Job Seeking Skills

•Cover Letter•Resume

Cover LetterA cover letter is a short one page letter that goes on top of your Resume. The purpose of the cover letter is to introduce yourself and your skills to entice a prospective employer to read your resume.

Correspondence with prospective employers

Cover letter The purpose of the cover letter is to introduce yourself and entice a prospective employer to read your resume. Keep the cover letter to no more than a few paragraphs. Highlight a couple of items from your resume to give the employer a positive impression about what you can do. 

•Research the open position, and highlight some points from your resume that would make you a good match for that position.

•Address the cover letter directly to a person, not to whom it may concern

•In the cover letter state that you are interested in the ____ position and that you will contact them in the near future.

•Proof read and correct your cover letter and then have someone else double check your cover letter before sending it with your resume.

Resume

•A Resume is a summary of your life that is sent to a prospective employer prior to you getting an interview.

•A well formatted Resume will make the difference in a prospective employer desiring to interview you or not.

Your resume

Your resume could determine …if the company wants to meet you at allif you will be contacted if you will be interviewedif you will be hired

  In today's competitive market, a well-designed resume will give you an advantage.

Your Resume *Start by making a rough draft of your life, education, work experiences, extra curricular activities, skills and abilities.*Now cross off all of the times that were not really important or that you don’t think a prospective employers would need to know about you.*Revise your list by putting the remaining items in chronological order.

These are the basics for your Resume.

Remember that your resume is the first impression of yourself to a prospective employer.

  Format your resume into sections: Name and addressEducationExtracurricular ActivitiesWork HistorySkills/AbilitiesReferences

Keep the resume simple Easy to read.  Use standard fontsUse indentations  Put list in "bullets" Keep it neat and cleanUse resume paper

*Chronological order is used more often*Create an easy to followed format  *List most recent educational and work experience first  *Put starting/ending dates/years, place of employment, title, and duties with your work experiences

Use Resume words such as:

accomplished, achieved, acted, analyzed, assembled, assisted, built, calculated, classified, compiled, conducted, contributed, constructed, coordinated, created, designed, developed, diagnosed, delivered, directed, displayed, distributed, evaluated, examined, expanded, expedited, founded, guided, identified, increased, improved, initiated, issued, installed, instructed, invented, investigated, maintained, managed, mediated, monitored, operated, organized, originated, oversaw, performed, planned, prepared, presented, processed, produced, prompted, proposed. provided, recorded, recruited, represented restored, researched, scheduled, served, strengthened, solved, supervised, tested trained, updated.

List names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of at least three references (on the same quality paper and font as the resume).  You should use "references available upon request" only when you need to protect the list of references from falling into the wrong hands. 

It is not out of line for you to call and make sure if the employer received your cover letter, resume and letters of references. Before calling, prepare a phone script.  That phone script will help you to speak in a professional manner whether to a person or to an answering machine. etc. Keep the call brief, courteous, and professional.  Be sure to state your name clearly along with the reason you are calling.

Remember the resume should be… Visually appealing

Easy to readPossess a professional lookOn quality paper Well-balanced appearanceWell organizedError-free text Look Picture Perfect

Be honest on your resume!  Be confident!

Now develop and construct your own cover letter and Resume.