Chapter 10 Employment communication

1. Chapter 10Employment communication

2. Learning objectives On completion of this chapter students will know how to: • prepare a résumé • write a cover letter • prepare for an interview.

3. Personal résumé The personal résumé is also referred to as: • a curriculum vitae (CV) • a personal profile • a personal information sheet • a personal inventory • biodata.

4. Personal résumé (cont.) • Bishop-Firth (2004, p. 39) recommends keeping your résumé to two pages, highlighting only relevant information. • The aim of a résumé is not to document your life story but to get an interview. • Employers often only skim read résumés when making their initial selections so ensure that the layout and headings make the document easy to read quickly and to find the relevant information.

5. Personal résumé (cont.) There are five main headings to a résumé: • Heading • Education • Work experience • Extracurricular activities • Referees

6. Heading The heading includes: • your name • home address • telephone numbers • email address.

7. Heading (cont.) • In the past, date of birth, marital and health status were included in a résumé but in many countries, including Australia, it is now illegal for the employer to ask for this information and it is therefore not needed. • You do not need to write the words ‘Name’, ‘Address’ or even ‘Résumé’ in the heading because the information tells the reader what it is.

8. Activity 1 • Complete Activity 1 on pp. 212–213 of your textbook.

9. Education • Deciding whether to place ‘Education’ or ‘Work Experience’ first in the résumé depends on what you wish to highlight. • Do not include information about your primary school education. • Include a brief account of secondary and tertiary university education, including dates, place of study and final qualifications. • You may wish to mention briefly any outstanding achievements or leadership positions.

10. Activity 2 • Complete Activity 2 on pp. 213–214 of your textbook.

11. Work experience • Include information about: • the title of the role • the years you held the position • the name and location of the employer. • Some people group employment into different categories depending upon experience—e.g. an engineer may work in industry for a number of years, then take a job lecturing in a university. In this case, it would be appropriate to have one heading for ‘Engineering Positions’ and another for ‘Educational Positions’.

12. Work experience (cont.) • It is quite acceptable for a recent university graduate to include casual work experience in a résumé. • Most employers value some experience. • You do not need to explain why you left a previous position but it is a good idea to prepare a suitable response in case you are asked.

13. Work experience (cont.) • Use parallel construction in presenting your responsibilities. • ‘Parallel construction’ refers to a consistent use of the same grammatical form after a bullet point. • It is better to use a verb form (e.g. ‘Managed’ or ‘Managing’) rather than the noun form (‘Management of …’) because the verb form is more powerful.

14. Ordering of events • There are two ways to list education or work experience: Chronological order – list from the earliest event until the present. Reverse chronological order – list from the most recent event and work backwards in time. • Reverse chronological order is most common.

15. Activities 3–5 • Complete Activities 3–5 on p. 214 of your textbook.

16. Power words • Résumés need to be checked carefully to ensure that particular words make an impact on the reader. • Some words are more powerful in creating a good impression of the candidate because they give the impression that an individual is proactive rather than passive.

17. Activity 6 • Complete Activity 6 on p. 215 of your textbook.

18. Extracurricular activities • The ways in which you pass your time when you are not studying or working are referred to in a résumé as ‘extracurricular activities’ or ‘interests’. • An employer is much more likely to be interested in your interests if you can relate these pastimes to the requirements of your position.

19. Extracurricular activities (cont.) • ‘SA Rowing Team for Senior Girls’ is much less impressive than the following: ‘As a member of the senior girls’ rowing team I have developed the skills necessary to work in a group dedicated to focusing on long-term challenges and maintaining high levels of motivation, even when training in adverse weather conditions and at unsociable hours. Coaching junior teams has also assisted me in developing leadership skills.’

20. Activity 7 • Complete Activity 7 on p. 215 of your textbook.

21. Referees • Most applications require a list of two or three referees who will verify the information provided in an application. • Referees need to know the applicant well and be familiar with their qualifications and abilities. • An applicant should consider carefully who can be trusted to represent them in a positive and informed manner.

22. Referees (cont.) • Sometimes companies may telephone referees believing that they are more likely to be open about strengths and weaknesses. A referee who has been approached in good time as a courtesy is more likely to be positive and efficient in carrying out their role, especially if they know in advance the requirements of the position and have been reminded how an applicant is able to fulfil them.

23. Activity 8 • Complete Activity 8 on pp. 216–217 of your textbook.

24. Personal profile • A ‘personal profile’ or ‘personal statement’ placed right after the heading in the résumé highlights your key strengths and qualifications. • As one of the first statements in a résumé, it can influence an employer’s impressions in powerful ways.

25. Personal profile (cont.) • A personal profile can be written in the first person (using ‘I’). Example • I am a highly motivated, well-qualified accounting graduate with a strong interest in international finance. • The personal profile can also be written in the third person. Example • A highly motivated, well-qualified accounting graduate with a strong interest in international finance.

26. Personal profile (cont.) • Finally, a personal statement can be written in the form of an employment objective: Example • To acquire a challenging position in the finance industry, with an opportunity for career advancement.

27. Activities 9 and 10 • Complete Activities 9 and 10 on pp. 217–218 of your textbook.

28. Personal integrity • Although it can sometimes be tempting to exaggerate personal achievement, it is likely to be found out at some point. • Regaining the respect and trust of colleagues and supervisors is likely to prove very difficult. • Personal integrity is a valuable asset to a prospective employer and one way to begin demonstrating integrity is through the application process.

29. Providing evidence • Provide evidence to support claims (e.g. state that you have a certificate in Microsoft Office Skills rather than simply indicating that you are ‘excellent in Microsoft Office Skills’).

30. Activities 11 and 12 • Complete Activities 11 and 12 on pp. 218–219 of your textbook.

31. Sending résumés via the Internet • Keep emailed résumés short with only a brief summary of key points. • Embed your résumé into the message as some recruiters are less likely to open attachments from unknown sources. • Design the résumé so that the first information on the screen is sufficiently attractive for the reader to want to scroll down further.

32. Sending résumés via the Internet (cont.) • Do not send a résumé over the Internet to multiple companies unless you have been invited to do so as this is known as ‘spamming’ and is not likely to provide a positive impression of you. • Remember that sending your personal details via email is always a potential security risk.

33. A constantly evolving document • Add important information to your résumé as you progress in your working and personal life to save time when you next apply for a new job. • This will also provide opportunities for you to reflect on the direction you are taking in your career. • Each job application will require a slightly different response depending on the requirements of the position, so do not send out the same résumé for a variety of positions.

34. Activity 13 • Complete Activity 13 on pp. 220–222 of your textbook.

35. Cover letter • The purpose of a cover letter is to: • introduce an applicant • provide some key information about how an applicant is able to meet an employer’s requirements • draw the recruiter’s attention to the résumé. • A résumé is usually accompanied by a cover letter. • In some cases an application form is also required.

36. Cover letter (cont.) • The cover letter provides the employer with a first impression of an individual and therefore needs to ‘stand out’. • Use your résumé as a basis for writing the cover letter.

37. Activities 14 and 15 • Complete Activities 14 and 15 on pp. 223–225 of your textbook.

38. Preparing for an interview • An interview: • allows an employer to explore an applicant’s qualifications in more detail • provides interviewees with an opportunity to decide whether the organisation is one where they are likely to be happy and to ‘fit in’. • Preparing for an interview will improve your performance on the day. • Anticipate questions and plan truthful and impressive answers.

39. Activities 16 and 17 • Complete Activities 16 and 17 on pp. 226–227 of your textbook.

40. Different kinds of interviews • ‘One-to-one’ interviews • Interviews where the individual applicant faces a panel. • Group interviews to assess how individuals interact with others and demonstrate effective interpersonal skills. • Stress interviews designed to see how applicants cope with stress. • Respond in a calm and assertive way and rephrase inflammatory questions so that they can be framed more neutrally.

41. Activity 18 • Complete Activity 18 on p. 228 of your textbook.

42. Video conference interviews • Try to phone the interviewer before the video conference to develop a rapport. • Arrive in good time to become accustomed to the equipment. • Speak clearly at a normal speed. • Avoid slouching. • Avoid looking down when being videoed. • Try to look lively and alert (Bovée & Thill 2005, p. 561).

43. Interview stages • Stage 1 usually involves building rapport and reducing nervousness. Appear friendly but professional. • Stage 2 involves making opening statements. The interviewer provides some general information about the organisation and the advertised position. • According to some commentators, interviewers make 50 per cent of their decision within the first 60 seconds (Bovée & Thill 2005, p. 571).

44. Interview stages • Stage 3 is the main part of the interview. It involves either ‘open’ or ‘closed’ questions. • Open questions invite applicants to respond at length. • Open questions often begin with ‘Why’, ‘How’, ‘Please describe …’ or requests such as ‘Tell me about yourself’. • Avoid rambling. • A closed question is usually used to verify information and is answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. • Some closed questions are actually open (e.g. ‘So you tend to prefer working in groups?’). • The main part of the interview usually lasts between 10 and 25 minutes.

45. Closure of an interview • Closure is indicated when you are asked if you have any questions or when you are told when the outcome of the interview will be communicated. • An applicant who is able to end on a positive yet assertive note is likely to make a good impression (e.g. ‘This job really seems to require all the kinds of things I enjoy working on’).

46. Closure of an interview (cont.) • It is inadvisable to raise the question of salary but, if you are asked, be prepared to discuss the issue.

47. Activities 19–21 • Complete Activities 19, 20 and 21 onpp. 229–230 of your textbook.

48. Careful editing of the résumé • Edit carefully to create a favourable impression. • An application is seen as a reflection of you as a person. • Employers’ number one pet hate is poor spelling (Eggert 1997, p. 71).

49. A final word • Practise to diffuse nervousness. • Prepare answers ‘out loud’. • Review any achievements that are likely to be of interest to the employer. • Visualise a successful performance. • You do not have to pretend to be someone you are not, but as Kitty Locker (2006,p. 555) advises, ‘Be your best self at the interview’.

50. Summary • Keep your résumé to two pages with headings that make the document easy to read quickly. • Use reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent activity first). • Use powerful and positive words and provide specific evidence of any strengths or skills. • When writing about interests, ensure their relevance to the employer is emphasised. • Write personal profiles carefully because they provide a first impression.