Writing a good resume is just as hard as mastering the laws of physics. There are no set rules when it comes to resumes and trends come and go, making the process more difficult. However, the Business Career Passport Workshop: Professional Business Resumes provides the tools necessary to build a resume that will catch any recruiter’s attention.
The workshop began with understand resumes from a recruiter’s perspective, which includes considering the environment recruiter’s are in when looking at our resumes. Depending on the size of the firm, recruiter’s could have hundreds or even thousands of resumes to process, limiting the time they have to spend on each. So with only a couple of seconds to spare on each application they will be critical and skeptical and will want to be impressed.
Next, we put ourselves in the recruiter’s shoes and tried to think like a recruiter and analyze resumes. We were given 30 seconds to look at one resume and discussed what we noticed. Though most of us noticed the high GPA, we agreed that the page was cluttered, making it difficult to read. For the second resume we appreciated the simple layout, pop of color, and concise sentences.
This transitioned into the next activity where we identified our transferrable skills. Though you may think you didn’t gain any skills during your time at McDonald’s, listing achievements you’re proud of while in that position proves otherwise. Having to deal with a long line of hungry customers includes skills like multi-tasking, detail oriented, customer service, and communication. Here I learned not to underestimate the skills I gained at an introductory position, or during a volunteer experience.
However, there is a big difference between listing off skills and proving that you have them – that distinction is made with creating accomplishment statements. Often times I focus on making it known that I have the skill as opposed to proving that I have it. This is a simple switch that can mean the difference between landing an interview, and still patiently waiting for a phone call. I learned that starting the sentence with the result that skill yielded provides the evidence needed to grab the recruiter’s attention.
After we addressed that we need to make strategic decisions to solve common challenges. The workshop suggested one of the strategies I have been using for years, a dump resume. I list all of my past and current positions with their accomplishment statements so when I need to customize a resume it’s only a matter of copying and pasting as opposed to rewriting. As for personality, it’s best to include an interest’s section with something actually interesting. Avoid the bullet point list and have 1-2 sentences discussing the marathon you just ran or which mountain you just conquered hiking.
Though hiking up a mountain may seem easier than writing a resume, with the tools I acquired at this workshop writing a good resume seems less challenging.
You can visit Beedie Community to register for an upcoming Passport Workshop: https://beedie.sfu.ca/bba/career/help/workshops.php
Martina is a fourth year Marketing and International Business student at the Beedie School of Business. She is currently on her second co-op work term as the Social Media and Marketing Intern at Beedie, and previously completed a co-op work term at a Vancouver start-up as a Marketing Intern. Martina is also the Public Relations Coordinator for the Student Marketing Association’s Marketers’ Night 2015, one of the largest student-run networking events of its kind, allowing for students and professionals to mingle. When she isn’t working you can find her either watching hockey, practicing yoga, or drinking tea.