Career & Corporate Connections Resume Workshop

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The Professional Resume

Photograph of the Nittany Lion mascot in a full bear costume standing beside a tall pull-up banner. The banner reads "Career & Corporate Connections" above four small photos of students and recruiters talking, with the Smeal College of Business shield logo at the bottom.

CAREER & CORPORATE CONNECTIONS

Overview

  1. Purpose
  2. Formats
  3. Components
  4. Samples

Purpose

How long will a recruiter typically look at your resume?
  1. Resume
  2. Interview
  3. Job Offer

A strong resume exists to move you from application to interview to job offer — recruiters often spend only seconds on a first read, so every section needs to earn its place.

Sample Resume for Discussion

Review this example resume and think about what could be strengthened using the guidance in this workshop.

Sarah Green

Objective

To get a good internship in Supply Chain so that I can learn more and excel in the major

Skills

  • Good listener
  • Fast learner
  • Personable
  • Have taken two classes in Spanish
  • Proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel

Education

2016 – B.S. with a major in Supply Chain and minor in Performance Arts
Penn State, PA
GPA 3.6

Experience

McLanahan's, Setpember 2012–2014

  • Working at the cash register and answering questions when needed
  • Regularly stock shelves and make sandwiches

Abercrombie and Fitch, Cashier

  • 12 hours a week
  • Always did what my manager asked of me and performed excellently

Women in Business

  • Attended one meeting in September

Hobbies

Skiing, hiking, cooking, and karate

Sample resume text, transcribed exactly as written (including its original misspelling of "September") so it can be discussed and critiqued.

Formats

Indent

Objective:
To obtain a position…
Education:
The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business, B.S. in Finance
Experience:
Intern

Table

Objective:
To obtain a position…
Education:
The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business, B.S. in Marketing
Experience:
Intern
  • One page
  • Margins: 0.5" – 1.0"
  • Font: Between 10pt – 12pt

Resume Components

  1. Contact Information
  2. Objective?
  3. Education
  4. Related Experience
  5. Leadership & Activities
  6. Skills
  7. Honors/Awards

References available upon request? — optional, and covered later in this workshop.

Contact Information

Current Address:
900 Student Ave, Apt 1
State College, PA 16801

Frank Finance

Email: student@psu.edu
Mobile: 215.123.5555

Permanent Address:
300 Home Street, Apt 2
Philadelphia, PA 19123

Education

The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of BusinessUniversity Park, PA
Bachelor of Science in FinanceClass of May 2011, GPA: 3.93/4.00
Sample resume header from "Frank Finance," with the contact information block highlighted in red as the example being discussed.

Objective

Focused
Concise
Tailored
Objective

Example: "To obtain a summer 2017 internship in marketing and sales"

Education

School / Location

  • Degree / Expected Graduation Date
  • GPA
  • Honors

Study Abroad Experience

Include location, program, and dates if applicable.

Education Example

900 Student Ave, Apt 1
State College, PA 16801

Frank Finance

student@psu.edu  |  215.123.5555

300 Home Street, Apt 2
Philadelphia, PA 19123

Education

The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of BusinessUniversity Park, PA
Bachelor of Science in FinanceClass of May 2011, GPA: 3.93/4.00

Relevant Experience

Convergent Wealth Advisors, Intern, Advisor GroupRockville, MD — June–Aug 2009
  • Assisted with the creation of a new High Net Worth segment to complement the firm's current Ultra-High Net Worth and Institutional businesses, targeting clients with investable assets of under $5 million
  • Prepared a break-even analysis to help a client decide when to begin taking payments in his Defined Benefit Plan, utilizing actuarial tables and expected returns based on planned asset allocation
  • Designed a dollar-cost-averaging template, automatically adjusting each month's contributions based on market index movements, used throughout the entire High Net Worth group, representing over $300 million in client assets
  • Created various asset allocation tables and investment matrices for clients, finding the most efficient ways to invest several million dollars across various securities and alternative investment vehicles
Nittany Lion Fund, LLC., Fund Manager, Consumer Discretionary SectorUniversity Park, PA — Aug 2008–Present
  • Managed $230,000 of a $3.8 million student-managed portfolio, achieving an out-performance of 28.37% relative to the Consumer Discretionary S&P sector index
  • Allocated funds into Consumer Discretionary stocks after extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis, including public comparables and discounted cash flow valuation
  • Created pitches to explain investment thesis, company analysis, and overall valuation to fellow fund managers
Sample resume from "Frank Finance," with the Education section highlighted in red as the example being discussed.

Experience Section

★ Lead with your POWER!

Valued Experiences by Employers

  • Related Experience
  • Research Experience
  • Leadership Experience
  • Non-related Work Experience
  • Community Involvement
  • Membership to Academic/Professional Organizations
  • Class Projects

Skills Desired By Employers

72.5% of recruiters prefer students with relevant experience

  • Leadership
  • Ability to work in a team
  • Communication skills
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Strong work ethic
  • Analytical/quantitative skills
  • Technical skills
  • Initiative
  • Computer skills
  • Flexibility/adaptability
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Detail-oriented
  • Organizational ability
  • Strategic planning skills
  • Friendly/outgoing personality
  • Entrepreneurial skills/risk taker
  • 3.0+ GPA (many look for higher)
  • Global experience

Source: NACE Job Outlook Survey, 2015

Bullet Points: Strong Action Verbs

Supervised
Mentored
Managed
Organized
Strong
Action Verbs

Bullet Points: Quantify, Qualify, Buzzwords

Quantify

Raised more than $137,000 for pediatric cancer for THON while placing 3rd in Greek Life community

Qualify

Presented a Financial Literacy workshop through the Penn State Finance Society to first-year students

Use industry-specific buzzwords

Marketing: Analyzed target market characteristics and implemented innovative sales strategies which increased client business by 6.1%

Sample Experience Section

Related Experience

The Vanguard Group: New York, NY — College-to-Corporate InternMay 2015 – August 2015
  • Analyzed work progress data to evaluate 6-week backlog of assignments for 8-member Wealth Transfer Operations team
  • Documented inefficiencies in recorded work items and collaborated with departmental areas contributing to incorrect data entry, which corrected erroneous items
  • Presented suggested improvements for work item process, decreasing inefficiencies by 100%

Leadership Experience

Professional Management Association (PMA), University Park, PA — Corporate Relations ChairAugust 2014 – Present
  • Lead committee of 30 to plan 10 external networking events
  • Improve relations between 20 corporate recruiters, Smeal staff, professors, and members
  • Assist in the organization of the PMA Challenge, an event to unite students and recruiters

Work Experience

Pollock Dining Commons, University Park, PAMarch 2013 – April 2014
  • Maintained sanitary conditions to management standards within the cafeteria area
  • Provided high quality customer service during high volume serving times

Skills & Honors/Awards

Skills

  • Computer Skills
  • Foreign Languages
  • Other

Honors & Awards

  • Academic Honors
  • Scholarship Awards
  • Leadership/Service Awards

References Available Upon Request

Is that needed on your resume?

Overall Tips

  • No sentences or periods
  • Use correct verb tense
  • Don't use personal pronouns (I, we, us)
  • Eliminate fillers (a, an, the)
  • Check for misspellings & grammatical errors
  • Avoid using software templates
  • 2–6 bullets per experience (with exceptions!)
  • Don't include personal information (like your SSN# or birthdate) or photos

Sample Resume: Marketing Student

Sample Resume

Marketing Student

School Address:
100 Student St.
State College, PA 16801

Danielle Marketing

student@psu.edu
(978) 400-3444

Permanent Address:
355 Home Rd. #305
Sudbury, MA 01776

Education

The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of BusinessUniversity Park, PA

Bachelor of Science in Marketing — Date of Graduation: May 2017
Cumulative GPA: 3.64/4.00 — Dean's List: 3 of 4 Semesters

Marketing Experience

Parametric Technology Corporation, Marketing InternNeedham, MA — Summer 2015

Assisted the VP of Marketing with various projects:

  • Coordinated a booth exhibit PTC sponsored for the CIRP 59th General Assembly
  • Generated a creative brief utilized by colleagues and an advertising agency
  • Analyzed and reported information derived from competitive intelligence research
  • Collected, concluded, and reported data regarding customer satisfaction with PTC's e-store
Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, Marketing InternUniversity Park, PA — Fall 2014–Present
  • Assist at athletic events to distribute promotional merchandise and set up raffles and contests during half-time
  • Promote athletic events in the HUB-Robeson Center to encourage students to attend the games
  • Worked at Rally In the Valley to get students and Penn State fans energized for the Iowa football game

Campus Activities

The Penn State Marketing Association, Member, Advertising and Sports Marketing DivisionFall 2013–Present
  • Develop advertising strategies to help promote a product for Vegas Fuel
  • Work in a team to create a marketing proposal to submit to Sazerac
  • Execute events and activities which will develop brand awareness for Vegas Fuel at Penn State
Phi Chi Theta Business Fraternity, MemberFall 2013–Present

Additional Work Experience

Elizabeth Lee Boutique, Retail Sales AssociateWayland, MA — 2012–2014
  • Manage sales and customer transactions independently
  • Communicate the daily financial reports to the business owners
  • Utilize interpersonal skills and business experience to foster decision making
  • Proficient with the use of Microsoft Point of Sale Software

Additional Assistance

Photograph of the Nittany Lion mascot in a full bear costume standing beside a tall pull-up banner reading "Career & Corporate Connections," with photos of students and recruiters and the Smeal College of Business logo.
  1. Sample resumes at careerconnections.smeal.psu.edu
  2. vmock.com/smeal
  3. Drop In Resume Reviews (Fall and Spring semesters only)
  4. Schedule a Career Coaching appointment (year-round)

Final Thoughts

  • Give yourself credit for the experiences you've had
  • BE HONEST
  • Be prepared to elaborate
  • Get multiple opinions

PSU 6 Assignment – Part 1

SmealConnect (2 points)

SmealConnect is a Smeal College of Business online database system designed to connect students with recruiters for internship and co-op opportunities.

PSU 6 Assignment – Part 2

Resume (8 points, including using VMock)

  • Review the resume webshop (6 minutes).
  • Review sample resumes.
  • Create a resume based on what you learned in the webshop and using the sample resumes as a guide. Save a copy of your resume in PDF format.
  • Create your account with VMock, an online resume evaluation tool. Follow the instructions on the instruction sheet — make sure you use the /smeal web address.
  • Upload your resume to VMock. VMock compares and scores your resume against other Smeal resumes.
  • Receive and review feedback from VMock, update your resume, and upload the second version. You should see improvement in your score.
  • You are only required to upload your resume one additional time, but you can upload it up to 10 times. You may also visit the Career & Corporate Connections Office in 114 Business Building for more help.

Submit the following to the dropbox in Canvas:

  • Your original resume and VMock score
  • Your final resume and VMock score

Questions?

Career & Corporate Connections
114 Business Building
814-863-6161 | smealcareers@psu.edu