[MUSIC] Did you know that the average employer looks at your resume for 6.2 seconds? So getting it right the first time is key. Hello, my name is Tracie Thomas. I'm the Director for Career Development at Northwestern Career Advancement. I have over a decade of experience in career counseling and development. In this lecture, I'll be talking about the standard format for a resume, how help your resume stand out and some helpful do's and don'ts. The purpose of a resume is to provide a summary of experiences and qualifications. It tells your career story and communicates your potential value. Your resume is your marketing tool, it can land you an interview. Your resume also communicates your specific and relevant competencies or abilities. An effective resume is well organized, concise and easy to read. Your resume should have clear sections, such as education, experience and skills. You want to choose a font that's easy to read, such as Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman. Your font size can be anywhere from 9-point to 12-point, and you should have at least one space between all sections. Let's talk a bit about preparing your resume. While resumes for college admissions or higher education are usually more general, resumes for employment, internships and volunteer opportunities are not one size fits all. Successful resumes are targeted to specific industries and jobs. In order to do this, you'll want to understand what skills are needed to obtain employment in your area of interest. Research your career area of interest thoroughly. To be sure you are tailoring your resume, make sure you read job descriptions associated with this career area. For example, health care employers may be looking for excellent communication skills, organizational skills, and or knowledge of medical terminology. Using the skills that you find in job descriptions, reflect back on how and when you have used these skills and make sure that these experiences are highlighted on your resume. Let's now take a look at the categories that are typical for a resume. Most resumes include the following. Your name and contact information, objective, education, experience, activities, awards and honors, and skills. Let's start with contact information. Your contact information should include your name, your most recent address, phone number and email address. Make sure that your name is bold and in a larger font to catch the reviewer's eye. Also, make sure your email address is professional and does not contain slang. The education section should be listed in reverse chronological order, that means the most recent at the top. It is typical to list the name and the location of the institution, the name of the degree, for example, high school diploma, the date you received your degree, or the anticipated year you'll receive your degree, and your area of study. Your GPA should be listed if it is 3.0 or above. [MUSIC] Your experience section is the main feature of your resume. The experience section emphasizes past and present employment, and/or activities. The purpose is to highlight transferable skills. Examples of transferable skills in healthcare are communication skills, customer service skills, organizational skills, initiative, and teamwork. An experience section should include the name of the company, your position title, month and year of employment dates, and finally, bullet points describing your duties and accomplishments. When writing bullet points, each should contain an action verb, a task and result. [MUSIC] Make sure that you use action verbs and skills that are part of the job description if possible. Also, try not to have a list of bullet points all starting with the same word. [MUSIC] You can have an activities and honors section. Many times, we've gained skills or industry knowledge from extracurricular activities or hobbies, and if they are relevant to the job for which you are applying, don't be afraid to include them. Emphasize skills acquired, leadership and team roles and achievements. You can include clubs, sports, volunteer work, and community activities. This is especially important for resumes and college applications, and the format is the same as the experience section. [MUSIC] Your skills section should include skills such as computer skills, languages, and/or technical and lab skills. References should be provided in a separate document. And finally, make sure that you proofread your resume. Identify some people that you trust to review your resume. This can be friends, family, your career center or academic adviser. If including a cover letter, make sure you attach this as well. Writing a good resume takes time and effort. Do not wait until the last minute to put one together. Start writing and perfecting your resume today. Thank you and good luck. [MUSIC]
