Who Are You on Paper?

PTMBA-CDS Who Are You on Paper? Building Powerful Resumes and Cover Letters Jill Clouse j-clouse@kellogg.northwestern.edu Bob Langewisch r-langewisch@kellogg.northwestern.edu 5 - March - 2010 Did you remember to bring 2 printed copies of your resume?

PTMBA-CDS Career Management Process

PTMBA-CDS • 6 Steps to a powerful resume • Cover letters • CDS Review • Next steps, recap, & Q&A Agenda

PTMBA-CDS • Understanding of the purpose of a resume • How to create impact statements that focus your resume on meeting the employer’s needs • How to create a personalized cover letter that makes a strong first impression and effectively introduces your resume. Today’s Takeaways

PTMBA-CDS • Create a document that lists everything you have ever done in your entire life. • Review it, feel proud of it and all you’ve accomplished. • Put it somewhere nobody else can see it, but you know where to find it. • Then start a new document called a resume. Pre-work: Create a legacy document

PTMBA-CDS Step 1: Identify how your skills and experiences match the employer’s needs for that job.

PTMBA-CDS Build the Bridge Skills and Experiences Required for the Job Your Relevant Experiences to Highlight

PTMBA-CDS Use your previous work Resume(s)

PTMBA-CDS Step 2: Create impact statements. Strong Lead Action Verb (Tied to Skills) What You Did Results Led a cross functional team… to develop and launch 3 new products… increasing sales by 17%

PTMBA-CDS • Choose your function from the functional skills page (in handouts), circle it, tear it off and hand it and one copy of your resume to a partner. • Review the resume and underline any skills/experiences that match those for the chosen function. • Note skills/experiences that are missing from the resume. • Discuss your findings with each other. Exercise

PTMBA-CDS Step 3: Show results. vs.

PTMBA-CDS Designed and implemented new volunteer model in Tanzania, expanding volunteer base by 30% Broaden your definition of “results” Managed $82M divestiture of division with over $30M in revenue and 100 employees Presented final recommendation to CFO, recommendation ultimately implemented by client

PTMBA-CDS • Accelerated promotions • Rated in Top 10% of class • Led a special project, first ever • Chosen to do something • GPA, GMAT, Academic Honors • Scholarships • Leadership roles, put in perspective Distinguish yourself with personal results

PTMBA-CDS • Give your 2nd resume to a different person. • Circle any “results” you see. • Put a ? next to any point that does NOT include a result or purpose. • Share feedback with each other Exercise

PTMBA-CDS Step 4: Remove jargon and company/industry-specific info. Participated in the redesigning process of B2B i-Solutions strategy, shifting its core business to refocus (Voip & CRM) while leveraging savings through synergies with out companies of the JDTC holding.

PTMBA-CDS Step 5: Show you want them. Function Industry Culture Location “One thing that I'm amazed at is that several students do not list ‘Marketing’ as a major, nor do they list it first on their resumes. Here they are dropping resumes for a Marketinginternship and coming from Kellogg (best marketing school in the country) and they don't list Marketing as an intended major!” -- Kellogg ’03 Alum at a CPG Company

PTMBA-CDS Step 6: Get someone else to review it.

PTMBA-CDS Accomplishments/ Results Action/Result Statements A Note About Format • A paragraph that outlines various job responsibilities. It usually reads more like a job description and rarely uses bullet points. Often several lines and sentences long. • Accomplishment 1 • Accomplishment 2 • Accomplishment 3 • I did action A resulting in X. • I did action B resulting in Y • I did action C for the purpose of Z • I achieved personal accomplishment 123 • I achieved personal accomplishment 789.

Cover Letters PTMBA-CDS • Yes, they are read by employers and do factor into the decision… to read your resume and/or to interview you. • Do NOT use a generic template. • Top 5 mistakes: • Sending the wrong cover letter • Not changing the firm’s name • Typos – Spelling, grammatical errors • Not personalizing their skills to the specific role • Not saying why they fit with/want the company

Exercises PTMBA-CDS • Get in groups of 4-5 and review the cover letters in your handouts. • Identify 2 students that you want to invite for an interview based on their cover letter. • Choose a group spokesperson and be prepared to explain why you chose those two and why not the others.

Leverage Your Pitch Informational Interviewing PTMBA-CDS Cover Letters Other Networking Activities Interviews

Cover letter should answer 2 questions: PTMBA-CDS

Cover Letter Do’s and Don’ts PTMBA-CDS DON’Ts DO’s • Be specific • Demonstrate knowledge of firm • Show why you fit • Refer to a specific conversation • Show a passion for industry • Flattery • Name all people you talked to • Say what the firm will do for YOU

Cover Letter Content Structure PTMBA-CDS • Header, Date, Salutation (contact in job posting) • Who I am, why I’m writing • How I’m qualified • Why I’m interested in your industry and firm • Next steps • Closing

PTMBA-CDS • Use white space • Do not right justify • Not too long • Bullets are OK • E-mail OK sometimes • No pictures/personal info Cover Letter Format

Career Development Series PTMBA-CDS

Wrap –Up / Action Items PTMBA-CDS • Review your self-assessment exercises to reacquaint yourself with your skills/experiences. • Review your research to get familiar with what THEY need and how you can meet that need. • Create/revise your resume using impact statements tailored to your function/industry • Be prepared to create a new customized cover letter each time you need to send one. • Review and practice your pitch as it will help with interviewing and Speed Networking.

PTMBA-CDS

Who Are You on Paper?