WHERE TO BEGIN...
Self-Assessment
Before you start to put together your résumé, it is extremely important to understand your
strengths and weaknesses so that you can present yourself in the best possible manner.
Self-assessment can be done in several ways. One easy way is to make a list of your strengths
and weaknesses as well as your skills, abilities and talents. If you are applying for a job (non-
performance) that requires skills and experience you do not have, do not assume that you are not
qualified. Most people have transferable skills that make them highly qualified, even if they lack
direct experience in a particular area.
Before you start on your résumé, and before you decide not to apply for any given job, consider
whether you have any of the following skills and/or experience:
Teaching
Creativity
Administrative
Supervising
Production
Writing
Performing
Designing
Managerial
Planning
Outlining
Preparing
Advising
Presenting
Computer Literacy
These are skills that most employers like to see in a good job candidate. So even if you have not
had specific experience doing a particular job, you may have enough transferable experience to
qualify for it. What matters is how you market your skills and experience on your résumé.
Other, more in depth methods of self-assessment include intelligence and aptitude tests and
personality inventories. These methods will help you look more closely at yourself and identify
traits and talents to help you plan your career. A most valuable resource for self-assessment is the
annually updated What Color is your Parachute? by Nelson Bolles. Bolles walks the reader
through various self-assessment and career exploration exercises.
Setting up a meeting with Career Services
Although you are encouraged to set up a consultation with the Office of Career Services to help
you with any aspect of your job search and preparation, you may wish to wait until after you have
done a fair amount of self-assessment to help direct your career goals. If you need any help with
self-assessment or feel that you do not have a career direction, please stop by the Office to set up
an appointment.
Once you have assessed your skills, strengths, and weaknesses, it would be helpful to set up a
meeting with the Director of Career Services to discuss job search strategies and start putting
together a credential file. At this point you should be ready to draft your résumé.
Résumé Categories
The following is a list of possible categories (in no particular order) that you may wish to include
in your résumé. The appropriate categories for various kinds of work are discussed later in
“Types and Lengths of Résumés” (page 11).
Look over these categories carefully and decide which ones would best present your professional
and educational experience. Most importantly, do not feel compelled to follow a given formula;
rather, design and organize your résumé so that it best highlights your experience.
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