Transcript Resumes_and_Cover_Letters - CCBC Faculty Web

Resumes and
Cover Letters
for sample resume and
cover letter
for a resume worksheet
A resume can be used to
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Apply for a job
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Summarize your skills, experience, education and
training
• Persuade the hiring manager to bring you
in for an interview
• Accompany applications for selective
admissions programs, transfer schools or
graduate degrees
Styles change
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Resumes used to start with an objective. Use
one of these instead
Career Focus| Profile| Headline| Skills Summary
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Resumes use to end with the phrase,
“References available upon request.” This
phrase should be omitted. Create a reference
sheet and take that with you to the interview.
Use the same formatting and type face as you
use in the resume and cover letter. Your
documents should all relate to one another.
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Teachers and friends might recommended use
of templates, tables, headers/footers, color,
fancy fonts, capital letters and underlining.
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Avoid the above mentioned styles because they
cannot be read universally by applicant tracking
software.
All resumes include
1. Your name
If your name is long or difficult, maybe best to
omit your middle initial. Make it easy to say and
remember
2. Your address
Unless you are applying for jobs all over the
world, no need to add “USA.” Only add the
country for jobs outside of the U.S.)
3. Your telephone
number (just one)
Format the number like this: 123-456-7890
4. Your email address
Have a professional address, not that of your
current employer. Should be with a current
internet provider, not aol, EarthLink, or other
dated service. No endearing nicknames, no
mentions of dear ones in your email, just your
name and if your name is one that others
have, add a memorable number.
[email protected]
Jane Washington
123 Main Street
Catonsville, MD 21228
123-456-7890
[email protected]
When applying for a job, make sure that
your email address isn’t too extreme or
unprofessional. An address like
[email protected] or
[email protected] could give others
a biased impression
Other possible headings
Jane Washington
123 Main Street
Catonsville, MD 21228
123-456-7890
[email protected]
Profile or Skills Summary
Experience (Goes first if you have more job
experience than education)
Headings that might be useful:
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Relevant Experience
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Additional Employment
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Military Service
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Computer Skills
Training/Certifications/Licenses
Honors/Awards
Volunteer Experience
Activities
Education (Goes before Experience section if your work
experience is limited)
• Related coursework
Save your resume in .doc format as this is the format most easily opened.
Most employers prefer
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A chronological format: most popular among hiring
managers, easy to see your work history at a glance.
Create your resume using the most recent information
first and working backwards to add older experience.
This is called “reverse chronological order.”
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Other formats can be used to emphasize skills, these are
functional and combination resume formats, but
continuous employment remains important to those
who hire. There are 2 other resume formats: functional
and combination.
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Use a concise date style, ex. 2/2012 – 8/2013 or Summer
2011
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Candidates may omit the year of graduation from the
resume. If you have started college, you do not have to
include high school graduation, school name or activities
from that period.
No “I’s” in Resumes
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Write the resume in a condensed form, using phrases that start with
action verbs instead of the subject “I” – it is understood.
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Open this link of action verbs to see those that are recommended for
resumes.
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Avoid these two phrases as you prepare your resume: “Duties
included” or “Responsibilities included” and choose active verbs
instead.
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Use the present tense of the verb. If you are no longer in the job and
are no longer doing these activities, use the past tense of the verb.
Ex. Handle/handled bookkeeping responsibilities and routine
operations of the library.
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Highlight your accomplishments. Emphasize what YOU have done.
Use facts and numbers. Give an idea of how much, how many, how
often, so if you managed a cash register, add that you managed $500 $1,000 daily with accuracy. This makes you look stronger and
conscientious, reliable, trustworthy.
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If you managed or trained others, describe the number of team
members and the range of your supervision.
Describing your experience
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Avoid big descriptions of tasks you never want to do again.
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We have all been responsible for tasks that we would not like
to do again, so don’t list it first or elaborate on it.
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If among many responsibilities, for example, you answered
the telephone, maybe you could omit that one and instead
focus on tasks that would be more persuasive and appealing
to the new hiring manager.
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Examples
– Organized health records for a dental office serving
3600 patients
– Provided a high level of customer service to patients
and their families
That was then, this is now
• Once you start college and list
it on your resume, you no
longer have to include your
high school graduation, unless
your achievements or
activities were outstanding.
• Likewise, once you finish
college, be very selective
about what you include about
your honors and activities.
You want to demonstrate that
you are moving on to the work
world.
Education and Training
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List in reverse chronological order
beginning with the most recent.
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List colleges/trade schools, location, dates
of attendance. Can leave off high school.
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Degree earned or working towards, major,
concentration, actual or expected
graduation date.
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GPA overall and/or in your major (if above
a 3.0), honors, awards, Dean’s List,
scholarships, related coursework.
Honesty is the best policy
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Hiring managers verify job titles and dates, and
education.
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When you tell the truth, you don’t have any
concerns about the application and resume
information agreeing. You will be at greater ease
in the interview.
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Job seekers are asked to sign that their
applications are truthful and that any issues with
verification can result in immediate dismissal.
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Even Chief Executives of companies have been
forced to step down if “inaccuracies” are found. In
May 2012, Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson had to step
down when it was learned that his degree was in
accounting only rather than computer science and
accounting as he had claimed on his resume.
Editing
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Limit the resume length to one page or two.
Create a draft and then edit.
Update your resume with a careful review of typing,
grammar and spelling so you are not initially
screened out.
Using a spell check may not uncover the mistake so
have a trusted reader review the document before
you mail or hit send.
Get expert help to evaluate if your resume seems
too brief or too long.
Some students need help writing their
achievements, combining ideas or organizing the
bullet points so that the main ideas are clear.
Seek resources such as O*Net or the Occupational
Outlook Handbook for help in writing your bullet
points.
Create a professional document
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Templates are often attractive to students because the name is featured in huge type. When you are not sure what to say,
putting your name in 32 point font might seem like a good beginning. But templates and tables cannot be read by applicant
tracking software.
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Experts say to use 9 -12 point type for the body of the resume. Headings can go up as high as 14 point type but avoid the
temptation to use anything more than 16 – 18 point type for your name. It can give the wrong impression. Likewise, using a
lot of capital or bold letters can make your resume look aggressive.
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Use a font that is larger than the body and be sparing with capitals, bolds and underlines for the sake of the reader.
Recommended Fonts
Sans Serif
Arial
Calibri
Verdana
Serif
Baskerville
Georgia
Times New Roman
Tahoma
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Use formats that include lots of white space to make your resume attractive and readable. Recruiters and personnel
managers spend very little time (5 – 7 seconds!) reading a resume so information must be easy to find in a quick scan.
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If the heading is already large, you do not need to add a colon. So if you have the heading “Education,” you don’t need a
colon right after it, just add the information in the next line.
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CCBC should be spelled out as The Community College of Baltimore County.
Cover Letter Tips
• When mailed, resumes should be accompanied by a cover letter.
• Without repeating content, the cover letter supports your resume.
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Allows you to establish rapport with the reader before meeting in person.
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Increases odds of your getting an interview, if well researched and written.
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Research: Use Glassdoor.com, company pages on Vault.com, Facebook or
LinkedIn to learn more about company values, mission, strategy.
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Find the name of the hiring manager so that you can avoid addressing the
cover letter using “To Whom It May Concern,” or “Dear Sir/Madam.”
Keep these guidelines in mind
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Generic letters are less persuasive.
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Write your letter for the specific job.
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Explain your interest in this particular organization.
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Describe what makes you a strong candidate for the
advertised role. Tie your experience and skills to the job
description.
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Highlight relevant information and experience with
similar tasks or in similar environments.
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Keep the employer’s needs uppermost in your mind
- So no mention of your need for health benefits, a
shorter commute, an employee discount, profit
sharing or their daycare services, etc.
How to prepare your documents
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If you are sending the resume by email
then the cover letter can be the body of
email and attach the resume.
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Documents should be prepared in the
same type face and font size. This
includes the list of references which
should have the same header as you
use on the resume.
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Use the .doc format to save your cover
letter, resume and list of references. It
is easiest to open and moves the best
through applicant tracking software.
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Follow the directions listed by the
employer for how to send your
documents.
Keep it short
Limit your letter to one page with
no more than 3 to 5 paragraphs.
• Close with a simple phrase
about ways to contact you and
that you will follow-up within
the week.
• Proofread the cover letter
carefully and have someone
else read it too.
• Here is a quick
video that
overviews tips
Don’t delay your job search
• Start off with a good, error free
resume. You can always revise
and improve it while you are
actively looking for a job. You will
get better at the job search
process as you go along.
• Some experts estimate that for
every $10,000 of annual earnings,
it can take a month to find a new
job. In a tight economy, it can take
longer.
• Use all of the resources listed on
our Seek Employment page to find
openings.
Contact us Call or Visit
Career counselors are available to help you with next steps.
CCBC Campus
Location
Telephone
Catonsville
SSRV 209
443-840-4435
Dundalk
SSRV 102
443-840-3131
Essex
SSRV 260
443-840-1732
http://www.ccbcmd.edu/employment/online/Contact_Information.html