A resume is a marketing tool, marketing YOU as the brand.  Your resume should showcase your experiences and accomplishments related to a specific position.  This powerful marketing tool is designed to get you to the next step in the hiring process...the interview!

Quick Resume Tips:

Format

• Margins are between 1/2" and 1" around
• Use a professional-looking type font
• Quantify and Qualify: add numbers to your resume and back up why those numbers are important
  • example: Increased participation by 37% in one year
• Align dates on the right
• Use a professional email address

Content

• Stress accomplishments and skills, NOT job duties
• Use short phrases, NOT sentences:
  • Use Bullet format, starting with action verbs
  • Ban all "I" phrases
  • Ban "Responsible for"
• Be consistent with use of bullets, spacing, word tense, indentions, font
• Prioritize bullets under each heading
• Proofread, proofread, proofread!!!

Resume Sections

• Header (with Name, Address, and Contact Information)
• Education
• Branding Statement/Objective Statement
• Experience
  • Relevant
  • Internship
  • Research
  • Professional
  • Volunteer
• Activities & Honors
• Campus Involvement

The Career Center can critique your resume Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are areas of development that will transfer from one environment to another such as home, school, work, volunteerism, or cocurricular activities.  They can be used in many different environments, such as across occupations, regardless of the type of work.  Many employers think that if you are able to use a skill in one situation, you should be able to use that skill in another job, even if the work appears to be unrelated to your past employment or educational experience.  In your resume, it is important to highlight skills you learned in paid jobs, internships, service-learning projects, research experiences, athletics, and more.

Resume vs. Curriculum Vitae (CV)

A CV is distinguished from a resume not by its length but by its content.  A CV is a comprehensive biographical statement (usually three pages or more) emphasizing professional qualifications and activities.  There are numerous times when a CV may be better than a resume.  Some examples are when you need to: establish your professional image; apply for admission to graduate or professional school; apply for internships or employment in academic or some professional fields; introduce yourself when making presentations at professional conferences; and support your application(s) for fellowships, grants, or other contract funding proposals.

There are many different types of information you could include in your CV and you should design your CV to emphasize your strengths and your achievements.  Sections include: identification information; education; relevant work experience; presentations; recent and current research; grants received; community involvement; publications/presentations; conferences; special awards and honors; current interests; references; and more.

If you are interested in working abroad, check out Going Global.  This resource provides you the formats and information most included in CVs in different countries.  Login information is the same as your Truman username and password.

The Career Center sells a variety of  resume paper to assist you for 10 cents per page.

A cover letter should accompany every resume you send to a potential employer.  A good cover letter indicates specifically what type of position you are seeking, entices the employer to learn more about you by reading your resume, further details your experience and potential fit with the company/organization, shows how you express yourself and indicates what you will do to follow-up.  The cover letter should not restate exactly what is on your resume, but should elaborate on some of the experiences on your resume and how your experience makes you the best candidate for the position in which you're applying.  The cover letter's main objective is to get the employer to review your resume.

Transferable Skills

The cover letter is an area where you can really spotlight skills you have gained in home, school, work, volunteerism, service-learning, athletic, or cocurricular activities.  Many people use the cover letter as an avenue to expand on specific details that would not fit in the confines of a resume.  If there are specific skills you gained from on-campus involvement that you are unable to highlight on your resume, this is a valuable opportunity to do so.

Overall, remember to do the following:

• Be concise; limited to one page
• Do not overuse first person "I" to begin sentences and paragraphs
• Avoid using qualifiers (i.e. I feel, I think, I believe, in my opinion, etc.)
• Sentence and paragraph structure should be well thought out and easy to read
• Be sure the reader immediately understands the purpose of the letter
• Does not restate exactly what is on your resume
• Customized to a specific position--shows how your qualifications match their requirements
• Letter is employer focused throughout using the job description to focus on employer needs
• Reflects research and knowledge of the company
• Printed on the same paper as your resume
• Letter is signed
• Convert to .pdf or .rtf document if sending electronically to eliminate compatibility errors

The Career Center can critique your cover letter Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.    The Career Center sells a variety of  resume paper to assist you for 10 cents per page.

The interview process is the time in which to sell your brand (yourself) to the company.  Obviously the company was interested in you to offer you this opportunity and the interview is used to determine fit.  This is why the interview is the single most important aspect of the hiring process.  Be sure to do your research on yourself and the company, and practice interviewing so you can make the best impression.

Types of Interviews:

• Telephone
  • Generally used as a screening tool
• One-on-One
  • Most frequently used interview, incorporates an individual approach
• Panel
  • Several individuals will interview you at one time
• Group
  • One individual will interview several people at one time
• Follow-up Interview/On-site Visit
  • Often referred to as a second interview or on-site visit

Preparation:

• Research the organization-products and services, number of employees, culture and dress code, historic milestones, etc.
• Review the job description
• Review your resume
• Be able to describe at least three situations that demonstrate your skills
• Verbally practice the most common interview questions
• Prepare several intelligent questions to ask the interviewer
• Try on your interview clothes
• Travel to the interview site to become acquainted with the location

The Career Center can help you prepare for your upcoming interview.  Schedule a Mock Interview with one of our trained student interviewers or schedule a SCORE/Alumni Mock Interview.

Dress for Success:

Typical Interview Format:

• Introductions/small talk
• Content questioning
• Information from Interviewer
• Ask your questions
• Closing the interview

During the Interview:

• Take your resume, cover letter, letters of reference, pen, portfolio/padfolio, writing samples (if relevant), and note pad
• Practice your 30 Second Commercial to answer the "Tell me about yourself" question
• Before formulating an answer, remember the Three P's:
  • Ponder--determine what skill, trait, value, or ability is being measured in the question asked
  • Prove--give clear and specific examples for every statement you make
  • Project--project a positive image even when the questioning is negative
• Communicate the transferable skills learned in previous experiences.  You must connect your involvement in an activity with what lessons and skills you took away from it.
• Be prepared for Behavioral Interview questions--these require specific examples to illustrate the characteristic you're being asked about.  Utilize the STAR Method to answer these questions:
  • Situation
  • Task
  • Action
  • Result
• Always have questions for the interviewer.  This demonstrates your interest in the position or company.  Ask questions related to the hiring process, questions for the interviewer on his/her experiences with the company, etc.  This is NOT a time to ask about salary and benefits.

After the Interview:

• Send a thank-you note to the interviewer(s) within 24 hours of your interview.  Emailed letters may be appropriate in instances with short timeframes
• Consider sending thank you notes to people you met throughout the day but who did not interview you
• This can make the difference between two really similar candidates

The Career Center sells a variety of thank you cards in its office to assist you with this important process.

Dining Etiquette

Some interviews include a meal as part of the itinerary.  Even though you are dining, you will still be evaluated.  To learn what not to do at these functions, register for the Etiquette Dinner where you will get helpful tips, stories, and a four-course meal for a nominal fee.

Students often are overwhelmed by the idea of choosing a career path and/or major.  The task of selecting one from many choices seems daunting.  However, the career and major decision making processes can be broken down into five easy steps: 1) self-assessment, 2) career exploration, 3) decision making, 4) setting goals, and 5) action.

Self-Assessment

The Career Center offers two self-assessments to help students identify their values, interests, abilities, and personality preferences.  Career assessments can help you determine occupations that may be potential "fits"; ideas you can use when trying to decide career options or choosing a college major.  These assessments should be used as guides to help understand who you are and what type of majors and careers might be right for you.

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)*

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is an assessment based on your personality.  It measures your preferences about how you perceive the world and make decisions.  Based on the results of the assessment, you will be given a type, which is a combination of four traits which describe your personality.

• Strong Interest Inventory (SII)*

The Strong Interest Inventory is an assessment based on your interests.  This assessment will show you how interested you may be in six broad categories of careers.  Based on the results, you will be shown areas in which you may excel as well as a list of ten careers which you indicated a strong interest.

*There is a $40 fee to take both tests. Please schedule an intake appointment to determine if you need to take the assessments.  Following the assessments you will schedule an interpretation session to get your results.

• Free Assessments

There are many free assessments online and in the Career Center.  To explore these options, stop in the Career Center.

Career Exploration

Once you have a clear idea of your interests, values, abilities, and personality preferences, you can start exploring options.  Informational interviewing provides an opportunity to learn about career options by obtaining information about occupations and industries.  Informational interviews also allow you to meet with employers in a low-stress situation and build your professional network.

You can gather information about careers by utilizing the Occupational Outlook Handbook or using O*Net.  Additionally, the Career Center has a library of career, graduate school and professional development resources that can assist you with your exploration.  If you are unsure of what you can do with your major, be sure to check out What Can I Do With This Major?, a valuable resource providing career opportunities for various degree programs.  If you would like to learn more about graduates from Truman's programs, review the Quick Facts brochures.

Making Decisions

After you have explored your options, the next step is narrowing down the work, education, and/or training required of the field in which you would like to focus.  Evaluate the options you have explored and make decisions about what path you wish to pursue.

Setting Goals

After identifying a career path, identify the steps you need to take to move towards your goal.  Prepare an action plan complete with measurable, attainable goals.

Action

Set your plan into action.  Note that changes may need to occur to keep you on your set path or to accommodate unexpected opportunities.

The Career Center offers Career Coaching by appointment only with professional staff.  These appointments can be used for career exploration, career/major changes, personal career development, and other career related issues. 

There are a variety of strategies you may utilize when conducting a job search.  The two primary goals are to locate job vacancies and identify employers.  Searching for a job can be thought of as a full-time job.  This is why it is important to perform self-evaluation to determine what it is you want to do and then be active and proactive in your job search.  Chances are an employer is not going to find you, but you need to make sure you are actively seeking them. 

Locating Job Vacancies

• #HireTruman
  • Every Truman student has a username and password to #HireTruman.  This is the online job board utilized by the Career Center to post jobs and internships available for a variety of majors.  If you do not know your log on information please contact the Career Center.
  • If you are looking for an on-campus job, please visit Trupositions.
• Career Expo
  • Every semester the Career Center hosts Career Expo with approximately 100 employers from a variety of fields and locations
• On-Campus Recruiting
  • Employers visit Truman throughout the school year to interview candidates for full-time positions and internships.
• Networking
  • Did you know 75% of jobs are not posted?  This showcases the importance of networking!
• Professional Associations
  • Join as a student member to begin networking with professionals in a field you want to get into.  Attend meetings of civil organizations as a guest of someone you know, and use the opportunity to network.
• Social and Professional Networking Sites
• State/Employment Agency Services
• Temporary Agencies
• Trade Newspapers/Periodicals
• Direct Employer Contact

Researching Employers

To effectively sell yourself as a job candidate, you need to be able to persuade the employer that you are a fit for that employer's needs.  You cannot present yourself as a match if you do not know enough about the employer to do so.  In interviews, employers expect you to arrive with knowledge of background information--products and services, financial statistics, locations, mission and history, and company culture.  If you do not, you look like you are not really interested in the job.  You have to be able to answer the critical question of why you would like to work for that employer--and not sound like you would take any job.  Research also helps you formulate intelligent and appropriate questions to ask in your interview.

Targeted Job Searching

• Identify and research companies
• Read company websites, business journals, and popular business magazines
• Contact people within the organization
• Network online
• Stay on the radar screen of the company
• Keep the traditional search methods going

Biggest Job Search Mistakes

• Not knowing what you want to do
• Not following up
• Not networking
• Errors in your resume and cover letter
• Poor interviewing skills
• Lack of knowledge about the company/country (if you're looking for an internship abroad, check out Going Global to get relevant information for your application materials, the hiring process and the country)
• Applying for too few jobs

Job Search Tips

• Stay positive--don't appear desperate
• Break down the search into manageable units
• Make sure your product is polished
• Be upbeat, friendly, and positive in each interaction
• Don't undervalue or overprice yourself
• Tailor your resume and cover letter to the specific job in which you are applying

Social Media and the Job Search

As social media is becoming a preferred method of communication, employers are increasingly looking at candidates' social media sites.  In fact, one third of all employers use social media in the hiring process.  Employers can use the information found on your social media to determine your professionalism, your character, and skills.  Sometimes, it can help you get an interview but sometimes it can prevent you from getting the interview.  Be sure to check your social media pages before conducting your job search.  View your pages through the perspective of a potential employer.

Job and Salary Negotiation

Salary negotiation takes tact, skill, and research. Don't forget that salary is not the only factor in taking an offer. Benefits, cost-of-living, geographic location, work environment, and corporate culture also need to be considered. Make sure you look at the whole picture. While doing your research, you need to also figure out what you're worth before you start to negotiate.  In order to evaluate your options, you should clearly identify what you want and what you need. 

Here are some aspects of the job to weigh:

• Position
• Start Date
• Salary
• Moving
• Bonus
• Benefits

Successful and realistic negotiations embrace five principles based on the knowledge that the salary you begin a job with reflects your value to an organization and typically determines future salary increases.  These five principles are:

• Research
• Self-Confidence
• Recognition of Mutual Needs
• Calculated Timing
• Evaluation and Communication

Students who are interested in working abroad should use Going Global to research countries and opportunities available.  Login information is the same as your Truman username and password.

Students who are interested in working in the Arts industry can utilize ArtSearch.  To obtain the login credentials, please email careers@truman.edu.

The Career Center can help you research employers and job vacancies as well as tailoring your resume and cover letter for the application process.  Stop in the Career Center Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm for a resume or cover letter critique or to sign up for a Mock Interview.