Vince Resume Tips

Slides plus audio 2011

2011-08-18T05:57:00.000-07:00

I created a slidecast (slides with audio) from the Feb 21, 2011 Resumes & Interviews presentation in Yokohama.

Hint - click on the slides to advance. Otherwise, you will only hear audio while looking at the title slide. The slides should advance on their own after you click past the title slide.

CRJ_2011_slides

Hint - click on the slides to advance. Otherwise, you will only hear audio while looking at the title slide. The slides should advance on their own after you click past the title slide.

In case it helps, here is just the audio from the 2011 CRJ

http://www.archive.org/details/VinceResumeAndInterviewTipsCrj2011

Thank you, Dan

2011-03-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

Dan is a JET who attended the CRJ and wrote about it in his local Hiroshima Prefectural Newsletter.

He does a nice job of summarizing his takeaways from the conference.

/////

Top Ten Tips from the JET Returner’s Conference

2 March 2011 98 views 2 Comments

Attendees at the 2011 Conference for Returning JETs (Photo credit: Dan Moeller)

NOTE: The reference numbers following each paragraph refer to footnotes at the end of the article.
by Dan Moeller
For some of us, we’re currently packing up (mentally) and getting ready to be shipped back into the oh-so-inviting economy of our home countries. I’m sure the recent Returner’s Conference in Yokohama loomed in a lot of returning JETs’ minds as a great opportunity. The problem is that attendance was limited to 500 participants and not everyone had the time and money to attend. For me, the round-trip shink fare and hotel were enough to cause me to get all my meals at a nearby konbini. It’s a shame attendance to this conference is such a burden; it was a three day professional bonanza chocked full of important career tips, interview and resume help, as well as all-around guidance. It’s a great thing I have an outlet like the Wide Island View to let everyone in on ten golden nuggets I garnered from the event. Drum roll please…
10. Microsoft Word – Take Word off your resume. Knowing Word these days is like knowing how to breathe! No one is impressed by simple word processing skills anymore and, in fact, such skills are generally expected. What is important? Skills that are directly applicable to the position you’re applying for. If you’re shooting for that Times journalist position that opened up, it would be relevant to mention you know your way around Adobe Premier and most video cameras, and that photography has been your hobby for the past ten years (assuming that you do really know these skills). (ref. 6)
9. Required Experience – Don’t vote yourself out of a job because you don’t meet the “2+ years experience” requirement. The position description includes all the desired traits of an ideal candidate. People are hired that don’t meet all of the requirements. The question now becomes why are you qualified. Explain what sets you apart from the next applicant in your cover letter/email. Surely, your JET experience counts for something more than “experience teaching large groups of uninterested and/or shy students whose progress left something to be desired.” Hint: I’m not going to work this one out for you. (ref. 4)
8. Japan Stories – “Oh no! Here comes another one of [insert name here]’s Japan stories!” If you haven’t heard this yet, you will. It’s very alienating going back to your home country with a brain bursting full of years of experience in Japan with no one to really listen or understand the comments and stories you want to share. You can suppress the stories and general Japan reflection in a way that silences it forever. Or, you can find outlets – local AJET groups, travelers of the world, friends with experience abroad, etc – to cultivate your Japan memories into something I like to call “growth.” Inevitably, you will meet people with mindsets not yet exposed to some of the enlightenment that we have unconsciously accumulated over the years. These different mindsets may vary from odd biases to stark racism. The solution is to breathe, take your time, and answer thoughtfully. (ref. 5)
7. Volunteer – It’s a giver’s game. The time you put in on, for example, the board of the local AJET team will surely be noticed and rewarded in some sort of holy/karma/pay-it-forward occurrence. Really. This could mean just getting your name out there, paired with a little “I give my time to the community” line on your resume. This could also mean bumping into your future reference for landing your dream job at the embassy. Also, the experience can be priceless, and is most always transferable. (ref. 1,4)
6. LinkedIn – Get a free account. The effort put into building a profile is quite minimal compared to the exposure, references, networking, etc. You profile is a virtual business card and can be linked anywhere (even your resume and email signatures). Also, considering your future employers will be perusing your page be sure to include any of your (professional) websites and/or websites you have contributed to. LinkedIn is also a great resource to ask for an informational interview from an employee of a company you’ve had in mind. This is as simple as a 15 minute chat over a cup of coffee (which you sprung for, of course) while you barrage this person with all of the questions you have about this company. This person may like you enough to run your resume to his boss. Wait, did you forget your resume? (ref. 1,4,6)
5. Internet Dirt – 45% of employers use social media sites to research job candidates. 35% of those employers found reason not to hire said candidates. Don’t be a part of this statistic. Do an extensive Google, Yahoo, and/or Bing search for your name in all its forms. Clean up your Internet dirt before you begin your job search. It would be a shame to be wholly qualified for a position and then not get it because of those pictures of you and your drunken buddies throwing slabs of meat at the beer pong losers in the frat house basement (although there was a perfectly reasonable explanation, I just…can’t…remember…it). Don’t think that something of yours can’t be found online. It would also be advantageous to begin monitoring your comments and tweets. (ref. 1)
4. Flat Lining Resumes – How can you shock them back to life? The first method is qualitative. Google “resume action verbs” and you’ll find a plethora of websites listing these strong words, search-able by category. You will find words to help you say exactly what you mean, but in a gripping tone. The second method is quantitative. Which is better: “Started English club and pen pal system” or “Founded weekly English club involving 25 students and 10 teachers; initiated 50 student pen pal exchange program with three schools in Mexico”? Surely you were much more interested in the latter description. Finally, be sure to list anything that you have done or achieved as the “first, youngest, only, or best” to do so. (ref. 2,3)
3. PAR – It is a good idea to already have thought about your answers before being questioned at an interview. Hop on Youtube and catch up on some of the numerous interview question videos available. Of course, practicing these questions implies that you know and can reference your resume with ease. The PAR (Problem, Action, Result) comes in handy when the interviewer hits you with a tell-me-about-a-time-you-encountered-a-tough-problem question. This is the time to wax about your problem solving history. “I was having trouble with the TPS cover sheets so I invented an email system that bypassed it. All eight of my bosses commended me on my good work and I was elected employee of the month.” You should have three to five of these experiences memorized to some extent (although I’m having trouble rounding up three from the dusty corners of my brain). Ganbatte! (ref. 2)
2. Your References – When you hear “your references” I’m sure you have two or three candidates in mind. Stay in touch with them! You should communicate with them more than just the email asking them for the reference letter. Maybe you haven’t talked to them in years. Find out what recent papers they wrote. Are you sure they remember you? Shoot them an email catching them up on your current life. Ask about theirs. Tell them why you loved their lecture on “The Mating Habits of Earthworms.” The point is: a busy professor will not drop what they’re doing to help a student they can’t remember. If you’re looking to beg a Japanese colleague whose English is not perfect (or not present at all) it seems the best way is to write it for them and let them review it and sign it. (ref. 1,3)
1. Walk Me through Your Resume – This is a very common line used by interviewers. They are testing if you know your facts and if you can really sell yourself with a good attitude. Although you should give them an ascending chronological account of your education and experience, don’t just spout out what they can read from the document in front of them. Bring life to your resume. You should make it seem as if every action was a choice you wanted to make (rather than a friend’s suggestion that seemed slightly better than your current job at the time). I chose “A education” and learned “B skill,” then I chose “C job” and gained “D experience,” etc. Every action should shoot right into the next step up until now, in which this position/grad program is the next logical step. (It is the next logical step, right?) (ref. 2,3)
I hope you give these suggestions some thought and put some to use. My information comes from these conference presenters (please peruse their helpful sites!):
1. Ryan Hart – Kibble & Prentice Sales and Communication Services Coordinator
2. Vince Ricci– VincePrep Founder and Owner
3. Leah Gowron– Monterey Institute of International Studies Director, Alumni Relations and Annual Fund
4. Jim Weisser – PBXL Inc Co-founder and CEO
5. Adam Komisarof– Associate Professor at Reitaku University (thoughtfully, slowly)
6. Justin McCurry – Guardian Correspondent

Dan

Dan is a JET hailing from the small, yet lush island of Osakikamijima. Besides slowly becoming a music, movie and book nerd, he enjoys skateboarding and picking on the grumpy Japanese students.

http://www.wideislandview.com/2011/03/top-ten-tips-from-the-jet-returner%E2%80%99s-conference/

Sample ALT Resume

2011-02-20T00:37:00.000-08:00

Sample ALT resume
Google Docs version
Public on the web - Anyone on the Internet can find and view
▸ http://bit.ly/JET_ALT
MS Word Version (on SlideShare)
▸ http://slidesha.re/ALT_resume_Word
Users can download MS Word file if they register with SlideShare.net
Please forgive formatting irregularities in both Google Docs and MS Word versions

JET ALT Resume (MS Word)

View more documents from VincePrep .

Bottom line: this resume is just a sample to get you thinking. Please make yours BETTER!

Sample CIR Resume

2011-02-19T00:36:00.000-08:00

Sample CIR resume
Google Docs version
Public on the web - Anyone on the Internet can find and view
▸ http://bit.ly/JET_CIR
MS Word Version (on SlideShare)
▸ http://slidesha.re/CIR_resume_Word
Users can download MS Word file if they register with SlideShare.net
Please forgive formatting irregularities in both Google Docs and MS Word versions

JET CIR Resume (MS Word)

View more documents from VincePrep .

Bottom line: this resume is just a sample to get you thinking. Please make yours BETTER!

Sample PA Resume

2011-02-18T22:16:00.000-08:00

Sample PA resume
Google Docs version
Public on the web - Anyone on the Internet can find and view
▸ http://bit.ly/JET_PA
MS Word Version (on SlideShare)
▸ http://slidesha.re/PA_res_Word
Users can download MS Word file if they register with SlideShare.net
Please forgive formatting irregularities in both Google Docs and MS Word versions

JET PA Resume (MS Word)

View more documents from VincePrep .

Bottom line: this resume is just a sample to get you thinking. Please make yours BETTER!

履歴書 – Japanese Résumés (blog post by former CIR)

2011-02-17T00:41:00.000-08:00

Reposted from http://howtojaponese.com/2009/11/20/rirekisho-japanese-resumes/

履歴書 – Japanese Résumés

Japanese résumés, unlike American résumés (and I assume other Western résumés), follow a rigid format. They sell special résumé paper here that is gridded into different categories. Applicants fill them out by hand in their prettiest handwriting and stick on a photograph of themselves.
If you have confidence in your kanji skills and a ton of free time, you might consider filling yours out by hand – that would have to be really impressive to anyone looking to hire. I myself couldn’t be asked, so I created a résumé in Word using tables. It covers all of the basic categories and was relatively easy to edit. I’ve edited it into a mock résumé for Lupin III and uploaded it here. Feel free to download it and adapt it for your own uses. I originally created the file in Word but have been editing it in Open Office, so I apologize if the formatting is a little finicky. If it comes in handy for you, send me your success story.
A couple of interesting differences with an American résumé:
- Japanese use photos on their résumés. You will go far if you are tall, dark, and handsome with striking sideburns.
- Japanese put their date of birth, age and sex on résumés. Too many X chromosomes, and you may be serving tea.
- A lot of people list their hometown and parents. I was encouraged to do this by a teacher I was working with. This could be especially effective for foreigners because katakana may help with the pronunciation of difficult city names.
- There is a lot of what they call 自己PR (literally “self public relations”) that goes on with résumés and also job hunting in general. It reminds me of the pep rallies at the junior high school where I taught. The teams lined up individually and the kids had to give a self-introduction. They go down the line one by one and say a little sentence about themselves: “Hello, I’m Taisuke in the second year. I will do my best at the tournament and run as fast as possible.” The kids all vary their statements slightly (“I will give my best effort.” “I won’t ever give up.” etc.), and I always felt bad for the last guy because all the good words had been taken! 自己PR is kind of like this, but you have to say what your strong points are. I always felt like it was a load of crap. To give you an idea, here’s what I use on my actual résumé: ひとつのことにこだわらずに、いろいろな角度で物事を考え、見て、行動できることです。そのときの状況を踏まえて行動できるからこそうまくいきます。 Basically I have a short attention span and am good at extemporaneous bullshitting. And remember, those words are mine – you’re next in line, so get your own!
- While the document is two pages, Japanese résumés are double-sided, so this is actually a one-page résumé. Always print them on one page.
Enjoy!
Tags: Japanese job hunting, Japanese resumes, 履歴書, 自己PR

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 8:08 am and is filed under get used to it!, resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “履歴書 – Japanese Résumés”

sade Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 9:19 pm wow, thanks for this, i was just wondering how to put together a resume while here and this is really helpful
sixmats Says:
November 21st, 2009 at 7:37 am It wasn’t long ago (2003) that people were still handwriting these things.
Daniel Says:
November 21st, 2009 at 7:47 am I think they still are. I saw some handwritten ones when I was job hunting last year.
Ashley Says:
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm Hi Daniel, this post is right on time, as my CIR-ing days are coming to a close and I am trying to get a handle on job-hunting strategies in Japan! When you were applying for jobs, did you submit a 職務経歴書 along with your resume? Is it something that you should always turn in just in case, or only when the employer asks for it?
Daniel Says:
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:35 pm Hmm…I didn’t submit a separate 職務経歴書, but I did include all of my relevant jobs and experience on the regular Japanese resume I made. I was never asked for anything in addition to what I submitted.
Daniel Says:
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:38 pm From facebook friend Geraldine: Do you know you can download very good Word and Excel templates from the microsoft Japanese URL? Once printed, they look exactly like the one you buy.
The thing that upsets me the most is the Education section. One line for the year you entered high school, one more for the year you finished high school. Seriously, who cares which high school you’ve graduated from? It’s a waste of those precious lines!
Even though the education of a Japanese applicant usually consists of four lines (two for high school, two for uni), the resume allows enough lines for a PHD. But you’ll run out of space if you have more than one degree at each level…
The same is true for the Employment section : one line per experience, and you don’t have many lines since in Japan, people who change employers too often are still considered to have some kind of a problem. You are not supposed to write how great you were in each position, which I suppose is good if you actually weren’t. You’ll just look as good as people who were (good).
Really hard to sell yourself with a Japanese resume…
And Wake: I haven’t had to write a Japanese resume, but we recently had to include a family picture on our daughter’s kindergarten application. Also, my brother-in-law applied to a wife-finding service and had to include *my* education and job history.
To which I responded:
Whoa, Wake. That’s intense on both accounts. Has he found a wife yet?
And Geraldine, do you have the links to the templates? I’d love to share those. Oh, and by the way, you clearly have too many degrees. ;o) I think the back is definitely where you BS about your specific skills/experience.
And Geraldine responded: Sure! You’ll find all many microsoft templates here (Japanese only):
http://office.microsoft.com/ja-jp/templates/CT101043371041.aspx
The classical one being http://office.microsoft.com/ja-jp/templates/TC010592951041.aspx?CategoryID=CT101448941041 (Excel) or http://office.microsoft.com/ja-jp/templates/TC010570881041.aspx?CategoryID=CT101448941041(Word)
Daniel Says:
November 25th, 2009 at 8:28 pm Facebook friend Rocco says: mmmm… I suggest writing both a 履歴書 as well as a職務経歴書 if you are applying for a job. 職務経歴書 is more forgiving with space and gives one ample opportunity to plug education and work history.
And Kaida says: When I applied for current/ past employers (all 外資系 – western companies’ subsidiaries in Japan) , I didn’t hand in Japanese style resume. I submit western style one and it’s direct translation in English.
Japanese style resume is widely used for old-stylish companies with lifetime employment because they need a person who can work for a company for a long time. What HR looks for are motivation, good education history, and potential. That’s why “self public relation” is important – not job achievement.
Japanese traditional style resume is not used widely anymore at blue chips. Panasonic only takes western style resume (they have their own style format, you can fill them in Japanese) and Sony requires you to type them online (Japanese resume could be used only for first screening)
And I replied:
Rocco: Hey cool, someone asked me about 職務経歴書 on the website comments, so I’ll post up your suggestion.
Kaida: Thanks for the great info! Very detailed and useful. I never did too much serious 就職活動, so I only had the chance to give out a couple of my resumes. I found that the Japanese formatted resume was a nice ice-breaker at job fairs and stuff, especially if you can talk to someone important. I only applied to one company and had to fill out all the information on computer anyway, but I think even just having a formal-looking resume was a plus.

ResumeBonsai

2011-02-16T15:59:00.000-08:00

Resume slides

View more presentations from VincePrep .

I once told a client that résumés are like bonsai - you must craft your knowledge, skills and accomplishments to fit into the confines of a single sheet of paper.

Happy pruning!

Harvard: 4 Tips for a Résumé that Survives Scrutiny
http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/managementtip.php?date=081809

Use these four tips to boost your résumé's chance of survival:

Insert dates for everything. Don't try to cover up your age or a gap in experience by omitting dates. Use your cover letter to explain any peculiarities.
Use buzzwords. Many HR folks look for certain buzzwords from the job description. Don't expect your generic résumé to make it through; customize it for each potential job.
Be specific. "Assisted" or "worked on" is much fuzzier than "designed," "wrote," or "led." When choosing verbs, use ones that mean something.
No typos. This goes without saying, but too many résumés are full of them nonetheless. Proofread, proofread again, and then ask someone else to proofread once more.

MIT

http://web.mit.edu/career/www/guide/resumes.html

Your resume should be a concise summary of the high points of your education, work experience, and other qualifications relevant to your audience’s needs and to your employment interests, not a complete history of your life. It communicates your professional qualifications to employers, to interest them in interviewing you, and it creates their first impression of you. It is a marketing tool and an introduction to you and your experiences. Do enough research about the employer and the field to decide which messages are most important to your audience, and communicate these messages succinctly and clearly in a visually appealing format. Here are some guidelines to help you do this:

Style

Proofread to eliminate all spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
Use action verbs and strong adjectives
Make it future or present oriented, suggesting that "I am this kind of person, with these abilities, as my past record demonstrates."
Avoid repeating words or phrases.
Leave out unnecessary words, sentences, and phrases such as "Duties included / Hired to / Project involved."
Avoid stilted or confusing language. Ask yourself, "Would I talk like that?"
Don’t use the first person I or any pronouns.
Be consistent and use the same grammatical style throughout.
Avoid self-flattering terms such as "highly skilled, outstanding, or excellent." Describe your accomplishments effectively and let readers decide for themselves that you are well-qualified.
Be honest and accurate, but not overly modest.
Convey through the style and content of your resume an understanding of your audience’s needs, priorities, hiring criteria, and vocabulary.

Format

Stick to 1 page; use 2 pages if you have an advanced degree or extensive experience (10+ years).
Make the page easy to scan and graphically-pleasing: leave sufficient white space.
Select a format that suits your qualifications. Don’t automatically follow someone else’s, which may not suit what you have to say.
Underline, bold face, and use bullets to emphasize your credentials.

Content

Put name, address, and phone number at the top of the page. If you have a 2nd page, repeat your name at the top.
Highlight skills, accomplishments, capabilities, and work experience. Give evidence of your personal impact: show not only that you completed tasks but that you contributed to organizational goals.
Include marketable and/or relevant data only; for example, include classes that have been most important in your education and are most relevant to the type of work you seek; don’t provide an extensive list of courses.
Choose topic headings that invite your readers’ interest, e.g., "related experience, overseas experience, or skills" rather than "employment or other."
Cite numbers to convey size and/or scale of project, budget, and staff supervised.
Give examples that demonstrate desirable personality traits such as leadership, interpersonal facility, confidence, and independence.
Minimize personal information and omit unrelated memberships, age, marital and health status, and information that is repetitive, implicit (e.g. high school graduation for a college graduate), or out-of-date. If you are a US citizen or hold a permanent resident visa, include this if readers might have reason to think otherwise.
Generally, it is a good idea to exclude data relevant to salary expectations, religious or political affiliations, and geographic descriptions.
References are usually omitted, although you should line up at least 3 (including 1 or 2 who are non-academic) at the beginning of your job search. They can be listed separately and made available when requested. Employers assume that “references are available upon request,” so leave this phrase off.

Accepted.com

http://bit.ly/auhFe1

First, you need to know how far back in time to detail in this document. As a general rule, if you are applying to graduate school and have at least two years of work experience, your high school activities should not be included in your resume. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, if you won a prestigious national award in high school, you may certainly consider including this important recognition.

Other general rules for the resume:

There should be no more than four bullet points beneath each position.
Each bullet point should ideally be no more than two lines long.
To ease the reader’s eye strain, the font should not be smaller than 10 pt.
Margins should be as close to one inch all around as possible – no lower than 0.7 inches.

Limit the number of bullet points describing your early entry-level roles and instead expand the space dedicated to those in which you made the most impact. For instance, if you were promoted from an entry-level programming position with your company, then you don’t even need to dedicate a separate line to describe that first role. Instead, you can simply impress the reader by describing the fast pace of promotion in a line of the job description, like this:

Team Lead, IT Consulting Company 2007-Present

Twice promoted from Analyst (2007-2008) to Senior Analyst (2008) and then Team Lead in record 12 months, a full 4 times faster than the average rate of promotion.

What if one position has allowed you significant leadership opportunities and impact? Or what if you have been in your current role for several years? How can you detail all that you have accomplished in just four bullet points? The trick is to break that down into sections, like this for example:

Private Equity Associate, PE Firm 2008-Present

Lines of job description here…

Leadership Accomplishments Include:

First point
Second point
Third point
Fourth point

Financial Impacts Include:

First point
Second point
Third point
Fourth point

Keep in mind that the majority – if not all – of those bullet points should include quantifiable impact that you had on the organization. Breaking up a bulk of text with numbers and section headings makes the entire document more compelling.

Finally, to ensure that your document is easy to read and keeps the admissions officer’s attention, you need to include ample white space. To add some white space above each position in Microsoft Word, highlight the title line of each row (hold the Ctrl button down as you click to keep them all highlighted), then click on Format, Paragraph, then in the Spacing Before box try at least 4 pt. (if you have more space left on the page at the end you can go to 6 pt.). Do the same Ctrl highlighting for the bullet points throughout the document and try 2 pt. or 3 pt. spacing before each of those lines.

Check out this pdf file (viewable in Adobe Reader) to see the difference this little formatting trick can make.

Jennifer Bloom

MIT: Action Verbs

http://web.mit.edu/career/www/guide/actionverbs.html

Management Skills

Administered
Analyzed
Assigned
Chaired
Consolidated
Contracted
Coordinated
Delegated
Developed
Directed
Evaluated
Executed
Organized
Oversaw
Planned
Prioritized
Produced
Recommended
Reorganized
Reviewed
Scheduled
Supervised

Communication Skills

Addressed
Arbitrated
Arranged
Authored
Co-authored
Collaborated
Corresponded
Developed
Directed
Drafted
Enlisted
Formulated
Influenced
Interpreted
Lectured
Mediated
Moderated
Negotiated
Persuaded
Promoted
Proposed
Publicized
Reconciled
Recruited
Spoke
Translated
Wrote

Research Skills

Clarified
Collected
Critiqued
Diagnosed
Evaluated
Examined
Extracted
Identified
Inspected
Interpreted
Interviewed
Investigated
Organized
Reviewed
Summarized
Surveyed
Systematized

Technical Skills

Assembled
Built
Calculated
Computed
Designed
Devised
Engineered
Fabricated
Maintained
Operated
Pinpointed
Programmed
Remodeled
Repaired
Solved
Operated
Pinpointed
Programmed
Remodeled
Repaired
Solved

Teaching Skills

Adapted
Advised
Clarified
Coached
Communicated
Conducted
Coordinated
Developed
Enabled
Encouraged
Evaluated
Explained
Facilitated
Guided
Informed
Instructed
Lectured
Persuaded
Set goals
Stimulated
Taught
Trained

Financial Skills

Administered
Allocated
Analyzed
Appraised
Audited
Balanced
Budgeted
Calculated
Computed
Developed
Managed
Planned
Projected
Researched

Creative Skills

Acted
Conceptualized
Created
Customized
Designed
Developed
Directed
Established
Fashioned
Illustrated
Instituted
Integrated
Performed
Planned
Proved
Revised
Revitalized
Set up
Shaped
Streamlined
Structured

Helping Skills

Assessed
Assisted
Clarified
Coached
Counseled
Demonstrated
Diagnosed
Educated
Facilitated
Familiarized
Guided
Inspired
Motivated
Participated
Provided
Referred
Rehabilitated
Represented
Reinforced
Supported
Taught
Trained
Verified

Clerical or Detail Skills

Approved
Arranged
Catalogued
Classified
Collected
Compiled
Dispatched
Executed
Filed
Generated
Implemented
Inspected
Monitored
Operated
Ordered
Organized
Prepared
Processed
Purchased
Recorded
Retrieved
Screened
Specified
Systematized
Tabulated
Validated

Stronger Verbs for Accomplishments

Accelerated
Achieved
Attained
Completed
Conceived
Convinced
Discovered
Doubled
Effected
Eliminated
Expanded
Expedited
Founded
Improved
Increased
Initiated
Innovated
Introduced
Invented
Launched
Mastered
Originated
Overcame
Overhauled
Pioneered
Reduced
Resolved
Revitalized
Spearheaded
Strengthened
Transformed
Upgraded

From "To Boldly Go: Practical Career Advice for Scientists", by Peter S. Fiske

CV Store: Power Verbs

http://www.thecvstore.net/Power-Verbs.htm

The use of action words / power verbs, are essential in the promotion of your skills and experience. Using these words at the start of each bullet point under the details of your employment will assist the reader in noticing your key achievements.

The words you use will obviously depend upon your experience / industry so try not to just stuff your CV full of power words in the hope that this will look good. For example, a candidate applying for a managerial position will want to make use of words such as "oversaw, developed, improved and reduced", whereas someone looking for a more creative role will want to use words such as "designed, compiled and created".

Power verbs to accentuate organisational skills:

Arranged
Categorized
Collected
Compiled
Corrected
Distributed
Filed
Incorporated
Logged
Maintained
Monitored
Observed

Ordered
Organized
Prepared
Recorded
Registered
Reserved
Responded
Reviewed
Scheduled
Screened
Supplied
Updated

Power verbs used to highlight achievements:

Achieved
Built
Created
Developed
Established
Expanded
Founded
Identified
Implemented

Increased
Initiated
Instigated
Launched
Lead
Managed
Reduced
Solved
Streamlined

Other power verbs:

Administered
Advised
Analyzed
Approved
Completed
Conducted
Controlled
Coordinated
Defined
Delivered
Demonstrated

Designed
Instructed
Introduced
Maintained
Negotiated
Oversaw
Performed
Planned
Presented
Supervised
Supported

SAMPLE

http://www.mbagameplan.com/mba_resume_samples/MIT_Sloan_Resume_Before.html

More tips here:

http://delicious.com/admissions/PowerVerbs

Video2010

2011-02-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Vince's presentation at the 2010 CRJ Conference.

Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interview Tips

VincePrep

YouTube Playlist

2011-02-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a YouTube playlist I created that contains some
Interview Dos and Don'ts

CRJ Slides 2010

2011-02-01T01:16:00.000-08:00

Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interview Tips

View more presentations from Vince Ricci.

Kellogg resume format

2011-01-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

My client recently sent me the Resume Format Guidelines he received from Kellogg's Career Management Center. I suggest you follow these helpful tips to make your resume clear and convincing to your future application readers and interviewers.

WHY A STANDARD FORMAT?
•The Kellogg format allows on-campus recruiters to focus on your resume’s content rather than stylistic differences
•We get consistently positive feedback from employers on our format
Employer testimonial:
•“The Kellogg format is ideal. It is a concise one-page snapshot of a Kellogg student’s previous achievements, which allows us to review resumes thoughtfully and efficiently.” -McKinsey & Company

RESUME FORMAT GUIDELINES
Length
• Resumes may be no longer than ONE PAGE (A4 or 8 ½ x 11)

Tables
• DO NOT use tables on your resume
• Tables cause difficulty both with the Kellogg resume database and company application websites.

Margins
• Margins can not be smaller than .4 inches on all sides

Tabs and Alignment
• Locations should be right-aligned
• Bullets should be left-aligned and should not spread to the right margin

Font
• Size: 10 or 11 point Times New Roman. Do not make your name larger than the rest of your resume
• Caps and Bold: The following should be in BOLD CAPS. Do not use bold in other places on your resume
• Your name
• Section Headings
• School Names
• Company Names
• Italics: Job titles should be in italics.
Publications may be italicized if appropriate
• Lines/Underline: There should be no lines or underlining on your resume, except if you are listing “selected transaction experience” in your experience section

EDUCATION SECTION
•Include the month and year you received your degree

OTHER DATA SECTION
•Capitalize the first letter of languages spoken, if included
•You may want to include any certifications you have obtained
•Be specific in this section – do not just say “enjoy traveling and cooking” – instead say something like, “enjoy adventure travel” or “recently traveled to Ecuador and Indonesia” and “enjoy cooking Northern Italian cuisine”

Header
•Your header should contain three lines
•Your name
•All CAPS & Bold
•Your address
•Street, City, State & Zip
•Your phone number and email address
•Use your Kellogg email address
•Include only one phone number

Footer
•Include the date of your most recent update in the lower right corner
•Recruiters may receive multiple versions of your resume – help them determine which one is most current.
•The date should be Month/Day/Year

Experience Section
• Dates should be flush with the left margin
• Company names should be in CAPS and bold
• Job titles should be in italics
• Specific dates for different positions within the same company should be listed after the job title — the dates in the left margin for that company should reflect your entire term of employment at that company
• Don’t include internships completed in undergrad as part of this section. They should be included under Education as one bullet

Objective Statements
•DO NOT include an objective on your resume

Use chronological format
•List education and business experience in REVERSE chronological order (most recent first)
•The “Education” section should be at the top of your resume

Dates
•Write out all years fully
•“2005-2009” – NOT “05-09”
•Do not include months
•Internship dates should be identified by season, e.g. “Summer 2009”

Locations
•Abbreviate all states for locations of employer and school, e.g. “IL” not “Illinois”
•Spell out names of foreign countries
•Spell out addresses

Numbers
•Write out number one through nine.
•Use numerals starting with 10

Personal Information
•Do not include personal information on your resume (e.g. marital status, children, etc)

IMPACT STATEMENTS
Your bullets should not read like a job description. They should feature skills, actions and results. Consider following this formula:
Strong Lead Action Verb + What You Did = Results

Quantify: “Designed and implemented new volunteer model in Tanzania, expanding volunteer base by 30%
•Increased (sales, profits, margins, value)
•Decreased (costs, inefficiencies, errors)

Scope: “Managed $82M divestiture of division with over $30M in revenue and 100 employees.”
•Define size (team, budget, business)
•Number impacted (people, businesses)

Qualify: “Presented final recommendation to CFO, recommendation ultimately implemented by client.” •Presented to (senior management, client)
•Delivered (on time, early, under budget) •Implemented recommendation
•A company first
•Adopted across business units

Action Verbs
accelerated developed made revived accomplished devised maintained saved achieved discovered managed scheduled acquired discharged marketed secured adapted distributed mediated selected addressed documented minimized served administered doubled mobilized set up advanced earned modernized settled allocated edited modified shaped analyzed eliminated monitored showed anticipated employed motivated simplified applied enforced negotiated sold appointed established obtained solved approved estimated operated sponsored arranged evaluated ordered staffed assisted examined organized standardized assigned exceeded originated started attained exercised overcame stimulated audited expanded overhauled streamlined augmented extended oversaw strengthened brought financed participated stretched broadened forecasted performed structured built formed pinpointed studied calculated formulated planned suggested centralized founded prepared summarized clarified fulfilled presented supervised collaborated generated prevented supported combined guided processed surpassed completed halved produced surveyed conceived handled programmed sustained concluded helped projected tailored condensed headed promoted taught conducted hired proposed terminated consolidated identified proved tested constructed implemented published traded consulted improved realized transacted contracted increased recommended transferred contributed influenced reconciled transformed controlled initiated recruited translated converted inspected reduced trimmed coordinated installed re-established tripled corrected instituted regulated uncovered created instructed reinforced undertook cut integrated reorganized unified decentralized interviewed reported used decreased introduced represented utilized defined invented researched verified delivered investigated reshaped widened demonstrated launched resolved withdrew designated liquidated restored won designed located reviewed worked determined revised wrote

Synonyms

ability: aptitude, capability
adopt: use, utilize, employ , apply, mobilize, exert , restore revive, specialize in
assist: dispatch, expedite, cooperate, maintain,promote authority command, charter, domain, scope, field, control, jurisdiction, commission, province ,circle, in charge of
authorize: entitle, delegate, empower , qualify, invest , endow
business: undertaking , pursuit, venture, affair, concern, interest, matter, negotiations, transactions
carry out: discharge, execute, pursue, fulfill, perform, practice, exercise, undertake, transact, assume, accomplish, achieve, attain company: concern, enterprise, establishment, institution, corporation, firm, organization
continue: keep up, remain, resume, persevere, persist, adhere to
cooperate: collaborate, contribute to, support
develop: originate, create, derive, cause, effect, generate, bring about, result in, give rise to, design, devise, make, build, construct, synthesize, form, prepare, organize, sponsor, prompt
earn: merit, exceed, excel, surpass, better, top, progress, advance
effective: forceful, potent, valid, strong, vigorous, productive, influential, dynamic
emphasis: stress, accentuate, feature
implement: execute, enforce
job: situation, position, post, status, footing, appointment, capacity, occupation, calling, profession, career
manage: handle, deal with, represent, operate, oversee, designate, engineer, execute, supervise, conduct , engage in, regulate, check , direct, administer, take charge
participate: share, collaborate, coordinate, synchronize, combine, pool , take part in, contribute
point out: indicate, exhibit, display, reveal, demonstrate, show, credit with, assign to
promote: evaluate, raise
responsible: liable, accountable, answerable, account for, plan, design, project, proposal, scheme, outline, map, model, program, result, obtain, secure, method, means, system, policy, procedure

ResumeEnglish

2011-01-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Write in "Resume" (non-standard) English.

This means:

Do NOT use the subject 'I', use tenses in the past. Except for your present job. Example: Conducted routine inspections of on site equipment.
fount at http://esl.about.com/cs/englishworkplace/ht/ht_resume.htm
To conserve space, remove articles 'a', 'an', and 'the'
Change all numbers to numerals (1, 2, 3). In essays, write numbers into words if below 10 (except $ or %). In resumes and app data forms, you can ignore this informal but standard / suggested "rule" in order to save space.

MECE

2011-01-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

I encourage clients to think of a resume as a "greatest hits" compilation. Can you include only the best examples of each type of achievement? Can you highlight the breadth and depth of your technical, analytical and interpersonal skills?

If music metaphors fail to move you, I encourage you to analyze your resume using the MECE principle.

Mutually
Exclusive
Collectively
Exhaustive

(ME) Mutually Exclusive - "must ensure that a list of items is mutually exclusive, or that every item is separate and distinct"
(CE) Collectively Exhaustive - "it must also be collectively exhaustive, that it includes every issue relevant to the problem"

an example of MECE

The MECE principle, pronounced 'meesee', mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, is a grouping principle. It says that when data from a category is desired to be broken into subcategories, the choice of subcategories should be

collectively exhaustive -- i.e., the set of all subcategories, taken together, should fully characterize the larger category of which the data are part ("no gaps"),
mutually exclusive -- i.e., no subcategory should represent any other subcategory ("no overlaps")

This is desirable for the purpose of analysis: mutual exclusivity avoids the risk of double counting information, and collective exhaustion avoids the risk of overlooking information.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MECE_principle

Sources and more hints here http://bit.ly/MECE_res

Reference and resources

2011-01-10T00:43:00.000-08:00

Links here http://delicious.com/admissions/4JETs
Videos here http://bit.ly/Vids_4JETs

Related presentations here http://www.slideshare.net/tokyovince/favorites

Sample Cover Letter

2010-12-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

1-23-1 Sensei-machi
Nishi, Osaka, Japan 500-0001
May 1, 2011

Mr. John Doe
Director, Dashew International Center
417 Charles E. Young Drive West
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1379

Dear Mr. Doe:

I have been working for five years in education and training in both the U.S. and Japan. While reviewing your website, I was excited to learn about the position of Program Coordinator for International Students at UCLA’s Dashew International Center.

I believe that my background as an educational resources coordinator and overseas teacher demonstrates that I possess the ideal combination of organizational, creative, interpersonal, and counseling skills to be the best Program Coordinator for International Students. I joined The Center for Adult Training and Employment in New York after graduating with honors in Linguistics from Boston University. As Coordinator of Resources and Curriculum, I played a significant role in revitalizing the services provided to our diverse annual clientele of nearly 3,000, including negotiating with leading companies to initiate the Center’s first training and recruitment program.

Having held a long-standing interest in international cultures, I moved to Japan in 2010. As part of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program, I have been working as an English teacher at Yamada High School in Japan’s third largest city, Osaka. Adjusting to a different culture has been an invaluable experience, and I have discovered the positive impact I can make as a teacher coming from another country. In addition to teaching lessons, I have worked to increase diversity awareness among our Japanese students and faculty. For example, I helped revamp the English program and organized a local cultural festival.

I enclose a resume of my background and qualifications, and will follow-up with you in the coming weeks. Most of all, I hope that I may have the opportunity to meet with you in person at your convenience. Thank you for your time and interest in my candidacy.

Sincerely yours,

Rachel J. Smith

CoverLetterTemplate

2010-12-01T00:52:00.000-08:00

Sample Letter Of Application

View more documents from jon buscall.