Resumes & Cover Letters

1. Resumes & Cover Letters Introduction to Workshop Ashley Mowry- Administrative Intern, Providence College Credit to LHS Business Department for materials- especially Cheryl Murray and Linda Silva

2. What is a Resume? • A brief summary of your personal information, educations, skills, work experience, activities and interests • Your personal sales presentation about you • A reflection of you and your capabilities, personality, creativity, and ability to express yourself • AKA: a personal data sheet, a biographical summary, a professional profile • Surveys indicate that employers spend less than 20 seconds scanning resume to determine whether or not to read it further • First glance: looks at appearance and what makes resume stand out from rest • Second glance: notices content, your profile, and your skills • Final glance: considers detail to determine your potential with the company

3. Resume TIps • RESUME TIPS • Keep brief-one page only (unless 10 or more years experience or Masters degree or above) • 8 ½ x 11 paper • Top quality, heavy bond paper • Pleasing to the eye color: white, ivory, sand (tan), or gray • Easy to read font-Times New Roman, Baskerville, Garamond or more modern: Helvetica, Futura, Optima, Universe • Never mix different fonts • OK to use regular, bold and italics • 10-12 point font for body, 14 point font for headings • Layout-white space at top, bottom, sides should be 1 inch—picture frame • Envelopes should match paper

4. Writing a resume • Use action verbs (see POWER WORDS sheet) • NO SPELLING ERRORS • Correct grammar • Accurate and true-should check out if verified • Do not use first person or pronouns • Avoid abbreviations • St.—write as Street • Signify what acronyms mean • OK to use State abbreviations-use 2 letter Postal Code Abbreviations • If your GPA is 3.0 or higher, include • Overall GPA • GPA within • Use bulleted statements, not paragraphs • Don’t stretch the truth; when discovered, discredits you…people in industry talk

5. “Skills” or “Functional” Resume Format • Good for students who have little or no work experience • Highlights your skills and accomplishments with bullets • For example, if a job description for an open position calls for proficiency with a certain type of software, you could cite high school courses where you used it skillfully. • You might also list accomplishments outside of work environments that are still pertinent to a position for which you are applying. • For example, duties as the head of a volunteer group might demonstrate organizational abilities. Participation in a service organization might show particular skills. • After each heading is a description • Advantages: emphasizes your strengths

6. Distributing it • Send by mail • Do not fold, use a large envelope • OR: • Send by email • Send by internet job search engine • Bring with you to interview Consider: • LinkedIn= very popular with employers. • It is a method to look at potential candidates before they become active job seekers. This is expected to increase since potential employers can select candidates based not just on qualifications but on the more elusive “fit “factors • Do NOT include your home address on resumes that are widely emailed or posted on the internet; city and state should be fine

7. Cover letters • A letter that “covers” your resume and explains how you are qualified for a job, impresses the employer as to your interest and desire and asks for an interview. Also known as letter of application or sales letter. • Purpose—to sell yourself and convince employer to look at resume • TIP: Do research on company before writing letter

8. Helpful Tips • “Dos” • Do motivate the potential employer to read the attached resume and invite you to interview for the position you are seeking • Do take the time to personalize each letter by researching the company and considering the skills necessary to perform the desired position • Do address your letter to a specific person, and make sure you spell the name and job title correctly. If not specific person, use Dear Prospective Employer or Dear Human Resource Director.

9. Helpful tips (continued) • Do use action verbs • Do use the words “contribute” and “success” • Do write positively and confidently—but not arrogantly • Do make sure your cover letter is neat and pleasing to the eye • Do refer to your resume but don’t repeat it—interpret it • Do call attention to your qualifications by underling them, boldfacing them, or indenting them in a list with bullets. FORMAT: • Do use paper that matches your resume • Do type your letter; use same font and font size • Do keep it to one page • Do tell the employer you will call him for an interview. If you say Tuesday, make sure you make that call on Tuesday—not Wednesday • Do sign your name in black ink (*BE SURE TO SIGN LETTER)

10. Don’ts! • Don’t use the salutation “To Whom It May Concern” • Don’t begin a paragraph with “I” • Don’t use words like believe, hope, feel, should, and know

11. Cover Letter Format • get the ATTENTION of your reader in the First paragraph • name a person who told you of the position • ask a question • If you want a catchy first sentence, make sure it is appropriate for the job summarize 2 or 3 outstanding qualifications • make a statement with which the reader will agree • Review the prerequisites for a job and show your possession of the prerequisites • State the specific position and how you heard of it • Second and/or third paragraph • Create INTEREST and DESIRE on the part of your reader. • *Refer to your resume and select 2 or 3 strong points and interpret them • Tell how this strength will make you a good applicant for the position • Relate experiences--job shadow, community service, classes--and skills you possess to satisfy job requirements and how you can contribute to the company • Last paragraph—ACTION • Ask for an interview in a friendly or assertive manner. Give every possible way to reach you with appropriate times. • * (most popular) Tell employer when “you” will call to set up an interview • Closing remark • Short and courteous • Sincerely yours • Your name 4 spaces below to allow space for your signature

12. Helpful Links • This presentation can be downloaded from: www.mrsmowry.weebly.com • Get started by creating your online profile on LinkedIn: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/linkedin/ss/linkedin-profile-tips.htm