Resume & Cover Letter Writing

1. Resume & Cover Letter Writing Presenter: Renee Smith Career Advisor, Lubar School of Business

2. Activity! YOU are the HR Recruiter! You are recruiting for an accounting intern. You have 2 minutes to review 6 resumes. • Choose the 3 candidates you want to interview. • What do you like about those resumes? • What don’t you like about the resumes you didn’t select? Be prepared to discuss.

3. Just What Is a Resume? • Overview of relevant qualifications • Marketing tool • Sells your skills and relevant experiences • Shows what makes YOU qualified • Main purpose is to get you an interview • Resume gets you the interview, not the job

4. A Little Humor… What NOT To Do.

5. A Little Humor… What NOT To Do. • Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain store • GPA 2.6 (Better than the average man) • Navy wife with baby. Delivered newspapers with baby in car. • Hobbies: Watching reruns of CSI, Donating blood. Fourteen Gallons so far • Answer phones, file papers, respond to customer e-mails, take odors. • Passed CPR and TB test. • Bi-lingual in three languages • Finished in the top 50% of my high school class • Blood Type: O+

6. Let’s Talk Basics. What You Should Do. • Focus—decide on the type of job you are applying for. • Modify your resume if you apply for different types of positions. • Ex. A resume for a sales position should be different from a resume for a finance position. • Make your qualifications obvious • Give employer reason to interview you • 15-30 second scan

7. Top of a Resume • CONTACT INFORMATION • Name • Address • Phone Number • Email • OBJECTIVE • Should not be too vague or too specific • Optional

8. EDUCATION University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Bachelor of Business Administration Major: Marketing GPA: 3.6/4.0 Anticipated Graduation: May 2013

9. EDUCATION (additional items) • Study Abroad Economy of the European Union: London & Dublin, January 2010 • Relevant Courses - Helpful to list for internships • Course Projects • Professional Development Courses • Accounting Undergraduates • List that you plan to enroll in the MS-PA program

10. EXPERIENCE • XY Company, Milwaukee, WI • Position Dates • Responsibilities • Accomplishments

11. USE PARALLEL STATEMENTS Not Parallel: • Communicate to parents on the status of their children. • Preparation of daily reports on education progress. Parallel: • Communicate to parents on the status of their children. • Prepare daily reports on education progress.

12. EXPERIENCE EXAMPLE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE XYZ Company Milwaukee, WI Special Events InternJanuary 2012-May 2012 • Arranged a speaking engagement with local legislators to discuss issues and concerns at the Capitol Conference • Organized a riverboat cruise to benefit the Political Action Committee • Planned a golf outing for members and local legislators • Created a database of local municipalities in a five county region to better monitor and track the progress of building issues • Met with Government Affairs Committee on a monthly basis to discuss progress and goals • Assisted in researching legalities of park fees of a neighboring city

13. ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Promoted from a Merchandise Clerk after one year in position. • Surpassed prior year’s collections by over one million dollars. • Increased revenues 20% by expanding advertising space. • Presented multi-day, formal training programs for groups of 40+ participants.

14. ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES • Managed tooling design and production for $50 million manufacturer of control systems. • Attained at least 90% of sales objectives every period with peaks at 125% and 117%. • As a freshman, ranked 3rd of 300 college agents, including juniors and seniors. • Achieved five straight months of exceeding financial projections, contributing $6.8 million towards corporate earnings.

15. OTHER SECTIONS • SKILLS • Computer • Language • HONORS/AWARDS • ORGANIZATIONS • VOLUNTEER • ACTIVITIES/INTERESTS • REFERENCES

16. Additional Resume Tips • Keep to one page (two if extensive experience—several years with a few different jobs) • Use tabs rather than spaces to align text • Highlighting Information • Bold; Underlining; ALL CAPS; Italics; Bullets with a list; Use of space • To fit on one page: • Margins can be as little as .5” • Combine or summarize similar jobs • Leave off Reference line • Eliminate jobs or bullet points that are not that important

17. Additional Resume Tips (cont.) • Use bullets and fonts consistently • Clean font – easy to read and stay between 10-12 pt font • Avoid personal pronouns (I, me, my) • Use phrases beginning with action verbs • Present tense for current jobs, past tense for past jobs • Manage or managed (not manages or managing) • Quantify and document with numbers, %, etc. • Resume cannot contain errors of any kind • Do not use a resume wizard/template

18. Avoid Subjective Statements • “results-oriented professional” • “proven track record” • “creative problem solver and team player” • “work well under pressure” • “excellent communication skills” • “attention to detail” • “extensive experience” • “innovative, motivated, dynamic”

19. Cover Letters • Opening • Why you are writing • Position for which you are applying • Source of referral, if any • Example: I am applying for the Accounting Internship with Ernst & Young as advertised on PantherJOBS.

20. COVER LETTERS • Middle paragraph(s) - Sell yourself • Why you are interested • Why you are qualified • Use specifics, not generalities • Close • Ask for an interview • Express appreciation • http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverlettertips/a/personalized-cover-letter.htm

21. Computer/Email Friendly • When submitting your resume and other materials online, ideally upload your resume vs. copying and pasting it. • When emailing your resume and cover letter, attach both separately and write a brief email. • Best option to submit would be in a PDF format.

22. REFERENCES • Best references are people who know your work habits: • Supervisors, Co-Workers, Professors • List 3-5 • Indicate relationship if not obvious • Ask permission: “Do you know me well enough to give me a good reference?” • Alert them when you’ve had an interview

23. FINAL ADVICE • If you’re not getting interviews from your resume, it may be time to revise your content or format. • See what you can do to get experience to enhance your resume. • If you’re getting interviews but not job offers, review your interview skills. Attend a workshop and/or do a practice interview with a professional who can critique your skills.