Workshop Highlights Tips for Effective Resumes

By Jocelyne E. Pierre

The CPA Candidates Association sponsored a resume writing workshop on February 17 that featured Roger Legendre, of Fox Gearty, who provided tips on creating effective resumes to elicit interviews.

He stressed that a well-structured resume that shows professional appearance and strong work commitment will create a positive impression, and that this is important since the resume is the first introduction to the interviewer. The resume must describe the candidate's potential as clearly as possible.

Writing a resume requires well-organized thought and a sense of prioritization. Legendre stressed that the key is to start and finish strong, and candidates should emphasize strengths and accomplishments in their order of priority and relevance. Subheadings and indentations can highlight ideas; bullets, italics, boldface, and underlining can add extra emphasis.

Legendre recommended tailoring a resume to respond specifically to a particular job. He stressed that the effective resume reflects qualities important to a prospective employer: leadership, flexibility, and a high standard of excellence. The resume presents academic skills, experience, and a personality profile, but also can convey teamwork and cooperation, conceptual thinking, self-confidence, high professional aspirations, and customer service skills.

He said it also is important to show the ability to identify client needs and respond effectively by adapting to changes and meeting deadlines. A good resume demonstrates to the employer that the candidate is motivated to succeed in a competitive environment. *