Question:

I graduated from college a year ago with a computer science degree, am currently working full-time as a programmer, and going to school part-time for computer certification degrees. Should my resume and cover letter focus on my educational background or my work history?

First Answer:

How you focus your resume will depend on the type of job you want to get. Both education and work experience should play an important part in your resume. Since you are getting additional training in the same broad field as your degree and your work experience, both can be very valuable to you. The one you emphasize the most depends on the type of job you are apply for. If the certification you are currently completing is a job requirement or weighs heavily in the skills needed, be sure to emphasize it. If your next employment will build on the experience and skills you gained from your current job, emphasize that. A good resume will use both education and skills to create an advertisement of what you can do for the company.

Also use the cover letter to emphasize special skills you know that are valuable to the employer you are applying with. This might mean that each resume and cover letter needs to be customized to the specific job you are applying for but the extra effort is worth it to get the right job.

-- Linda Wyatt, Career Center Director, Kansas City Kansas Community College

Second Answer:

It is not a question of either/or. Your resume needs to show a holistic picture of your skills and education. However, it should be customized a bit focus on what the employer wants most (take a look at the job description or the classified ad carefully). If specific educational requirements are stressed and you haven't finished getting that certification, mention that you are currently in school for (xxx certification degrees) and state your graduation date. Then, follow with some information about the skills and experience you have that would be helpful to the employer. Keep in mind that a cover letter is not a substitute for a resume, nor should it be a rehash of it. Keep it fairly short (never more than a page). Use it to make a (brief) case for why your combination of experience and skills would be helpful to the employer, and why you feel you'd like to work there. Good luck!

-- Alison Blackman Dunham, life & career expert, columnist, personal public relations consultant, half of THE ADVICE SISTERS®, and the author of the ASK ALISON career advice column.

Third Answer:

Under laying your question as I see it, is the recognition that as your on-the-job experience grows, your educational experience becomes less of a factor when you are looked at as a prospective employee. Generally, five years of job experience pretty well changes the focus for employers. For then, they have some hard data, gained in the work arena, to use when evaluating you as a candidate.

Your single year of business experience, while valuable, is not enough of a track record upon which to fully depend. Thus, your academic experience is quite important. Particularly, if your GPA is high and you were active in extra curricular activities.

You might consider using the traditional FUNCTIONAL resume format when you revise your job search paperwork. (Many books are available for guidance to this and alternate formats.)It is my sense this resume form focuses on specific strengths and skills important to employers. It is brief and well structured and is effectively used in situations such as yours. Draw on career-related course work combined with your job experience; use these elements as your focal point.

Include a "keywords" section at the top of the document, wherein you will develop a "snapshot" of your knowledge and experience. Single words, even acronyms (if within common knowledge), i.e.: Programming languages: C++, FORTRAN, COBOL, PASCAL Software: Photoshop, Illustrator, QuarkExpress.....

In increasing numbers, employers are scanning resumes into databases to be searched using specific words or bits of information. By placing such likely bits within the resume the search engine will easily locate your resume among the many that did not have this foresight. Even if it isn't scanned, a human reader can quickly focus on the capsule of concrete information to aid her/him in the decision process.

Your cover letter too, will focus on specific skills you have attained coupled with your personal attributes and abilities important to the employer you are addressing.

-- Robert C. Resch, Career Center, Triton College

Fourth Answer:

Both! But since you have experience in the workforce in your chosen field, put most of the emphasis on that. Consider doing something like this:

NAME
Contact Information
Career Focus / Qualifications Summary
Education
Certifications (if you have already completed any)

Experience

You can list your education first, but do it succinctly:

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science -- Computer Science (2000)
University Name, City, State

MCSE, CNA, and A+ Certifications Pending Completion Date

-- Rene' Hart, Resumes for Success!

Fifth Answer:

A profile or summary would go first -- which would include both education and work experiences. Then I would list your degree (education) on the top 1/3 of the page -- this will get the recipients' attention.

Next go into work experience -- remember only put statements on your resume that are relevant to the position sought.

-- Candace Davies, Director and Founder of Cando Career Coaching and Resume Writing and All Trades Resume Writing.

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