Resume & Interview Guide

• The purpose of a resume is to present your qualifications to an employer in a way that is easy for them to process quickly. The more you can show them that you have what it takes to be successful in the role, the more likely you are to land an interview.
• While there are standard resume expectations, there is not a “right” way to create a resume. Even within the same employer, two hiring managers can have very different opinions about what they look for in resume structure and content. The trick isn’t to please everyone, but rather to do enough research to tailor your resume for companies that would be a good fit.
• Your resume will never stay the same! You will always add and delete material, especially as you gain more experience and learn more about each employer’s preferences. One way to make this process easier throughout your career is to re-read your resume often and keep an ongoing record of any new skills/accomplishments.
• Creating a strong resume involves knowing yourself and making deliberate choices about content/formatting. Employers read through countless resumes that use the same clumsy Office/Google Docs templates, the same generic abilities, and the same overused buzzwords. The resumes that stand out are the ones where candidates can concisely convey their unique contributions in a clear, well-organized format.
• Whenever it makes sense, show instead of tell. Anyone can say they’re good at time management, but an employer is more likely to notice a candidate who can prove it through their experience.
• The difference between a CV and a Resume.  A CV (Curriculum Vitae) is a detailed document, usually two or more pages in length, that describes your education, career, achievements, publications, awards, and honors in detail.  CV’s are chronological and will give readers an overview of your career.  CV’s are not typically modified for a specific position, and are sent with a cover letter matching their skills and achievements for that position.  A resume, however, is usually no longer than a page and is typically crafted to fit the specific position for which a person is applying.  A resume should be brief and targeted, highlighting skills and achievements, customized to fit a specific role.

When you’re choosing what to include on your resume:

• Education
  • GPA—list if above a 3.0
  • Related coursework (optional)—list up to three courses that are relevant to the job posting
• Experience
  • Field/Research
  • Professional
  • Part-time
  • Ongoing volunteer positions
• Activities/Community Service (optional)
  • Student organizations
  • Leadership programs
  • Sports
  • Professional organization membership
• Skills/Certifications (optional)
  • Specialized software/computer programs
  • Industry-specific abilities
  • Foreign languages
• Honors/Awards (optional)
  • Scholarships
  • Special recognitions

• Most things related to high school, such as high school name, GPA, and organizations. The exception to this is if you had part-time job experience that was longer than three months that you’d like to include in your experience.
• References—these should go on a separate document that is formatted with the same header as your resume.
• “References Available on Request”—most employers know that they can ask for references from you, so there’s no need to take up resume real estate with this statement.
• Positions you held less than three months, with the following exceptions: 1) internships, 2) temporary leadership opportunities (e.g., Peer Mentor), 3) volunteer/mission trip experience that would be attractive to a particular employer
• Your Missouri Baptist email address—because it’s a series of numbers, it’s much better to include a personal email (such as a gmail account). Make sure that the email you include is professional, preferably using your name (e.g., spartan123@gmail.com).
• GPAs that are less than a 3.0.
• The name of your spouse, your kids, or your previous supervisors.

One of the employer’s biggest questions when reading your resume is whether you have the necessary skills, experience, and training to do the job. Rather than reporting generic statements about what you’ve done at your previous jobs, use your employment history as a way to showcase major accomplishments. The best job duties/accomplishments include the following:

Action verb + Concrete Specifics (+ Results)

Brainstorming Questions

• Who did you work with?
  • Customers/Clients/Students/Children/etc.
  • Manager/Coworkers
  • Other organizations/departments
• What tools did you use?
  • Special machinery
  • Software
• When/How often did you do this?
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Seasons
• How many people/items/services were involved?
• Where did you do this?
  • International locations
  • Classroom
  • Outdoor venue
• Why did you do something?
  • Increase customer satisfaction
  • Enhance product performance
  • Improve policies and procedures
  • Expand service offerings
  • Assess program effectiveness
• What did you achieve on your job?
  • Carried out a special task
  • Reached a department/company goal
  • Received a promotion/raise/award
  • Trained new employees
  • Identified the source of a problem and suggested changes
  • Prevented merchandise/revenue loss
  • Served on a special committee
  • Created a new system/procedure/resource

Examples

• Basic Job Duty
  • Trained volunteers to call program alumni
• Better Job Duty
  • Trained six volunteers to conduct employment confirmation calls with alumni
• Accomplishment Statement
  • Trained six volunteers to conduct employment confirmation calls with alumni, resulting in over 200 new jobs reported

Much like an interview requires both professional dress and content, your resume must also have a professional appearance in order to keep an employer engaged with what you’re communicating. Since employers must look through resumes quickly, your resume format should prioritize readability, organized sections, and consistency. Mastering this skill can demonstrate to an employer that you have attention to detail and can help the employer focus on your qualifications.

• Create your own resume template. Though Microsoft Word and Google Docs offer resume templates that seem eye-catching, they’re often overused and difficult to adapt to your specific needs. Additionally, too many graphics/colors can sometimes distract employers from your qualifications (which is what you want an employer to remember!).
• Limit your resume to one page. There are lots of people applying to the same position, which means an employer is unlikely to have the time to read the entirety of your first page, much less a second page.
• Use bold, italics, underline, and borders These are best used to emphasize key information, such as headings, job titles, etc. When these features are overused or placed inconsistently throughout your resume, the information you’re trying to highlight will either blend in with everything else or will stand out in a negative way.
• Right tabs offer an easy way to align information and clearly distinguish dates. To set a right tab:
  • Right click
  • Select “Paragraph”
  • Select the Tabs button on the lower left-hand corner
  • Type in the position number (e.g., 6.5)
  • Click the “Right” button under the Alignment section
  • Click OK

• Margins: .5”-1”
• Font
  • No smaller than 10, no bigger than 12 (though your name can be at 14)
  • Easily readable, such as Georgia, Avenir, Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, Cambria
• Job Duties
  • Always start with an action verb (Action Verbs). For instance, rather than saying “Responsible for planning Welcome Weekend events,” you would start with the verb “Plan” (if you’re presently in the job) or “Planned” (if this happened in a job you had in the past).
  • Since job duties are not written in complete sentences, they should not have any punctuation at the end.
  • Job duties should be bulleted so an employer can scan them quickly.

• This template is not the only way to build or design a resume! The purpose of this template is to give you a starting point for how to format a resume. If you have created your own resume design/format from scratch, you are not required to use this one.
• Feel free to adapt this resume to suit your needs. For instance, you can change the margins, font, tabs, etc. to options that better suit your industry and preferences.
• Don’t feel like you have to include every piece of information listed on the template. In fact, you’ll notice that several sections are listed as optional. If a section doesn’t apply to you, delete it.
• Don’t forget to delete this information when applicable:
  • “Expected graduation” once officially you’ve graduated
  • “(optional)” from any sections where you’ve chosen to provide information
  • “(if applicable)” from any sections where you’ve provided information
• Remember that this template is designed with current students and recent graduates in mind. As you get further into your career, many of these sections will become obsolete as you gain new experience and skills in your industry. For instance, the longer you’re out of college, the less employers will be interested in the organizations you participated in while you were on campus.´

For most positions you apply for, you’ll be asked to provide a list of three references either as part of the application process or at the time of the interview. Employers reach out to references for the purpose of getting to know your capabilities as a future employee—if what your references say about your qualifications matches what you’ve told an employer in an interview, the company is able to trust your ability to perform well in the job. As a result, you want to be wise in selecting references who truly know your skills and character.

Some good options for professional references include:

• A current and/or past supervisor, such as:
  • Internship
  • Paid employment
  • Volunteer position
    • Hint: if at all possible include at least one supervisor as a reference!
  • A current and/or past coworker (peer)
  • A current and/or past coworker you trained
  • A professor who can speak to your work ethic
  • An academic advisor who can speak to your work ethic

For some applications, you’re allowed to include character references. In these situations, you could include one or two people such as:

• A coach
• A mentor
• A neighbor
• A club/ministry leader
• A close friend

Tips

1. Always ask if someone will be a reference before listing them. They may say no for a number of reasons, such as not wanting to give out their contact info, lack of time, or feeling unable to give a balanced/positive review of your abilities.
2. Provide a copy of your resume and cover letter to your references so they know what kind of position you’re applying for. This will help them know which of your qualifications are most relevant to address.
3. Let your references know when you have been scheduled for an interview. Sometimes the hiring process can be held up if the employer is unable to reach your references, so keeping them informed of your interview dates will give them a heads up that they could be receiving a phone call from a potential employer soon.
4. Let your references know when you’ve landed a job! Not only will you get a chance to celebrate with them, but you will get a chance to show your gratitude for their advocacy on your behalf.

Purpose of an Interview

Whenever an employer brings you in for an interview, they’re trying to determine three things:

• Can you do the job?
• Are you motivated to do the job?
• Will you be a good fit for the company?

Consequently, each question they ask is aimed at gathering information to answer one or more of these questions. Your goal is to tailor your answers strategically to address these underlying questions so you can demonstrate to an employer that you are the best candidate for the position.

Interview Tips

• An interview is like a first date—the company is trying to get to know you, and you’re trying to get to know the company. This means that you want to pay attention to:
  • The questions they’re asking, which can tell you a lot about what they value and what they will expect of you.
  • The way they interact with you—if you’re having trouble connecting with them during the interview, you’ll probably have trouble connecting with them on the job as well.
  • The way they answer your questions—if something seems off or they mention something that seems like a red flag, remember that the issue or mismatch you’re seeing now is highly likely to impact your day-to-day work.
• Practice, practice, practice! Write your answers down beforehand, say them in front of a mirror, and grab a friend or family member who can give feedback on body language, eye contact, etc.
• Have at least three questions ready to ask the employer at the end of the interview. This will show them that you’re serious about the company and will give you a chance to learn important information.
  • Make sure your last question is “What’s the next step in the process?” or “When would be a good time for me to follow up with you?” This will give you an idea of the expected time frame in which you should expect to hear an answer (and will give you the opportunity to follow up with them if you haven’t heard anything).
  • Don’t ask about salary or benefits! Wait until you have an official offer before you attempt to negotiate any kind of salary.
• Always send a thank-you note at the end of an interview! Remember that the employer sacrificed both time and resources in order to interview you for the position. The purpose of the thank you note is not to fulfill an obligation or to make yourself look good, but rather to show gratitude for the fact that the employer saw your potential and gave you an opportunity for consideration.
  • If emailing a thank you note, send it within 24 hours of the interview.
  • If mailing a hand-written thank you note, drop it in the mail as soon as the interview is over. Even though it will take a couple of days to arrive, this could be a beneficial reminder to an employer of your interest in the position.
• There are three primary kinds of interview questions:
  • Skills-based questions (what can you do?)
    • Employers ask these questions to verify that you have the requisite qualifications to be successful on the job.
    • If you don’t have a certain type of skill they’re asking about, try to identify a related skill you have and how that can be transferable to the role requirement (e.g., “While I don’t have direct experience with Adobe Photoshop, I have had the opportunity to use other photo editing software, such as GIMP, in my current position. My photo editing experience has given me the foundation I need to learn this software quickly so that I can produce meaningful images for your company.”).
  • Behavioral questions (what did you do?)
    • To answer these questions, use the acronym CAR (i.e., describe the Challenge or situation you faced, the Action you took in response, and the Result you achieved)
    • Come up with a collection of stories that demonstrate your success in difficult situations. If you must tell a story where you failed, be sure to describe what you learned from that situation (and be prepared—an employer may ask you how you’ve done things differently since then!).
  • Situational questions (what would you do?)
    • The employer is not necessarily looking for a right answer; instead, they are focused on seeing how your knowledge and experience lead you to process through problems.
    • Pay careful attention to the questions you’re being asked—odds are these are common issues you’ll face in this role!

Practice Interview Questions

• Tell me a little about yourself.
  • Hint: this is a great question for addressing can/will/fit.
    • Fit—mention a couple of hobbies
    • Can—education and experience
    • Will—desire to join the company and help the team reach its goals
  • What is your greatest accomplishment?
    • Hint: choose an accomplishment that is either related to the job you’ll be performing or that demonstrates that you’ll be a good fit with the company
  • What do you know about our company?
    • Hint: Make sure you’ve done your company research ahead of time! Focus on their mission statement, their values, the clients they serve/products they provide, etc. The point here is not to repeat everything you’ve learned, but to demonstrate that you know about (and care about) the essentials of the company.
  • What is your greatest weakness?
    • Hint: Employers aren’t asking this to see if you can provide the “right answer” and turn a negative into a positive (e.g., “I’m a perfectionist”)—they’re asking this to see how well you know yourself and to see if you’re pursuing personal development. Employers know you’re human and expect you to have weak areas, but they also know that the best employees find ways to grow and mature in spite of their limitations. Rather than choosing your absolute worst weakness, choose a weakness that you are actively working on so that you can show the employer your dedication to self-improvement.
  • Why should we hire you?
    • Hint: this question should also address can/will/fit
  • Why did you leave your last job?
    • Hint: being “let go” only applies to layoffs due to budget cuts. If you left for a negative reason (e.g., being fired), be prepared to talk about the specific action that led to your firing, focusing primarily on how you have taken steps to work on it and how your life is different now. (e.g., “I did not meet the attendance requirements of my last job due to car trouble; however, I now own a reliable vehicle and am ready to excel in the responsibilities of this position in order to benefit your company.”)
  • How would your previous supervisors/coworkers describe you?
  • In five words or less, share with me what you’re all about.
    • Hint: if you’ve taken the StrengthsQuest or StrengthsFinder, your top five results can be a great answer to this question!
  • How well did you get along with your last supervisor?
    • Hint: focus on the positive interactions you had with your supervisor. Even if you and your supervisor didn’t get along, try to find something redeeming about your time together. In the event that you can’t find anything positive to say, be gentle and fair in how you describe your interactions, then talk about what you learned about yourself and how you’d like to get along with your future supervisor.
  • What were your supervisor’s strengths and weaknesses?
    • Hint: briefly touch on one weakness, then spend most of your time discussing 1-3 strengths (ending on a positive note is always a good thing!).
  • What did you like the most about your last job? What did you like the least?
    • Hint: briefly touch on one thing you didn’t prefer, then spend most of your time discussing what you liked and tie it in with the overlap you see between that job and the one you’re applying for.
  • Tell me about a time when you…
    • Made a mistake
    • Had a conflict at work
    • Had to handle a difficult situation
    • Went above and beyond at your job
    • Had to make a major decision
    • Worked on a team
    • Achieved a goal
    • Had to meet a deadline
    • Disagreed with your boss

Questions to ask the employer

• What’s your favorite part about working at ___?
• What does success look like in this role?
• What are you looking for in a team member?
• Disagreements are inevitable in any office—how does your team handle conflict?
• What are some of the challenges I might face in this role?
• What are some of the short-term and long-term goals you have for your team?
• What does a typical day/week look like in this role?
• What’s the next step in the process?

A thank you sent via email is very appropriate, especially if that is the mode of communication being used between you and the company/organization.  However, an email should not take the place of a hand written thank you, but should be in addition to.

A helpful tip is to have your thank you card and pre-stamped and addressed envelope with you in the car.  Once you leave the interview, write your thank you, and put it in the mail on your way home.  This way you are being prompt and eliminates the possibility of forgetting.

Need a thank you card?  We’ve got you covered.  Stop by the Career Office to pick one up.