How can I best represent myself?

How can I best represent myself? Cover letter writing and résumés 101

Résumé Getting your foot in the door

What is the goal of arésumé? • A résumé is intended to get you an interview. It acts as a marketing tool that you have created for a particular job you are applying for and highlights your skills. The résumé persuades the employer that your current and past experiences make you a good candidate

The Basics • Do not include personal information such as your age, gender, ethnicity, etc. unless specifically requested • Have multiple people proofread your resume. • Do not use personal pronouns (I, me, my). • Be consistent with formatting, such as spacing, bold, italics, locations of dates, etc. • Keep your resume to one page. If you have extensive experience, then be sure that your second page is at least 3/4 of the way full. • Do not use abbreviations, slang, or jargon not commonly known in the field. • Too much white space is bad, but leave enough white space for the employer to make notes. • Make sure your font is legible!

Questions to Ask Yourself • Are your most relevant skills being portrayed? • Are your most relevant experiences being portrayed? These can include classroom experiences. • Have you tailored your skills and experiences to the job or opportunity for which you are applying? • Employers spend an average of 10 seconds reviewing a resume. Is your résuméclear and concise?

Tips • If you print hard copies of your résumé, print it on nice résumépaper. Avoid brightly colored paper. Stick to white, gray, or ivory. • Do not include your high school in the education section. Further, do not include high school activities once you reach your Junior year in college. • Always tell the truth- Lies on a résumé will come back to haunt you Remember! • Your résuméis a list of talking points for your interview. • Bring extra copies of your résuméto all interviews. • Save your résuméas a PDF if you are emailing it to an employer to avoid formatting issues.

Anatomy of a Résumé • HEADER • At the top, center of your page your name should be in bold and between 14 and 18 pt. font. • Also include your relevant contact information: phone, address (campus and/or permanent) and e-mail. • Now is a good time to change your <3xoxoLoveHimSOMuch@yahoo.com e-mail to something boring like Jane.Smith@gmail.com since your Wesleyan e-mail will expire soon after graduation. • OBJECTIVE • This is an optional section. • Objectives are goal statements and there is no consensus among recruiters if objective statements are necessary so if you are unsure, check with your contact or peruse the job/opportunity posting. • If you decide on using an objective, draw on the language in the position posting to help you write your objective and avoid vague objectives.

Anatomy of a Résumé • EDUCATION • Begin with your most recent education experience and list the school, program, degree, concentration/s or major/s and minor. • Including your GPA is optional and can enhance a résumé if it is 3.0 or higher. • Other education items may be study abroad programs, honors (such as making it on the Dean’s list), or scholarships. • You can also include a section on relevant coursework to showcase classes that are particularly relevant to the position.

Anatomy of a Résumé • EXPERIENCE This section can also be titled Work Experience or Related Experience. It can include both paid and unpaid experiences. Begin with your most recent job or volunteer experience and continue backwards in time. • Things to include in the Experience Section • Company’s or Institution’s Name (typed in bold), City and State • Your title or position (in italics) and the dates you worked/volunteered by month or years • Accomplishment statements that clearly and concisely showcase your skills • Advice on crafting accomplishment statements • List accomplishments in bullet format and begin each with an action verb • Give specifics and/or objectives about how, why and with whom the skill was used • Mention the benefits the company, institution or agency received because of your accomplishment and skills • A typical experience will have 2-5 accomplishment statements • Skills should be listed in past tense unless you are currently doing the activity • Make it numerical, when possible (dollars raised, people managed, etc.) • Example accomplishment statements: • Conducted thorough research on 5 after-school programs in Chicago through interviews with school officials and presented findings to the board of directors • Developed innovative brochures for upcoming programs to re-vitalize marketing strategy • Avoid the following phrases: strong work ethic, team player, met or exceeded expectations, proven track record of success, works well with all levels of staff, results-oriented professional

Anatomy of a Résumé • ACTIVITIES • This section can include items such as Student Organizations, Professional Organization, Volunteer Experiences and Honors and Awards. • Depending on the role and the skills you gained, some of these items may go under experience. • To keep the resume consistent this section should have the same information as the experience section. Include the name of the organization, the city and state, your title or position and the dates of your involvement. • You may also use bullet points to go further into detail about what you accomplished. • SKILLS • Computer skills and language skills are mostly reserved for this section but certain laboratory skills or use of special databases or equipment may also be mentioned. • Only mention language skills if you are confident you can use the language in the position. Some ways to describe your language skills level are: • Literate: Can comfortably read and write the language; • Conversational: Can speak the language; • Proficient: Can read, write and speak the language well; and • Fluent: Can read, write and speak the language with similar skill to a native speaker. (You must be prepared to be interviewed in and work in this language when using Fluent speaker.)

Action Words: Communication • Addressed • Advertised • Arbitrated • Arranged • Articulated • Authored • Clarified • Collaborated • Communicated • Composed • Condensed • Conferred • Consulted • Contacted • Conveyed • Convinced • Corresponded • Debated • Defined • Developed • Directed • Discussed • Drafted • Edited • Elicited • Enlisted • Explained • Expressed • Formulated • Furnished • Incorporated • Influenced • Interacted • Interpreted • Interviewed • Involved • Joined • Judged • Lectured • Listened • Marketed • Mediated • Moderated • Negotiated • Observed • Outlined • Participated • Persuaded • Presented • Promoted • Proposed • Publicized • Reconciled • Recruited • Referred • Reinforced • Reported • Resolved • Responded • Solicited • Specified • Spoke • Suggested • Summarized • Synthesized • Translated • Wrote

Action Words: Creative • Acted • Adapted • Began • Combined • Composed • Conceptualized • Condensed • Created • Customized • Designed • Developed • Directed • Displayed • Drew • Entertained • Established • Fashioned • Formulated • Founded • Illustrated • Initiated • Instituted • Integrated • Introduced • Invented • Modeled • Modified • Originated • Performed • Photographed • Planned • Revised • Revitalized • Shaped • Solved

Action Words: Data/Financial • Administered • Adjusted • Allocated • Analyzed • Appraised • Assessed • Audited • Balanced • Budgeted • Calculated • Computed • Conserved • Corrected • Determined • Developed • Estimated • Forecasted • Managed • Marketed • Measured • Netted • Planned • Prepared • Programmed • Projected • Qualified • Reconciled • Reduced • Researched • Retrieved

Action Words: Helping • Adapted • Advocated • Aided • Answered • Arranged • Assessed • Assisted • Clarified • Coached • Collaborated • Contributed • Cooperated • Counseled • Demonstrated • Diagnosed • Educated • Encouraged • Ensured • Expedited • Facilitated • Familiarized • Furthered • Guided • Helped • Insured • Intervened • Motivated • Prevented • Provided • Referred • Rehabilitated • Represented • Resolved • Simplified • Supplied • Supported • Volunteered

Action Words: Leadership • Administered • Analyzed • Appointed • Approved • Assigned • Attained • Authorized • Chaired • Considered • Consolidated • Contracted • Controlled • Converted • Coordinated • Decided • Delegated • Developed • Directed • Eliminated • Emphasized • Enforced • Enhanced • Established • Executed • Generated • Handled • Headed • Hired • Hosted • Improved • Incorporated • Increased • Initiated • Inspected • Instituted • Led • Managed • Merged • Motivated • Navigated • Organized • Originated • Overhauled • Oversaw • Planned • Presided • Prioritized • Produced • Recommended • Reorganized • Replaced • Restored • Reviewed • Scheduled • Secured • Selected • Streamlined • Strengthened • Supervised • Terminated

Action Words: Organizational • Approved • Arranged • Catalogued • Categorized • Charted • Classified • Coded • Collected • Compiled • Corrected • Corresponded • Distributed • Executed • Filed • Generated • Incorporated • Inspected • Logged • Maintained • Monitored • Obtained • Operated • Ordered • Organized • Prepared • Processed • Provided • Purchased • Recorded • Registered • Reserved • Responded • Reviewed • Routed • Scheduled • Screened • Submitted • Supplied • Standardized • Systematized • Updated • Validated • Verified

Action Words: Research • Analyzed • Clarified • Collected • Compared • Conducted • Critiqued • Detected • Determined • Diagnosed • Evaluated • Examined • Experimented • Explored • Extracted • Formulated • Gathered • Inspected • Interviewed • Invented • Investigated • Located • Measured • Organized • Researched • Reviewed • Searched • Solved • Summarized • Surveyed • Systematized • Tested

Action Words: Teaching • Adapted • Advised • Clarified • Coached • Communicated • Conducted • Coordinated • Critiqued • Developed • Enabled • Encouraged • Evaluated • Explained • Facilitated • Focused • Guided • Individualized • Informed • Instilled • Instructed • Motivated • Persuaded • Simulated • Stimulated • Taught • Tested • Trained • Transmitted • Tutored

Action Words: Assembled • Built • Calculated • Computed • Conserved • Constructed • Converted • Debugged • Designed • Determined • Developed • Engineered • Fabricated • Fortified • Installed • Maintained • Operated • Overhauled • Printed • Programmed • Rectified • Regulated • Remodeled • Repaired • Replaced • Restored • Solved • Specialized • Standardized • Studied • Upgraded • Utilized

Samples • http://www.indiana.edu/~v252spea/OCS/res_spea.pdf • http://www.indiana.edu/~v252spea/OCS/res_env.pdf (Environmental emphasis) • http://www.indiana.edu/~v252spea/OCS/res_nonprof.pdf (Nonprofit emphasis)

Cover Letter What is it and why do I need one?

What is the goal of a cover letter? • Your cover letter will explain to the employer how the qualifications set forth in your résumé make you an appropriate choice for the position available. • Use the following four-point process to create cover letters with impact…

Anatomy of a Cover Letter PARAGRAPH ONE: INTRODUCTION Your introduction paragraph should be brief and to the point. Make sure you cover the following areas: • Why are you writing? • In this first sentence you should tell them that you are writing to apply for a position. Make sure you explicitly state the name of the particular position as the organization may have a multitude of positions available. • Where did you find out about the organization, the position etc. • Again, be specific. It is helpful to the employer if they know exactly which listing you are referring to. • An introduction line to the rest of the letter • It may help to think of this as your thesis statement.

Anatomy of a Cover Letter PARAGRAPH TWO: ABOUT YOU In this paragraph the goal is to clearly outline the ways in which you meet the employer’s qualifications or criteria. Don’t feel pressured to stuff your entire résumé in to one paragraph. Instead, highlight and expand on a few key aspects of your résumé that specifically meet up with the qualifications stated in the job listing. Provide the employer with specific examples from any of the following: • Professional Experience- internships or part-time jobs • Education - did you work on a relevant class project or take classes in the employer’s field? • Volunteer Experience - volunteer work is just as valuable as professional experience if it is relevant to the job qualifications • Special skills - don’t forget to point out required language or computer skills

Anatomy of a Cover Letter PARAGRAPH THREE: ABOUT THEM Before writing this paragraph take some time to think about why you are applying for this position. • Is it their mission statement, their goal? • An article you read? • A specific project? • The way they work? • Word from someone that works or use to work there? There must be a reason that you chose this organization. In this paragraph you tell them why. This allows you to show that you have done your research on the organization and that this is not a form cover letter that you are sending out to hundreds of employers.

Anatomy of a Cover Letter PARAGRAPH FOUR: CONCLUSION To conclude your cover letter touch on the following points: • Mention that you are including your résumé • Give them your phone number and e-mail address in case they want to contact you • Unless the announcement states “no phone calls please”, tell them that you will be contacting them at a specified time span (i.e. within a week) and then calculate when they will receive the letter and call them at that time. ONLY MENTION THIS IF YOU ACTUALLY INTEND ON CALLING. • Thank them in advance

Sample Cover Letters • http://www.indiana.edu/~speacare/guides/sample_cl.pdf Sample letters at the ends of these documents: http://www.indiana.edu/~speacare/guides/grad_cl.pdf http://www.indiana.edu/~speacare/guides/ug_cl.pdf

How can I best represent myself?