0:10

Hello, in this unit we will be talking about resumes and how to write an effective resume.




0:18

In this video we will start by defining the resume and talk about 3 reasons why job seekers need a resume.




0:27

In later videos we will take you through each part of the resume and how to write a clear and organized resume.




0:36

At the end of this unit, you will write your own resume to describe your work experience, education and skills.




0:46

Let's get started with the definition. What is a resume?




0:51

A resume is a written document of work experience, education, and skills.




1:00

Resumes are usually only one or two pages long. And give a short but detailed description of your past job duties and experiences. 
Employers often need to read many resumes, so they look for 
keywords or phrases to decide if they should interview the candidate or not.




1:24

Why do you need a resume?




1:27

Because there's a lot of competition in the job market. Jobseekers need to create a resume that really shows their qualifications to an employer.




1:40

A great resume is really important for three main reasons.




1:46

First, a great resume will get the attention of the employers and 
show why you are a good match for the job.




1:54

Employers will read many resumes from many different applicants. 
So you need to make sure that your resume clearly stands out 
to get the attention of the employer. Remember that your qualifications should match the job advertisement.




2:12

If the company is looking for someone with five years of sales experience, you should have five years, or more, of sales experience, and say that clearly in your resume.




2:25

The second reason you need a great resume is that it communicates your strongest skills and accomplishments to a future employer.




2:36

Your resume should highlight the skills that employers often look for, such as technology skills and communication skills. 
Your resume should also include professional accomplishments or 
activities. For example, if you wrote a book that was published, you should put that in your resume.




3:01

The third, and most important, reason you should need a great resume is that it gets you an interview.




3:08

Your resume is your first chance to get the employer attention.




3:13

Job seekers want to leave the reader with a positive first impression or a good feeling.




3:24

If the employer likes what they read they will contact you to interview for the job.




3:31

The interview is your chance to meet the employer in person and 
give more details about your qualifications.




3:41

In summary, a resume is an important document that describes your work experience, education and skills.




3:51

There are 3 reasons why you need a great resume.




3:55

To get the employer's attention and show you are a good match..




4:00

To communicate your skills and accomplishment and to get an interview. In the next video, we will talk about the parts of a resume.


0:09

Hello, in this video, we are going to look at the resume in more detail and break it down into its different parts. We will also discover, what key things you need to include in the resume.




0:22

Let's begin by looking at a sample one-page resume.




0:26

Some resumes are much longer than one page. But, for our purposes, we are going to stick with a one-page version.




0:34

In this sample, I hope you can see how the writer has used lots of white space, bullet points, and a limited number of fonts so the resume is much easier to read.




0:46

Let's look at the resume that doesn't have these things. Which resume would you prefer to read?




0:56

That's right, the first one.




0:59

Put yourself in the shoes of a possible employer who might read lots of resumes each day.




1:06

Which one do you think the employer would prefer reading?




1:10

So the lesson here is, make your resume easy to read.




1:15

Don't give a future employer an excuse to ignore your resume or 
throw it in the trash.




1:21

So what can you do to prevent this from happening?




1:24

Well, the first thing you can do is make sure that your resume has 
each of the following key parts.




1:32

What are these parts? 
Well, the first one is your name and contact details.




1:40

If an employer wants to contact you to ask you to come for an interview, here is where they will find your full name and information about how they can communicate with you, like your email address or telephone number.




1:54

The next part of your resume is the headline and summary.




1:59

This section is where you should write the job you are looking for and then include a summary of the skills you have.




2:07

So if we look at the sample resume again, you will see that this 
person includes the job title Project Coordinator, and then gives a short summary of her work experience and key skills.




2:24

The third part of the resume you need to include is work experience.




2:30

Here, you can list the jobs you have worked at in the past, including your current job, if you have one. Current job means what job you have now.




2:44

Be sure to list your work experience in reverse chronological order. 
In other words, list your most recent job first, the one before that next, and so on into the past.




2:59

If we look at the sample resume, we can see this person listed her job from 2005 to the present first and then lists her job from 2001 to 2005 after this. The final part of the resume that you need to include is Education.




3:20

Here you should include any high school or college degrees you received and the year you received them.




3:28

If we look at a sample resume one more time, can you see what education Beth Smith received?




3:35

She includes her Associate's Degree from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in 2001. If you have more than one qualification, 
list them in reverse chronological order, similar to your work experience. So you should begin with your most recent degree first and then the one before that after. So in conclusion, in this video we have done a short overview of the different key parts of a resume.




4:10

In the remainder of this unit we will look at each of these parts in more detail.




4:16

Next, we will have a reading on the basic elements of a resume. 
Followed by a checked your understanding exercise and a game.