The Resume.Com Guide to Writing Unbeatable Resumes (13 page)

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Maintain responsibility for developing, administering and monitoring multi-million-dollar budgets.

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Build and foster proactive workplace environment conducive to highest levels of employee participation.

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Proactive, hands-on style; extensive team leadership and personnel development skills.

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Supervise inventory, logistics, purchasing, and procurement of products and supplies with TQM/JIT techniques.

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Effect significant expense reduction through manpower and raw material cost control processes.

Warehousing

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Lead up to 100 team members in storage, transportation, and production of products and supplies.

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Assure personnel comply with all applicable health and safety guidelines and regulations, including OSHA, HAZMAT, and local/organizational mandates.

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Understand and maintain compliance with all specifications of OSHA, EPA, and UL.

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Manage all aspects of manufacturing projects from planning through shipment, including tariff compliance, transportation contracting, and process reviews.

WORK HISTORY

The education section is an important part of a resume. Employers often pay special attention to this section if the final decision comes down to two otherwise equally qualified candidates. Your education should immediately follow your Professional Experience (or Work History) section unless you are a student or have less than one year of experience.

As a rule of thumb, most employers want to know

1.
Where you received your education

2.
Your major or course of study

3.
Any degrees you obtained

If you have a strong education, such as an Ivy League degree or additional postgraduate studies (including a master’s degree or a Ph.D.), make sure to include this information
both
in your education section and as a bullet in your Summary of Qualifications. Depending on your level of education, there are a few strict guidelines to follow in this section.

1.
As with the Professional History section, list your most recent degree or education first, following the reverse chronological format. Here is an example:

Columbia University School of Journalism
, New York, NY

Master’s Degree,
2002

University of Florida
, Gainesville, FL

Bachelor’s Degree,
1999, G.P.A. 3.36

2.
If you have an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree (or a B.A. and additional postgraduate study), leave off your high school education.

3.
If you have a bachelor’s degree and an associate’s degree, leave off the associate’s degree; a bachelor’s degree carries more weight academically.

4.
If you have college experience but did not receive a degree, include the name of the college as well as the general course of study. Here is an example:

New York University
, New York, NY

Extensive coursework in Business Administration

5.
If your education consists of a high school diploma, omit this information, as it is assumed. If the position you are applying for states that you need a high school education, include it. Here is an example:

Everett J. Peterman High School
, Austin, TX.

Graduated 1997.

6.
Do not include an education section if you do not have a high school diploma.

Your value as a candidate, remember, ultimately will be based on your accomplishments; your education section becomes less important as you advance along your career path. If you’re just starting out or have little experience, this section can have a tremendous impact on your job search, however. For recent graduates, the education section usually precedes Professional Experience and should include college coursework and activities relevant to a targeted job. To create a student resume step by step, see Chapter 13.

Pay special attention to the information you include in the education section; job seekers may include superfluous information, usually hurting their chances.

Grade point averages (GPAs) are important to the education section but should be listed only if they are 3.0 or higher. Although most professionals with more than 10 years of experience choose to omit their GPAs, special honors such as summa cum laude may continue to be listed.

If you’ve had additional training or certifications, you can highlight this information in the education section. This can include programs an employer may have instituted or paid for, such as a management training program, or any certifications you may have earned, such as a firearms safety license. With this section, use the reverse chronological format, listing the most recent information first.

EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS

Accounting and Business Administration,
Los Angeles, CA J.P. Edwards Company, 2000

J.P. Edwards Management Training Program,
Los Angeles, CA J.P. Edwards Company, 1999

University of Washington,
Seattle, WA

Bachelor’s Degree, 1996

EDUCATION

University of Washington,
Seattle, WA

Bachelor’s Degree, 1996

CERTIFICATES

Accounting and Business Administration,
Los Angeles, CA J.P. Edwards Company, 2000

J.P. Edwards Management Training Program,
Los Angeles, CA J.P. Edwards Company, 1999

Education, Seminars, and Professional Training

E
ASTERN
C
ONNECTICUT
S
TATE
U
NIVERSITY
, Willimantic, CT

B.A. in Industrial Psychology, 2001

U.S. N
AVAL
S
ECURITY
A
CADEMY
, San Antonio, TX

Security Specialist Course; Security Police Tactics Course, 1996

F
LANDERS
I
NTERNATIONAL
S
ECURITY
S
ERVICES
, Greenwich, CT

Gun Supervisory Skills (Qualified Instructor), 1995

O
FFICE OF
A
DULT
P
ROBATION
, Norwich, CT

Field work, court docket, and investigation licenses, 1993

Career-specific certifications can be listed as a separate section for highly specialized industries, such as information technology (see “IT Resumes” in
Chapter 12
).

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The more relevant and recent the education is, the more it is emphasized.
Field of study, major, relevant coursework, honors, academic awards, and extracurricular activities may be found on a recent graduate’s resume. If you have five years of experience, however, your school and your major are generally all that is relevant.

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Your GPA should be listed if it is 3.0 or higher.

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Irrelevant information hurts your resume and should not be listed.
For example, if you majored in music but now have a sales career, write “Bachelor of Arts, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 1988.” Omit the music major, as it is inconsequential to your career goal.

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Do not give the graduation date for degrees earned over 15 years ago.

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If you went to college but did not graduate,
list relevant courses and activities that promote your professional worth. If you have over 60 credits, list the number of credits earned.

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Avoid listing your high school education
if you have an associate’s degree or higher, have more than five years of professional experience, or unless it is specifically called for in the job announcement.

EDUCATION