Resume Development

Resume

Development

Guide for Developing

Professional Resumes

and Cover Letters

Career Services/Rosen College of Hospitality Management

with information from the Vault Guide to Resumes, Cover Letters & Interviews

Purpose of a Resume

Your resume is “your professional life on a page.” It’s the initial tool employers use to gauge how you

might be relevant to their company. As you may have already learned, most employers spend less than

one minute (many spend just 10 seconds) reading a resume. In that brief period, the purpose of your

resume is to present your experience, education, and abilities in a concise, efficient, and attractive man-

ner to help the employer determine if you have a place in his or her company.

Types of Resumes

Chronological

This is the most common type of resume, and is standard for college students, professionals, and others

in the process of a traditional job search. Education, work experience, and accomplishments are listed

in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent experiences and continuing back in

time. In general, the chronological resume is one–to-two pages in length. One page is strongly sug-

gested for current college students and recent grads.

Functional

The functional resume is best suited for individuals interested in a career change who lack direct job

experience in that area, those who have frequently changed employers, are changing professions, or job

seekers who have gaps in employment. Functional resumes allow you to focus the reader on your list

of skills and achievements while taking the emphasis away from the job titles, places, and times these

skills were acquired.

While a functional resume offers much more freedom in presenting your attributes than the chronologi-

cal, that doesn’t mean you can present all of your skills in a random fashion. Your skill list should be

as organized and bulleted as the work history in the chronological resume. You’ll need to divide your

work experience into categories that best describe what types of skill areas you accumulated.

Resume Guidelines

• First and foremost, form follows function. Using a template that emphasizes a showy presentation

over strong content is a poor choice. Create your own resume and use space effectively.

•

Your resume should be as concise as possible. Avoid unnecessary “clutter” wording such as

“Responsible for coordinating marketing meetings” and simply state the point, “Coordinate mar-

keting meetings.”

•

Include relevant, quantitative information whenever possible to strengthen your qualifications.

(“Coordinate weekly marketing meetings for 10 managers.”)

•

Construct your resume by highlighting your most recent experience and relevant information.

•

Use a font size no smaller than 10 point; use a secondary, business-style font for contrast. Do not

add additional fonts, especially non-traditional or “art fonts.”

• Resume margins can be as narrow as one-half inch on all sides.

• Be consistent with fonts, verb-tense, spacing, bullets, punctuation, and layout.

• Exclude personal pronouns such as “I,” “me,” and “my.”

• Exclude unnecessary articles (“Created the marketing materials for the company’s sales team”).

• Print your resume and cover letter on quality paper.

• Maintain a file with a master resume and customized resumes tailored for each position.

Resume Basics

Contact Information

Include your contact information at the top of your resume. Make sure your information is current and

accurate.

• Include your full name, address (with zip code), phone number (with area code), and email address.

• Include your current college address and permanent address (if different).

• Make sure your email address is professional.

• Make sure you have recorded a professional voicemail message on your cell or residence phone in

your own voice. It is beneficial to include your name in your message.

Objective Statement

Keep your objective statement brief and tailor it to each position you apply for. Many employers are

seeking a to-the-point statement about the type of position you’re seeking (full-time, part-time, manage-

ment training, etc.), the department or area you’re interested in, and the company name or major industry

in which you want to work. Many employers prefer a one-sentence objective statement.

Education

• List all institutions you’ve attended with location and dates of attendance. If you’re a senior, don’t

include high school education unless it pertains to the position for which you’re applying.

•

Include study-abroad experience.

•

Include your full degree title, major, concentration, and graduation date.

• Indicate your GPA in this section if it is no lower than 3.0. It is also acceptable to include your GPA

within your major.

• Academic honors and awards can be a subheading under this section or a separate section at the bot-

tom of your resume.

• Relevant coursework can be included as a subheading if upper level courses completed pertain to the

position sought.

Work Experience

Employers need to see if your experiences and skills relate to the requirements of the job opening they

seek to fill. It is important to include all of your relevant work, paid or unpaid, such as summer jobs, in-

ternships, volunteer work or extracurricular activities that could relate to the position and demonstrate

the skills you developed. Combine action verbs (see page 4) with clearly written statements to empha-

size your accomplishments.

List positions in reverse chronological order with company name and location, job title of the position

you held, and dates of employment. For each employment experience, compile a concise list (may be

bulleted) that summarizes the skills used and the results. Be sure to quantify accomplishments whenever

possible in terms of dollar figures, percentages, and numbers.

NOTE: Use present-tense verbs when describing current positions and past-tense verbs for tasks that

were previously performed.

Examples:

• [Previous job] Coordinated vendor and client orders to improve department productivity

• Prepared, coordinated and taught complex dance routines while establishing an environment that

encouraged team development

• [Current job] Answer multiple telephone lines and fax, email, and speak with various clientele

• Analyze internal budgets and write summary reports for department heads

Resume Requirements

Computer Skills

Technology is vitally important to employers in today's workforce. Be sure to list any computer skills

on your resume that could be applicable to the position you are seeking. Always be specific with what

skills you have honed, such as graphic design or web page development. Also include software that

you are comfortable with and indicate your level of competency (proficient, familiar, knowledgeable

of, etc.).

The following are optional sections that you can choose to add to your resume. These sections serve to

impress employers by highlighting areas in which you have excelled or that could apply directly to the

desired position.

Honors and A wards

List any academic awards you have received from the university or outside organizations. Include

merit-based scholarships, honor societies, and honor roll achievements. Exclude dates.

Activities and Leadership Experience

Demonstrate how you spent your time while outside of the classroom. List activities and organizations

you have participated in both within the university and beyond. Include any offices held such as presi-

dent, treasurer, or board member. If you did not mention community service/volunteer work under

work/related experience, it can be mentioned in this list. Exclude dates.

Languages

In today’s global market, many companies require or appreciate employees who can speak more than

one language. Be specific when detailing your knowledge of a foreign language; let the employer

know if you are fluent, conversational, etc.

Relevant Coursework

You may want to list significant courses on your resume if the stated objective or desired position does

not directly correspond with your major. For example, an English major seeking employment as a fi-

nancial specialist would want to list any financial related courses completed.

Certifications/Licensure

If you hold a current license that pertains to the occupational area, it’s essential to communicate that to

the potential employer. Management training programs you’ve completed at notable hotels and restau-

rants could be listed in this section. Similarly, any licensing you have acquired from jobs in account-

ing, finance, or education can be included.

Professional Affiliations

Aside from the obvious benefits of gaining knowledge and networking, professional affiliations are

another way to impress a potential employer. If you are a member of any associations in your field,

listing them on your resume is an excellent way to catch the attention of the potential employer.

Resume Requirements

Action Verbs

Abstracted

Accomplished

Achieved

Acted on/as

Adapted

Addressed

Adjusted

Administered

Advertised

Advised

Advocated

Aided

Allocated

Amended

Analyzed

Answered

Anticipated

Applied

Appraised

Approved

Arranged

Ascertained

Assembled

Assessed

Assigned

Assisted

Attained

Attended

Audited

Augmented

Authored

Authorized

Balanced

Bargained

Benchmarked

Bolstered

Briefed

Broadened

Brought

Budgeted

Built

Calculated

Canvassed

Cared

Carried out

Catalogued

Centralized

Chaired

Charged

Chartered

Checked

Chose

Clarified

Classified

Coached

Collaborated

Collected

Combined

Comforted

Communicated

Compared

Compiled

Completed

Composed

Computed

Conceived

Conceptualized

Concluded

Condensed

Conducted

Confirmed

Contracted

Contributed

Consolidated

Constructed

Consulted

Controlled

Converted

Convinced

Cooperated

Coordinated

Corrected

Correlated

Counseled

Created

Critiqued

Cultivated

Customized

Dealt with

Debated

Decided

Decreased

Defined

Delegated

Delivered

Demonstrated

Described

Designated

Designed

Detected

Determined

Developed

Devised

Directed

Discovered

Display

Dissected

Disseminated

Distinguished

Distributed

Documented

Drafted

Edited

Eliminated

Empathized

Employed

Enabled

Encouraged

Enforced

Engineered

Enhanced

Enlightened

Enlisted

Ensured

Established

Estimated

Evaluated

Examined

Exceeded

Executed

Exercised

Exhibited

Expanded

Expedited

Experimented

Explained

Explored

Expressed

Extracted

Facilitated

Familiarized

Fashioned

Fielded

Finalized

Financed

Fixed

Formalized

Formatted

Formulated

Fostered

Founded

Furnished

Gained

Gathered

Gauged

Generated

Governed

Guided

Handled

Headed

Helped

Hired

Hosted

Identified

Illustrated

Implemented

Improved

Improvised

Incorporated

Increased

Indexed

Indicated

Influenced

Informed

Initiated

Inspected

Installed

Instituted

Instructed

Integrated

Interacted

Interpreted

Interviewed

Introduced

Invented

Inventoried

Investigated

Involved

Issued

Launched

Learned

Lectured

Led

Leveraged

Listened

Lobbied

Located

Maintained

Managed

Manipulated

Mapped

arketed

stered

Maximized

Measured

Mediated

Mentored

Minimized

Modeled

Moderated

Modified

Monitored

Motivated

Narrated

Negotiated

Observed

Obtained

Operated

Orchestrated

Ordered

Organized

Originated

Overcame

Overhauled

Oversaw

Participated

Perceived

Performed

Persuaded

Planned

Polled

Practiced

Predicted

Prepared

Presented

Preserved

Presided

Priced

Prioritized

Probed

Processed

Produced

Programmed

Projected

Promoted

Proofread

Proposed

Protected

Provided

Publicized

Published

Purchased

Pursued

Quantified

Queried

Questioned

Quoted

Raised

Ranked

Rated

Rationalized

Reasoned

Received

Recommended

Reconciled

Recorded

Recruited

Redesigned

Reduced

Referred

Refined

Registered

Regulated

Relied

Reorganized

Replaced

Reported

Represented

Researched

Resolved

Responded

Restored

Restructured

Revamped

Reviewed

Revised

Revitalized

Scanned

Scheduled

Screened

Searched

Secured

Selected

Served (as)

Set (up)

Settled

Shaped

Shortened

Simplified

Skilled

Sold

Solicited

Solve

earheaded

Specialized

Specified

Spoke

Standardized

Stimulated

Strategized

Streamlined

Strengthened

Stressed

Studied

Submitted

Substantiated

Succeeded

Suggested

Summarized

Supervised

Supplied

Supported

Surpassed

Surveyed

Sustained

Synthesized

Symbolized

Tabulated

Tailored

Taught

Tested

Theorized

Trained

Transferred

Transformed

Translated

Transmitted

Transported

Trimmed

Tutored

Unified

Updated

Upgraded

Utilized

Validated

Verified

Visualized

Won

Wrote

Illustrate Experience with Transferable Skills

It is important to think of the skills that your new job will require and compare them to what you have

accomplished in the past. You want to provide hard evidence of your abilities so the employer can ac-

tually visualize you completing the task at hand.

Below are a few examples of transferable skills. Think of which ones apply to you and come up with

your own to incorporate into your resume, cover letter, and interview. Prepare to describe these skills

to the employer with anecdotes, as they are likely to ask you to elaborate on what is listed in your ap-

plication documents.

Enhancement through Environments

Include the type of environment you worked in during your action verb statements. This may be of

interest to an employer. An environment can help paint a picture of what you were exposed to and the

type of situations you are accustomed to dealing with.

Were you involved with:

A fast-growing business A creative, artistic environment

A small/medium/large organization A global business enterprise

An entrepreneurial environment An organization that emphasized high service values

A competitive, high-pressure culture A position that involved conflicts

E-mail Etiquette

Employers in the market today rely heavily on e-mail as a main source of communication. Send your

resume and cover letter as attachments. Be sure to include a brief message in the body of the e-mail

with a concise introduction and simple message explaining what you are applying for. Keep in mind

that an employer will find it easy to spot any careless mistakes and discrepancies once they have up-

loaded your information. Proofread everything you’re sending to a potential employer.

Follow-Up

If you haven’t received a response to your resume after 48 hours, it is acceptable to contact an em-

ployer. Politely ask if the position is still open and offer to send your resume again if needed. Persis-

tence shows commitment. Be careful, however, not to come across as pushy.

For Additional Help

Please contact the career counselor LeAnne Wawrzaszek in the Career Services Office, Suite 201G,

for any additional assistance, guidance, or review of your resume and cover letter. LeAnne can be

reached at (407) 903-8054 or at [email protected].

Final Notes

Advising People Creating New Ideas Promoting Events

Arranging Social Functions Handling Complaints Serving Individuals

Budgeting Expenses Listening to Others Supervising Others

Coordinating Events Organizing People and Tasks Working with Precision

Your Street Address

City, State and Zip Code

Date

Name of Contact

His/Her Title

Company/Organization Name

Address

City, State and Zip Code

Dear Mr., Ms., or Dr. (Last Name)

Use this paragraph to explain why you are contacting the employer. State the position you wish to apply

for (include reference number, if supplied) and how you learned about it. If you have a connection to this

person through a mutual contact or if you have spoken to them previously, mention that here. It will im-

press the employer if you can show that you have researched the company and obtained knowledge of

their business practices. If possible, state an interesting fact that you learned while researching this par-

ticular business that will entice them to read further and help sell you as a potential candidate. If you cur-

rently reside outside of the employer's location, communicate when you intend to move and that you are

available to visit for an interview.

The second paragraph is all about you. Highlight any skills you possess that will be useful to the particu-

lar position. Address any details not included in your resume that relate to the specific job inquiry at

hand. Include any international, cultural, technological or otherwise special knowledge or experiences

that will strongly correlate to what the employer is looking for in a candidate. Be sure to vary your sen-

tences so that you are not starting each sentence with “I.”

Conclude your cover letter with a few sentences that describe your desire for action. You can control this

process by stating a date and time that you plan to follow up to discuss your resume further or set an in-

terview date. Make reference to your enclosed resume and thank the reader for their time and considera-

tion. Be sure to include your phone number and/or email address.

Sincerely,

Signature

Your Name

Cover Letter Tips!

When addressing a female, use Ms. or Dr., regardless of marital status. Always personalize your cover

letter to each specific company. Proofread spelling and grammar. Remember to sign the letter. Keep

the content concise and to-the-point

Cover Letter Information

9907 Universal Boulevard

Orlando, FL 32819

July 21, 2008

Ms. Mary Smith

Director of Human Resources

Quantum Resorts

1234 Main Street

Orlando, FL 32899

Dear Ms. Smith:

I learned of the management training program at Quantum Resorts from Mr. Ken Martin, Quantum Re-

sorts recruiter, during his recent presentation at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. While

researching career opportunities within the hospitality industry, I was impressed by the innovative mana-

gerial programs offered by Quantum Resorts. I intend to seek full-time employment after graduation this

December and feel that I my goal to be an exceptional hospitality professional can be met by Quantum’s

nationally recognized training program.

Recently, I completed an internship with The Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, where I spent a great deal of

time assisting the marketing director with various projects. I am most proud of a promotional brochure

that I designed, wrote, edited, and distributed worldwide to over 500,000 households and organizations.

The brochure contributed to an unsurpassed sales year for the hotel. I also spent much of my time rotating

through the hotel's various departments, including housekeeping, food and beverage, and front desk.

Aside from my solid understanding of hotel operations, I possess strong leadership skills. This summer I

was directly responsible for a number of campus social activities that I successfully planned, staffed and

directed.

I’m excited about the prospect of launching a managerial career in the hospitality industry and hope I can

begin that journey with Quantum Resorts. I would appreciate the opportunity to further discuss how my

skills and experience can be of use to your organization. I can be contacted at 407-123-4567. I look for-

ward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Nancy Jones

Cover Letter Tips

When addressing a female, use Ms. or Dr., regardless of marital status. Always personalize your cover

letter to each specific company. Proofread spelling and grammar. Remember to sign the letter. Keep

the content concise and to-the-point

Cover Letter Sample