Why This Resume Rocks

From Susan M. Heathfield,

Your Guide to Human Resources.
Stay up to date!

Part 1: Sample Superior Resume

Candidate Name

Candidate Address, City, State, Zip Code

Phone: (000) 000-0000 Cell: (000) 000-0000
Email: xxxxxx@aol.com

_____________________________________

Operations Management

A results oriented, hands-on individual with more than ten years of progressive
manufacturing management experience. Management style strongly emphasizes teamwork,
creativity, and empowering people. Experienced in:

• Lean Manufacturing Implementations

• Cellular Manufacturing Implementations
• Continuous Improvement Processes
• Supplier and Customer Kanban Systems
• Kaizen Events
• 5-S Implementation
• Make vs. Buy Decisions
• Supplier Agreements
• Gain Sharing Programs
• Developing Performance Evaluation Systems
• Team Building
• Mentoring / Coaching

Professional Experience

Operations and Cost Management Consultant (2002–Present)

Provide management and consulting services to clients in the areas of: lean manufacturing,
project and program management, kaizen, performance metrics, plant layouts, supplier
relationships, supplier agreements, make versus buy decisions, cost modeling, and gain
sharing programs.

Corporation, City, State (1988–2002)

(Leading filtration, separation and purification company with over $1.5 billion in
revenues.)
Purchase for Resale Business Unit Manager (2002)

Responsible for the identification, development, validation and ongoing success of final
assembly services provided on company products and products purchased and resold under
the company’s name.

• Developed a local supplier to eliminate quality and delivery issues resulting in over
$200,000 in savings during the first 7 months.
• Performed a Make vs.

• Buy analysis on an existing product line resulting in the product line being brought
in house providing greater manufacturing flexibility and $150,000 in savings.
• Developed a strategy to create preferred supplier partnerships for outside services
with industry leaders to consolidate suppliers and open the door to co-marketing and
selling agreements.
• Managed a program to transfer company owned plastic injection mold tools to a
preferred supplier resulting in improved quality and $700,000 in annual savings.

Senior Director, Operations, Medical Device Plant (1998–2002)

Plant Manager, Process Plant (1996–1998)
Senior Manufacturing Manager, Process Plant (1993–1996)

Held increasingly responsible positions as a result of demonstrating a solid track record for
managing multiple functional areas and delivering results for the company through the
manufacturing of OEM medical and laboratory devices in ISO 9001, EN 46000, FDA
compliant cleanroom facilities.

• Accountability for profit, loss, and management for all departments responsible for
complete fulfillment of customer orders, including: Production, Engineering,
Quality, Planning and Scheduling, Purchasing, Machine Shop, Warehousing, and
Customer Service.
• Managed a direct staff of 8 with responsibility for 180 employees across 3 shifts.
• Implemented lean manufacturing, Toyota Production System, throughout a $25
million process plant and a $30 million medical device plant.
• Transformed the production methodology from a push system to a pull system
utilizing cellular manufacturing and implemented Kanban inventory systems with
suppliers and customers resulting in:
--Streamlined inventories by 50% and increased inventory turnover by 145%.
--Improved customer delivery performance from 78% to 96% while reducing lead
times by 80%.
--Reduced scrap and waste by 26% through a 5-step problem solving process
focused on the key variables identified by a Pareto analysis of root causes.
--Accelerated plant responsiveness by reducing complex setups by 74% through
value stream mapping.
--Leveraged existing plant floor space and equipment through Lean initiatives
allowing a 50% increase in actual sales in addition to reclaiming 26% of floor space
for new production cells.
--Cultivated and championed a continuous improvement team environment
throughout the entire hourly workforce in 2 separate plants.
 --Restructured the performance evaluation system and implemented a gain sharing
program to tie performance and rewards to business objectives.

View the second part of the sample resume.

Part 2: Sample Superior Resume

Corporation, City, State (1988–1993)

Manager Cost Accounting (1990–1993)

Senior Cost Accountant (1988–1990)

Managed the Cost Accounting Department, including hiring, training, and scheduling of
work.

• Improved efficiencies through the implementation of standardized work and a cost

control system that was integrated to the MRP system resulting in a 50% headcount
reduction in the department.
• Developed an Activity Based Cost model for the allocation of overhead by product,
enabling products true costing to be better understood and pricing to become more
competitive.
• Analyzed ROI and made recommendations on capital project requests at various
investment levels.
• Prepared property tax returns for multiple taxing authorities avoiding the use of an
outside service.
• Prepared and reported operational results to senior management providing enhanced
decision-making.

Corporation, City, State (1987–1988)

(World’s largest manufacturer of upholstered furniture with over $2 billion in revenues.)

Staff Accountant II, Corporate Cost Accounting Department

Maintained corporate cost accounting functions.

Prepared and reported operational results to senior management.

Professional Achievements

• Contributing author, Becoming Lean, Productivity Press.

• Speaker, Productivity’s Best of North America manufacturing conference.
• Published World-Class Improvements with Lean Manufacturing, in Solutions
magazine.
• Featured in 5-S Training video series, Productivity Press.
• Speaker, Advanced Manufacturing Forum, Penn State University.

Education / Professional Development

Bachelor of Business Administration
Major University - City, State

Manufacturing Executive Program • Manager of Managers Program

Major University – City, State

Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

Institute of Management Accountants, Montvale, New Jersey

Assorted Coursework:
Strategic Planning, American Management Association
The Art and Science of Six Sigma
Value Stream Mapping
Statistical Process Control
Lean Enterprise Summit (3 years)
Continuous Performance Improvement
Managing Employee Performance and Development
Eli Goldratt Satellite Program
Masco Tech Grand Kaizen Workshop
Fundamentals of Injection Molding, SME
Activity Based Costing and Management

Why This Resume Rocks

From Susan M. Heathfield,
Your Guide to Human Resources.
Stay up to date!

A Superior Resume May Produce a Superior Candidate

When an employer receives 100 - 200 resumes in response to a job posting, the resume that
catches your eye has to stand out from the crowd. In an earlier article, Gone in Thirty
Seconds: How to Review a Resume, I discussed the steps in resume review.

This sample resume was accompanied by an exemplary cover letter. Here, I'll show you the
resume that accompanied the cover letter that captured my attention and tell you why. This
sample resume sets a standard employers need to seek and candidates need to emulate.

Why This Resume Rocks

• The resume started out with a list of characteristics, traits, competencies, and skills
that exactly matched the requirements I had stated in my job posting.
• This smart candidate drew a line that connected his skills and my needs. The less
work the employer has to do the better. This candidate understands that.

• The candidate is applying for an Operations Management job, so note that the initial
skills and experience highlights section emphasizes Operations Management. This
 allows you to quickly understand the qualifications of the candidate for your
position.

• The job history is clearly laid out and I had no questions about the candidate's career
progression. There are no gaps in employment. The only question that the resume
surfaced is why the candidate is seeking a full time position after consulting for a
few years.

(I also find this career pattern shows up frequently. Some of the best employees are
not cut out for the consulting life; the constant marketing of services takes a
particular skill set and personality that not all people possess. Sometimes, the
candidate is consulting, too, because the right career opportunity, in the right
location, has not appeared.)

• The business of each company that employed the candidate is described so that the
potential employer can see the relationship to their business.

• The candidate understands the power of show, not tell. In each of his positions, he
demonstrates the bottom line impact of his work. He didn't just manage a plant. He
"streamlined inventories by 50% and increased inventory turnover by 145%." He
"improved customer delivery performance from 78% to 96% while reducing lead
times by 80%."

• The "Professional Achievements" section of the resume stood out, not just because
the candidate has achieved success in his career, but because the achievements so
closely mirror his stated career goals and my needs as an employer.

• My reaction to the "Education / Professional Development" section of the resume

was the same. The candidate's educational investments echo his career choices.

Sample Resume Conclusions

Part of the power of this resume is that it highlights the smart career choices of the
candidate. He served in progressively more challenging positions. He kept track of the
measurable impacts of his performance on company goals. He obtained the necessary
degrees to progress in his field. And, he attended classes, seminars, and advanced training in
the subjects in which he claims expertise.

Additionally, at this point in his career, he seeks opportunities to share his expertise and
attains this goal through both writing and speaking. He is looking for employment that
appears congruent with the education, professional contributions, and experience that he
states on the resume.

The resume's only weaknesses are that the candidate fails to mention professional
association affiliations or philanthropic contributions. He also tells the potential employer
nothing personal about himself. As the employee-seeking employer, I don't want to know
that he has three children, but his work as a March of Dimes team leader or his hobby of
golf lend personality to the candidate's application.
This resume rocks for these reasons. As an employer or as a job seeker, these sample
resume comments will help you either review or craft a resume that results in a superior
candidate.

This resume is presented as a superior sample resume with the permission of its owner.