Due Date Reminder for Tomorrow

Remember: Your Resume, Cover Letter, and the Job Posting you are writing both towards are due tomorrow, 1/28,  (printed copies) by the beginning of class: 2:45pm.

drafting a Cover Letter

First, before you worry about formatting and editing it down, answer the following questions in good detail, with specific examples developed more from the resume.

1. What are 2-3 skills you've learned in college that will help you in this particular job? (Specify the course, what projects and technology you worked with, etc.) What in the job posting makes you think these skills are necessary for this job?


2. In what ways have you demonstrated those skills you write of above? In the real world? In other worlds, how have you put that knowledge to use on practical levels?

Cover Letter Template, 1/26 in class

For some good pointers and a more in-depth template and description of a Cover Letter (Letter of Application is another term for this letter), review and take notes on pages 387-393 of our textbook.

For now, here is the run down on what to include. Rather than overloading with a list of all things you've ever done, places you've worked, skills you have, or the success of your education, you want to highlight a few points . Focus on 2-3 points within the letter, and develop those points with the job you are applying for in mind. Again, look back to the job posting to see which qualifications are of highest importance and begin thinking about and writing down in your first draft how you can fulfill those jobs.

Here is our template:

Your street addy

Your city/state/zip

Date letter is written

Person Addressing Letter To  (potential employer; be formal)

Their Business Addy

Dear Mr./Ms. (don't assume that a woman is married!):

Paragraph 1: Don't indent, but use a space to separate paragraphs. In this first paragraph, be straightforward and to the point. 4 duties of the introduction: 1) What job you are applying for, and 2) ask for them to consider you. 3) How do you know of job; who told you? 4) What is one position-specific reason they should consider you for job (skill, past employment). Tip: This last sentence should respond to a particular demand implied in the job posting --again, look for key qualifications and repeat them back with specific examples developed in your response. 

Paragraph 2: Education paragraph. This is an important paragraph for many of you, applying for entry level positions out of college. Use a transitional topic sentence (a hinge) that speaks back to the main reason you should be considered for the job, and then describe how your education has helped build that skill or given you the practical knowledge to be able to fulfill the position's responsibilities. For instance, if the job asks for sound computer skills and you have them...let them know what courses you've taken, what computer programs you've worked with, and how those courses will fulfill particular responsibilities they are asking of their candidates.

Paragraph 3: Using one job as a reference point to describe what you learned or what skills used (or both) by working there. IF you haven't had a job, ever, than this may be more difficult, but you can still use this paragraph to explain your skill-level and how you've used that skill.

Paragraph 4: Conclusion --why should they interview me? 1)Mention your resume. 2) Ask or make know that you would welcome an interview (use such a phrase as "would welcome"). 3) Provide your personal contact information (e-mail and phone #), and mention that you will also provide further references or would be willing to provide additional information (if they would like). 

Tips:

- formality is key: use friendly phrases; do not use conjunctions (don't, can't, etc.); and don't be too forward. 

-consistency: have a focus, and commit to developing that focus. If they have a main duty or skill important to hiring the person, focus each of your paragraphs to different aspects of how you are qualified --in interest, educationally, and in practice.

Resume and Cover Letter Requirements

Resume & Cover Letter
Due: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 (changed from syllabus)
Requirement:
- 1-page resume, for a particular job posting
- 1- page cover letter, for the same job posting

As we’ve been working on, you are to find a job posting on-line that you will use to write a mock application; writing both a mock resume and cover letter for a specific position.

It is suggested that you find a job posting in a field related to your own major studies here at East West, as this will provide you good practice for when it comes time to write your real resume and cover letter. Most of you should have done this part already.

A key point to the project is to understand that you are being graded on your ability to understand and create a resume and cover letter that includes the proper content and uses formatting techniques to highlight the document in the reader’s eye.

Some of the requirements might cause you to have to fictionalize work experience, education, etc., only for this project. In the real world, outside this classroom, when applying for a job – you cannot falsify and exaggerate on your qualifications, ethically. Such falsification could get you fired! But, for the purposes of having some fun, and to allow for your creativity, you may imagine credentials and experience in order to create a strong resume and cover letter.
However, the focus is still on your ability to apply some of the basic To Dos of both parts of the job application.

The Resume (1-page):
This is a brief outline of your qualifications for a job. The resume should provide relevant material to the job posting, such as educational background, work experience, skills used, learned, and any honors/credits that show success within the field in which you’re applying.

1. You must have at least 4 main categories, three (3) which you must include: Objectives, Education and Skills. The other 1-2 categories can be from categories such as, Related Work experience/ Volunteer Experience/ Awards / Publications / Relevant Courses, depending on what type of position you are applying for.

2. Considerations when grading:
- Required content: the successful resume develops points within each of the above main categories.
- Aesthetic quality: both in using consistent font and font size, spacing between categories; bullet points; other factors that include overall readability.
- Language and Organization: strong verbs, clear language that uses specifics appropriate to each category; ideas that are not redundant or repeated without development.

The Cover Letter (1-page):
This is a letter that allows you to introduce and develop some of who you are in the workplace, showing that you have knowledge and experience within the position, and describing what you will bring to the workplace.

1. Considerations when grading:
- Development of 2-3 key points: the successful cover letter shows that the potential employee has read the job posting. One does so by explaining how they can fulfill (or have in the past) the requirements asked by the job while proving an explanation of skills and background in job’s field.
- Aesthetic quality: use consistent spacing and font; use paragraphs to highlight points.
- Language and Organization: clear, concise, and engages in the position and its duties. Use specific examples rather than talk in generalities.

Guiding Template and Suggestions for Strengthening your Resume

Personal Information / Contact
- Name, address, phone number, e-mail
- Put name in a larger font to highlight and put in reader’s memory

Objective
- Where you explain position you are applying for
- Duties/ main goals as understood from job posting
- Focus is on “How I can fulfill their goals” for job à what they’re looking for
- Repeat specifics from job postingà job title, as stated
- Be brief as possible à 1-2 lines of explanation
o Strong verbs
- If you have lots of experience within the field (highly qualified), then you may write a “summary of qualifications” instead of a brief objective. This is just slightly more involved and is more centered on what you can bring to job!
o Good for those more advanced jobs – jobs asking for lots of experience or a lot of education and publication,
o Good for those jobs that ask for some unique quality such as “uses technology” that go beyond standards for the type of position

Education
- Stick to college experiences, and post-baccalaureate studies (past your bachelor’s)
- Major field of study
o Minor field of study, if applicable
- Highlight your g.p.a if it is strong
- Graduation or expected graduation
- Thesis, dissertation, honors that come with graduation
- If not in its own category, underneath the above relevant material, this is where you would put “related course work” and also other places of you may have done extra studying
o Study abroad
o Do special research
o Other institutional learning

Skills
- don’t worry about complete sentences
- start with strong, appropriate verbs
o Appropriateness gauge: 1. What is the position 2. What skills are they looking for?
- provide at least two (2) ; they’re looking for multi-dimensional workers!
- provide more than one area of skill level, and if possible elaborate with specific examples from past work (example: page 382)
- This is the category where you provide not specific examples that encapsulate the skill being used.
o Example: rather than simply writing “leadership skills” it is clearer and more effective to write down specific examples that show you have been a leader. “Design leader in “Always Coca-cola” marketing campaign”
o Again, the only reason to use something such as “leadership skills” would be to use this as a sub-heading for providing multiple examples of “leadership skills.”
- Remember: don’t leave reader to interpret skills, but provide where skills came from . . .