How to write

Effective
Resumes.

A resume is one of the most important

documents for a professional.

A single document that informs potential employers

about all the facts related to the professional life of
the individual.

 Everything written in a resume is of

extreme importance.
Should contain only information that
is critical and relevant to the
professional.

RESUME

The Number One Purpose Of A Resume

The resume is a tool with one specific

purpose: to win an interview.
A resume is an advertisement - it makes
the same assertion that all good ads do: If
you buy this product, you will get
these specific, direct benefits. It
presents you in the best light.
It convinces the employer that you have
what it takes to be successful in this new
position or career.

Research shows:
Only one interview is granted for every 200 resumes
received by the average employer.
Your resume will be quickly scanned, rather than read.
Resumes saved in rich text format should ensure the
text isn't distorted in transmission. Many resumes are
scanned for keywords once they reach the employer;
distorted words are not going to be picked up.
10 to 20 seconds is all the time you have to persuade
a prospective employer to read further.
The decision to interview a candidate is usually
based on an overall first impression of the resume.

 Your resume should be conveying

why you are the perfect candidate
for the specific job.
Good advertising is directed toward a
very specific target audience.
Targeting your resume requires that
you be absolutely clear about your
career direction.

DETERMINE NOW!

TYPES OF
RESUME

CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME
A chronological resume starts by listing your
work history, with the most recent position
listed first.
Your jobs are listed in reverse chronological
order with your current, or most recent job, first.
Employers typically prefer this type of resume
because it's easy to see what jobs you have
held and when you have worked at them.
This type of resume works well for job seekers
with a strong, solid work history.

FUNCTIONAL RESUME
The functional resume highlights your
major skills and accomplishments from the
very beginning.
It helps the reader see clearly what you
can do for them, rather than having to
read through the job descriptions to find
out.
It is used most often by people who are
changing careers or who have gaps in their
employment history.

COMBINED RESUME
A combined resume includes elements of both
the chronological and functional formats.
A combination resume lists your skills and
experience first. Your employment history is
listed next.
With this type of resume you can highlight the
skills you have that are relevant to the job you
are applying for, and also provide the
chronological work history that employers
prefer.

A Resume Must Be Visually

Enticing.
The resume is a work of art.
Simple clean structure.
Very easy to read.
Symmetrical/ Balanced.
Uncrowded - As much white space
between sections of writing as
possible; sections of writing that are
no longer than six lines, and shorter
if possible.

Uniformity And
Consistency.
There
is
uniformity
and
consistency in the use of italics,
capital letters, bullets, boldface,
and underlining.

There Are Absolutely No

Errors.
No typographical errors.
No spelling errors.
No grammar, syntax, or punctuation
errors.
No errors of fact.

Suggested Headings In A
Resume.

Personal particulars
Career objective
Education (in reverse chronological order)
Experience (in reverse chronological order)
Co-curricular activities
Certificates
Special skills/ Achievements
Referees ( provide two academic &
employment/character reference )

Personal particulars
The 'Personal Particulars' section of
your resume is your first opportunity
to introduce yourself to a potential
employer.

Include:
Professional photo

plain solid colour background

clear photo of head and the top of your shoulders
earrings and other jewellery should be kept to a minimum
professional appearance
solid eye contact and look directly into the camera

Name
Contact details address, tel. no., email address (professional)
NOT beautifulbabe@yahoo.com, hotitem@hotmail.com,
keding@yahoo.com

budakkampung@gmail.com,

YES pnjnurul@gmail.com, megat93@yahoo.com, yswong@gmail.com

Marital status
Nationality
Date of birth
License

One of the most important aspects of

the resume is the career objective.

The importance of writing a

career objective for a resume

 Expectations
The professional and the company will work with each other
based on mutual understandings therefore it is crucial that
the professional as well as the company are open about
what they expect from the working relationship from the
beginning.

Job Search Target

The reader may think that the professional does not know
what he or she wants and is undecided.

Important considerations when writing

career objectives for a resume.

Location
Must be in a prominent place-usually
at the
beginning.
Information
Gives the readera quick idea as to
what the professional is seeking.
The reader can make a quick
decision.

Give it the proper attention

Should be written in a style and
language that comply with the rest of
the resume.
Do not write in a hurry hence losing the
connection between the resume and the
career objectives paragraph.
Simple and to the point
Be truthful and honest

What is a career objective statement

and why is it so important?

If the Objective is a good one, it will greatly

enhance the document.
If the Objective is too long and complicated - or
improperly focused - it can be detrimental.

Make the objective a short phrase. If you make it

long and complicated, the reader will be forced to
workto read your objective.
Focus on how you cancontributeto the reader's
needs
Make the objective real. Make it sincere.
Highlight your strengths and skills that will most
appropriately fill and fit the job application.
* This is your chance to indicate to your reader
how you cancontributeto the reader's needs

 The career objective statements are a

short summary of your profile and your
career goals and it is what employers
are looking for.
The objectives are for the employers so
they can evaluate your competencies.
The resume objectives help them
perceive whether you would suit the
position.

What to include in your

career objectives?

Information in line with the job

that you have
applied for.
For example, if you have applied for
a job in an IT company, you should
make
sure
that
your
career
objectives reflect that you have
prepared yourself for the job and
have always wanted to pursue a
career in the IT field.

The professional should make it

clear that he or
she
would
be
more
than
interested in the
amount of new skills that the job
will offer to
him or her.

CAREER OBJECTIVE
Important part of resume.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
It introduces YOU.
It shows the employer that you know
what you are looking for.
It can display your personality and
potential.

Is The Sentence Below A Good Career Objective?

I would like to work in this company in

order to
gain more experience in this field.

NO!!!

WHY NOT?
IT SHOWS YOU ARE ONLY
CONCERNED ABOUT YOURSELF.
YOU HOPE TO BE TRAINED BY THE
COMPANY.

CAREER OBJECTIVE
A software sales position in an organization seeking
an extraordinary record of generating new accounts,
exceeding sales targets and enthusiastic customer
relations.
Employers are immediately interested. This sentence conveys some very important
and powerful messages: "I want exactly the job you are offering. I am a superior
candidate because I recognize the qualities that are most important to you, and I
have them. I want to make a contribution to your company."
The employer knows that someone who wants to do exactly what they are offering
will be much more likely to succeed and that person will probably be a lot more
pleasant to work with as well.
You are not writing from a self-centered point of view. The employer is interested in
hiring you for what you can do for them, not for fulfilling your private goals and
agenda.

Sample
Career Objectives

Seeking a position in an office environment, where there is a need for a variety of office
management tasks including computer knowledge, organizational abilities, business
intelligence
and
database
program
use.

Obtain a position as a team-player in a people-oriented

organization where I can maximize my customer-service experience
in a challenging environment to achieve the corporate goals.

Customer care representative position where my customer

relations experience can be fully utilized to improve customer
satisfaction and enhance the company brand name.

Obtain a position as a team-player in a people-oriented

organization where I can maximize my customer-service experience
in a challenging environment to achieve the corporate goals.

Education
Arranged in reverse chronological
order.
Include year, qualification,
institution, result.
Year Institution
CGPA
E.g.
2013 B.Ed. TESL (Hons.)
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

3.65

2011 Foundation English

UiTM

3.5

2010 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia

Sekolah Menengah Seri Puteri, Selangor.

5As 4Bs

A Resume Is Targeted.
You should figure out what key skills,
areas of expertise or type of
experience the employer will be
looking for in the candidate.
Gear the resume structure and
content around this target, proving
these key qualifications.

When You List Your Previous

Employment/ Training, Include:

the position,
the name of the firm,
the address of the firm,
the number of months/years there.
(you can also give job description)

Sample:
Position
Cashier

Company
KFC Giant Kinrara
Bandar Kinrara 5,
47100 Puchong,
Selangor.

Year
June August 2011

Description
Compute and record totals of
transactions.
Establish or identify prices of goods
and tabulate bills using optical price
scanners.
Process merchandise returns and
exchanges.
Resolve customer complaints.

Sales
Executiv
e

Debenham,
The Curve,
47800 Damansara,
Selangor.

July- Sept. 2012

Sells products by establishing contact

and developing relationships with
prospects.
Maintains quality service by
establishing and enforcing organization
standards.
Contributes to team effort by
accomplishing related results as
needed.

Every working experience provides you

with skills. Map them out as below and
choose the ones relevant for the job
you are applying for.

INTERNSHIP
WHICH COMPANY?
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
WHAT WAS YOUR JOB SCOPE?
WHAT DID YOU OBSERVE?

Strengths Are Highlighted /

Weaknesses De-emphasized.
Focus on whatever is strongest and most impressive.
Make careful and strategic choices as to how to
organize, order, and convey your skills and background.
Consider:
whether to include the information at all,
placement in overall structure of the resume
ordering of information,
more impressive ways of phrasing the information
use of design elements (such as boldface to highlight, italics to
minimize, ample surrounding space to draw the eye to certain
things).

Sample on de-emphasizing
weakness
NOT ADVISABLE
Language

Written

Spoken

English

Bahasa Melayu

10

10

Language

Written

Spoken

English

Good

Good

Bahasa Melayu

Excellent

Excellent

SUGGESTED

Negative statements
I feel I am a good communicator.
I believe in diversity and equal opportunities.
During this experience I had to manage
seven people.
Even though I failed to achieve my target, I
learned a great deal about managing
projects.
Some people have told me that I have good
communication skills.
I have had a few relevant experiences.

Expressing things more positively

I am a good communicator.
I am committed to diversity and equal
opportunities.
During this experience I successfully
managed seven people.
Through this experience I learned a great
deal about project management.
I have excellent communication skills.
I have substantial relevant experience.

Use Power Words.

For every skill, accomplishment, or job
described, use the most active impressive
power word you can think of (which is also
accurate).
In more technical terms, resume power
words are usually verbs - action words, or
adjectives - noun modifiers. They are
powerful words that are used to describe
the action you took, or to help you to
powerfully describe what you accomplished.

Sample power words

Accomplished
Achieved
Acquired
Authored
Awarded
Built
Changed
Constructed
Conducted

Developed
Designed
Executed
Formulated
Guided
Headed
Launched
Led
Monitored

Managed
Negotiated
Published
Promoted
Represented
Solved
Trained
Updated
Wrote

You can use verbs to show particular qualities with words such as:
Initiative: called, created, devised, designed, developed, formulated,
founded, generated, initiated, set up, started
Leadership: coached, coordinated, delegated, directed, drove, enabled,
enforced, encouraged, established, guided, inspired, led, managed, mentored,
motivated, nurtured, orchestrated, organized, steered, supervised
Organization: arranged, collected, distributed, filed, inspected, maintained,
monitored, organized, planned, prepared, processed, recorded, reviewed,
scheduled, sorted, standardized, systematized, updated, verified
Communication: addressed, broadcasted, called, collaborated, contacted,
corresponded, elicited, heard, influenced, listened, negotiated, presented,
settled, spoke, told
Helping: aided, assisted, cared, counselled, diagnosed, educated,
encouraged, facilitated, influenced, referred, rehabilitated, supported, taught,
volunteered
Problem-solving: analyzed, assessed, classified, created, critiqued,
designed, developed, evaluated, invented, isolated, mapped, optimized,
prioritized, revised, solved, tested
Creativity: built, composed, conceptualized, created, designed, directed,
drew, entertained, fashioned, illustrated, invented, innovated, modeled,
originated, painted, performed
Improvement: decreased, eliminated, enhanced, increased, maximized,
minimized, removed, sharpened, shortened, speeded, terminated

Verbs as Power Word

Power words are usually action words
or simply verbs. These words are more
powerful in expressing what was
accomplished. For example, take a
look at the following statement
pairings:
Example 1
- I know how to handle ..
- I acquired knowledge in

 Example 2
- I was a member of many societies

- I participated in many activities and

managed

 I can achieve results. For example, I

started a new tracking method that
reduced the errors by 14 percent.
I make good decisions. For example, I
applied changes that resulted in
better work relations.
I am creative. For example, I
designed an attractive leaflet that
increased demand by 40%.

Adjectives as Power
Words
Personal attributes describe you, your values, your
attitude and
approach to life. These often appear as adjectives. Here
are some of
the best to use:
active, adaptable, ambitious, assured, calm, caring, cheerful,
considerate, conscientious, consistent, creative, credible,
dependable, determined, diligent, diplomatic, discreet, dynamic,
eager, efficient, energetic, enterprising, enthusiastic, excellent,
flexible, focused, generous, happy, honest, independent,
industrious, knowledgeable, level, loyal, mature, methodical,
motivated, open, passionate, persistent, practical, productive,
professional, punctual, quiet, realistic, receptive, respected,
resolute, responsible, self-starter, sincere, steadfast, studious,
tactful, team-player, thoughtful. tough, trustworthy, unbiased,
vigorous, warm, willing

Nouns as Power Words

Nouns are often more important than
verbs for
scannable resumes. The best way to find
the
most important nouns for you is to get a
number job descriptions for the job type
you are
seeking and look for common nouns
used.

Nouns to use can be very varied depending on the job, but

here are a few for example:
acquisition, advice, assistant, book-keeping, campaign,
communication,
computer,
conference,
consumer,
contract, cost, course, credit, customer, cycle, data,
document, education, employee, engineering, entrance,
environment, excellence, experience, facility, finance,
goods, hardware, invention, loss, knowledge, labor,
leader, management, meeting, operation, partner,
people, plan, price, production, profit, program, project,
quality, record, return, safety, satisfaction, schedule,
stock, supplier, system, team, technology, time,
transaction, user, work, workflow, visit, yield

REMINDER
Do not over-use
power words particularly not to over-use the same
words. If everything you did is
'successful', the employer is likely to
get tired of the word and either
ignore it or reject your entire resume.

Howshould you write your resume to get it

found in a crowded resumes database?

Keywords inResumes

Nowadays resumes are often emailed to

the employers and these emails are kept
in their database.
HR now work with an electronic tool to
scan and screen these resume when they
look for potential applicants.
This tool is calledResume Scanner
Softwareor Recruiting Management
Software.
This scanner will pick your resume up
based on the keywords used in it.

How to find keywords for a resume?

The keywords could be found in:

The general job description (i.e. job requirement):such as
professional expertise
technology skills,
education,
years of experience/education,
some action words
relevant competencies
OR they could be

University Certifications
name of the educational institution
Job Titles
Product Names,
Service type,
Technical/Industry terms,
Software or Hardware areas

Accuracy/ Honesty/Stretching The Truth

Make sure that you can back up what

you say.
Keep the claims you make within the
range of your own integrity/ truth.
There is nothing wrong with pumping
things up in your resume so you
communicate who you are and what
you can do at your very best.

What Is The Best Length For

Your Resume?
Employers will appreciate a BEAUTIFUL
and scannable resume.
A
one
pager
is
acceptable
if
information is compact.
A two-pager is perfect.
A three or four pager if you are highly
active participating in competitions,
winning competitions, held important
positions, played important roles etc.

Employers approach to a
resume
First reaction
Will depend on your first1015lines.
This is where you address the
employer's needs in a focused
CAREER OBJECTIVE that states what
you are seeking and also offers your
best "selling points".
In Round 1, thetop portionof any
resume may be the only section that

Second reaction (if interested in 1 st part)

Employers will merely SCAN your job titles to
see how closely these support your Objective
Look for evidence of how well you have
performed or where you made a difference.
This is why your ACCOMPLISHMENTS need to
stand out.
In
particular,keywordsneed
to
be
highlighted. Above all, your resume needs to
be easily scannable in seconds.

Resume Layout and Appearance

White or off-white paper.
Usually 2 page (1-3).
Font at 12 pt. (no smaller
than 11).
Be consistent with the
layout, underlining,
capitalizing, bold, etc.
Use white space, good
margins, and tabs.
Use bullets.
Spell and grammar check!

Where to end?
Write and re-write/edit.
Ask at least 2 other
people to give you
feedback.
Be open to feedback.
Rewrite based on each
job youre applying for.
Remember that it is
NEVER finished!

Sample Resumes

SYAMIL BIN MEGAT RASIF

alan Tiong Dua,
Puchong Jaya,
Puchong, Selangor
Number: 017-3090265 (HP), 03-80755700 (H)
megat881@gmail.com

R OBJECTIVE

in position that will utilize communication and organization skills in a competitive and persuasive
ment, with particular interest in sales and marketing.

NAL PARTICULARS

Birth
er

: Jan. 29, 1991

: 910129-12-5481
: Male
Status
: Single
: Malay
: Islam
ity
: Malaysian

TIONAL BACKGROUND

2013
Study
Institution
: 3.43

: Bachelor of Arts (Hons), English Language Studies.

: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi, Selangor

2009 - 2010
Field of Study
Name of Institution
CGPA
: 2.84
MUET
: Band 4

: Foundation in TESL
: Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam, Selangor

2008
Level
: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM)
Name of Institution
: Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Puchong Jaya (B), Selangor
Result
: 5As, 3Bs
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
2011 - 2012
Treasurer of School of Linguistic and Language Studies, UKM.
IZISH Student Executive Council (Head of Welfare Bureau) , UKM.
Marketing EXCO of UKMs Global Knowledge Collaboration to Melbourne, Australia.
Co-Director of Annual Dinner of the School of Linguistic and Language Studies, 2011/2012.
Received Hopeful Musician Award, Intercultural Arts Festival, UKM.
2010 - 2011
Director of Pertandingan Teater, Festival Kesenian dan Integrasi Budaya, IZISH, UKM
Committee member of English Speaking Zone, IZISH, UKM
Head of Publicity for Karnival Silang Budaya, IZISH, UKM
Participant of Intercultural Arts Festival (Theater Category), UKM.
WORKING EXPERIENCE
Administrative Assistant under the Scholarship Division, Ministry of Education
Attend to international students inquiries regarding international scholarships programmes
offered by the Ministry.
Insert and manage data using Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
Customer Service Executive at E2 Power Sdn. Bhd. (Subsidiary of OCBC Bank).
Attend to Singaporean customers credit card enquiries.
Provide assistance in banking enquiries.

UAGE PROFICIENCY

Language : Written (Excellent)

h Language : Written (Good)

Spoken (Excellent)
Spoken (Good)

LS

puter literate in Microsoft Office: Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel.

CTED SALARY

00-3200

RENCES

atijah Rasool
of Langauge and Linguistic Studies
y of Social Sciences and Humanities
siti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
, Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
9-2642774
: khati@ukm.my

Wong Fook Fei

of Langauge and Linguistic Studies
y of Social Sciences and Humanities
siti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
, Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
12-6626739
: wff@ukm.my

Creative Resume
Do not attempt this unless you are in
the creative field.
Malaysian employers are still very
conservative.

Good Luck In
Writing An
Amazing
Resume!