So, as you sit down to formulate your resume, remember you're trying to present the pertinent information in a format and manner that will convince an executive to grant you an interview, the prelude to any job offer. All resumes must follow two basic rules excellent visual presentation and honesty but it's important to realize that different career markets require different resumes. The resume you are compiling for your career in travel and hospitality is much different than one you would prepare for a book publishing career. As more and more resume training services become available, employers are becoming increasingly choosy about the resumes they receive. They expect to view a professional presentation, one that sets a candidate apart from the crowd. Your resume has to be perfect and it has to be specialized clearly demonstrating the relationship between your qualifications and the job you are applying for.
What does this mean? It means the resume you use to get that first travel or hospitality job should highlight the skills that demonstrate your ability to work with people (especially the public), your flexibility, and your ability to handle a number of varied jobs. While travel and hospitality both cover a broad range of careers that may seem very different, they all demand strong service-oriented skills and the ability to roll with the punches. Just ask all the travel agents and reservation agents who had to handle the 10-day crush of work that resulted from the airlines amazing fare wars in early 1992.
- Know what you're doing your resume is a personal billboard of accomplishments. It must communicate your worth to a prospective employer in specific terms.
- Your language should be action oriented, full of doing type words. And less is better than more-be concise and direct. Don't worry about using complete sentences.
- Be persuasive. In those sections that allow you the freedom to do so, don't hesitate to communicate your worth in the strongest language. This does not mean a numbing list of self-congratulatory superlatives; it does mean truthful claims about your abilities and the evidence (educational, experiential) that supports them.
- Don't be cheap or gaudy. Don't hesitate to spend the few extra dollars necessary to present a professional-looking resume. Do avoid outlandish (and generally ineffective) gimmicks like oversized or brightly colored paper.
- Find an editor. Every good writer needs one, and you are writing your resume. At the very least, it will offer you a second set of eyes proofreading for embarrassing typos. But if you are fortunate enough to have a professional in the field-a recruiter or personnel executive-critique a draft, grab the opportunity and is immensely grateful.
- If you're the next Michelangelo, so multitalented that you can easily qualify for jobs in different career areas, don't hesitate to prepare two or more completely different resumes. This will enable you to change the emphasis on your education and skills according to the specific career objective on each resume, a necessary alteration that will correctly target each one.
- Choose the proper format. There are only three we recommend chronological, functional, and targeted format-and it's important you use the one that's right for you.
The resume writing process begins with the assembly and organization of all the personal, educational, and employment data from which you will choose the pieces that actually end up on paper. If this information is properly organized, writing your resume will be a relatively easy task, essentially a simple process of just shifting data from a set of the worksheets to another, to your actual resume. At the end of this chapter, you'll find all the forms you need to prepare your resume, including worksheets, fill-in-the-blanks resume forms, and sample resumes.
As you will soon see, there is a great deal of information you'll need to keep track of. In order to avoid a fevered search for important information, take the time right now to designate a single location in which to store all your records. My recommendation is either a filing cabinet or an expandable pocket portfolio. The latter is less expensive, yet it will still enable you to sort your records into an unlimited number of more manageable categories.
Losing important report cards, citations, letters, etc., is easy to do if your life's history is scattered throughout your room or, even worse, your house! While copies of many of these items may be obtainable, why put yourself through all that extra work? Making good organization a habit will ensure that all the records you need to prepare your resume will be right where you need them when you need them.
For each of the categories summarized below, designate a separate file folder in which pertinent records can be kept Your own notes are important, but keeping actual report cards, award citations, letters, etc. is even more so. Here's what your recordkeeping system should include:
Transcripts (Including GPA and Class Rank Information)
Transcripts are your school's official record of your academic history, usually available, on request, from your high school's guidance office or college registrar's office. Your college may charge you for copies and on request doesn't mean whenever you want you may have to wait some time for your request to be processed so don't wait until the last minute.
Your school-calculated GPA (Grade Point Average) is on the transcript Most schools calculate this by multiplying the credit hours assigned to each course times a numerical grade equivalent (e.g., "A" = 4.0, "B" = 3.0, etc.), then dividing by total credits/courses taken. Class rank is simply a listing of GPAs, from highest to lowest.
Employment Records
Details on every part-time or full-time job you've held, including:
- Each employer's name, address and telephone number.
- Name of supervisor.
- Exact dates worked
- Approximate numbers of hours per week.
- Specific duties and responsibilities.
- Specific skills utilized and developed.
- Accomplishments, honors.
- Copies of awards, letters of recommendation.
Just because you weren't paid for a specific job-stuffing envelopes for the local Republican candidate, running a car wash to raise money for the homeless, manning a drug hotline-doesn't mean that it wasn't significant or that you shouldn't include it on your resume.
So keep the same detailed notes on these volunteer activities as you have on the jobs you've held:
- Each organization's name, address and telephone number.
- Name of supervisor.
- Exact dates worked.
- Approximate numbers of hours per week.
- Specific duties and responsibilities.
- Specific skills utilized.
- Accomplishments, honors.
- Copies of awards, letters of recommendation.
List all sports, clubs, or other activities in which you've participated, either inside or outside school. For each, you should include:
- Name of activity/club/group.
- Offices held.
- Purpose of club/activity.
- Specific duties/responsibilities.
- Achievements, accomplishments, awards.
Honors and Awards
Even if some of these honors are previously listed, specific data on every honor or award you receive should be kept, including, of course, the award itself! Keep the following information in your awards folder:
- Award name.
- Date and from whom received.
- What it was for.
- Any pertinent details.
Complete military history, if pertinent, including:
- Dates of service.
- Final rank awarded.
- Duties and responsibilities.
- All citations and awards.
- Details on specific training and/or special schooling.
- Skills developed.
- Specific accomplishments.
Here are some pointers on how to fill out these all-important Data Sheets:
Employment Data Input Sheet: You will need to record the basic information employer's name, address and phone number, dates of employment and your supervisor's name for your own files anyway. It may be an important addition to your networking list and will be necessary should you be asked to supply a reference list.
Duties should be a series of brief action statements describing what you did on this job. For example, if you worked as a hostess in a restaurant, this section might read: "Responsible for the delivery of 250 meals at dinner time and the supervision of 20 waiters and busboys. Coordinated reservations are responsible for check and payment verification."
Skills should enumerate specific capabilities either necessary for the job or developed through it
If you achieved specific results e.g., "developed new filing system," "collected over $5,000 in previously-assumed bad debt," "instituted award-winning art program," etc. or received any award, citation or other honor "named Employee of the Month three times," "received Mayor's Citation for Innovation," etc. make sure you list these.
Prepare one employment data sheet for each of the last three positions you have held; this is a basic guideline, but you can include more if relevant Do not include sheets for short-term jobs (i.e., those that lasted one month or less).
Volunteer Work Data Input Sheet: Treat any volunteer work, no matter how basic or short (one day counts), as if it were a job and record the same information. In both cases, it is especially important to note specific duties and responsibilities, skills required or developed and any accomplishments or achievements you can point to as evidence of your success.
Educational Data Input Sheet: If you're in college, omit details on high school. If you're a graduate student, list details on both graduate and undergraduate course- work. If you have not yet graduated, list your anticipated date of graduation. If more than a year away, indicate the numbers of credits earned through the most recent semester to be completed.
Activities Data Input Sheet: List your participation in the Student Government, Winter Carnival Press Committee, Math Club, Ski Patrol, etc., plus sports teams and/or any participation in community or church groups. Make sure you indicate if you were elected to any positions in clubs, groups, or on teams.
Awards and Honors Data Input Sheet: List awards and honors from your school (prestigious high school awards can still be included here, even if you're in graduate school), community groups, church groups, clubs, etc.
Military Service Data Input Sheet: Many useful skills are learned in the armed forces. A military stint often hastens the maturation process, making you a more attractive candidate. So if you have served in the military, make sure you include details in your resume. Again, include any computer skills you gained while in the service.
Language Data Input Sheet: An extremely important section for those of you with a red proficiency in a second language. And do make sure you have at least conversational fluency in the languages you list. One year of college French doesn't count, but if you've studied abroad, you probably are fluent or near fluent. Such a talent could be invaluable, especially in today's increasingly international business climate.
While you should use the Data Input Sheets to summarize all of the data you have collected, do not throw away any of the specific information-report cards, transcripts, citations, etc. just because it is recorded on these sheets. Keep all records in your files; you'll never know when you'll need them again.
Creating Your First Resume
There are many options that you can include or leave out. In general, we suggest you always include the following data:
- Your name, address and telephone number.
- Pertinent educational history (grades, class rank, activities, etc.) Follow the grade point "rule of thumb" mention it only if it is above 3.0.
- Pertinent work history.
- Academic honors.
- Memberships in organizations.
- Military service history (if applicable).
- Your career objective.
- Personal data.
- Hobbies
- Summary of qualifications.
- Feelings about travel and relocation. Include this if you know in advance that the job you are applying for requires it. Often times, for future promotion, job seekers must be willing to relocate.
- Photographs or illustrations (of yourself or anything else) unless they are required by your profession e.g. actors' composites.
- Why you left past jobs.
- References.
- Salary history or present salary objectives/requirements (if salary history is specifically requested in an ad, it may be included in your cover letter).
On the following pages, I've included a "fill-in-the-blanks" resume form so you can construct your own resume right away, plus a couple of samples of well-constructed student resumes.
