DennyWeinman.com

I was asked to look over a resume by my former professor and adviser at Cedarville University. I won’t actually post his resume but there are enough specifics in the email I wrote back for you to get the gist. Coming out of college everyone has the same list of information, maybe just presented a bit differently. Communication and Tech this is how we do.

Contact Info
Degree
Honors
Skills
Work History
Activities
References

Thanks for sending me your resume! I hope that the things I have to say will benefit your job search and if you have any questions what so ever feel free to bounce them off me. Sorry it’s taken me a while to get back to you, your email got buried…with the amount of emails i remember getting in college i’m sure you know what that’s like.

My first suggestion to you if you are wanting to work in a church is make sure you are called. Working in ministry no matter what aspect is tough stuff. It’s draining and downright difficult sometimes. Things can get nasty, people can and will backstab. Church splits happen, you can get bitter and burn out is imminent and you have to learn how to deal with that (each person is different, and I’d suggest surrounding yourself with some quality people who can a) point it out when you’ve reached that point and b) refresh you when you need it).

Alright now that I’ve bummed you out . Your resume is solid as far as boiler plate goes for just getting out of college. A few suggestions for you though. Simplify what you’re offering to people. You don’t need to specifically state your minor. Honors are your discretion, out of college it’s ok to put those on there, after you’ve had your first job you can take them off.

Now if I were hiring for a position and I look at your resume, Skill sets are important to have at the top. good job, I’d put them in order of importance to what you’re applying for first. Remember this is your chance to wow your potential boss if he’s made it past your stunning cover letter. In your cover letter make sure you state what you’re applying for, and why you would be a good fit. Explore the mission and ideals of the church or organization and mimic it back in your goals for employment. Let them know you get them.

I want to know that you have the capability to set up and run a sound system, understand signal flow, eq, compression etc.. I want to know you can trouble shoot hardware and software issues. I want to know you take initiative and a self starter. Then i would go into all of the extra goodies that make you a valuable asset to my team. You know how to edit audio and video, you’re skilled in protools, you’re familiar with worship presentation software, you can run a camera and can direct, technical direct, run lighting and event staging. The line that says you are skilled in the MS Office suite, Easy Worship and non-linear editing systems, does not really go together. It’s good you know each, the non-linear systems are included in your audio and video editing, and If you want to lump MS office and EW into a package I would say you’re familiar with office productivity and presentation software, including Microsoft Office and Easy Worship.

Skills that do not really need to be on there because they don’t apply to what I’m looking for, running radio station equipment (that will be established by saying you worked at the student radio station). Unless you’re applying to also help lead worship in some capacity, musicianship doesn’t really help much here, and leadership experience is a very vague statement. If you can give a specific example like, I have lead teams of students in putting together a large event and was the point person for stage set up and tear down, etc. that would be more preferable.

You don’t need to have your work experience at Home Depot as it does not add to your set of skills or competencies. Lastly I’d make your list of activities more like activities/interests. Keep it semi field related but show what makes you an interesting and unique individual. Make your potential boss want to call you and find out more what you’re about.

The last suggestion I could make is just expound on some of the things you have in your skills list. Specific software is great but when you say things like *Skilled in film-style techniques and camera work, what specifically does that mean? Did you sit in a class on film-style or did you participate in a film race and experience it?

Also, Your phone and address is probably best served if it’s your home address because more than likely, unless you’re planning on moving straight out of CU to your new job, there is going to be some transitional time and you’re not going to want to have to try and get in touch and change out your information mid-stream, including a cell phone number as your primary number if you have one is a good option as well.

Everyone looks at resumes a bit differently, cater yourself to your audience. This is your first line of offense to sell yourself. You want to make you look as good as possible before they ever pick up the phone to call you back.