resume and cover letter workshop - october 2013

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Resumes and Cover Letters KCSA Workshop #1 on Advancing Professionally: #1 Resume and Cover Letters Workshop #2 Maximizing your social presence through LinkedIn (November 5, 2013) STREERING CAREER SUCCESS ON THE DRIVER’S SEAT

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This is a presentation that I have prepared for the Korean Commerce Student Association of University of British Columbia, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I was the presenter for two career development workshops - Resumes and Cover Letter, and LinkedIn.

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Page 1: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

Resumes and Cover Letters

KCSA Workshop #1 on Advancing Professionally:#1 Resume and Cover Letters Workshop

#2 Maximizing your social presence through LinkedIn (November 5, 2013)

STREERING CAREER SUCCESS ON THE DRIVER’S SEAT

Page 2: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

About MeP R O F E S S I O N A L E X P E R I E N C E

• Research Analyst, RCI Capital Group (Dec 2011 – Present)

• Summer Analyst, Credit Risk, Standard Chartered Bank

• Investment Banking Summer Analyst, Nomura Holdings International

C A R E E R A D V A N C E M E N T S

• Finalist, National Investment Banking Competition (2010, 2013)

• Finalist, Pacific Venture Capital Competition (2013)

• Founder, UBC-SFU Investment Banking Study Group

• Founder, UBC Korean Commerce Student Association (est. 2009)

Page 3: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

Why are resumes and cover letters important?• Your resume is your professional life… in one page (or

two)

• The cover letter is something that is more ‘humane’ and unique• Sometimes, cover letters are a judge of your writing skills

• This is not a CV – Curriculum Vitae is a more comprehensive document

• In any North American career advancement process, you need at least your resume to begin your professional life

Page 4: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

What is a good resume?

Page 5: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

What is a good resume?

Page 6: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

What is a good resume?

Page 7: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

What is a good resume?

Skills?

Interests?

Page 8: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

What to include• Your name, e-mail, address, home address, phone number accurately

• Company names and dates

• Job titles

• Job responsibilities

• Licenses and certifications

• Education

• Patents and publications

• Professional groups

• Languages

Page 9: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

What not to include• The word Resume at the top of the page or References Available Upon

Request at the end

• Reason for leaving a job

• Salary requirements/ history

• Religious or political organizations

• Negative information

Page 10: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

Seriously, watch out for…• Your font. No one wants to read your name in this font.

• Margins. You have some freedom here… but there are some that are unrealistic.

• Colors. These are rare mistakes, but these uncommon mistakes will most definitely make your chances of getting a job – at best – uncommon.

Page 11: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

An example of a poorly written job description

Page 12: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

“Good to include” – skills and interests

• What are your interests?

• What do you do as a hobby? Soccer? Yoga? Singing? Etc.

• What are your volunteering interests (if any)?

• What skill sets do you have?

• Computer Skills (programming, MS Office, Photoshop, etc.)

• Job-specific skills (Science/Engineering students will have labs/procedures that you can perform. Business – build your own skills.)

Page 13: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

Final thoughts on resumes

• The goal is to provide an ‘outline’ of you in one page. Always keep this in mind.

• When you think that you don’t have anything to write:

• Yes. Military service is a qualifying work experience.

• Private Tutoring… this is one of the things that I hate seeing on resumes.

• Go out there. Be involved.

• Set schedules to revise your resumes, at least twice a year.

And aim to have something meaningful on your resume, by the time that revision schedule comes around.

Page 14: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

Cover Letters

• The truth is, people don’t really read them.

• But if you don’t have one – then the recruiters will look for one. If you don’t have one, it’s a minus for you, but if you do, it’s not necessarily a plus.

• There are exceptions…

• Your cover letter is like a well-written essay

• But it’s not about yourself – it should be specific to every employer. Show that:

• You know about the employer, and your genuine interest• Show that you actually read the job description

Page 15: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

The typical format

• Introduction

• How did you hear about the job?• Why are you interested?• In short, why do you deserve this job?

• Your body paragraphs

• This depends. Who are you addressing it to? Who is reading your cover letter?

• The bored CEO• The overstaffed entry-level HR professional• Your potential team members

Page 16: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

The typical format

• Conclusion

• Not your average conclusion…• Summarize your skills and interest.• State that you are interested, and how to contact you.

• Personally signed letters are the best. Leave an impression.

• Electronic submissions to e-mail accounts should be in PDF formats.

• Get your cover letters proofread for spelling, flow, and message.

• This should be more important than your 5% written assignment for class that you would sell your soul for free proofreading.

Page 17: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

Final, final thoughts…

• Resumes and cover letters are the two most important pieces of documents that you will write in your university life.

• It gets you a job. The expected value of these documents should be very, very high.

• Be involved. Go out there, join a club, start up a club, or do something otherwise beneficial to your resume. This includes EVERYTHING ELSE related to career development other than studying.

• Getting a job – build your network. NOTHING matters more than building your own network when you are a fresh undergraduate from university.

Page 18: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

Final, final thoughts…

• Reach out. By attending, you chose to utilize a resource that you have. You have many others:

• Your KCSA execs. Reach out at [email protected]• Your Career Centre. They get paid for helping you.• Your friends. At least someone would write better than you/willing to

look at your cover letter and resume.

• Come to next week’s workshop. On November 5, 2013 -

Page 19: Resume and Cover Letter Workshop - October 2013

Thank you. Any questions?