Careers Education and Placement Centre

1. Careers Education and Placement Centre Communication and Interview Skills Workshops for Final-year EEE Students Date : 17 - 19 January, 2001 (Wed - Fri) Duration : 1.5 hours / session Venue : Rm 315, Meng Wah Complex

2. Careers Education and Placement Centre Mr K H Leung Deputy Director E-mail: leungkh@hkucc.hku.hk Web: http://www.hku.hk/cepc

3. Careers Education and Placement Centre Ms Rachel Hong Senior Manager E-mail: rkmhong@hkusua.hku.hk Web: http://www.hku.hk/cepc

4. Slides from this presentation lecture notes are available at : - CEPC Enquiry Desk for photocopying - CEPC homepage : <http://www.hku.hk/cepc>

5. Résumé & Covering Letter A Résumé is a one or two pages history of your achievements, education and characteristics that qualify you for the position you seek.

6. Résumé & Covering Letter (Cont’d) A Covering Letter introduces your résumé to the employer and links your most important skills and experience to the job. It should explain why you are interested in that career and that employer.

7. Who are the READERS? What are their backgrounds? • The Human Resources Personnel • The Line Managers • The Selection Committee

8. Your Challenge To show where you are different or better than your competitors! Add value - your experiences inside and outside of school will set you apart from your peers.

9. Remember The résumé and covering letter are your own personal marketing document no standard format Your can read examples of resumes, but don’t copy them. Make one for yourself.

10. Covering Letter Basic knowledge of cover letter • Limit it to one page, one and a half at the most • A4 size quality paper • Be brief and specific - don’t re-produce your résumé • be addressed to the relevant named person in the organization

11. Covering Letter… cont’d • say how you came to know about the vacancy • say how your skills and experience are relevant to the job • don’t merely quote what skills your have, give specific examples • say why you are attracted to and suitable for the job

12. Covering Letter Why are you interested in the company and the job?? Research!! • recruitment talk • career booklet • recruiting organisation’s annual report / brochure • world wide web (e.g. South China Morning Post Achive) • alumni contact/friends • CEPC homepage

13. Application Letter I. follow the ‘4S Rule’ - Short - simple - succinct - specific II. include ‘competency statements’ - should say what the candidate can DO - should make it clear what results they have achieved - should be related to the employer’s needs and organised so as to show how the candidate’s qualifications can help to meet them

14. Format for Cover Letter Your Address Date The person’s name Job tile Employer name Address Dear (Mr/Mrs/Ms Surname), Ref: (Position) Introduction - Explain why you are writing Middle paragraph/s - Match your qualification, experiences, and achievements with the primary tasks of the appointee. Make them interested in meeting you!

15. Format for Cover Letter … cont’d Penultimate paragraph - Say why are you attracted to this employer, occupation, and/or industry. Closing paragraph - Leave the way open for further communication. Yours sincerely, Your name

16. Exercise - Match your qualification, experiences and achievements against the primary tasks of the appointee

21. Basic Knowledge of Resumes • Keep it to 1-2 pages • Use quality A4 paper and matching envelope • Neat and clear presentation • Include information that is relevant to the job • Leave out expected salary unless asked for

22. Information to be included(cont’d) Summary Statement (value adding) • It underscores the important message in the cover letter • It repeats the key words in the cover letter • It leads into the career objective

23. Information to be included Career Objective (value adding) Tell the employer • what type of job you are looking for, • what type of industry, • what skills would you like to apply to his position.

24. Information to be included Education • Start with your MOST RECENT education and work backwards • Give the name of the University, the title of the degree in full, date of graduation and final year project title, if relevant • Other relevant training courses that you have attended

25. Information to be included Work Experience • Start with your most recent or most relevant experience, • Give the company name, period of employment and job title, • Describe your duties and responsibilities, • Show what your have done rather than simply tell (statement of achievements, showing result).

26. Information to be included Extra-Curricular Activities • Include student activities, committees, sports or responsible positions that you have held, • Include related achievements, • Include title, period, statement of responsibilities, and statement of achievement as with “Work Experience”.

27. Information to be included Skills • Include other qualifications that are relevant to the company e.g. language and computer skills

28. Hobbies and Interest • Useful if they are relevant to your career objective. • Avoid being too general such as “reading” or “sports”, • Be specific and list achievement, if any e.g. reading detective stories, war game strategies, literature classics etc., bird-watching and keeping log book of species seen,

29. Resume Format Name : Address : Contact Numbers : Summary : Career Objective : Education : Qualification : Extra-Curricular Activities: Position, Organisation, Period, Statement of responsibilities (use action words to show skills) Statement of achievement (showing results)

30. Resume Format …cont’d Work Experience : Position, Organisation, Period, Statement of responsibilities (use action words to show skills) Statement of achievement (showing results) Hobbies and Interest : Skills and other qualifications relevant to the employer and post : References : (Ideally three referees, not relatives, to comment on your ability, character, attitude to work, achievements) Expected Salary : (unless asked for)

31. Action Words

32. Action Words …cont’d

33. Action Words …cont’d

34. Action Words …cont’d

35. Action Words …cont’d

36. The DOs • write the resume yourself • make it error free • make it look good • stress your accomplishments • be brief and specific • be honest • keep it lively - use action words (e.g. organised, participated, handled … etc) • address to the right person

37. The DON’Ts • Incomplete Information • Poor layout • Too fancy/complicated • Incorrect dates (e.g. date of birth, year of graduation)

38. Selection Interview

39. Objectives of a selection interview • to talk about your skills and strengths, • to learn more about you, your ideas and your way of thinking, • to assess your personality, • to see how you interact with others, • to supply you with the relevant information about the company and the job.

40. Structure • one interviewer • two interviewers • a panel of interviewers - normally only one person asks the majority of questions - focus your attention on the person asking the questions and occasionally involve the others by glancing at them when appropriate

41. Employer Expectation • Do you look like the right person, in terms of personal appearance, manners etc.? • Can you do the job? (Job-content Skills e.g education and training, life experience, achievements, ability) • Can you be counted on? (Adaptive skills and personality e.g can be trusted, get things done on time, get along well with others, is productive)

42. Preparation for the Interview 1. Research the Company and Position • Review annual reports, newspaper articles (try the SCMP database), WWW, call alumni, ask at recruitment talks. • Get to know the size, number of employees of the organization, major products or services, competitors, reputation, values, major opportunities or weaknesses. • Have an idea of the duties and responsibilities of the position applied for.

43. Preparation for the Interview - Cont’d 2. Know Yourself • Career goals, accomplishments, strengths, weaknesses etc. • Why should you be hired? 3.Go through a list of Most Often AskedQuestions. The questions may not be asked in the exact wording, but the interviewer is looking for answers to those questions. NEVER try to compose and memorize answers beforehand. Note the key points only.

44. Dress and Grooming • Dress and groom like those who are already in the job • No casual wear • Clean and tidy hair style • Avoid jewelry and perfume/cologne • Keep nails clean • Polish your shoes • Iron your shirt • No bad breath and body odour

45. Tips for Ladies • a simple tailored skirt, matching jacket and blouse e.g. navy, grey, beige • simple style leather shoes, solid colour e.g. black, brown • thin skin-coloured stockings • matching leather handbag, not too big • elegant watch • simple make-up

46. Tips for Men • dark business suit e.g. charcoal and navy • matching long-sleeve shirt • conservative tie classic patterned, avoid tie with bright colour or large pattern • tie should reach belt buckle and very close to collar when tied • black leather shoes • black, dark grey or navy socks, long • black leather belt, no suspenders • shave

47. How questions are asked? • situational - what if questions (future behaviour) • pattern behaviour - what have you done (your past behaviour)

48. Tips for Answering Questions • Listen carefully to the questions, • understand the real concern, • avoid answering merely “yes” or “no”, • answer the question briefly but to the point, • always match what you have to offer with the needs of the job, • answer the hidden questions, • don’t pretend to know something that you are ignorant of, and • ask the interviewer to repeat the question if you do not understand it.

49. The Prove It Principle 1. give relevant examples 2. be specific 3. specify results 4. link to desired job

50. Is there anything you wouldlike to ask me? • Do ask about the job, the firm, its employees and products; • do show that you are interested, • avoid asking about pensions and peripherals, and • avoid telling the interviewer what the employer can do for you i.e. promotion and more pay.