Resume

This week you will be completing the Reverse Chronological Résumé for a Targeted Audience. Please view the Résumé content item located under Week 1 for the details of this assignment.

The Reverse Chronological Resume will be graded using the Week 1 Resume rubric.

Some students may not have a great deal of experience formatting business documents, but almost all of us have written a resumé. Therefore, most of us have a good idea of how important the layout and design of this business document can be. Chapter 18 in Business Communication Today covers the three traditional formats of resumés:

• Chronological Resume (click link to see a sample reverse chronological resume): Work history and educational history are each listed starting with the most recent.
• Functional Resume: Focus is on skills and experiences — what was done rather than when it was done. (This format may cause red flags for employers, who want detailed employment information.)
• Combination Resume: This method combines the formats of the reverse chronological and functional resumé formats.

NOTE: Your resumé should be original. Although you may use a sample for layout/design, do not copy wording from any source. If you are using a previous version of your resumé, please revise it to make it stronger.

A successful resumé will:

• Be written for a targeted audience (job posting selected).
• Include an introductory section with a Target Job Title and Qualification/Professional Summary that reflects the student’s skills and experiences relative to the job description.
• List employment and education history presented in reverse chronological order.
• Summarize the student’s work experience in four to five points under each position held, focusing on concrete, measurable accomplishments.
• Present work experience, skills, and achievements in original terminology.
• Use parallel active verbs (see page 515 in e-text for suggestions).
• Not use first person singular.
• Use appropriate headings and appropriate design elements (e.g., white space, bold, underline, italics, varying font sizes***) to improve readability. ***Note: Students should not attempt to use all of these elements in one document.
• Make efforts to limit the resumé to one – two pages.
• Demonstrate proper writing conventions, including correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.