Theory
Resume in 1 minute
Resume is one of the most popular official documents that your employees will want to see before hiring you. While this is an important document, in today's volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, a resume may not be the most essential document anymore. Many career advisers suggest to create a skills portfolio rather than a resume in order to be competitive in VUCA environment. Still, many organizations still require a resume and writing it well becomes one of the most essential tasks for a person in search of a job.
To read more about VUCA environment, please go to this webpage:
https://www.vuca-world.org/
Resume types
There are two types of resumes:
• Chronological format --this type of a resume highlights your employment history. This type of resume is very helpful when you have accumulated a solid work history.
• Functional format --this type of a resume highlights your skills. This type of resume is helpful when you do not have a long work history (just graduated from school) or when you want to change a career. In this type of format you want to highlight your skills (things you are capable of doing well) rather than the jobs you had in the past.
Keywords
When searching for information, we typically use key words--words that help us narrow our search. The same strategy is used in the job ads. If you are looking for a translator job, you do not read all the ads that exist. Rather, you search for "translator" or even more specifically "English translator", " movie translator", or similar.
Keywords are also important inside the ad. Keywords are words that describe essential requirements for a position. Employers use very specific words to explain what kind of people they are searching.
Looking for English-French translators to work full time for one year. DO NOT APPLY if you are a not professional translator. We need translators to translate novels. We need a LITERARY translation, not a literal.
Let us find the key words in this advertisement. In other words, try to select the most important criteria that you need in order to get this job:
Looking for English-French translators to work full time for one year. DO NOT APPLY if you are a not professional translator. We need translators to translate novels. We need a LITERARY translation, not a literal.
The analysis of this ad shows that the employers are looking for :
A full- time English-French professional translator of novels for one year--Literary translation not word for word translation.
When writing a resume, it is important to address these keywords.
Buzzwords
To make your resume outstanding, it is important to consider buzzwords of the industry. These are the words that are typically used and understood by the professionals of that feel. Showing that you know the inner workings of the field puts you at an advantage. The employers will know they are dealing with someone who understand the field and is part of that world.
For example:
Translation: experience with text compression strategies in surtitling
Computers: SAP Sales & Distribution module
Sales: sale order processing
Click on each tab
Example resume
Ann Smith
Vilnius St. 1
Kaunas 50001
Lithuania
83737373
annsmith@mail.com
Customer service specialist
Very organized and self-motivated individual with more than 5 years’ experience in fast paced customer service environment, proficient in:
- Problem solving
- Training
- Microsoft Office
- 2 foreign languages
Work experience
2017- present Supervisor, BUY Ltd. Lithuania
- Daily staffing schedule preparation
- Layout changes according to company guidelines
- Daily cash collections
2014-2017 Customer service assistant, FOOD Inc. Lithuania
- Individual customer consultations
- Product freshness control across all
- Customer complaint handling face to face and over the telephone
Education
2017 BA in international communication, Kaunas college, Lithuania
References available upon request
Required sections
Job seekers’ information:
• Full name
• Address
• Telephone number
• Email address
Headline and summary:
• Headline should be short and specific
• Summary should include key skills
• Skills can be presented in bullet point format
Work experience:
• Job title
• Employers/company’s name
• Location
• Date of employment
• Brief description of duties
• Must be presented in reverse chronological order
Education:
• Name of the school/university
• Location
• Degree received
• Major or subject area
• Year of graduation
• Awards/honors received (optional)
Additional information
(courses, drivers license, volunteering, references, etc.)
Resume – Education
Mentioning your education is very important for your resume. When you are writing about education, you should say where you went to school and what you studied.
But most people make a common mistake and put all their education in random order. When you apply for a job and send your resume, your education must be in chronological order.
You must start with the most current position at the top.
Good example:
EDUCATION
2006 MBA in Business Analytics, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA
2004 BA in Statistics, Southern Methodist University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
2000, "Ausros" High school, Kaunas, Lithuania
Bad example:
EDUCATION
2000 Ausros high school, Kaunas
2004 BA in Statistics, Southern Methodist University
2006 MBA in Business Analytics, University of Texas at Austin
Experience section helps employers understand if you experiences contribute to what they are looking for. Listing experiences that are relevant for that position make you more interesting and versatile. Employers may be more interested in hiring you.
A lot of people make mistakes by adding previous working experience that has nothing to do with the wanted position. Therefore, it may be relevant for an English-French translator to list not only translating experience, but interpreting, pluralingual experiences in other countries, computer skills, etc However, a person may not benefit a lot by saying they played soccer in high school.
Good Example:
Position – Nurse
• Interacted with elderly patients, demonstrated sincere care and concern
• Took and recorded vital sign information, and occasionally assisted with minor, office-based procedures at St. Victor’s hospital.
Bad Example
Position – Nurse
• Worked at a marketing company for 2 years.
• Volunteered at a senior home for a year.
• Had a shop assistant position at a shopping center “IKEA”.
The skills section is very important for people who do not have much work experience. This is the section where they can explain all the relevant skills for the position. These may include general skills that are applicable to almost any job--these include communication, computer, leadership, customer service. Additionally, there are hard skills. Those are the skills that are particularly relevant to a profession you are applying for.
Listing the right skills in the right way is essential in the resume. Always consider the key words that you find in the job advertisement. Those should come at the top of the list. You should add other relevant skills, but a list that is too long may also be viewed unfavorably, so a good balance is important.
Good Example:
Position – Nurse
- Patient Care
- Patient Assessment
- Critical Thinking
- Leadership
- Empathy
Bad Example
Position – Nurse
- Organization
- Stocking and Restocking Shelves
- Time Management
- Customer care