar Inn, Orchard Park, New York Bartender: June 05 – Current • Served patrons • Organized and oversaw parties and events. • Managed and trained new employees. • Tracked inventory Associated Builders and Contractors, Buffalo, New York Government Affairs Intern: January 06 – May 06 • Aided in lobby process. • Conducted research. • Maintained contribution records. • Created information pamphlets for legislators and news outlets. New York State Assembly Legislative Intern: January 04 – May 04 • Coordinated legislation. • Handled constituent concerns. • Organized community events. • Met with lobby groups. • Participated in local delegation meetings SPECIAL SKILLS: • Self motivated. • Strong interpersonal skills. • Bilingual. • Proficient in Microsoft Excel. Power Point, and MS Word. LICENSES: Licensed New York State Real Estate Salesperson. REFERENCES: Available upon request.
JimBob2232 Posted January 24, 2007 Posted January 24, 2007 Well here it is.....any help appreciated. Keep in mind it's a rough draft I put together in an hour or so. Hamburg, NY, 14075, State ZIP Code (716)310-7216 bckearns@gmail.com OBJECTIVE: To enhance a company’s performance by providing effective marketing, resulting in future career advancement opportunities. EDUCATION: University at Buffalo, The State University of New York Bachelor of Arts, Political Science. May 2006 WORK EXPERIENCE: Certo Brothers Distributing, West Seneca, New York Merchandiser: August 06 – Current • Maintained account satisfaction. • Designed and built displays. • Supported sales staff. the bar Inn, Orchard Park, New York Bartender: June 05 – Current • Served patrons • Organized and oversaw parties and events. • Managed and trained new employees. • Tracked inventory Associated Builders and Contractors, Buffalo, New York Government Affairs Intern: January 06 – May 06 • Aided in lobby process. • Conducted research. • Maintained contribution records. • Created information pamphlets for legislators and news outlets. New York State Assembly Legislative Intern: January 04 – May 04 • Coordinated legislation. • Handled constituent concerns. • Organized community events. • Met with lobby groups. • Participated in local delegation meetings SPECIAL SKILLS: • Self motivated. • Strong interpersonal skills. • Bilingual. • Proficient in Microsoft Excel. Power Point, and MS Word. LICENSES: Licensed New York State Real Estate Salesperson. REFERENCES: Available upon request. 1) Capitalize Bar Inn. 2) Bilingual. Great. What languages? 3) You say you have strong interpersonal skills and are self motivated. This is good, but I dont see alot of proof up above in your work history. Try to show us some things that accentuate these skills. 4) Your most recent work will be the most important. you said you "maintained" customer satisfaction. Try this. Change it to "Improved customer satisfaction by.....(fill in the blank)" This will help with #3 above as well. 5) Designed and built displays. Needs a little work. Perhaps "Designed innovative and original product displays designed to increase product exposure and (??? Up-sell opportunities, customer loyalty, profitability....etc.) 6) Supported Sales Staff. Try something more descriptive. How did you support them? Also, try getting rid of the word "support". It makes it sound like you were not an important player, but rather someone who just did a few things on the side. Try to take a similar approach with the rest of your jobs listed. Met with lobby groups. Great. But what does that do for the guy hiring you? Try to spin about every item to appeal to the company you are applying with. The trick is to not go over the top here. Also, im a little torn with the real estate sales licence. My problem with it is that it really doesnt fit, and shows some indicision where you want to go with your life. You have a poly sci degree, work in marketing, and have a real estate licence, all within the last 2-3 years. Three IMO, distinct fields. What makes me think you wont want a career change 6 months from now? Tough call, because its not a bad thing. Also, you have some good experience with the government intern job. Then you have some good experience with the distribution company. Not sure if you need to include the bartender job. I might drop this. It leaves a 2 month gap between graduation and the distributing job, but its right after graduation. It is very common for people to take a month or two off after graduation, as it is the last time you can really do that. Something to consider.
Fezmid Posted January 24, 2007 Posted January 24, 2007 What makes me think you wont want a career change 6 months from now? Tough call, because its not a bad thing. I agree whole-heartedly, especially when coupled with his "objective:" "To enhance a company’s performance by providing effective marketing, resulting in future career advancement opportunities." I don't think you need to put "resulting in future career advancement opportunities" in there, as it just screams, "I want a job so I can get a better job somewhere else later!" At least that's how I'm reading it. Do people even put Objectives on their resume anymore? I didn't on my last one -- my objective is obviously to get the job I'm applying for. I put a skills summary at the top, but I don't bother with the objective. I'm not sure if that's a no-no or not though. CW
RalphOP83 Posted January 24, 2007 Author Posted January 24, 2007 Thanks for the reply, and I am definitely taking a lot of these things into consideration. I just had a few questions. The reason i used the bar (it was uncapitalized because i just filled my real bar's name in with a generic name) is because I am trying to get a marketing position that involves going to bars and doing promotions. I thought highlighting the bar would be important?? Also should i just cut out the real estate license?? The reason i added this was to show that I am willing to do formal training if necessary, however i do see how it makes me look like i'm all over the place. Is the objective a no no?? Through reading career oriented sites i've read both that you should include the objective, and to omit the objective???
sweetbaboo Posted January 25, 2007 Posted January 25, 2007 SPECIAL SKILLS: • Self motivated. • Strong interpersonal skills. You may want to remove those two listings. They come off looking a little silly. While a company wouldn't hire someone that's not self motivated or has strong interpersonal skills, it's not something that you need to list on your resume. Is the objective a no no?? Through reading career oriented sites i've read both that you should include the objective, and to omit the objective??? I personally did not put an objective. Some people told me to put one on, some people told me to leave it off. I tried to make the best of both worlds and simply wrote, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS RELATED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, and then started listing my work experience under there. I figure that's pretty much stating that I was looking for a chemical engineering or materials related job without having an objective statement. PM me if you'd like to see my resume. I only started my first real career job in August.
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