Vocabulary

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  • Template
  • Content Control
  • Office Clipboard
  • Source Document
  • Destination Document
  • Line Break
  • Sorting


What Makes a Good Resume

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  • Include all necessary information
    • contact information
    • career objective
    • educational background
    • experience
    • Professional organizations
    • recognitions and awards
    • skills
    • community service
  • Presentation
    • use a laser printer with good quality ink
    • print it on resume paper
    • use high quality envelopes
    • email it as a pdf file type
    • place it on your myspace or facebook as a pdf file format

Two types of resumes

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Chronological

Places elements into the resume according to time with the most recent items first. This type of resume is used to show the growth of the individual.

Functional

Places elements by skill or accomplishment. This type is used to show specific skills or qualifications.

NOTE: If your inexperienced, it is recommended to use a chronological resume.


What is a Template

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A document that has already been created with some of the content filled in. It has all the formatting done, and leaves a place called a CONTENT CONTROL for entering the unique information into the document.

There are many different types of documents that have been templated and comes with Microsoft Word. Some of these are:

  • letters
  • fax cover sheets
  • reports
  • resumes

Select a Template

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Click on the office button

Click NEW

Click Installed Templates

Look at the installed templates to determine what one best fits your needs

For this example we will use the ORIGIN RESUME

This creates a template with four tables.

Delete the top and bottom blank tables by using the Delete Row feature below

DELETE A ROW OF A TABLE

Click the LAYOUT tab

Click the DELETE button

Click DELETE ROWS

Content Controls

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The template comes up with many CONTENT CONTROLS. These are blocks of text with a note telling you what you should type there. The first one on this template will be one called USER. You should replace the text with your name.

Under your name you need to fill in the content controls for your address (street or po box plus your city, state, and zip code), phone number, e-mail address, and web address if you have one (like your my space or facebook).

The easiest way to fill in this information is to open the cover letter you created and copy and paste the information to the Office Clipboard.

Copy and Paste with the Office Clipboard

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Open up your cover letter you created in the last module.

In the resume document open the OFFICE CLIPBOARD by clicking on the Clipboard Dialog Box Launcher button in the upper left of the screen below the HOME tab. (It just says Clipboard)

From your cover letter highlight and then copy the complete address

From your cover letter highlight and then copy the phone number but not the word PHONE

From your cover letter highlight and then copy the e-mail address but not the word E-mail

As you copy each you should see them show up in the Office Clipboard of your resume.

Go to your resume document.

Highlight the content Control for the address.

Click on the address in the Office Clipboard.

Do the same to fill in the rest of the contact information in the resume

Delete the line for a web address if you don't have one.

NOTE: in this example the cover page is the SOURCE DOCUMENT, meaning that is where the information is coming from, or the source where you copy it from. The resume is the DESTINATION DOCUMENT, meaning where you are pasting the information or the destination where the information needs to go.

What sections should you have in a resume?

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  1. Contact information - the information we just filled in at the top.
  2. Objective - What you want for your career goal.

    SAMPLE:

    To obtain a full-time graphics design position with a leading advertising agency in the New York area.

  3. Eductation - This is a list of your formal training with the most recent at the top.

    SAMPLE:

    Assoc. Graphic Design (Colorado Mountain College, May 2009)

    • Full scholarship for 2 years
    • Outstanding Art Student, May 2009
    • Winner best cover design contest for Art Awards Night
  4. Experience - List all work and volunteer experience you have related to your career objective.
  5. Skills - List special skills you have obtained that might not have been from formal training.
  6. Professional Organizations - List all organizations you have a membership with or had a membership with.
  7. Community Service - List any activities you have been involved with that have helped your community, or any non-profit organization.

Use Line Breaks for Layout

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There are times when you will want to go to the next line on the page and not be considered a new paragraph, this is called a LINE BREAK. One of the more frequently used times for this is when you are in a list (bulleted or numbered) and you do not want bullets in front of the additional lines, but you do want the same indentation. To move down a line without pressing ENTER, press SHIFT+ENTER. You will be presented with a line break character that looks like an arrow going down to the next line.

Under the Education section add a new line item for: Areas of Concentration

Press SHIFT+ENTER to go to the next line.

Type: Pencil

Press SHIFT+ENTER

Type: Chalk

Press SHIFT+ENTER

Type: Computer Graphics with Photoshop

Adding a new Building Block

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You need to have one Building Block for each Work Experience you need to list. The listings should start with the most current first and then go reverse chronological order down the section.

Fill in the content controls for the Experience section.

SAMPLE:

Experience

Layout Design Editor (September 2008 - May 2009)

  • Colorado Mountain College News(Rifle, CO)

  • Created the template for the newspaper each week of production.

You will need to add a new BUILDING BLOCK for additional experience to be listed.

  • Place your cursor before the paragraph marker after the first experience you have just entered.
  • Click on the INSERT TAB
  • click on the QUICK PARTS button
  • Scroll down the list to the EXPERIENCE SUBSECTION
  • Click on the EXPERIENCE SUBSECTION to have it placed into the document.
  • Delete any extra paragraph markers that are inserted with the building block.

Fill in the second experience and any further that you need to fill your actual experience.

Format Paragraph Spacing and Indentation

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To move the line under your experience job title in you can place your cursor at the end of the line and prior to the paragraph marker. Then click on the INCREASE INDENT BUTTON on the HOME tab. It is a bunch of black line with a blue arrow pointing right, and is located in the paragraph section of the ribbon.

Skills

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In a full sentence format type in the skills you have mastered that are not specifically listed elsewhere on the resume and that make you a better candidate for the job.

SAMPLE:

Adobe products:

  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • In-Design
  • After Effects


Professional Organizations

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Add a building block for References, as we did before going to insert - quick parts - references.

Change the title References to Professional Organizations

List any organizations that you belong to.

SAMPLE:

  • National Honors Society, two years
  • FBLA, four years
  • PBL, two years

Community Service

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Add a building block for References, as we did before going to insert - quick parts - references.

Change the title References to Community Service

List any projects that you did, or helped with

SAMPLE:

  • Raised money for MDA
  • Picked up trash after the homecoming parade
  • Decorated the windows of local businesses for the holidays
  • Collected used coats for those without


Sorting a Paragraph

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It is nice to have SORTED lists that have no chronological order listed alphabetically. To do this highlight the items like the community service items you have listed. From the HOME TAB under the PARAGRAPH section, click on the AZ button to sort the list. Leave the defaults and the list will be organized for you.

Change the Views of a Document

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Once you are done with the document you can change THEME COLORS. This can be done by going to the HOME tab - Change Styles Button - Colors - hover over the colors to see the affect and then click on the one you like.

It is also nice to look at the document as a whole by zooming out, or changing the VIEW. To change the VIEW go to the VIEW tab. You can change from print layout to full screen reading. Or you can zoom in from the zoom section. Also if this is a multiple page document you can pull up the document in one page or two.


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Before you print a document is always a good idea to PRINT PREVIEW to see what is going to look like. Many errors can be caught and fixed at this point. To view the document in PRINT PREVIEW to to the OFFICE BUTTON - PRINT - PRINT PREVIEW

What to never put on a Resume

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  • Do not include
    • social security number
    • marital status
    • age, height, weight, gender, other physical appearance items
    • citizenship
    • previous pay rates
    • reason for leaving prior position
    • references

Project

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Pick a different template, or start from scratch to design your resume. Create your resume with your current accurate information. Gear the resume to a career you have an interest in based on your career surveys you have done.

Rubric

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Resume Rubric
Standards 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points
Contact information Is missing four or more items Is missing three items Is missing two items Is missing one items Includes your name, address, city, state, zip, phone number, and email address and is formatted correctly
States your objective Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Has a section for Education Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Has a section for Experience Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Has a section for Skills Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Has a section for Professional Organizations Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Has a section for Community Service Poor Weak Fair Good Exemplary
Format is professional Does not follow standards of a professional resume and is missing more than two sections Is missing sections and formatting Includes all but one section and/or has formatting issues Includes all sections but has some formatting issues Uses a resume template or follows standards for a professional resume