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Is anyone good at resume writing? I haven't a clue after all of these years...


Prairie~Phlox
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I would really like to go ahead and start on a resume, if nothing else, to be more prepared here in a few years, but there's some online work that I would like to pursue and also have a connection locally that I thought about contacting, I would like to work 10-15 hours a week if I could find something that worked for me.  My problem is, I have a pretty eclectic background the last few years.  My dh was a contractor until recently and I am putting that on there, I helped him enough with painting and the banking/record keeping end of it.  I also have run a homeschool co-op, it is volunteer, but has take a good chunk of time and given me lots of different experience and the I've worked as a cashier seasonally.  So really I have a wide range of skills, plus a BS, but I don't know the best way to compose it all together.  This is a rough, rough draft that I started on yesterday.  I know resumes have changed over the years and tried to go by a sample that I got from an HR lady that helps a lot of people.  I have not done up a first statement and did change some personal info for on here.  Any help would be appreciated.

 

Key Proficiencies

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Administration
  • Time Management
  • Proficient Communicator
  • Document Management
  • Team Building & Leadership
  • Multi-tasker
  • Hardworking & reliable
  • Organization
  • Detail Oriented
  • Scheduling & supervision
  • Self-starter

 

  Life Experience

 

Assisant Painting Contractor                                                                                         August 2006-August 2015

T.R. & Sons, painting, Carpentry, Wood floors

Town, ST                                                                                                                                     

 

Responsible for providing assistance and support on a part time basis. Work with the owner on prepping, painting and completing various jobs.

  • Paint skills using brushes & rollers
  • Work with several people to see that the job was completed
  • Help supervise teen employees
  • Keep record books up to date, handle bank transactions

Administrator                                                                                                   June 2010-Current

Blank Blank Home Educators Cooperative

Town, ST                                                                                     

 

Supervising teachers, supervising volunteers, handle complaints, discipline students, budget, manage accounts payable, manage accounts receivable, order supplies, manage registration, keep families up to date by e-mail

  • Oversee 50-75 Families on a yearly basis, communicate, register and delegate
  • Plan 30+ classes per year, find teachers, help assign helpers, create a class schedule and academic calendar
  • Work with a volunteer board
  • Register families and 200+ students into MS Access, transfer to Excel to create family & teacher lists.
  • Coordinate an academic calendar and responsibilities with the church that we meet at
  • Use a wide variety of programs, MS Access, MS Excel, MS Word, e-mail programs

 

Seasonal Sales Associate                                                                    January 2008-August 2015

University Bookstore

Blank, ST                                                                                         

 

Assisted students & parents with their text book purchases.  Greeted people, dealt with all nationalities of people.

  • Managed cash transactions in their workplace
  • Interacted with the customers that came to the counter
  • Checked for the price of products and any discounts or offers
  • Received coupons and deducted the said amount from the purchase

 

Education

 

   

 

Bachelor of Science, Consumer & Families Sciences,  University, Blank, ST

North blank High School, North blank, ST

 

 

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I am a resume writer, and I'm happy to help.

 

Ideally, a resume targets a specific job or career field. The skills you would highlight for, say, a receptionist role would be different than the skills you would highlight for a tutoring position (though there would be some overlap). Do you know what kind of position you would like to have? It might mean preparing more than one resume if your target is not well defined at this point (which is pretty common, especially for people with varied experiences like yours).

 

I like a key proficiencies section, but I would focus on hard skills there, such as computer programs, typing speed, or whatever else is relevant and work in the other qualities (hard working, self starter, etc.) elsewhere.

 

The main thing that I ask clients to focus on when it comes to the experience section is results. How did your efforts benefit the organization? Think of ways in which your involvement saved money, made money, resolved problems, improved workflow, boosted the reputation, etc. Think about it from an employer's perspective. He or she is not hiring a person just for the heck of it. They are expecting a return on their investment of hiring you. Make clear through your past experiences what that value might be for them.

 

It's early and I'm fighting a headache so I'm not at my best right now, but I hope some of this was helpful. Feel free to PM.

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I think you've done a good rough draft. I recommend you keep a separate master document listing jobs, duties, and skills from which you can tailor a resume for a specific job. Make sure you read the resume closely. I like to read from the bottom up; it helps me catch font shifts, grammar errors or spelling mistakes. Try to make your sentences active and succinct.
 
All these comments are just my opinion. They are ones I would give for any friend or family member. 
 
* Use one font. Only use bold and underline to emphasize headers; italics can be hard to read. No comic sans or other non-standard fonts. I like Verdana or Calibri, but any readable printed font is fine.
* Change the & symbol to "and". It interrupts the reading flow.
* Standardize the work experience sections.
     - Bold header
     - One sentence summary
     - Three to four detail statements
* Left align all the sections. Don't center your education.

 

Key Proficiencies Hiring managers I've worked with prefer seeing specific details in this section that suit the job. For example, "Experience with Microsoft Office, including Excel, Access, and Outlook," "Programming languages include FORTRAN, COBOL, C+++ and Linux," or "Comfortable working with multi-national retail customers." I would leave off the basics like time management, hardworking, reliable, or multi-tasker. These would be minimal expectations so no need to take up space to point it out. [/size] Show you are organized and detail-oriented by providing a clean, concise resume. [/size]

  • Administration
  • Time Management
  • Proficient Communicator 
  • Document Management
  • Team Building & Leadership
  • Multi-tasker
  • Hardworking & reliable
  • Organization
  • Detail Oriented
  • Scheduling & supervision
  • Self-starter
Work Experience
[When listing job duties, put the duties in order of importance to the job application. If you're applying for a painting job, list painting experience. If you're looking for bookkeeping jobs, list those duties first.
 
Assistant Painting Contractor                                                                                         August 2006-August 2015
T.R. & Sons, Painting, Carpentry, Wood Floors [nitpicky, but capitalize all or none]
Town, ST                                                                                                                                     
 
Assist and support the owner on a part time basis with bookkeeping and job-site prepping and painting.
  • Paint skills using brushes & rollers [Reword this sentence so that it matches the sentence structures below. Square footage? Whole house, multi-room or single room?]
  • Work with several people to see that the job was completed [Which people? Employees? Subcontractors? Instead of work, use specific words-schedule, coordinate]
  • Help supervise teen employees [how many? Supervise in what way? Directing paint jobs? Making schedules? If more than one or two, how many teens?]
  • Keep record books up to date, handle bank transactions [Did you use any software? List it. Did you make deposits? Reconcile statements? Send out invoices? Follow up on payments?]
Administrator                                                                                                   June 2010-Current
Blank Blank Home Educators Cooperative
Town, ST
This is great experience if you are looking for a position as a volunteer coordinator, office manager, receptionist, or teacher so provide detail.]                                                                                    
 
Supervising teachers, supervising volunteers, handle complaints, discipline students, budget, manage accounts payable, manage accounts receivable, order supplies, manage registration, keep families up to date by e-mail. [i would make this more general and succinct and include the specifics below. "Manage XX-family academic cooperative for local homeschooling community."]
  • Oversee 50-75 Families on a yearly basis, communicate, register and delegate
  • Plan and coordinate 30+ classes per year by scheduling  find teachers, help assigning [volunteer/classroom?] helpers, and creating a class schedule and academic calendar
  • Oversee family and student communication, complaint resolution, and student discipline
  • Work with a [NUMBER OF PEOPLE] volunteer board [MORE DETAIL: create budgets? define academic mission? raise $XX funds?] 
  • Register families and 200+ students into MS Access and create family and teacher lists in MS Excel
  • Develop annual [$XX-$XX] budget and handle supply procurement, accounts receivable and  accounts payable
  • Coordinate with hosting church in developing an academic calendar and defining responsibilities
  • Use a wide variety of programs, MS Access, MS Excel, MS Word, e-mail programs [Put this in Key Profiencies above]
Seasonal Sales Associate                                                                    January 2008-August 2015
University Bookstore
Blank, ST                                                                                         
[i would combine the bullet points for this section to two or three unless you are looking for a retail position.]
Assisted students & parents with their text book purchases.  Greeted people, dealt with all nationalities of people. [Make this one sentence]-"Assisted multi-national customer base with text book purchases"]
  • Managed cash transactions in their workplace [whose workplace? Was this working with the register?]
  • Interacted with the customers that came to the counter 
  • Checked for the price of products and any discounts or offers
  • Received coupons and deducted the said amount from the purchase
Education

 

   
 

Bachelor of Science, Consumer & Families Sciences,  University, Blank, ST

North blank High School, North blank, ST

 

 
Hope this helps

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I forgot to add that I would recommend you re-order the first two jobs, putting the coop administrator experience first, unless you are looking for a position at another painting business. In fiction writing, there's a saying: show, don't tell. The administrator experience shows you are all the traits you listed in key profiencies:

 

  • Administration
  • Time Management
  • Proficient Communicator 
  • Document Management
  • Team Building & Leadership
  • Multi-tasker
  • Hardworking & reliable
  • Organization
  • Detail Oriented
  • Scheduling & supervision
  • Self-starter
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