Resume

For this assignment, I want a one-page resume, nicely formatted.

There are two common organization structures for a resume.  The
traditional form lists things in a chronological order, and accounts
for the time in your life.  A chronological resume may look like this:

   Name
   Address
   Job Objective
   Education, most recent first
   Jobs held, most recent first
   Other information (visas, marital status, kids)
   "References available on request"

For this assignment, do *not* do a chronological resume.  Instead, do
a skills-based resume.  It will look something like this:

   Name
   Address
   Job Objective
   Education, most recent first, usually just your BS degree
   Skills, most important first
   Other information (visas)

Never state your marital status or kids.  In the US, it is illegal to
ask for this information and illegal to make it the basis of a hiring
decision.  Leave it off.

Never bother to say "References available on request."  They will
assume that anyway, so it is just a waste of space to say it.  Leave
it off.

The skills part is the major difference between the two forms, and it
bears special discussion here.  We want you to list your skills, the
ones an employer would be willing to pay for, from most important to
least important.  Probably you should list three skills.  Maybe four.

For each skill, list several experiences or jobs where you have
demonstrated this skill.  Ideally list three experiences.  These are
evidence that you actually possess the skill you claim, and are great
discussion points in an interview.

How do you build such a resume?  First review your life history.  (You
have a life history, don't you?)  Make a list of the times in your
life that you were having the most fun.  Was it surfing?  Was it
serving a mission?  Was it fixing an engine?  Was it counselling a
distraught roommate?  What did you really enjoy?  What, if you could
do it every day for the rest of your life, what would you do?  Base
this on things that you have actually done.  You are forbidden to
mention things that you merely think you would like to do.  Stick with
actual facts from your own personal past.

Next, for each fun thing, analyze it to find out what skills you were
employing at the time.  I am talking about the fun skills.  For
surfing, maybe the skill is that you have great physical skills,
including balance, agility, timing, and strength.  For missionary
work, maybe the skills are ability to really listen, to work directly
with customers (of the gospel) or salesmen (green missionaries).  For
fixing an engine, maybe it was the technical analysis of how the
engine works, even though you never did one before, and your ability
to find the problem and correct it.  You get the idea.

Now list the skills.  Hopefully you found the same skills coming up
again and again.  If you liked mountain climbing and surfing they
might each have the same skills for you.  Do *not* list any skills
that you don't like to use.  Just ignore them.  Maybe you are really
good at cleaning toilets, but you do not like to use that skill.
Don't list it.  Restrict your attention to the skills that you LIKE to
use.

Finally, pick three or four skills from your list.  These will go on
your resume.  Pick skills that you like to use, and at the same time,
skills that would be of value to an employer.  Maybe ability to teach,
or understand, or motivate, or solve problems.  Whatever.  List them
in order of most important first.  Base your judgment on your own
feelings about the skill, as well as your belief of how the employer
will feel about that skill.

Under each of the three or four skills, list two or three of the
experiences you have that demonstrate this skill.  If your skill is
physical agility, list "climbed Mt XYZ" and "surfed pipeline" (or
whatever) as your evidences that you have that skill.

Put these on your resume.  Keep each entry down to a single line, if
possible.  The format should be something like this:

   Skill One (my most important skill)
   -  experience 1a that demonstrates skill one
   -  experience 1b that demonstrates skill one
   -  experience 1c that demonstrates skill one

   Skill Two (my second most important skill)
   -  experience 2a that demonstrates skill two
   -  experience 2b that demonstrates skill two

This is the format that I require for the resume assignment.

Your work will be graded on how well you follow these instructions,
including how attractive and easily read your resume is.  Leave a
reasonable margin.  Make your English as correct as possible.

Here is an older description of this same assignment:

(1) Review your life history.  Pick out the times that you were the
    happiest.  What were you doing?  Write a paragraph about each
    experience.  Try to come up with at least TEN experiences that you
    really enjoyed.  More is okay.

(2) Analyze each great experience.  What was it that made it great?
    Was it your opportunity to serve others?  To work with new
    equipment?  To have a small effort on your part result in a large
    effect (leverage)?  To please a crowd?  Try really hard to be
    honest here.  This is a key issue.  Do not simply answer with the
    reasons you would tell your mother.

(3) Look for themes.  Is it the same sort of thing that always or
    usually makes you happy?  Try to sort them in order of their value
    to you.  These things become a description of you, and will become
    the headings on your resume.

(4) Reword each theme into a skill that you have.  For instance:
    Service orientation, Adaptability, Fast learning, Results
    oriented.  Whatever.  Make each a one-line bullet heading on your
    resume.

(5) Under each bullet, list a one-line description or title of the
    experience (item 1 above) that proves you have this trait.  Try to
    get at least three examples for each bullet.  Add new examples
    that you might not have originally considered.  Be absolutely sure
    that each example is a true experience that you enjoyed.  Don't
    talk about anything that you did not enjoy.