Technical Writing Course 6

1. Technical Writing Course6 Prepared By Dr. Ali Maqousi Room: 7304 Email: amaqousi@uop.edu.jo

2. TW–The Job Search • How to find job openings • Criteria for Effective resumes • Sample resumes

3. TW– How to find job openings • Visit your College or University Job Placement Center. • Talk to your Instructors. • Network with Friends and Past Employers. • Get Involved in your Community. • Check your Professional Affiliations and Publications. • Read the Want Ads • Read Newspapers or Business Journals to Find Growing Businesses and Business Sectors. • Take a ”Temp” Job. • Get an Internship. • Research the Internet.

4. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes • Resumes are usually the first impression you make on a prospective employer. • An effective resume will give you the opportunity to sell your skills. • Your Resume should present an objective, easily accessible, detailed biographical sketch.

5. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Components: • Identification • Career Objectives • Employment • Education • Professional Skills • Military Experience (if applicable) • Professional affiliations

6. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Identification • Your name (Full Name, in boldface and font-size 14 (16) points) • Your address (street address, city, state, zip code, and area code. if you have temporary and permanent addresses provide both) • Phone numbers (2), (Don’t provide a work phone), fax number, and Email or Web site address.

7. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Career Objectives • Career objectives line is not mandatory (Optional depends on the prospective employer) • Career objectives line is like a subject line in a memo or report. It informs the reader of your résumé's focus. Examples: - Career objective: An entry-level position as a computer programmer. - Career objective: To market financial planning programs and provide financial counseling to ensure positive client relations.

8. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Employment • List the jobs you have held in reverse chronological order (Current job listed first, previous jobs listed next) • In this section include the following: - Job Title - The name of the company you worked for - The location of this company - The time period during which you worked at this job - Your job duties, responsibilities, and accomplishments. (what did you achieve on this job, how you met deadlines, trained employee, cut expenses, exceeded sales expectations, and so forth.

9. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Employment (Continue….) Quantify your accomplishments, as follows: Example:

10. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Education • Document your educational experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent education first; previous schools, colleges, universities, military courses, and training seminars next) • In this section provide the following: - Degree (if you have not yet received your degree, you can write “Anticipated date of graduation June 2009” or “ Degree expected in 2009” - Area of specialization - School attended (don’t abbreviate) - Location - Year of graduation or years attended.

11. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Education (Continue….) To highlight a unique educational accomplishments, you may include one or more of the following: - Grade point average - Academic club memberships and leadership offices held - Unique coursework - Special class projects - Academic honors, scholarships, and awards - Club or union leadership offices held - Technical equipment you can operate

12. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Professional Skills To make the reader’s attention focus on your unique skills, you may include the following: - Proficiency with computer hardware and software - Procedures you can perform - Special accomplishments and awards you have earned - On-the-job training you have received - Training you have provided - New techniques you have invented or implemented - Number of and types of people you have managed - Publications you have created or worked on - Certifications you have earned - Languages you speak, read, and write

13. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Professional Skills (Continue…) Example: -

14. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Key Resume Component Professional Affiliations If you belong to regional, national or international clubs or have professional affiliations, you might want to mention these. Examples are IEEE, JCS, JEA, etc. Listing such associations emphasizes your social consciousness and your professional sincerity.

15. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Optional Resume Components: • Personal Data • References (three or four colleagues, supervisors, teachers. Or Available upon request).

16. TW– Criteria for Effective Resumes Style: (How the information should be presented, format and page layout is essential for writing effective resume) • Avoid Sentences • Itemize your Achievements (use bullets) • Begin your Lists with Verbs ( accomplished, awarded, built, completed, created, organized, …) • Quantify (Ex. Don’t write “Maintained positive customer relations with numerous clients”. Instead write “Maintained positive customer relations with 5000 retail and 90 wholesale clients”). • Format your resume for reader-friendly ease of access. (Ex. Capitalize, Boldface headings, indent use white spaces,…). • Make it Perfect (error free )