1	Resume Building 3 Easy Steps
2	Step 1 Gather your Materials: Your Building Blocks
3	Gather your materials: Information Make a title list of all the education you have completed or partially completed. Make a title list of all the jobs and employment type volunteer experiences you have done. Make a list of your skills.
4	Organize your Materials Fill out Resume Building Forms – see downloads.
5	Education List all completed education with institution and dates (formatted Month/Year) List all education that is continuing or partially completed. Include dates of expected completion. List specialties and thesis papers. List all formal courses, seminars and workplace training.
6	Example Education Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of Mexico Sept 1999 to May 2003. Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick – to be completed May 2008 First Aid/CPR Red Cross Feb 2007, Communicating with a Challenging Audience –XYZ Corporation, Oct 2005 Thesis “Effects of Herbicides on Local Bee Populations” To be completed January 2008.
7	Work Experience List in chronological order your employment history, starting with the most recent employment. Format: Dates – Job Title – Company - Location
8	Example Employment History June 2003 to present – Lead Researcher – XYZ Corporation, Woodstock NB May 1990 to August 1999 – Laboratory Assistant – BASF Inc. Mexico City, Mexico April 1988 to May 1990 – Greenhouse worker/chemical mixer – Granjero Verde Alegre, Puebla, Mexico
9	List Skills List 2 or 3 job skills you acquired for each different job that you held List your Personal Management Skills that reflect: Attitude; Responsibility; and Adaptability. List your Teamwork Skills that demonstrate your ability to: Work with others; Contributions to company goals; and Leadership skills.
10	Example Personal Management Skills Multitasking Attention to detail Planning Teamwork Skills Project Managing Contributing to success Team Player
11	Step 2 Draw your Blueprint
12	Design Your Blueprint Target the Job you are looking for
13	Determine Your Job Objective Decide on the position you want Research companies that have the position you are looking for. Select from your listed skills those skills you wish to show case. Modify your action statements to reflect the company’s language – for instance a Subway sandwich maker is a Sandwich Artist
14	Decide which resume style is best Chronological Presents your work experience in a traditional by-date format, listing the jobs you’ve held and describing the activities and accomplishments of each job in a single paragraph, with most recent job appearing first.
15	Decide which resume style is best Functional Presents your work experience by listing the most important skills you’ve used, and then describing a number of activities and accomplishments (drawn form all your jobs and life experiences) to document each of those skills.
16	Which resume style is best? Always present information as required by the employer – failure to do so may mean the that company doesn’t review your resume. Traditional jobs and government jobs generally require a chronological resume High tech jobs generally want to see what skills you have acquired and not necessarily where you acquired them – functional resume
17	Which resume style is best? Functional resumes are also effective when you are changing fields. It emphasizes transferable essential skills. At times you may want to be creative with how you present your information, be certain that the company you are applying to is looking for this type of creativity.
18	One Liners For each of the skills listed previously, write 2 or 3 action statements that demonstrate how you used those skills in the workplace. These statements are to catch the reader’s attention. Statements demonstrate why you are the best person for the job – must be true and an honest reflection of your abilities.
19	Example Skill: Multitasking Managed 10 Lab Technicians while, ensuring quality control and ensuring production quotas. Synchronized chemical analyst tests to produce real-time data output.
20	Example Skill: Contributing to success Redesigned inadequate inventory system, recovering thousand’s of dollar’s worth of missing inventory. Streamlined chemical mixing procedure to be safer and more economical. Led a team of Lab Technicians to win the JP Bowers Award for Innovation (Chemical Processing.)
21	Step 3 Construction
22	Building a Chronological Resume Basic Form Header Objective Highlights of Qualifications Education Work Experience Volunteer/Special Interest
23	Header This is where you put your name and contact information. Your name should be in a larger font size than the rest of your resume. Include in your Header, your address, telephone number(s) and email (if you have one.) Be creative, but professional.
24	Examples Fred Flintstone 123 Granite Stone Dr. Bedrock, NB (506)-555-5555 fflint@yabahoo.com Fred Flintstone 123 Granite Stone Dr Bedrock, NB (506)-555-5555 fflint@yabahoo.com
25	Objective A one line statement that clearly states the position being sought. Be certain to quote competition numbers if advertised. Example: “To obtain the position of Lead Chemical Technician in the Agriculture Development Department – Posting #CT 232007”
26	Highlights of Qualifications Short bullet points stating your best qualities. These are ‘teasers’ that will get the reader interested and wanting to read further. Example Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering 12 years experience in laboratory setting Excel in Team Leadership
27	Education List out your education, put the most important education first.
28	Example Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick – to be completed May 2008 Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of Mexico Sept 1999 to May 2003. First Aid/CPR Red Cross Feb 2007, Communicating with a Challenging Audience –XYZ Corporation, Oct 2005
29	Work Experience List all work experience starting with the most recent. Include dates, duties and accomplishments.
30	Example June 2003 to present Lead Researcher – XYZ Corporation, Woodstock NB Managed 10 Lab Technicians while, ensuring quality control and ensuring production quotas. Synchronized chemical analyst tests to produce real-time data output. Led a team of Lab Technicians to win the JP Bowers Award for Innovation (Chemical Processing.) May 1990 to August 1999 Laboratory Assistant – BASF Inc. Mexico City, Mexico Prepared samples for analysis. Database entry and report creation. Redesigned inadequate inventory system, recovering thousand’s of dollar’s worth of missing inventory. April 1988 to May 1990 Greenhouse worker/chemical mixer – Granjero Verde Alegre, Puebla, Mexico Streamlined chemical mixing procedure to be safer and more economical Responsible for the production of table ready vegetables Maintained equipment and ran irrigation systems
31	Volunteer/Special Interest Annually organize Pebblebeach Middle School Science Fair. Guest columnist for Rock Hound, a magazine for amateur geologist.
32	Chronological Resume Fred Flintstone 123 Granite Stone Dr. Bedrock, NB (506)-555-5555 fflint@yabahoo.com Objective To obtain the position of Lead Chemical Technician in the Agriculture Development Department – Posting #CT 232007 Highlights of Qualifications Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering 12 years experience in laboratory setting Excel in Team Leadership Education Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick – to be completed May 2008 Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of Mexico Sept 1999 to May 2003. First Aid/CPR Red Cross Feb 2007, Communicating with a Challenging Audience –XYZ Corporation, Oct 2005
33	Chronological Continued Work Experience June 2003 to present Lead Researcher – XYZ Corporation, Woodstock NB Managed 10 Lab Technicians while, ensuring quality control and ensuring production quotas. Synchronized chemical analyst tests to produce real-time data output. Led a team of Lab Technicians to win the JP Bowers Award for Innovation (Chemical Processing.) May 1990 to August 1999 Laboratory Assistant – BASF Inc. Mexico City, Mexico Prepared samples for analysis. Database entry and report creation. Redesigned inadequate inventory system, recovering thousand’s of dollar’s worth of missing inventory. April 1988 to May 1990 Greenhouse worker/chemical mixer – Granjero Verde Alegre, Puebla, Mexico Streamlined chemical mixing procedure to be safer and more economical Responsible for the production of table ready vegetables Maintained equipment and ran irrigation systems Volunteer Experience Annually organized Pebblebeach Middle School Science Fair. Guest columnist for Rock Hound, a magazine for amateur geologist. References Available Upon Request
34	Building a Functional Resume Basic Form Header Objective Relevant Experience Work History Education Volunteer/Special Interest
35	Similarities The Chronological and Functional resume utilize the same format for: Header Objective Highlights of Qualifications Education Volunteer/Special Interest
36	Differences The heading “Relevant Experience” is added. Experiences are listed according to specific skills – does not use dates. The “Work Experience” section is reduced to: Dates employed Job Title Employer name and location
37	Example Relevant Experience Personal Management Skills Multitasking Managed 10 Lab Technicians while, ensuring quality control and ensuring production quotas. Synchronized chemical analyst tests to produce real-time data output Attention to detail Award of excellence for Most Accurate Data Entry Process auditor of fellow Lab Assistants Planning Developed and tracked Lab budget. Recognized for excellence for Best Laboratory Practices for 3 consecutive years. Key role in the design and construction of new lab.
38	Example Work History June 2003 to present Lead Researcher – XYZ Corporation, Woodstock NB May 1990 to August 1999 Laboratory Assistant – BASF Inc. Mexico City, Mexico April 1988 to May 1990 Greenhouse worker/chemical mixer – Granjero Verde Alegre, Puebla, Mexico
39	Functional Resume Fred Flintstone 123 Granite Stone Dr. Bedrock, NB (506)-555-5555 fflint@yabahoo.com Objective To obtain the position of Lead Chemical Technician in the Agriculture Development Department – Posting #CT 232007 Highlights of Qualifications Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering 12 years experience in laboratory setting Excel in Team Leadership Relevant Experience Personal Management Skills Multitasking Managed 10 Lab Technicians while, ensuring quality control and ensuring production quotas. Synchronized chemical analyst tests to produce real-time data output
40	Functional Continued Attention to detail Award of excellence for Most Accurate Data Entry Process auditor of fellow Lab Assistants Planning Developed and tracked Lab budget. Recognized for excellence for Best Laboratory Practices for 3 consecutive years. Key role in the design and construction of new lab. Work History June 2003 to present Lead Researcher – XYZ Corporation, Woodstock NB May 1990 to August 1999 Laboratory Assistant – BASF Inc. Mexico City, Mexico April 1988 to May 1990 Greenhouse worker/chemical mixer – Granjero Verde Alegre, Puebla, Mexico Education Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick – to be completed May 2008 Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering, University of Mexico Sept 1999 to May 2003. First Aid/CPR Red Cross Feb 2007, Communicating with a Challenging Audience –XYZ Corporation, Oct 2005
41	Functional Continued Volunteer Experience Annually organized Pebblebeach Middle School Science Fair. Guest columnist for Rock Hound, a magazine for amateur geologist. References Available Upon Request
42	In Closing . . . Building your resume can be a difficult process, however once you have the basics down you can easily adjust it to each employer you apply to. A couple key points: Do not use “form” resumes. Research the company that you are applying to and customize your resume for that company.
43	Key Points continued . . . Resumes should be kept down to 2 PAGES or LESS. Keep your resumes brief and interesting. Leave the reader wanting to know more about you. You have about 20 seconds to catch the reader’s attention before he/she goes to the next resume! Do Not include personal information such as marital status, number of children, pregnancy, Social Insurance Number, Country of Origin, pictures of yourself, age etc.
44	Key Points continued . . . Experiment with spacing, titles and fonts to make your resume look more attractive. It is best to use plain white paper with a medium heavy stock. Coloured paper does not copy well. Do Not scent your resume with perfume. Many workplaces are now “Scent-Free”. Learn how to send your resume via email – most employers are asking for them in electronic form. You should send it in a PDF format to prevent unwanted changes.
45	Conclusion A resume is a brief reflection of you. It tells potential employers who you are and what experiences you have to offer. Employers are looking for people who they believe can be successful and profitable in their company. Whenever possible submit your resume in person directly to the person who is hiring – it will make your resume more personal and memorable.
46	Happy Job Hunting Created by: Trevor Wilkinson Employment Counsellor All Rights Reserved