Creating Standout Resumes and Acing Interviews: Instituto’s Workshop Takeaways
Written by Brandon Warren
Are you ready to take the next step in your career? We recently hosted a Resume Workshop training —partnership with One Arizona — to empower job seekers with resume tools and interview strategies to help participants recognize how their unique experiences contribute to movement spaces. Here’s a recap of the workshop, packed with actionable insights for your professional journey.
Why Now?
We recognize the immense amount of hard work, dedication, and hope that so many movement leaders and changemakers have carried in 2024, especially for those coming out of an election cycle. Some of you may be transitioning out of contracted positions, others may be seeking long-term employment, board & commission roles, internships, fellowships, or even a career change. As you find what works best for you, Instituto’s goal is to support you all by providing the necessary training and resources to help you feel rooted in the movement, regardless of the career field, skills, or experiences you bring.
Our goal? To help you feel rooted in the movement, regardless of your career field, while equipping you with the resume and interview tips, tricks, templates and skills to confidently navigate the next chapter.
RESUME 101
What is a resume?
A resume is a formal summary of your qualifications, professional background, skills and achievements. Resumes are often paired with cover letters by employers so they can determine your eligibility and qualifications for a job.
Why is a resume important?
A great resume will grab the attention of employers, sell your skills and accomplishments, show that you are the best match for a position and it will get you to your job interview.
GETTING STARTED
You want to create a “Resume” or “Job Search” folder in your computer. Items that will be in this folder include: Resumes, cover letters you have created in the past and sub folders to hold pdfs of certificates you have received etc.
BUT most importantly, you will have a document with EVERYTHING related to your job search, I call this my “BECOMING DOC”. This document is your foundation, think about it like a “Build a bear 🐻” project. Whenever you need information to fill out an employment application or create a new resume or cover letter this will be your source. In order to tailor your resume and cover letter, swapping in and out pieces depending on the job you are applying for.
Over time, you will have multiple versions of your resume and cover letter because each job is different. With this approach, there will be no need to remake your resume or cover letter every time.
Our workable “BECOMING DOC” (feel free to make a copy) will start to get huge. So it is important that it’s organized with an outline and a Table of Contents so you can easily reference and find things. Look for the “Table of Contents - How to” at the end of this blog and in the Google document.
Here you will have all the bits of information you will need to reference when you are applying for a job:
Work History
Accomplishments (metrics) - We will get to this later on in the presentation.
Skills ( Hard & Power) - Check out our transferable skills training toolkit at the end.
Education and Certifications
Goals
References
Affiliations
References
Honors and awards
Links and media—Have a list of links and media (relevant stuff that you can flaunt about your experience and any graphics of projects you’ve completed—make sure this is nonproprietary stuff).
Why should you have a Skills-based resume?
First, for this type of resume, your skills are front and center, they are the main focus. Employers nowadays focus on your skill set more than your work history.
If you have employment gaps
The world we live in today is different from the one our parents or grandparents grew up in. Most people don’t stay on jobs for their whole lives, 30 or 40 years. It’s just not the reality anymore, and not really the norm.
If you are pivoting between industries
Changing industries requires a lot of time and training to gain new skills, and often the additional knowledge that you have gained has not been reflected in your work history yet. This resume type allows for those new skills and training to be emphasized.
If you have had the same kind of job position over the years
Chronological resumes can be redundant, with similar jobs having the same skills and tasks repeated over and over. Skills-based resume puts the focus on your years of experience and makes it easy to identify your strengths.
If you have a highly developed skill set
People with highly developed skill sets, years of experience, in learning a specific skill, or group of skills are again shown front and center in this type of resume and gives you the best chance of impressing a hiring manager.
TURN CHRONOLOGICAL TO SKILLS-BASED RESUME
Let’s get into how to turn your resume from chronological to skills-based.
Take all of the bullet points listed under your “employment”, “skills” “tools” “certifications” etc. that you have in your normal chronological resume, and just dump them into your doc.
Start to group all those different bullet points into similar buckets of skills or types of work. You want to aim for 2 or 3 different bucket items.
Once you have your 3 groups of bullet points … MORPH them, combine them if needed into bullet points that make sense for your new Skills-Based Resume.
🔥Functional Resume (Skills-based resume)🔥
Resume Heading - Personal Information ( This section will be the “Header” of your document” so make sure you format it like a “HEADER”)
Includes: Your contact information, First and last name, email address ( make sure your email looks professional… no partykid2012@outlook.com), phone number, linkedin profile. (Mailing address is not necessary anymore but add City and State)
Resume objective or Summary
Resume summary is a solid introduction for all job seekers, particularly those with some previous work experience. It serves as a highlight reel of your career by showcasing your notable accomplishments. It’s used by experienced professionals and features a 4-6 bullet point list of your crowning achievements and skills. It places your best achievements front and center and helps make your resume ATS-friendly.
Resume objective works best for entry-level candidates and those targeting a specific position. It shows how you would use your skills, experience, and training to help the company achieve its goals.
Relevant Skills
You will list the 3 skills you want to highlight, with bullet points underneath highlighting each skill. For each skill have 2 or 3 bullet points of accomplishments related to that skill. Remember, with each of these bullet points you want to highlight accomplishments with metrics.
SIDE NOTE: On your resume you will have 3 skills you are highlighting for this specific job. BUT remember on your giant “Becoming” doc you will have other additional skills with bullet points because every time you submit your resume, the skills listed and the keywords you use, should be TAILORED 🪡for the particular job you are applying for.
Work History
Your work history will take less space than your typical chronological resume. You are listing your job title, your employer name, location, then start year and end year. List this out in reverse chronological order, so you will begin with your most recent experience first.
Education
If it has been a few years since you graduated your education will be towards the bottom of your resume. List off your Degree Name, Major / University, Location, Graduation year and your GPA if it was above 3.5.
Additional Resume Section
Relevant information that could include: Volunteer experience, tools that you did not highlight in your Skills section, languages you are proficient in, any certifications you have, hobbies, etc.
TIPS
Flaunt your stuff! Think about gaining certifications for skills that can move your career forward. Check out our transferable skills training where we dive into available courses and certifications.
Use a common font & work your margins! Try to keep it to one page if you can, unless you have over 10 years of experience or a highly specialized set of skills.
Save your resume in a PDF with your first and last name so that it can be easily found.
Need inspiration to determine your skills?.. look up job descriptions for jobs you’ve already had!
Remember to use active verbs throughout your resume!
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS (CHECK OUT OUR TOOLKIT AT THE END)
Transferable skills are talents and abilities that can be used in many different jobs and career paths. They can be acquired through employment, school, internships, hobbies, and volunteer experiences. Transferable skills can be hard or power skills. What sets transferable skills apart is that they can be used in multiple career fields. Consider your work history, school activities, and volunteer experiences. What skills have you consistently used 🤓?
What HARD skills are currently needed? Computer Programming, Data and Technical skills 🤖are all the rage right now, but according to the following companies this is what is needed:
UPWORK: IT, Data Analytics, and Programming are being highly requested due to the rapid growth in technology. There is a BIG need for tech-savvy team members. Consider video production, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media marketing
ADOBE: Digital marketing and sales skills are in high demand, especially sales development representatives and business development representatives.
What POWER skills are currently needed? Skills like Leadership, Team Work, Adaptability, Accountability, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Self-Management, and Communication; help you stand out from the rest. They are accessories that make your hard skills shine, they alone cannot qualify you for a job, BUT paired with the right experience and hard skills, they can make you a much more attractive candidate 🌈.
RESUME METRICS
Knowing and adding metrics to your resume gives you an edge! Employers want to see what you have done. (saying you are “great with people” is not measurable) In your “skills” section you want under the skill of “customer service” you could say Received 95% positive feedback on customer surveys. Other examples:
I led a team of 10 recruiters
I presented canvassing results to the Field Director 3 times every month.
Calls, doors knocked, events held, or helped create X, etc..
What if you don’t have metrics? Or no one gave you metrics?
Estimating metrics - Need to be honest and defensible metrics. (Can you show your math?) Example:
I lead a team of over 10 recruiters.
You know it was over ten, but probably less than 15, definitely not 20. So you can confidently say you trained over 10 recruiters.
Over the course of 5 years I trained ~ 200 teams on canvassing safety
You don’t have this number anywhere, but you did an average of 1 training a week, every year. There are 52 weeks a year times 5 = 260. But of course you took vacations, maybe you were out sick, etc. So then you can confidently say that you trained ~ 200 teams.
What are some numbers that you can use? Doors knocked (yourself, or if you were in charge of a team, the whole team amount), canvasses launched, number of people you registered. Etc.
TAILOR YOUR RESUME & COVER LETTER
When applying for a job, use the job description to identify keywords, tailor your resume to include skills specifically requested in the job description. TealHQ (which we’ll touch on next) can help you with this.
The ATS system (applicant tracking system) is meant to detect certain words that match what the employer is looking for. Therefore, both the structure and wording of your resume are crucial for it to be selected by the ATS system as a possible match. If you need further information or want to get tips to make your resume more ATS-friendly please reach out to us to get a personalized resume review on our website www.instituto.io/operations
DON’T SLEEP ON LINKEDIN
Linkedin is a very important platform. Executive directors and managers all use Linkedin.. why you ask? well because this platform is an extremely powerful networking and recruitment tool.
Everyone needs to have a LinkedIn account
Have a photo and background photo
Linked in accounts with photos get 21 TIMES MORE VIEWS, then profiles without photos.
Your “headline” should be more than just your job title.
LinkedIn Skills and Endorsements
On LinkedIn you can list out your skills and LinkedIn will apply those skills to relevant job positions. LinkedIn also allows for others to “endorse” your skills. Endorsements essentially allow others to vouch for you.
LinkedIn as a social media platform. LinkedIn has evolved over the years to be more like a social networking site. You want to take advantage of this.
Follow and engage with those in your network you want to work with
Link to content that is relevant to the work you do and who you are
Create content to help show others on the platform that you have expertise in the area you are planning to work in.
LinkedIn Premium. LinkedIn offers a premium service that can help you find work faster. The first month is free, and after that the cost is $39.99. LinkedIn Premium has a few useful benefits over a free LinkedIn account.
It allows you to send 5 messages to LinkedIn members you are not currently connected to, which can help you reach out and try to expand your network
It allows you to see who has viewed your profile from the last 90 days.
Provides access to LinkedIn Learning which has 16,000+ learning courses and that alone has a value of $19.99.
LinkedIn allows you to see how you compare to other applicants with its “Competitive Intelligence” feature. This is useful because it allows you to see how you stack up to the competition.
LinkedIn also allows you to have “Salary Insights” which provides you with info on pay for a specific job and breaks that info down by industry, and location in the country.
LinkedIn Premium subscribers obtain jobs twice as fast as regular subscribers.
So now that Game of Thrones is over. Please cancel HBO and get LinkedIn Premium!!
TAP INTO TEALHQ.COM
TealHQ is a FREE service that will give tips, help you stay organized & keep track of the job search process.
Use a resume builder that allows you to customize your experience, achievements and skills in order to tailor your resume for each job you are applying to.
Provides a work style assessment so you can better understand your natural work style and behavioral traits.
TealHQ’s chrome extension also allows you to:
Connect to LinkedIn and to other job boards you may be on and allows for bookmarking, and allows for the breakdown by job position, company salary, status, and dates
Allows you to rate each job by your level of excitement, which will help you better identify the jobs you care about most.
It allows for job postings to be analyzed to highlight key power skills and hard skills, so that you can use this information to customize your resume or cover letter for the position you are applying for.
Also when applying for a position, TealHQ will prompt 4 things you need to do before applying:
Get a referral: It will check on LinkedIn if you know anyone at the organization you are applying to
Customize resume
It prompts you to review the keywords you should include in your resume or cover letter
It reminds you to include the title of the job post in the summary section of your resume to show you are a perfect fit for the role.
Then it reminds you to tailor your resume summary, your achievements and skills
Customize cover letter
It provides cover letter templates in case you don’t have one
Prompts you to searches google news to learn more about the organization
And it uses grammarly for free to check for typos and grammatical errors
Identify Recruiter: It also helps you identify the recruiter by using Linkedin and provides communication templates to reach out to them.
Linkedin and TealHQ allow you to gain valuable insights to jobs that you are interested in and to where you are personally on achieving your goals to obtain employment that you want. Use that info to plan out where you want to be, not for just your next job, but for the next 3 or 5 years. Find the jobs you want, read those job descriptions. Ask yourself, what skills and experience do I need to obtain that job? And start working to put those pieces in place. Is there somewhere you can volunteer to gain those skills? Are there certifications available that you can obtain that indicates to hiring managers that you have the skills needed for the job? Come up with your goals and create a game plan. Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish.
BUILD YOUR OWN ADVENTURE AKA YOUR COVER LETTER
Provides a possible employer a personalized explanation of your qualifications for a position and why you are interested. While your resume will list out technical details and skills, a cover letter will help explain to an employer your power skills, your attitude, how you approach the work, and what motivates you.
Similar to the “build a bear 🐻” approach we took with the resume, you will “build your own adventure ” with your cover letter. This will also be in your working doc - with different iterations of sections and topic paragraphs
Resume Heading - Same as the one on your resume (consistency)
Same info: Name, email, phone number, etc.
Greeting
Research the hiring manager’s name, or reference the specific dept
“Dear Hiring Manager” is standard if unable to find a name
Introduction
Basic details of who you are, and why you want the job
Include the title of the job
Why you are the right fit and would excel in the job
Reasons you are excited for the position
If someone referred you to the job you can mention that
Qualifications - Flaunt your stuff
Here you focus on your skills and qualifications.
Here you can provide expand on details about info on your resume (providing additional context)
Provide info on experiences that apply to the job and explain how you contributed to the success of previous projects.
Values and Goals - How your values align to the employer’s
Understand the company’s culture and values. Show you your goals align with theirs.
You have to research and understand the organization you hope to work for and what their goals are! Aim to address your alignment with their mission statement and overall goals.
Call to action - I’m awesome, I’m looking forward to…
Summarizes your interest
Thank the hiring manager for their time
Let them know you are excited about next steps
Signature - in a cursive/different font
Sincerely, Respectfully, etc…
SAVE AS A PDF.
BONUS TIP: Make sure to pay attention when reading the instructions and doing research, making note of special details that you might be able to include in your cover letter to help you stand out.
ACING YOUR INTERVIEW
Interview Preparation Do’s
Make a checklist of what you want to talk about
Research the organization’s history, mission and recent developments
Use Google, Glassdoor, and YouTube to gain insights and an overview of their current projects, activities, and goals.
Outline your answers to common interview questions & practice
Practice in front of a mirror🪞. Make note of your facial expressions and body language. When interviewing, sit up straight, lean forward, and look the interviewer in the eye.
Try mock interviews with friends
Don’t ask your mom for feedback, it needs to be honest.
Try to find the interview format on job boards & Glassdoor!
Choose your interview outfit in advance 👩🏽💼
Check out their social media before the interview to get ideas in regards to dress code and workplace culture, but when in doubt always dress up! In my opinion, it is better to be overdressed than under-dressed!
Interview Prep Don'ts
Waiting until the day of an interview to do your research! Being unprepared shows that you lack interest and will most likely get you rejected.
Being late is just plain unprofessional. So please be at least 15 minutes early ⏰!
Don’t try to memorize your answers to interview questions. Instead, remember and keep a checklist of the key points you want to talk about. Think about your experience and the story you want to convey to the interviewer.
BONUS TIP: Make your notes transparent with a “Transparent Note” App so you can have your notes in front of you while speaking to the interviewer.
Finally, get plenty of rest the night before the interview to ensure you are alert and focused!
Interview - Do’s
During the interview, remember to:
Take your time to process questions.. If you need more time to think it through, say, “That’s a great question. Let me consider that for a minute.”
TIP: DRINK WATER 🥤! (This will allow you to pause, think about a question, and calm your nerves.)
Always answer with a positive and professional demeanor, and stay poised and relaxed. Interviews are designed to see how you react to challenges.
Be honest about all aspects of your employment history.
If you have gaps in your employment or experienced a layoff or dismissal, be ready to discuss it.
Come prepared with questions, remember to take notes to reference them later & ask for feedback!
Questions can be on details about the type of work that the position entails, the organization’s culture, and the typical career path of someone who holds the position.
Questions likely to be asked & how to answer them:
What are your weaknesses?
Be honest about elements of your experience or employment record that may not be ideal for the position. If you have gaps or if you are missing experience or skills in the job description, be truthful and then leverage the conversation back to your strengths. Never lie 🤥about past employment missteps or pretend to have skills that you do not have. A good interviewer will see through an attempt to mislead.
Why did you apply?
You must always have a rehearsed answer to this question since it will most likely be asked. Identify a couple of key factors about the job and the organization that aligns well with your strengths 💪, interests, and/or work style and get you excited about the position. Even if you’re not asked about this specifically, you can use this to inform your answers to other questions.
Interview - Don’ts
During the interview, please don’t:
Ramble. Prepare ahead of time what details to include in your answers. Offer concise answers that relate to the position you are applying for.
Do not focus on the specifics of a past role to the point where it dominates the conversation.
Forget to stay focused on the information your interviewer is providing you.
Interrupt your interviewer. Instead, wait for a pause in the conversation to ask short questions. Asking questions specific to what they are saying or asking of you is important to show that you understand and are engaged in the conversation.
Keep in mind that the job interview is a two-way street. The more you can make it a conversation, the better rapport you’ll create with the hiring manager.
TIPS
Most interviewers will ask behavioral questions about how you’ve acted or would act in certain scenarios. While you can’t anticipate every possible situation you’ll be asked about, you can prepare a few stories about your past work experiences that you can adapt as needed.
When you solved a problem
When you overcame a challenge
When you made a mistake
When you worked as a leader
When you worked with a team
When you did something interesting
Whenever you are answering questions, try using the STAR ⭐method
Situation: Briefly lay out the scenario using just enough detail that the interviewer will understand the stakes and everything else in your answer.
Task: Talk about what your role in the situation was.
Action: Discuss what you did and why.
Result: Tell your interviewer about the outcome and what you learned.
Follow up with a thank-you email ✉️reiterating your interest in the position. You can also include any details you may have forgotten to mention during your interview.
Your interview does not end when you walk out the door. Remember to follow up and let the interviewer know you appreciated the time they spent with you and the opportunity you had to learn about the job and the organization.
Do some salary research and if you get the job.. always always NEGOTIATE 💸!!
Even if this is your first interview, you might get asked about your salary expectations. To keep yourself from getting caught off guard and agreeing to a low number, do a bit of salary research to figure out how you would answer that question.
If you get the job, ALWAYS negotiate politely, clearly, and confidently. Compensation is important. Know your worth and ask for it.
YOU GOT THIS !
Applying for jobs is a full time job, revamping your resume and tailoring your cover letter takes time and work and when it comes to interviewing remember practice makes perfect. We know it is sometimes hard to stay strong especially if you are facing a lot of rejection but we are rooting for you 🤩!
Just know that by knowing the rules of the game, being prepared and putting in the work you are off to a great start. So stay confident, own your story, be yourself & let your positive attitude and enthusiasm shine.
TEMPLATES, TOOLS & RESOURCES
TABLE OF CONTENTS - HOW TO
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS TOOLKIT
[Toolkit] T-13 👉 Transferable Skills - Google Docs.pdf
SUPPORT RESOURCES WHEN UNEMPLOYED
ARIZONA@WORK plays an integral role in improving Arizona's workforce by assisting individuals who are unemployed and underemployed to prepare for and obtain gainful employment. https://arizonaatwork.com/
Try meditation - Headspace APP - https://get.headspace.com/employer-toolkit
For help finding mental health resources:
Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-NAMI or in a crisis, text “NAMI” to 741741.
If you’re in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255)
Contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
🚨Links🚨
How to quantify your resume bullets when you don't work with numbers
6 Types of Stories You Should Have on Hand for Job Interviews
ATTEND OUR UPCOMING CAREER FAIR
We’re excited to continue supporting jobseekers through our upcoming Instituto & One Arizona Career Fair on Jan. 31. Mark your calendar and join us at the Roosevelt Wellness Center in South Phoenix from 12 to 3 p.m. for networking, resources, and career-path opportunities!
Together, we’re building pathways to success and a stronger, more connected movement.
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