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?
To let the company, we apply know little details about ourselves and our capabilities
Practical way to know about candidate
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: ruzaini.hazmie@gmail.com Telephone No.: 0123456789

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

WORK EXPERIENCE Clients had a SKILLS

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

Excellent Excellent Excellent

Good

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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: dasukimarzuki@upm.edu.my 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
khairulrazak@yahoo.com

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.
- Used to describe briefly about skills, experience, and
Career objective abilities that candidates can offer to the they apply to. 
- Purpose of the application

- to shows the hiring manager that u have the skills and

Work experience experience in the applied field
- skills acquired from doing real work
- to let hiring manager know educational level that have
Educational background obtain
-
- skills that been obtain based on the activities
Extracurricular activities

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 - Ability to do the required job applied based on the position
Skills - Most focus section in resume

- Person to be referred to know the reliability of the details in

References the resume (supervisor)

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?

-Who you are professionally
- My ability (what I can do)
- future goals (what I want to achieve through the company)
- must be free from grammartical error and spelling mistakes
- can be written in bullet form/sentence form

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

the advertisement?

-Yes, to make sure it fulfilled the requirement needed by the company

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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

No, skills and traits do
(a) use my knowledge and skills in fieldwork and not mention. It is
incomplete
laboratory

Sales professional with 4+ years’ experience in

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

My five years of sales, marketing and

management experience will add value to No, just state about
(c)
experiences
operations

To apply knowledge and skills with an established

(d) No, to general and rude
organization

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 A hard-working individual looking to obtain an entry-
level customer service position at HiTech Incorporated
(e) Sdn. Bhd. Hoping to leverage my excellent Yes, complete
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.

- A highly passionate, hardworking English teacher with Bachelor in TESL that focus
on British literature and two years of teaching experience as a private tutor seeks a
permanent teaching position at CEFL Kuching.
- A highly passionate, hardworking English teacher with a focus on British literature
and two years of teaching in a private school setting seeks a permanent teaching
position at CEFL Kuching.

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. Extracurricular if no job experience

Period of Working Position Duties/Responsibilities

- Volunteer in helping - Pack food, clothes, and hygiene kits
flood victims at for flood victims
Taman Sri Muda Shah - Cleaning up mosque
2021 Alam

- Program director for - Inviting guest for the webinar

Webinar Kerjaya - Handling the committees
under KMBK - Make report and letters to faculty
and HEPA

2020

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Discussion

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

-Skills -
-qualification

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?
action verbs- verbs/ words to describe things that we do

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

1. Example: Monitor 6.

2. 7.

3. 8.

4. 9.

5. 10.
1. Monitor
2. Plan
3. Conduct
4. Listen
5. Organize
6. Coordinate
7. Guide
8. Explore
9. Correspond
10. Observe

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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. Plan Planned Planning

3. Conduct Conducted Conducting

4. Listen Listened Listening

5. Organize Organized Organizing

6. Coordinate Coordinated Coordinating

7. Guide Guided Guiding

8. Explore Explored Exploring

9. Correspond Corresponded Corresponding

10. Observe Observed Observing

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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
- Pack food, clothes, and -
hygiene kits for flood
victims
- Clean up the mosque
2021201 Volunteer
9-
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

Bad
- Missing the verb
 Customer service skills.
 Interpersonal skills
(a)
 WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Lotus and
other software programmes
 Statistical software, such as SPSS

Good
COMPUTER SKILLS: - Clearly mention what
skills have
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
Publisher, Access) Adobe Photoshop, Multimedia,
(b) Internet Explorer, Open Office
ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE:
MYOB, UBS, SAP and ACL

Good
 Possess good interpersonal skills - Have verb
 Have the ability to lead and motivate
 Possess microbe isolation and
(c)
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.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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RESUME FONTS AND SIZES

 The most common font to use is Times New Roman, in black and size 12
points.
(make sure it is readable)
 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: freaky_gurl96@yahoo.com
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
- Explain skills that gain from the job
- Must be reverse chronological

3. Career objective - Incomplete and to general

4. Leadership skills - Does not use action verbs

- It is not leadership skills but extracurricular
involvement

5. Title - Should not use ‘resume’ as title

6. Font - Use only 1 type of font in resume

- Some font is unreadable, too small

7. Overall - Grammatical error

- Tahun: years old

8. Availability - Does not need to be included in resume

- Can be mentioned during interview

9. Typing skills - Unnecessary information (unless if she applied for a

job that required fast typing skills (reporters?))

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10. Insufficient content - No educational bg

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