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Crafting a Really Great Resume
It’s all in the details—a State of Illinois resume is NOT the same as other resumes.
Unlike corporate resumes which are limited to 1-2 pages in length, we want you to share more information with us so that we have a good understanding of your work experience, skills, knowledge and accomplishments! (It’s okay to have a 10-page resume.)
Best Practice Tip: Pretend that the person viewing your resume has no knowledge or understanding of the type of work you have done, your duties and responsibilities, or how it helped the organization. Your job is to connect the dots between the job you are applying for and how your experience is a perfect fit.
Your resume should be crafted in a narrative format with bullet points, including work history, title, time worked (month/year), and detailed responsibilities. Include all your experience, even back to your first job. Experience gained in all your roles will likely earn you experience points. Volunteer experience counts, if you can include dates and details of duties.
Talk about what you've done, how long you've done it, and where you did it.
- Tell your professional story. A real human reviews your answers!
- USE numbers, percentages or dollars to quantify your experience and accomplishments. (There is a big difference between being a vice-president of a company with 10,000 employees and being a vice-president of a company with two employees. Likewise, managing a budget of $5 million is different than managing a budget of $2,500. Managing a department of 50 employees is different than having one employee, etc.)
- Include examples of how you saved time/money, managed money, improved a process, etc. How did it help the organization? What was the impact?
- EXPLAIN how you earned the experience – the better job you do at explaining your experiences, the more likely you are to get an interview.
Example:
- Worked in HR and processed payroll forms for five years and supervised six employees at this location.
- Assisted more than 250 individuals each year with filing their taxes.
- Coordinated the receipt and oversaw the processing of more than 15,000 grant applications.
- Honored with the Director’s Award for implementing process improvements for incoming contracts.
Best Practice Tip: When answering application questions DO NOT say “See Resume” or cut and paste from your resume. This is your chance to clearly explain how your experience and skills meet the exact requirement that is being asked.
Example: This position requires 5 years’ experience in Human Resources.
Poor Response: I have 10 years’ experience in Human Resources.
Better: I have a total of 10 years’ experience in Human Resources, including 2 years as an HR Generalist working in Payroll at ABC Company where I processed over 10,000 transactions each payroll (bi-monthly) ensuring accuracy, 3 years as an HR Business Partner working side-by-side with Senior Leadership in XZY Agency overseeing workforce and change management initiatives, and 5 years as an HR Director at DEF Corporation where I created HR policies, implemented pay plans, managed EEOC, ADA and Ethics complaints, oversaw Talent Acquisition and performance management.
Here is one example of a narrative resume, but feel free to use your own templates or resources as well. Click on the resume to view it as a PDF. (It is NOT recommended that you include items such as salary, supervisor’s name, or references.):
