Resumes

RES

UM

ES

T h e I n s i d e r s G u i d e

FOR

INTERNAL

JOB SEARCH

Resumes

Whats Inside

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INTRODUCTION Welcome to Rapid Resume Development .......................................................3

Challenges & Solutions .........................................................................3

WHY YOU NEED A RESUME What Makes Your Internal Resume Different ..................................................4 Sell It, Dont Tell It ..............................................................................................5

GETTING STARTED The Basics .........................................................................................................6

Choosing Your Format ......................................................................................7 The DOs & DONTs of Writing Your Internal Resume ......................................8

CREATING YOUR RESUME Writing The Heading ........................................................................................9 Writing Your Professional Objective ............................................................... 10

Writing Your Summary Statement ................................................................... 11 Writing Your Employment History .................................................................. 12 Writing Your Accomplishment Statements .................................................... 14

Insider Tip ............................................................................................. 14

Start Strong .......................................................................................... 15

Writing Your Education, Credentials & Certifications .................................... 16 Writing Other Potentially Important Parts ...................................................... 17

RESUME SAMPLES Internal Resume Sample 1 ............................................................................. 18

Internal Resume Sample 2 ............................................................................ 20

LAST WORDS

Checklist for Creating Your Resume ..................................................22

Click on this icon throughout the book to see expanded information!

Resumes

IntroductionWelcome to Rapid Resume DevelopmentIf youre hoping to land a job within another area of your organization, youre going to need a resume and quick.

As an internal candidate, your resume is every bit as important as that of someone from the outside. Every company will have its own set of guidelines when applying, but one of the first steps will almost assuredly be to provide your resume in a format that works for your particular company.

Your resume will then go through the channels as the marketing brochure of you and your talents. Its vitally important that it shows your strengths and accomplishments in a way that you have been and will continue to be an asset to the company.

The Challenge: To Position Your Significant Accomplishments to Match the Internal Job

Solutions:

Read the job description closely and see how your talents will match what the organization is looking for.

Think of all your inherent talents that you may even take for granted and how they would help you succeed in the new position. There are skills and competencies you possess that could transfer to a new opportunity.

The Challenge: To Capture Your Experience at the Right Level Not Too Much Detail

Solutions:

Get your point across as concisely as possible.

Focus on your contributions to your current employer.

Use the minimalist approach for past positions.

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Why You Need A ResumeAs an internal candidate, you may question why a resume is even needed especially if you know the interviewer. But it is an essential part of the process to show specific details of your accomplishments, as well as reveal unknown talents. The resume gives you the opportunity to show how you can benefit the company in a different role.

The resume also does the following:

Serves as your primary marketing tool within the company.

Provides a basis for creating your social media profiles and branding.

Could provide a link to your online resume.

Helps the interviewer remember you and your qualifications.

Could be scanned into the company database for future openings.

Gives structure to the actual interview.

What Makes Your Internal Resume DifferentChances are youve already done a resume at some point in your career. If youre applying for an internal position, your last resume was probably for your current employer. But dont think that you can simply add your companys name to your list of employers and be done. Try to do the following:

Craft your resume in a way that sells yourself for an entirely new position.

Step back and look at yourself and your resume in a different light.

Recreate yourself and your branding for this new position.

Communicate your potential effectiveness in the new role.

Resumes

Sell It, Dont Tell ItIn writing the internal resume, the challenge is to prove that your talents and abilities go beyond the job you currently hold at the company. You need to get the manager past his/her impression of you as a (fill in your job title).

So its important that you dont just tell it and simply state the facts. You need to sell it, promote it and draw attention to it.

See the difference in these examples:

Although youre being interviewed by someone at your company, they may not know the true impact youve had within your organization. Selling yourself with this type of detail shows youre overall a good hire and could bring something to the table even in a new role.

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Tell It ... Sell It

Set up PCs for newly-hired sales and service staff. Installed more than 200 PCs and implemented customized applications to support nationwide sales and service staff. Provided ongoing troubleshooting and technical support that reduced PC downtime by 48% over a one year period.

Supervised construction of a four acre chemical manufacturing facility.

Directed team of 42 responsible for $4.8 million construction of four acre manufacturing facility. Delivered project at 20% under budget.

Resumes

The BasicsAdvance to Go: If youre a veteran resume writer and know the basics, then youre ready to go. Skip ahead to the Creating Your Resume section, which starts on page 9. Heres a quick review of the basics:

The Paper

Use basic 8 x 11 inch paper that is either white or ivory. A little heavier paper stock is preferred. Consider buying this paper from an office supply store that sells paper specifically designed for resumes. You can also take it to a print shop for reproduction on high quality paper.

The TypestyleUse basic fonts that are clean, conservative and easy to read, such as Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Courier or Times New Roman, with the standard size of 10 to 12 points.

The Margins Adjust the margins to one inch on all sides. Change the justification so the text is left aligned (although your heading style may vary).

The Length Keep it to one or two pages of tight, concise writing. Make every word count. On the top of the second page, include your name, phone and email.

ProofreadingMake sure your resume is free of typographical, grammar and punctuation errors. Even if youre good at proofreading, find someone else who is good at proofreading and ask them to review it.

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Getting Started

Resumes

Choosing Your FormatThere are two most common types of resumes:

Chronological Resume: Most frequently used and accepted.

Functional Resume: Designed to stress your qualifications with less emphasis on specific employers and dates.

As an internal interviewer, the chronological resume would work best in most cases since it can be structured to focus on your current job and company. In this format, you will list your work experience in reverse chronological order. Then provide clear information on:

Job titles.

Areas of responsibility.

Periods of employment for each employer.

Accomplishments that are clearly tied to companies and time frames.

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In the Chronological format, these would be the categories of your resume:

If you were to use a Functional format, you would emphasize skills, not titles. Keep in mind these

categories of your resume:

Heading HeadingProfessional Objective (optional) Professional Objective (optional)Summary SummaryEmployment Professional SkillsEducation EmploymentOther possible additions:

Skills

Memberships

Certifications

Education

Other possible additions:

Memberships

Certifications

Resumes

The DOs and DONTs of Creating Your Internal Resume

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DOs

Use key words and phrases appropriate to your current company.

Highlight your work history selectively, specifically drawing attention to your current job at the company.

Avoid using I in your statements. Begin sentences or phrases with action words.

Include the link to your LinkedIn profile.

Keep the resume to one or two pages. If you use a second page, be sure it is longer than a couple of paragraphs.

Devote more space to your current job.

Post the profile of your resume in the companys talent management system.

DONTs

List references or use the phrase References available upon request.

Use abbreviations. (Use professional or technical jargon only if it is relevant to the position and common terminology within the company.)

Use odd-sized paper, overly fancy stock, color, style or font or anything considered eccentric or difficult to scan.

Leave gaps between employment dates.

Overemphasize your educational background. Youre selling your work experience rather than your academic record.

Have conflicting information on your resume and LinkedIn profiles.

Resumes

Now lets begin the actual writing process. In this section, we examine each individual part of the resume and how you need to adapt it for your internal audience. Two important tips before you delve in:

Dont be overly concerned about making it perfect the first time around. Its far better to move swiftly through the process and get the basic information organized rather than agonize about the perfect phrase or ideal formatting. After youve completed a draft, you might be surprised at how close to final it is.

Surveys have consistently shown that most employers and recruiters read resumes in only 10 to 30 seconds. The more unnecessary words you include in the resume, the more likely it is that the important information wont get read at all. So keep it short and concise.

Writing The Heading:For an internal resume, something as simple as writing your name could vary. For an internal audience, you should use the name by which you like to be called. Dont leave the interviewer possibly guessing about your real identity.

The other internal nuance would involve your telephone number. Youll want to include all your contact numbers home, cell and even your work number with the extension. Dont make the interviewer go through the extra step of looking you up in the company directory.

Youll also want to include both your email address at work and at home (for internal interview only). Make sure your home email sounds professional.

Also, make sure you list the physical address of your home even if you receive your mail at a post office box.

Heading Sample:

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Creating Your Resume

Jerry McGuire

2020 Telegraph Blvd. Royal Oak, MI 48068

Cell: 555-555-5555Office: 555-555-5555 (ext. 555)

jerrym@email.comjerrym@email2.com

Resumes

Writing Your Professional ObjectiveThe professional objective (sometimes called a career objective) is optional on a typical resume, but consider adding it to your internal resume if youre switching gears on your job path. If the new job function is totally different from what you did previously, then you need to communicate your new objective.

Give a concise statement of what you want to do. It will help keep your resume consistent and focused on your new career goal.

Professional Objective Samples:

Obtain a position at XYZ Company where I can maximize my management skills, quality assurance, program development and training experience.

Customer Service position utilizing my extensive professional experience and knowledge of the companys elite line of products.

Human Resources Manager position where my experience and background in training manufacturing teams on processes and procedures can enhance hiring decisions.

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Resumes

Writing Your Summary StatementAs an internal candidate, your summary statement will be vitally important in conveying that youre multi-dimensional and not just a fit for the job you previously had. Youll have to carefully craft this summary, which should encapsulate the experience, areas of expertise and technical or professional skills detailed in the body of your resume.

The summary statement needs to correlate to the posted job description. Examine the particular wording and key words. Do your skills match the major talents that the new department is seeking?

Then work these key words into your summary statement. Even in an internal scenario, some companies may put resumes through automated applicant tracking systems (ATS), which will weed out applicants who dont have enough key words listed. So if youre an honest fit for the job, make sure the company knows it.As the first major section on the resume, the summary statement needs to grab the interviewer right away. It needs to give them a strong reason to read more.

Summary Statement Samples:

Highly experienced call center Applications Specialist with extensive background in transportation, telecommunications information, high-tech, hospitality, healthcare and computer market segments. Assisted with implementation, support and administration of mission critical information systems technology projects, involving telecommunications networks, call center technologies, data networks, voice processing systems, applications programming and systems configuration. Hands on experience with:

Advanced ICM Administration Cisco Collaboration Server

Cisco E-Mail Manager Cisco VoIP

Nortel Database and ACD

Results-oriented Design Engineer with extensive experience in high-performance digital signal processor (DSP) design, analysis and test procedures. Proficient knowledge of flow creation, test plan coverage, timing analysis and design integration. Managed multiple design assignments concurrently with an emphasis on software tools support. Quick learner and extremely adaptable to ongoing challenges.

Seasoned project manager with 5+ years of marketing communications experience and knowledge of design obtained from positions in educational publishing, consumer packaging and website design. Professional, flexible, creative and service-oriented. Offer a unique combination of creativity and analytical skill with the ability to manage teams to create cost-effective solutions for internal and external clients.

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Resumes

Writing Your Employment HistoryYour employment history includes three parts:

1 EMPLOYER

2 DATES EMPLOYED

3 YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Employer: Your current employer gets top billing in the chronological resume, which makes it work so well for the internal resume. Your other employers should follow with most recent first.

Dates: Typically, you would include only the years you worked at a company and not the month (for instance, 2005-2012 . not March 2005-April 2012). When creating the internal resume, however, you should make an exception and list the exact month and date you started. It will certainly help your manager in his evaluation process.

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Employment History Sample:

CURRENT COMPANY, Eugene, OR MONTH, YEAR-PRESENT

Director of Advertising Marketing

Oversaw successful development of all marketing collateral in support of national advertising sales staff, including media kits, direct mail, press releases, reader surveys, sales presentations and trade show materials. Hired and trained staff. Developed and managed budget of $1 million.

Created and directed the completion of more than 300 projects annually.

Developed methods for increasing department output by 50% with no additional personnel through implementation of projection calendar, cross marketing and project tracking systems.

Spearheaded purchase, design and signage of companys first trade show booth and dramatically increased companys brand and presence in industry.

Initiated and staged annual five-day national sales meetings at various domestic and international destinations.

Enhanced corporate image within the industry and beyond through high-quality, contemporary creative materials.

Hired and groomed marketing coordinators; 60% of whom were eventually promoted to management positions.

Assumed management of marketing activities for three additional divisions.

Designed and presented seminars titled How to Write Sizzling Sales Letters to enhance sales representatives ability to boost advertising buys.

COMPANY, Eugene, OR YEAR-YEAR(include a 1-2 line description about companies other than your current one)

Marketing Director

Directed all marketing efforts for trade show and Association Management Company. Clients included Fortune 500 professionals engaged in technology and engineering.

Created all concepts and wrote all copy single-handedly to promote over a dozen magazine titles.

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Writing Your Accomplishment Statements Youll need to develop your accomplishment statements the big sales pitch for why you should be rehired. When deciding what to include, try to focus on the big things, and give a broad-based view of what youre responsible for. Save the little things for the interview.

The majority of your accomplishment statements at your current employer even as many as 6-8 are not too many.

List only the most significant accomplishments at your previous employer. One or even none will suffice, especially for the earliest positions in your career.

Use action verbs to start your statements (never I). Then incorporate numbers and percentages to reinforce what youre saying.

Insider Tip:

Accomplishment statements are a critical part of your resume. Spend adequate time developing them. If done correctly, they will prove that youve done great things in the past for this company and have the ability to do even more if given the opportunity.

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Accomplishment Statement Samples:

These are divided into four major areas to help as a guide, but dont be limited by these categories. Fully express your value wherever it exists.

Start Strong

Youll notice that each of the above accomplishment statements begin with strong action verbs. Here are a few other effective sentence openers:

Quantity Quality Productivity Cost/RevenueDeveloped a sales strategy that directly increased the customer base by 20%.

Designed a new training program that resulted in an improvement in

evaluations from 3.2 to 4.8 on a five-point scale.

Automated a claim processing system that

reduced the turnaround time from two weeks

to two days.

Negotiated a contract that saved the department more than $500,000.

Instituted a training program that contributed to a 35%

reduction in errors.

Successfully conducted a presentation for key project stakeholders. Unsolicited

feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Implemented a new phone system that reduced the

average answering speed from eight minutes to less than

one minute.

Increased asset base from $17 million to $53 million.

Developed a safety program that reduced accident

fines by 15%.

Hired a new printing firm that improved quality of the marketing materials.

Completed the renewal project two months ahead of

schedule, resulting in a major client contract.

Reduced overhead by 30%.

Redesigned the production line, increasing daily output

by 2,000 units.

Designed a user-friendly operations manual that is

currently being used by employees.

Developed and introduced a unique product that was the first

in the marketplace.

Developed a new product that increased quarterly

revenue by $50,000.

achieved administered analyzed appraised automated balanced budgeted changed

centralized coached collaborated compiled completed computed created decided

demonstrated determined discovered ensured established expedited finalized furnished

generated guided handled helped identified innovated introduced invented

launched learned leveraged listed managed merged motivated negotiated

obtained operated planned positioned prepared raised researched selected

solved supported taught trained transferred unified upgraded wrote

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Writing Your Education, Credentials and CertificationsYour education is an important part of the package youre selling. Make sure you convey it entirely and succinctly to the hiring manager. List your education completely, including the degrees that youve received.

If youve recently taken classes outside of work, make sure those are prominently included. Listing the actual dates of graduation is optional.

Sample 1:

EDUCATION:

MBA, Finance and Management, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJBSBA, Accounting and Marketing, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Selected courses at: Center for Creative Leadership, Harvard Business School, Wharton School of Business and University of Florida College of Law

Sample 2:

EDUCATION:

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, Gainesville, FLBS, Business Administration

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, Eugene, ORDual Majors in Business Administration & Computer Science (2 years)

Sample 3:

EDUCATION:

ELMHURST COLLEGE, Elmhurst, ILBA, Business, Supply Chain Management

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Writing Other Potentially Important PartsIf youve had specialized training or earned certifications, especially while at your current company, you may want to include them. It shows initiative and that youre continually trying to improve your abilities. If you have specific skills pertinent to the position youre applying for, also list those.

Sample 1:

TECHNICAL SKILLSBusiness Process Modeling

Database ExpertiseMessaging/Communications

IT ArchitectureIT Security

Data MiningIT Optimization

Web Development

Sample 2: (Note: In the following example, youll want to include the dates only if they were fairly recent awards or show consistency year-after-year.)

AWARDSPresidents Award, YEAR

Employee of the Year Award, YEAR

Sample 3:

ASSOCIATIONSAmerican Society of Training and Development (ASTD)

American Translators Association (ATA)

Resumes

Internal Resume Sample 1

NAMEStreet Home email Phone 1City, State, Zip Work email Phone 2

SUMMARY

Experience in the areas of Computer Operations, Information Systems and Production/Problem Management. Proven successes in resolving production problems in batch job and billing processing. Comprehensive

Information Technology background in the area of Software Application Support, Production Support and Quality Assurance, utilizing strong analytical and problem solving skills.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

COMPANY, City, State MONTH,YEAR-PRESENT

Senior System Analyst YEAR-YEAR

Third level investigator for traffic call processing related billing problems. Investigated, analyzed and coordinated the correction of software (COBOL) related call-processing problems with software developers/technicians.

Coordinated the resolution of over 30 problems with a total recovered revenue of over $3 million.

Provided project management for error suspense purge initiative, which resulted in a 62% reduction in billable purged calls and recovery of over $36 million.

Created process/procedure documentation for use in training and reference.

Performed duties as Functional Coordinator for Change Management.

Performed department System Security Administrator duties (RACF2).

Processed software migrations (ENDEVOR) for new program releases.

Production Control Problem Manager/Group Leader YEAR-YEAR

Tracked and trended batch related problems (System & User ABENDS, JCL and Return Code failures).Created reports utilizing a host of software utilities to provide statistics to support findings.

Utilized information obtained from these reports. Department successfully reduced ABEND rate by 50%.

COMPANY, City, State YEAR-YEARCompany Description (include a 1-2 line description about companies other than your current one)

Production Control Technician

Monitored batch job flows. Resolved JCL and System ABEND related problems.

Scheduled batch job processing, utilizing CA7 and CA11 automated job scheduler.

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NAME EMAIL Page Two

EDUCATIONComputer Science Studies - University of the District of Columbia, CITY, STATE

Computer Science Information Systems Studies - University of Maryland, CITY, STATEC++ Course - Colorado Technical University, CITY, STATE

Operator Development Program - COMPANY

COMPUTER RELATED SKILLS/COURSES

PERFORMANCE AWARDSAir Force Commendation Medal

Certificate of Merit - Dept. of AgricultureACE Award - COMPANY

Commendation Award - COMPANY(2) Star Award s - COMPANYFive Star Award - COMPANY

COBOL FORTRAN SAS Basics V5SAS Point & Click SAS Programming C++File-Aide UNIX ENDEVORJCL Basic MVS / REXX SYNCSORTCA7/CA11 Microsoft Office Control M/RINFORMAN

Resumes

Internal Resume Sample 2

NAMEStreet Home email Phone 1City, State, Zip Work email Phone 2

SUMMARYSkilled executive with broad-based background in senior-level management, leading to an Executive Vice

President position. Proven expertise in marketing communications, human resources and information technology. Key strengths include operations management, extensive systems implementation, impactful

strategic planning and bottom-line results. Recognized for consistent success in creating order out of chaos in start-up and turnaround situations.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

COMPANY, City, State MONTH, YEAR-PRESENT

Executive Vice President, Corporate Services YEAR-YEAR

Vice President, Human Resources YEAR-YEAR

Led Human Resources, Marketing Communications and Information Technology teams for 900-person, $200 million in sales international manufacturer of water jet equipment with number one market position.

Created and implemented a complex strategic marketing communications plan, which identified new market opportunities, established strong corporate identity worldwide and positioned the company to maximize short and long term revenues.

Conducted a strategic assessment of international IT operations, resulting in an operating system upgrade, standardization of hardware and software tools, stabilization of network, a process to prioritize IT projects based on ROI and improved productivity for users.

Transformed the Human Resources Department to align functions with business goals and support company with a 33% growth rate while saving $500,000 in the first year.

Designed and implemented worldwide employee cash bonus and incentive stock option program driven by company profit targets, which linked individual and team goals to the companys success and resulted in a 95% goal achievement for YEAR.

Developed and implemented college recruiting and Graduate Rotation Program, which provided a continuous pool of candidates to support the companys explosive growth in a tight labor market.

Created, facilitated and coordinated worldwide training program for 700 employees at 19 different locations, which integrated nine acquisitions and supported culture change and move to team environment.

COMPANY, City, State YEAR-YEARCompany Description (include a 1-2 line description about companies other than your current one)

Principal

Provided consulting services on change management, team development, executive recruiting, quality improvement, human resources strategy and organizational structure.

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NAME Page Two

COMPANY, CITY, STATE YEAR-YEARCompany Description (include a one line description about the company)

Director of Operations

Reported to President, managing all operations and staff of for-profit medical institute and not-for-profit asthma foundation.

Responded to financial crisis by spearheading a business strategy, marketing plan and annual operating budget, which turned around business on the verge of bankruptcy and was the vehicle for returning it to profitability and funding future growth.

COMPANY, CITY, STATE YEAR-YEARCompany Description (include a one line description about the company)

Founded and managed consulting firm specializing in organization development, providing problem-solving expertise to CEOs.

EDUCATION

Stanford University, Technology Executive Program, CITY, STATE

BA Communications Studies, Seattle University, CITY, STATE, Cum Laude

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Workforce Initiative CITY, Advisory Group, YEAR-YEAR

CITY School District Success Program, Student Mentor, YEAR-YEAR

EMAIL

Resumes

So thats an overview of Creating Your Resume. As an internal candidate, your resume is every bit as important as that of someone from the outside. Every company will have its own set of guidelines when applying, but one of the first steps will almost assuredly be to provide your resume in a format that works for your particular company.

Take a moment and consider this checklist.

Checklist for Creating Your Resume

After completing your resume, review it again. Make sure you can answer yes to all these questions:

Does your resume clearly define who you are and how you want to be perceived?

Does the design look professional?

Is a qualifications summary included so the reader immediately knows your value proposition?

Is all your contact information included and correct?

If your resume is longer than a page, does the second page contain a heading? Is the page break formatted correctly?

Are accomplishments quantified by using numbers, percentages, dollar amounts or other concrete measures of success?

Do accomplishment statements begin with strong, varied action verbs?

Is the information relevant to the hiring managers needs?

Does your resumes content support your career goal?

Is your resume rich with key words? Is it packed with appropriate buzzwords and industry acronyms?

Is applicable additional information, such as awards and affiliations, included, while personal information like marital status, age and nationality unrelated to the job target omitted?

Is the content flow logical and easy to understand?

Is your resume as perfect as possible, with no typos or spelling, grammar and syntax errors?

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Last Words

Lee Hecht Harrison, LLC. All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced by photocopy or any

other means without written permission of Lee Hecht Harrison, LLC