STEPS TO A GREAT
Resume
Name:
Step 1
UNCOVER YOUR SKILLS, ABILITIES,
SPECIAL TALENTS
This quiz is designed to get you thinking about the skills, abilities, and special
talents that you already have. Once you know your strong points, you’ll be better
able to choose some job goals, write a resume, and get started toward your future
[Link] can work on the quiz by yourself, or you can get together with a few
other students and ask each other these questions as a group exercise. Write down
your answers then look at your answers for CLUES, IDEAS, and EXAMPLES of what to
write on your resume.
Ask your teachers, counselors, and other adults how THEY think your talents could
apply to “the world of work.”
Step2
A. CHOOSE A JOB OBJECTIVE
Make a list of all the JOBS or positions that you THINK you’d like to apply for.
Make a list of all the JOBS or positions that you THINK you’d like to apply for.
Include jobs that call for the skills, abilities, and special talents that you
discovered about yourself while doing the Step 1.
Include jobs we call “bridge jobs” that would give you a chance to gain experience or
learn more skills for even better jobs.
Step2
B. CHOOSE A JOB OBJECTIVE
Choose ONE job from your list above, as your current Job Objective.
Here are some examples of clearly written Job Objectives:
Job objective: Position as an Office Assistant
Job objective: Part-time Sales Job with Macy’s
Job objective: Trainee Position in MarketingJob objective: Weekend/After School Job as
Stockroom Helper
Job objective: Summer internship in the Computer Science Department Objective: Work-
Study position exploring careers in the field of . . .
Example:
Secure a responsible career opportunity that fully utilize my training and
skills, while making a significant contribution to the success of the
company.
My Job Objective for this Resume is:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Step3
LEARN THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE JOB
Find out what education, skills, and experience are needed to do the job you chose
as your Job Objective—then write that in the spaces below.
Information about what it takes to do the job can be found in several ways:
1. Look on the WEB (Internet).
2. Talk with several people already working at a job like that: This kind of job research is called
Informational Interviewing. How do you do it? Find someone who already does that kind of
work. Visit them on the job or at home and ask them to tell you all about “what it takes.”
GUIDE FOR INFORMATIONAL
INTERVIEWING
“INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWING” is a rather fancy phrase for a very
straightforward, logical, and extremely helpful idea that works to gather
crucial information when you are choosing a career field or clarifying
your job objective.
Here’s what you need to do:
Think back on your most enjoyable days of work or play, and jot
down some ideas about what you think you’re best at and enjoy
doing—not actual job titles, but SKILLS and ABILITIES and
TALENTS and INTERESTS—all the things you bring into your
various activities and hobbies.
Ask around among all your friends, relatives, friends of relatives,
neighbors, teachers,ANYBODY, and get from them the names
of people who are already AT WORK USING these same SKILLS
and abilities that YOU most enjoy using—somebody you could
talk with for information
(NOT for a job, just for INFORMATION about that line of work).
Make up a good list of questions that you’d like to ask—for
example: How did you get this kind of job? What are the
requirements for this work? What are the best and the worst
aspects of this work? What kind of pay range can be expected
in this line of work? What chances are there for moving ahead
in this field? What education, skills, and experience does it
require? Anything that would help you decide whether this is a
good directionfor you.
Step4
LIST YOUR RELATES SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Review all of your skills and abilities that you listed. Select the ones that are most
related to your job objective, and write them in the space at the bottom of this page.
TIP: Some of the skills that aren’t needed for your current Job Objective could be left
off, and perhaps used on a future resume when you are looking for a different kind
of job.
My Job Objective is: __________________________________________
My strongest skills and abilities that are also RELATED to my
Job Objective are:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
____
Step5
WRITE ONE-LINERS TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR
RELATED SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Demonstrating—or documenting—your related skills, is really the HEART of your
resume. Since this is such an important step, let’s STOP and take a d-e-e-p breath,
and get our bearings!The work you do in the next few pages takes some careful
thought—and there are some guidelines here to help you do a good job of it.
Step5
WRITE ONE-LINERS TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR
RELATED SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Write at least 5 one-liners.
Step 6
LIST YOUR WORK HISTORY
Make a list of any work you’ve done or jobs you’ve held—including any jobs you’ve
created for yourself.
List your most recent work first, then your earlier work.
Include the dates of the work or employment, your job titles, and your employers.
Step7
LIST YOUR EDUCATION AND TRAINING
List the name of your High School, the city, and which class-year you’re in.
Add a list of any courses you are taking that relate to your current job objective.
Add any special training you completed, and certificates earned (Life Saving, CPR, etc.) if they
seem related to your job objective.(Sometimes it’s okay to include things even though they
DON’T seem directly related to your job objective—just because they help make you look like a
person who is well-rounded and ambitious, or like someone who is making a contribution to
their school or community.
Check with your teacher or your parents on what would be good to include.
S tep7
LIST YOUR EDUCATION AND TRAINING
CONTINUATION
Step8
PRODUCE A ONE-PAGE RESUME
Just remember this important point:There is really NO ONE RIGHT WAY to write or
design a [Link]’s LOTS of room for you to “be yourself.”
Everyone is unique, and your resume does NOT have to fit a rigid pattern,
or look just like some “perfect model” of a resume.
In fact, it’s lots BETTER if your resume DOES NOT look exactly like everybody else’s!