Résumés & Cover Letters

1. Résumés & Cover Letters Seattle Pacific University The Center for Career & Calling

2. Résumé Stats • 150 – 900 • Cost of a professional résumé writer • $1800 - $10800 on résumés over your career! • 78,937 1 • Number of résumés per month (Microsoft) • 10-30 • Number of seconds your résumé will be looked at (if at all) 1.http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/snapshots/50.html

3. Agenda

4. What is a Résumé? • An advertisement… your personal billboard • A way to obtain an interview, not a job • A summary of your skills and accomplishments selected specifically to demonstrate your VALUE • Digested in 10-30 seconds

5. What Does a Résumé Say About You? • How well you communicate in writing • Your attention to detail • Your relevant knowledge, skills, & abilities • Your experience, what you have accomplished

6. What are Employers Looking For? • Bottom line: Will you be able to help them? • Make money • Save money • Make their life easier • A match with job qualifications, experience, education, and skills • A “personal” fit within their organization (communication style, personality, character)

7. Résumé Writing Process • Identify Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, & Accomplishments • Organize, Prioritize, and Write • Format • Proofread, Proofread, Proofread! • Re-write..this is an ongoing process!

8. Components of a Good Résumé • Heading: Name, Address, Phone #, Email address • Qualifications: 4-8 of your core accomplishments, knowledge, skills, and abilities • Education: • Degree, Major/Emphasis • School, City & State, Date • GPA (optional, if above 3.3) or Honors • Experience: Position, Company, Date, Responsibilities, Transferable Skills(Include volunteer experience)

9. STUDENT’S NAME 123 56th Ave. Seattle, WA 99111 (206) 555-5555 cdc@spu.edu QUALIFICATIONS • Firm grasp of financial analysis, risk analysis and working knowledge of balance sheets • Highly proficient in MS Excel, Word, Power Point, Access and internet tools • Vice President, Finance Club. Spearheaded undergraduate investment competition • Innovative problem solver with advanced ability in clarifying problems and evaluating alternatives • Reliable, purposeful and solutions oriented worker EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts in Accounting Seattle Pacific University, anticipated graduation, June 2010 RELATED EXPERIENCE Computer Information Systems Help Desk:Seattle Pacific University, Sep. 2003-present • Promptly respond to 15-50 phone and email technology questions per hour presented by faculty, staff, and students. • Equip users with the information and skills to effectively use the campus wide technology. • Schedule campus wide portable computer and media equipment usage. Oversee check out and return process. Payroll Officer:ABC Company, Inc., Seattle WA, Summers 2002 & 2003 • Starting with action verbs is powerful. • Created a certified wages payroll handbook and oversaw its implementation to ensure quality payroll procedures. • Handled, collected, and inspected over 60 employee’s timesheets daily. Administrative Assistant:Seattle Law Firm, Seattle WA, Summer 2000 • Recorded daily incoming payments to assist accounts receivable. • Reconciled General Ledger with bank statements to ensure accurate records. • Prepared bid reports and checked for accuracy upon submission. OTHER EXPERIENCE • Part time Assistant Manager:The Body Shop, Summer 2001 • Supervised part-time sales associates to encourage and ensure impressive customer service. • Finance Club, Vice-President, Seattle Pacific University, 2002 • Camp Activities Director;Ponderosa Bible Camp, Summer 1999

10. Objective • Objectives are theme statements that will help organize the rest of the résumé • Do NOT put objective on your résumé • DO use your objective to organize each statement on résumé • Write objective on separate piece of paper • Tailor your résumé to your objective

11. Sample Objectives • Ensure that each statement on your résumé meets your objective • Compare every line in your résumé to your objective • “To obtain a position as a financial manager in the health care industry.” • “To work as an intern in the electrical engineering field in the greater Seattle area, specifically at public utility companies.”

12. Qualifications • Similar to the abstract of a research article. • First thing read, most important information • What would make people want to keep reading? • First on résumé, but write it last. • Go through final résumé and choose core components (Accomplishments, Knowledge, Skills, or Abilities) • 4-8 bullet points. • Use powerful words such as: strong, broad, excellent

13. Qualifications Example Qualifications • Broad knowledge of public relations based on 2 years of internships and several projects • Strong presentation skills. Regularly present to groups of 30-50 people • Top performer in debate team. Winner of multiple awards for outstanding debate skills • Excellent organization skills, complimented for project coordination and attention to detail • Fluent in Spanish, experience translating • Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite, FrontPage, proven ability to easily learn new software

14. Education • Full name of degree: • Bachelor of Arts in English. • Full name of School • Location • Graduation Date: • June, 2010 or • Anticipated graduation June, 2010 • GPA / honors

15. Education Example Bachelor of Arts, English Seattle Pacific University, Seattle WA June 2010 • Major GPA: 3.6 (only if 3.3 or higher) • Dean’s List 6 out of 7 quarters • Related Coursework: (optional)

16. Experience • Job title, company, location, date, and accomplishment/results • Use action verbs and details • Highlight transferable skills • Be specific about How, Where, When, etc. • Show what you personally did and how it benefited your employer (Job sketch) • Numbers and percents highlight accomplishments • Formula: • Task + Skill (Action Verb) + Result

17. Transferable Skills vs. Job Description • Bullet points should describe your skills, not be list of job duties: • NO: ~ Took orders ~ Cleaned counters • YES: ~ Complimented for superior customer service skills ~ Maintained sanitary and attractive work environment • Use general language that demonstrates skills you will transfer to your next job: • NO: ~ Babysat kids, changed diapers and played games • YES: ~ Provided for daily care of 3 children including nutrition and recreation

18. Organization/Layout • Positioning on the page is important; what comes first gets read first • Qualifications first – Why hire you? • Reverse chronological order (recent first) • Remember it is an advertisement…sell yourself with a few key points • Brief is best, 1-2 pages maximum • Clean, simple layout with few indented margins

19. Style of résumé • Avoid personal pronouns • Use action verbs and accomplishment statements. • Use bullet points for skills • Emphasis: CAPITALS, Bold, Underline, or italicizing

20. Final Product • Use laser printing • Use résumé paper – recommend white or off-white • Absolutely NO errors!!

21. One Size Doesn’t Fit AllDevelop multiple versions of your résumé: • Word processed document formatted for “human eyes” • Scannable • ASCII Text-only • HTML coded file • Targeted for specific positions

22. Formatted vs. Electronic • FORMATTED: • Viewed by a human • Written for quick visual scanning • Formatted to be pleasing to the eye • ELECTRONIC • Loaded into a computer database • Written to be searched by keywords • Formatted for complete and exact transfer of data

23. Electronic Résumé Tips • Save or create your résumé as “text-only” • Review your résumé and replace all unsupported characters with their ASCII equivalent • Break the one-page rule. 1-3 pages is OK

24. Keywords are the Key • Employers and recruiters search résumé databases using keywords • Nouns and phrases that highlight technical and professional areas of expertise • Industry-specific jargon • Pull keywords • Out of detailed job descriptions • Industry publications • Ask professionals in your field

25. Submitting Electronic Résumés • Follow employers instructions on how to submit résumé on-line • Always include an appropriate subject line • Ex. John Doe – Application – Job Title • Attach your résumé as a PDF • When submitting a paper résumé that will be scanned: • Do not fold • If faxing, use “fine” mode

26. How to Stay Unemployed • Post your résumé only on job boards (Career Builder, Monster, Hot Jobs, Craigslist) • Apply to 200 random employers online • Apply only to companies on the Fortune 500 list (ex. Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, Google) • Rely completely on your résumé to find your next job

27. Cover Letters

28. What Stands Out? • Clear, concise, well written, and interesting • Helps the employer easily see the match between their needs and your qualifications and experience • Shows your knowledge of the organization and its needs • An internal company reference

29. What’s in a Cover Letter? • First Paragraph: Who you are, Why you are writing, What position you are applying for, and How you learned of the opening. *Add something creative so that your letter stands out. (Personal passion for the company? Liked something on their website? Love of their product? Know someone who works there?) • Second (Third) Paragraph(s): Make the case for why you are a match for the position. Point out related experience, specific skills, unique qualifications that you know they need. Demonstrate how you will add to their organization. (Stay clear of what you hope to gain from working there – unless you are applying for an internship.) • Final Paragraph: Closing and follow up. Repeat your desire for the position and your interest in a chance to meet in person. Mention your intentions for follow-up (e.g. “I will contact you next week to confirm receipt of my application.”)

30. List of References • Should be a “stand alone” document that matches your résumé format and style • Is not typically sent with your résumé; bring it with you to the interview or offer it once they have shown an interest in you as a candidate • Include your name and contact information at the top along with the heading “References” • List reference’s name, title, company, contact information, and how they know you (e.g. “Former Supervisor”) • Be sure your references know what you are applying for and supply them with your current résumé

31. Thank You Notes • Send a thank-you email within 24 hours of the interview • Send a hard-copy thank-you within 48 hours • Use business letter format and be brief • Hand-written is okay for less professional settings • Include specifics about your interview or unique qualifications that will remind them of who you are • Consider sending an article on a topic discussed or an answer to a question raised. • Reiterate your interest in the position and your anticipation of their response

32. Questions??? Call 206.281.2485