CSCE 481 Lecture 2

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Building your Résumé

First Question: "Why should I [the employer] take the time to see you?"

A Résumé is a tool to convince an employer to call you for an interview... You've got 10 seconds!

Laying the Foundation

Assess yourself on paper/computer:

Objectives: kind of job, when available (be specific)
Accomplishments: Skills, abilities, work experience, extracurricular activities/leadership

Good employees have (read: Employers look for)

Integrity
Teamwork (ability to work with people)
Responsibility
Judgement
Motivation to succeed
Work Ethic
Intelligence
Creativity/enthusiasm
Communications Skills
Technical competence

Formatting

Chronological: events ordered by date in reverse date order (most recent first)
Functional: keep things grouped

"Tell me the mostest, the fastest"

Header Information

NAME: front and center

Professional email Website portfolio

Current address and mobile phone on left

Permanent address and home phone on left

Objective

Type of job: Coop, Intern, Full-time

Specific ideas
Operations, business, sales, design, R&D, consulting, ...

Education

Univ., Location, Graduation Date
Degree: Major, Minor, Certificate
Major GPR (courses in College of Engineering), Overall GPR (all courses); put largest number first
Senioor Design Project, Study Abroad, GRaduate research, related coursework
% Paid by work, scholarships

Work Experience

Job Title, Company Name, Location, Dates of employment
Job Description - statements
Action words and showing results
Be positive, concise, and persuasive

Activities

Student/professional organizations
Leadership positions

Skills

Computer software/systems, foreign languages
Security clearance

Honors

Scholarships (use disgretion), Dean's List
Awards

Work Authorization

References

Do not list on résumé
Bring separate page of 3-5 references to interview

Polishing

Avoid common mistakes

broad generalization statements ("people person")
Spelling/grammar
Formatting, fonts, paper quality (White paper, black/dark ink)
Translate "Aggie Speak" to business english
Avoid explaining every statement
Critique and advice (Career center)

Do not include a picture

Salary Info

Computer Science May 2012: Between $42,000 and $95,000

Data is online under Salary information