Effective Engineering Resumes & Job Fair Preparation

2. Effective Engineering Resumes & Job Fair Preparation Joanne Lax (ECE) , Trevor Dowd,& Melissa Lavella (Rolls-Royce) ECE 200/Spring 2014

3. Resume Basics • Develop outline of education, skills, job experience, and achievements • Include contact information such as email, cell phone, and address • Keep resume to ONE PAGE, one side • Include GPA, work qualification and anticipated graduation date • Objective should be tailored to the specific company • Objective should contain availability info • i.e. “seeking internship for summer 2014” • Show what you achieved, not just what your responsibilities were • Make it balanced and readable • Check and double check for errors and typos • Peer review, don’t be afraid to make changes

4. Formatting Tips for Resumes • Keep objective and education information near the top • Use cell phone number (unless you want companies to contact your parents) • Use permanent mailing address if campus address is unreliable/volatile • List the most recent experiences and education • Use consistent spacing and format • Dates right aligned • Bullet points instead of paragraphs • Do not use the word “I”

5. Use Strong Action Words • For management, supervision & leadership skills: coordinated, delegated, executed, planned, managed • For communication & people skills: directed, moderated, persuaded • For technical skills: calculated, computed, solved, upgraded • For research, development and analytical skills: evaluated, examined, organized • For creative skills: generated, pinpointed, updated • For problem solving skills: resolved, established, implemented, launched • For teaching skills: demonstrated, facilitated, represented • More action words at http://crmpubs.com/CGsFinal/Purdue_CPG13-14_Online/Purdue_CPG13-14_Online.html (pp.12-13)

6. Resume “Dos” • Do your research; tailor each resume to the job & company • Do include only relevant information from experiences and activities • Do include leadership, teamwork, and extra-curricular activities • Social skills & creativity are very important in technical fields • Do include something distinctive about yourself • Differentiation is important • Do share any study abroad or international experiences • Do indicate any foreign languages known • Do describe relevant computer skills • Do list accomplishments rather than tasks

7. Resume “Don’ts” • Don’t include a photo • Don’t include irrelevant personal info • Don’t exaggerate experiences • Don’t include high school information (except freshmen) • Don’t exceed one page • Don’t use slang, course numbers, and avoid acronyms

8. Resume Resources • Contact Joanne Lax: • Office: EE 250/494-0621 • jlax@purdue.edu • Purdue Center for Career Opportunities: • http://www.cco.purdue.edu/ • Useful website: • http://graduatingengineer.com

9. Purdue EXPO: Tues., Feb. 4Mackey Arena, 9 am-4pm

10. Tips for Development • Figure out what YOU’RE looking for • Internship or co-op?, Type of industry?, Large or small company?, Location? • Work experience is very important • Make your internship search a priority • If you can’t get an actual internship, try to get relevant experience in other ways: research, teaching assistant, mentoring, etc. • Get involved on campus • Need extra-curricular activities and leadership experience to round out your resume • Take advantage of corporate events through student clubs • Become a familiar face at job fairs and corporate events • Use contacts (friends, family, etc.) to locate opportunities

11. Preparing for the Career Fair • Spend time researching companies • Type of business, products, and locations • Available employment opportunities, types of programs • Submit resume to corporate website prior to job fair • Create a Purdue CCO account • Create a plan/strategy for visiting company booths • Bring multiple resume copies to job fair • Dress appropriately (business formal, but business casual for IR)

12. Tips for the Career Fair • Have an opening statement • For example: “My name is [name], and I’m interested in applying for an internship.” • Company representatives should be friendly and professional, and so should you • You will likely be asked: • What qualifies you to work in the U.S.? • What type of job are you looking for? • Are you willing to relocate? Where/how far? • Questions pertaining to resume. • Do you have any questions?  ask some questions, but don’t go overboard • What not to say: • Mentioning age, race, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, etc • “I’m looking for any kind of job.” • An interview could be scheduled on the spot, in a few days, weeks, or even months • Check your email and voicemail regularly • Promptly follow up on recruiter’s suggestions

13. Other Job Search Tips • +75% of recruiters routinely use Google and Yahoo! to find out about job applicants • Occasionally check these search engines yourself • Be careful with what you put on Facebook and other such websites • Don’t waste next summer!

14. Local Internship & Job Opportunities • Discovery Park Research Undergraduate Internship Program (DURI) • www.purdue.edu/dp/duri/ • Summer/fall applications accepted mid-Feb.-mid-March  • Interns for Indiana • www.purdue.edu/dp/learningcenter/student • Summer applications accepted starting mid-January • Open to first-semester jrs., including F1 and J1 visa holders

15. Two More Local Possibilities • ITAP employment • www.itap.purdue.edu • Applications accepted continuously • Purdue Research Parks (WL and Indy) • www.purdueresearchpark.com • Check under “Careers”

16. Education listed early Action verbs Use of Bullets Good Resume

17. Job titles easily found Good Resume

18. Bad Resume Dates should be right aligned Capitalization error

19. Do not list the person you worked for High school info Bad Resume

20. Dates right aligned List style Good Resume

21. Past tense for anything not current Good Resume

22. Seeking Internship Seeking Full-time