CEL2106

COMMUNICATION FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SEMESTER 2, 2021-2022

CLASS MATERIAL 2
WRITING AN EFFECTIVE RESUME
INTRODUCTION

Preparing a resume is an essential part of applying for a job.

Discussion
What is a resume?
Why is resume important in applying for a job?
What are the contents of a resume?

RESUME VS CURRICULUM VITAE (CV)

Activity 1

Sample Resume

Muhammad Ruzaini Hazmie Bin Razali

Junior Architect

A strong believer in the ability of the architecture and research combined

with design thinking for strengthening our societies and having a positive
effect on the world. Only together can we build a better future, therefore
my communication and team-working skills.

E-mail: [email protected] Telephone No.: 0123456789

Address: Lot 842-1 Batu 7 ½, Date of Birth: 26 September 1992
Kampung Paya Rumput, Melaka

WORK EXPERIENCE SKILLS

Intern Architect
Empayar Perunding Sdn. Bhd. Presentation & Public
Excellent
February 2016 – June 2018 Speaking
Achievements/Tasks:
- Developed and executed online, social Active Listening Excellent
media and print marketing strategies for
the new projects. Perseverance Excellent
- Participated in all phases of the design and
construction processes on 6 major projects Teamwork Excellent
nationally and internationally. Written & Oral
- Produced drawings and layouts and Good
Communication
assisted the clients throughout the projects.
Clients had a satisfaction rate of over 95%.

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 - Created 3D models, renderings and video
animations.

EDUCATION TECHNICAL (IT) SKILLS

Bachelor of Science in Architecture

Faculty of Design and Architecture Graphics
Hand Drafting, Sketching, Autodesk AutoCAD,
Universiti Putra Malaysia
ArgGIS, Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
September 2012 – June 2016 Bim & 3D Modeling
Sketchup Pro, SU Podium, Autodesk Revit
PERSONAL PROJECT Platforms
NOTBLOX Affordable Housing Project: Windows & OSX Operating systems,
Assembling Sustainable Communities with Microsoft Office, Google Drive/Docs
Insulating Concrete Forms (December 2015) Other
Basic Web Development, Model Building,
REFERENCE Darkroom Techniques
Assoc. Prof. Nor Mohammad Dasuki Bin
Marzuki LANGUAGES
Tel.: 03-8901234 Malay Excellent
E-mail: [email protected] English Excellent

Sample Curriculum Vitae (CV)

MOHAMMAD KHAIRUL BIN RAZAK

No. 36, Jalan Setia 3, Taman Desa Cemerlang, 81800 Johor Bahru, Johor
Tel. No.: 019-1234678
[email protected]

EDUCATION
Ph.D., History, University of Center City, 2018
 Dissertation: “Traveling West: A History of the Railroad, 1850-1900”
 Dissertation Advisors: William James (first reader), Tatiana Ayole (second reader)

M.A., History, University of Center City, 2015

 Dissertation: “The Golden Spike: The Role of the Railroads in the Industrial Revolution”
 Dissertation Advisor: John Murray

Bachelor of East Asian Studies, Universiti Malaya, 2010

HONORS AND AWARDS

 Best Dissertation Award, University of Center City, 2018
Received award for best dissertation in the humanities. Three awards are given each year to
Ph.D. graduates in humanities, physical sciences, and social & behavioral sciences.
 James Doe Award, University of Center City, 2017
Given to the graduate student who earned the highest GPA in their school.
 Dean’s List, Universiti Malaya, 2007-2010

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PUBLICATIONS
 "The Role of the Railroad in the Development of Philadelphia, 1840-1860.” Journal of
American History and Technology. Vol. 71, no. 8 (Spring 2018): 88-101.
 “Book Review: Michael Weston’s Travels through Philadelphia.” Philadelphia History Journal.
Vol. 71, no 2 (Fall 2017): 121-123.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Instructor, University of Center City, 2016-2018

 Asian History, 1865-Present
 History of Technology

Teaching Assistant, University of Center City, 2014-2016

1. World History
2. Popular Culture in Asia

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
 “The Rise of the Easton Railroad Company.” History of America Conference. Philadelphia,
PA, 2018.
 “The Railroad in American Literature.” American Railroad History Conference. Trenton, NJ, 2017.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
 President, University of Center City Graduate Student Association
Conference Organizer, Graduate History Conference, University of Center City

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
 American Historians Organization
 Organization of American Technology

Languages
 Malay: Native Language
 English: Fluent, Advanced Reading and Writing
 Mandarin: Novice Speaker

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Based on the sample resume and CV above, discuss the differences between resume
and CV. Fill in the table below.

Features Resume Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Purpose

Content

Layout

TYPES OF RESUMES

Activity 2

Complete the table below with types of resume and their functions.

Types of Resume Functions



Chronological


 Focuses on skills
 Gives a quick view of your abilities and training
 Displays key skills needed for the new position

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 



Discussion

What is the most suitable type of resume to be used by fresh graduates? Justify your answer.

Activity 3

Complete the table below by providing the purpose of each component in a resume.

Resume Component Purpose

- To provide personal information about applicants to

Contact information
perspective employers – name, e-mail, address
etc.

Career objective

Work experience

Educational background

Extracurricular activities

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 Skills

References

WRITING CAREER OBJECTIVE

Even though it is not a strict requirement to include a career objective in your resume, a
well-written objective can help you catch the attention of the recruiter.

Activity 4

Answer the following questions.

1. What are the criteria of a good career objective?

-
-
-

2. Does a career objective have to be tailored according to the job position in

the advertisement?

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 Your desired job title

CAREER
OBJECTIVE The qualification/ experience/
skill/quality you possess that
consists 3 information makes you ideal for that job
position

How you will contribute/ add value to

the company

Below is an example of a career objective and its components

A highly driven Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Education

graduate seeking to apply for the position of Mathematics Teacher at
KMR International School where I can lend my strong knowledge of the
subject and help students attain their highest potential.

Personal trait and qualification Desired job title Contribution

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Activity 5

Read career objectives below carefully and discuss whether they are properly
written or not. Justify your answers and share your response with the class.

No. Career Objective Yes/No

A position as a research assistant allowing me to

(a) use my knowledge and skills in fieldwork and
laboratory

Sales professional with 4+ years’ experience in

lead generation and lead qualification, proven
(b)
customer service, and communication skills to
effectively fill the Sales Associate role in your company

My five years of sales, marketing and

(c) management experience will add value to
operations

To apply knowledge and skills with an established

(d)
organization

A hard-working individual looking to obtain an entry-

level customer service position at HiTech Incorporated
(e) Sdn. Bhd. Hoping to leverage my excellent
communication and negotiation skills to provide
exceptional service with each customer interaction.

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Sample Job Advertisement

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 3. Based on the criteria you listed in question 1, write a career objective according to
the job advertisement above. Ask your instructor for feedback.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Activity 6

Choose two jobs/internship experience related to your field of study. Fill in the table
below. Describe its duties and responsibilities.

Period of Working Position Duties/Responsibilities

2019 - Present

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 Discussion

Which sections of a resume should be highlighted? Justify your answers.

LANGUAGE FOCUS: ACTION VERB

Activity 7

1. Is the usage of action verb helpful in resume writing? If so, how does it help
to improve your resume?

It helps to explain accurate terms in resume so that it can be easily

understand by the person who is processing the resume.

2. List 10 action verbs that are related to your field of study.

1. Example: Monitor 6. Plan

Maintaincssasa
2. design 7. Train

3. 8.

4. 9.

5. 10.

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3. Take note that tenses of action verb used in a resume describe the period of your
work experience. Complete the table below. You may use the verbs you listed
above.

Simple Past Present Participle

Verb
(2016-2017) (2019-Present)

1. Monitor Monitored Monitoring

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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 4. Based on Activity 5, rewrite the duties/responsibilities using appropriate action
verbs.

Period of Duties/Responsibilities +
Position Duties/Responsibilities
Working Action Verb

2019 -
Present

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AT WORKPLACE

Discussion

Your skills are what will get you hired, but which ones are considered good skills to put on a
resume that will help you stand out?
What are Hard skills and Soft skills? Provide some examples
What are Job-specific skills and Transferable skills? Provide some examples

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Activity 8

1. Read the skills below carefully and discuss whether they are properly written
or not. Justify your answers and share your response with the class.

No. Skills Good/Bad

Good
 Customer service skills. Skills are listed by using
 Interpersonal skills bullet form, easy to read.
(a)
 WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Lotus and
other software programmes
 Statistical software, such as SPSS

COMPUTER SKILLS:
Good
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Skills are listed by group so
Publisher, Access) Adobe Photoshop, Multimedia, that it can be easily
(b) Internet Explorer, Open Office recognized
ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE:
MYOB, UBS, SAP and ACL

 Possess good interpersonal skills

 Have the ability to lead and motivate Bad
Skills explanation too long.
 Possess microbe isolation and Keep the skills in short and
(c) easily understandable
identification skills
 Have excellent IT skills such as
Windows, Excel, Powerpoint

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2. Based on the sample job advertisement below, analyse the essential skills
needed for the job. Write sentences using appropriate action verbs to highlight
your skills.

Sample Job Advertisement

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Fill in the table below based on the sample job advertisement above.

No. Skills Sentence (Action Verb)

1. Problem solving Recorded the year’s revenue and budget goals.

2. Work with others Motivated to work as a team.

3. Communication skills Communicated in several languages, Chinese, English and

Bahasa Malaysia.

4. Support Guided to manage daily accounts transaction and reporting.

5. Planning Clarified in managing the work of finance

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RESUME FONTS AND SIZES

 The most common font to use is Times New Roman, in black and size 12
points.

 Other accepted fonts to consider that are easy to read include:

 With Tails : Georgie, Bell MT, Goudy Old Style, and Garamond

 No Tails: Arial, Century Gothic, Lucida Sans and Tahoma

 Any of the above fonts would be acceptable to be used in your resume as long
as you consistently use ONE font only.

 Make headlines bold, Italicise, CAPITALISE, or underline.

 The font for headlines can be increased to font size 14-16 points.

 Try and keep your resume to one page.

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Activity 9

Analyse the following resume and answer the question that follows.

Sample Resume

RESUME

Rose Isabella

C2-1-11, Phone No.: 012-3456789

Taman Pauh Indah, Email: [email protected]
Jalan Pauh Indah 1,
13700 Permatang Pauh,
Butterworth

PERSONAL PARTICULARS

Age : 24 tahun Date of Birth : 27-12-1996

Nationality : Malaysian Gender : Female
Marital Status : Bachelor I/C Number : 961227-10-5432
Instagram Followers : 1,923 followers

WORK EXPERIENCE
Jan – May 2018 Telekom Malaysia
Aug – Oct 2019 Barista at Starbucks

CAREER OBJECTIVE
To apply accounting knowledge.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS
2018 Represent UPM for Quiz Juara Minda, organised by RTM
2018 Lead Board of Students Representative Council, UPM
2018 Participated in Kem Bina Negara Besut, Terengganu

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 2017 Member, Outdoors Recreations Committee
2017 Treasure of ‘Project Anak Angkat Kubang Pasu’
2017 Facilitator of Orientation Programme (UPM / UUM)
2017 Fellow of Student Association at hostel level
2017 Fellow of Student Association at hostel level
2016 Secretary for Off-campus Students
2016 Board of Students Representative Council, UPM – KYM
2016 Participate in Kem Bina Negara Gunung Pulai, Johor
2015 Ketua Pustakawan, Sek. Men. Dato’ Mahmud Mat

COMPUTER SKILLS:

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access) Adobe Photoshop,

Multimedia, Internet Explorer, Open Office

ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE:
MYOB, UBS, SAP and ACL

LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Spoken Written
English good good
Bahasa Melayu good good
French fair fair

TYPING SKILLS:

Short-hand Good 100 w.p.m

Typing Good 150 w.p.m

EXPECTED SALARY: RM 1500.00 - RM 2000.00 (NEGOTIABLE)

AVAILABILITY : IMMEDIATELY

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The sample resume above contains numerous errors. Analyse and identify the errors in
the resume. Use the space provided below to list out the possible errors. Provide
correction and justification.

No. Error Correction and Justification

1. Email address - Not professional
- The applicant should use a professional
email address such as using her real
name.
2. Work experience - Too short, does not have explanations of what
she had accomplished from the working
experience.
- Lack of specifics

3. Personal information - Leave out your age, date of birth, race, sex, sexual
orientation, religion, political affiliation, and the names and
ages of your spouse and children. While some of this
information may be required in an international CV, it
should be left out of a resume.
4. Resume title
- Do not label your resume, "resume." One looks at
your resume, and the employer should know
exactly what type of document it is.
5. Expected salary - You can discuss with the employer during an
interview or once you have been offered the job;
you do not want to establish a salary range
before you have even been offered an interview.
So, don't list your current salary or the salary you
expect to earn at a new job.
6. Career objective - Too short
- Explain a little bit longer about your career
objective to pitch you out and make the employer
interested with your resume
7. Typing skills - Not necessary

8. Leadership skills - Provide examples and quantify measurable result

- Use of action verb

9. Availability -Save the subject of availability for the interview.

Do not include dates of availability on your
resume

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