Today's successful job candidates use electronic resumes and cover letters to respond to employer demands.   To be competitive, African-American college students and graduates must understand and use today's technology to design the intelligible, standout resume. 

The resume is not an autobiography.  It is a personalized public relations tool designed to sell your capabilities to employers.  Because it is an efficient screening device for employers, a good resume gets you an interview. 

Think of a resume as an advertising brochure emphasizing outstanding skills, competencies, achievements, and qualities while minimizing limitations.  The effective resume gives a positive first impression of you and prompts the employer to want to learn more.  Top quality appearance is vital. 

Given the competitiveness of today's job market, you must design an intelligent resume that stands apart. The intelligent resume is created on a computer for ease of proofing, revision, and re-design.  As a computerized document, it can be instantly tailored to a specific opportunity. Computers provide the support of spell-check and grammar-check and, if necessary, can be forwarded instantly online to a hot employer prospect. 

The standout resume includes a powerful introductory letter (cover letter) that identifies your potential value to an organization. Developing the standout resume is an ongoing activity; updating must be done regularly to keep it current.  Each time you apply for a job, target your resume to a specific employer--write a specific career objective and redraft it for each position you are seeking. 

If you have never written a resume, begin by taking inventory of your skills and achievements. Via the computer or on paper, brainstorm about your experiences and accomplishments, listing everything, regardless of how important or relevant you think it is. Review the list and highlight the statements you think are the most valuable. 

Your skills and accomplishments are the key ingredients of the resume, but you must organize them into a recognizable, coherent format. Letter-quality printing is recommended for ease in targeting resumes to employers. The computer allows continual revisions and added-information updates. 

Your career objective is critical.  Target it and your qualifications to specific jobs and companies. Gain the standout advantage in the initial screening stage of a company's search for qualified people.  Employers evaluate statements of career objectives in determining which candidates to interview. 

An intelligible, standout resume is one that works for you and fits your style and meets the employer's expectations in terms of content, format, and technological sophistication.  The intelligible resume is honest and accurate; it is objective, clear and concise, using achievement-oriented phrases rather than sentences, is no more than 1-2 pages, (unless absolutely necessary), and is professional in tone and content.  The intelligent resume also skillfully uses key words from the job description to be sure the employer's electronic resume scanner does not screen it out.  Remember, no perfect kind of resume exists.  However, such a "perfect" resume has just enough information to elicit interest and to land the interview. 

There are many resume formats, but two standard resume formats, chronological and functional, are particularly well suited for college students and graduates.  Both formats are described below, followed by example(s). Use your college career center to learn more about writing resumes, to learn other resume styles, and, most importantly, to get your resume professionally critiqued before submitting it. 

The Chronological Resume  

The chronological resume begins with educational background and previous employers, listing most recent information first and working back no more than 5 - 8 years or to high school.  Many college graduates who have little work experience find that the chronological resume is usually the most effective. 

Chronological Resume Format 
 

Name: 
Campus Address: 
Campus E-mail Address: 
Campus Telephone: 
Permanent Address: 
Telephone/Fax: 

Career Objective:  A logical, concise and meaningful statement describing your immediate and long-range career goals.  Avoid being too restrictive. 

Key Word Summary:  Include at the top of your resume words (generally nouns) and phrases taken from the job description that identify the essential characteristics to do the job.  Employers with automated tracking systems scan resumes to locate key competencies they are seeking. 

Education:  Include the institutions that granted your degrees (city and state), the kind of degrees, the graduation dates (in reverse chronological order). 
If applicable or appropriate, identify your major, minor, and/or formal certificate program. 
List GPA if it is favorable.  You can include academic honors and awards related to your degrees in this section or in the honors section. 

Work Experiences:  List position title, where and when. 
Full-time, part-time, cooperative education experiences, internships, professional experience, and volunteer work (if related to the job search).  Appropriate subheadings for this category include: 

"Professional Experience,"  "Work Experience,"  " Related Work Experience." 

Use action words to describe your responsibilities and accomplishments for each position.  Be thorough in your description, but do not exaggerate your responsibilities. 

Special Skills:  Specific skills related to career objective or job target, special licenses, foreign language proficiencies, research discoveries and inventions credited to you. 

References:  Furnished upon request. (Optional) 
 
 

Jonathon Jacobs                                           Sample Chronological Resume  1665 Beechmont Avenue  Cincinnati, OH 45271  (513) 523-5625  CAREER OBJECTIVE   Accounting position in budgeting or cost auditing with a growing corporation utilizing experience in accounting systems.  Long-term goal of division controller.  EDUCATION  University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, Ohio  Bachelor of Science - June 1999  Major: Accounting  Minor: Finance  GPA: 3.4  WORK EXPERIENCE   Loan Officer Intern, Cinco Credit Union  Cincinnati, Ohio  Assist loan officer, review mortgage and loan applications, prepare related documents, provide customer service in completing loan applications.  September 1998 - December 1998  Business Manager, News Record, University of Cincinnati  Cincinnati, Ohio  Manage and direct all accounting functions, schedule office operations.   September 1997 - June 1998  EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES  Treasurer, ADVANCE Student Organization  Member, Residence Hall Association  REFERENCES   Furnished upon request (Optional)

 

The Functional Resume  

If you have extensive, diverse work experience and relevant professional skills, or if you have gaps in your educational progress, or if you have been out of the job market for some time, you may find the functional resume a better choice. The functional resume allows you to focus on transferable skills, abilities, and experiences that you have acquired regardless of setting. 
The functional resume has the same categories as the chronological resume, but allows more freedom in organizing the information.  If you have more work experience, placing your work history before your degree emphasizes your strengths to the potential employer.  Also, categorizing your work history by skill areas rather than chronologically, is a way to circumvent employment gaps. 

Career Objective:  Same as chronological format. 

Summary of Experience/Skills: (Key Word Summary) 

List several appropriate areas of skill, using keywords from the job description, that demonstrate abilities required for the position.  Use functional skills (e.g., computer science, marketing, managing, sales, leadership etc.) that are areas of personal strength as subheadings, use short action phrases to describe and quantify related accomplishments and /or results. It is not necessary to identify the employment situation where experience was gained here; it will be listed under Work History. 

Education:  Usually if education was completed less than five years ago, it appears immediately after career objective, otherwise, it appears after Summary of Skills or Work History. 

Work History:  Brief chronology of employment history. 
Entries listed in reverse chronological order, most recent listed first. 

Professional Affiliations: List and indicate positions of leadership and responsibility that were held. 

Honors: List academic, leadership, athletic awards, remembering that the most current are the most relevant to the employer as they reflect current abilities. 

References: Provide if requested. This helps you to be aware of your progress in the screening process. 
 
 

Amanda G. Starkey                                        Sample Functional Resume  1665 Owens Avenue  Carbondale, Illinois 62901  (618)  523-5625  CAREER OBJECTIVE  Paralegal Assistant position in a medium-sized law firm.  EXPERIENCE  Legal  Researched legal issues concerning municipal zoning. Prepared legal papers and correspondence. Selected pertinent cases from law journals and other legal publications. Familiar with legal terminology and concepts.  Administrative  Organized general office procedures. Supervised clerical staff of three. Established and maintained new computerized electronic filing system.  WORK HISTORY   1993-present    Administrative Assistant                           Thompson & Williams                           Carbondale, Illinois  EDUCATION  1997-to present Chicago State University                           Chicago, Illinois                           Major: Paralegal Studies                           G.P.A. 3.4/4.0    1977-79           Central State University                           Xenia, Ohio                           Major: Communications  LEADERSHIP  1996 - 1997     President Pre-Law Alliance                          Chicago State University

 
 
The Cover Letter  

A standout cover letter gives your resume focus and appeal.  Everyday, employers open hundreds of resumes and receive even more electronically. The cover letter briefly alerts the employer to the contents of your resume.  The standout cover letter specifically and concisely points out the most relevant skill sets mentioned in your resume and relates them to the stated needs/qualifications of the position.  The cover letter also clearly articulates your strong desire to bring your skills and abilities to this particular organization. 

The personalized aspect of a cover letter is a major strength. To create a standout cover letter, always address it to a specific individual, preferably the person most likely to have decision-making authority for the position you seek. Learn the names and position titles of your key contacts in the organization by networking at career fairs and reviewing on-campus recruiter information in your college career center. Aids such as Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors, and Executives, Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Directory, and other research sources provide mailing information and can produce actual mailing labels! 

Solid research allows you to avoid writing To Whom It May Concern.   If you aren't sure, call the company to verify your target's name and title. 
The ultimate question that you must answer throughout your job search is, What can you do for the employer?   The cover letter allows you to highlight or draw attention to any skill or accomplishment that has particular meaning to the organization, which you may or may not have included in your resume.  Its inclusion in the cover letter, however, communicates that you have researched the company, identified the company's needs, and can fulfill those needs. 

The cover letter also has an important closing section that indicates follow-up requested or that will be initiated by you.  Your action-oriented closing allows you to initiate the exchange of further communication and to have some control of the process. 
 
 

January 8, 1999                                                           Sample Cover Letter    Mr. Arthur C. Elkins, President  Southwest Market Research Inc.  600 Laramie Trail  Santa Fe, New Mexico  80801  Dear Mr. Elkins:  I read with great interest a recent article in Marketing Today entitled Southwest Market Research Lands $8 Million Federal Contract.   The artile addressed your success in landing multi-year federal contracts, your unique approach to marketing to diverse audiences in the Southwest, and your plans to increase your Market Research Field Team.  Yours is the kind of successful, progressive, mid-sized company that I am seeking.  I am especially intrigued by the diversity marketing research concepts you have developed and would like to discuss my education and experience, which I believe will assist you in meeting your expanding market research goals.  The enclosed resume details my experience in market research and my recent internship with a Fortune 500 company as a field investigator.  I can offer Southwest Market Research Inc. relevant education and experience and the high degree of excellence I believe you need.  May I meet with you to discuss your open position and my qualifications during the week of January 22, when I will be in your area?  I will call you in a week hoping to obtain a favorable reply.  Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.  Sincerely,  Shauna Saunders

 

A cover letter is essential, and its effectiveness depends on understanding the key points outlined here.  A cover letter influences how favorably your resume is viewed, or whether it is viewed at all. 

There are hundreds of resume books and publications to aid today's job seeker and many helpful resume development guides on the Internet.  There is no excuse for not being able to write a good resume. Creating the intelligent, standout resume requires research, time on task and critique by a skilled professional at your career center or someone with current human resources experience or a campus recruiter.  Do not let someone else write your resume for you. Experienced employers tire of the canned resume. You will be glad to have skill in resume writing as you move in and out of the job market during your career.  Remember this simple formula for developing a standout resume and cover letter: (1) be an outstanding student and (2) carefully follow the information you've just read.