RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS‘IS THE PAST IN YOUR FUTURE?’

P R E S E N T E D B Y:C A R R I E K L A P H A K EC A R R I E . K L A P H A K E @ S O N O M A .E D U6 6 4 - 3 7 3 2

“THE ONLY THING THAT STANDS BETWEEN YOU

AND YOUR DREAM IS THE WILL TO TRY AND THE

BELIEF THAT IT IS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE.”

–JOEL BROWN

OVERVIEW

• Introduction

• Resume writing

• Cover Letter writing

SERVICES OFFEREDPEER ADVIS ING• Resume Help &

Review• Cover Letter Help &

Review• Starting the Job

Search• Seawolf Job-Link

Questions

S TA F F A DV I S I N G• Advance Resume

and Cover Letter Review

• Career Exploration• Career Planning• Job Search

Assistance• Graduate School

Planning• Interviewing

Assistance• LinkedIn Support

QUESTIONS• Who has a resume?

• Who’s resume is updated and current?

• Who has looked at your resume?

• Who has participated in an internship?

• Who is involved in student organizations or clubs?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A

RESUME?

PURPOSE• Get an interview• Give a GOOD first

impression• Content• Layout• Language• Grammar• Tone

A RESUME IS ALL ABOUT

ME.

TRUE OR FALSE?

My job duties, What I have accomplished,

What I am good at!Where I am going?

FALSE• Not totally false• MORE about how these things

make you qualified for a position

Why should I consider you over someone else?

TARGETING EMPLOYERS• Use your resume to convince employers

that your academic success is transferable to the workplace.

• Optimizing keywords• Show employers how you can help them

achieve their objectives• Have a clear understanding of the

company/industry when creating your resume

RESUME APPEARANCE• One page preferred, sometimes 2 is

needed• Make sure formatted correctly when

sending digitally (PDF form) • Standard fonts (Arial, Times, Helvetica)• Margins: .5 (narrow) • Smallest 11 point font• Emphasize points with bullets • UPPERCASE, bold, italics

RESUME FORMATS –REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL

• Employment history organized: most recent position first

• Highlights accomplishments within each position

• Recruiters and employers often prefer this format

HEADINGS

• Contact information• Education• Work/Relevant/Volunteer

Experience• Skills • Activities/Campus Involvement• Awards and Recognition• Coursework

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Name (largest font)

• Address, City and State (optional)

• Phone

• Email Address/avoid silly email addresses. Using your first and last name is the most professional

• LinkedIn URL

EDUCATION• Include expected

graduation date, major, minor

• If you attended more then one school list most recent education first

• GPA (if 3.0 or greater)• Academic honors • Study Abroad

EXPERIENCE• Include job title, name of company,

location, dates, accomplishments, description of responsibilities & results produced

• Can be paid, volunteer or internship

• Be specific – give numbers and details if possible

ACCOMPLISHMENT STATEMENTS

Formula: Action verb + Object + Context+ Results Produced

Action Verb: Planned, initiated, coordinate

Object: Planned a meeting; Initiated a program..

Context: interesting detail- who you did for; time frame; number of people; types of issue/population etc.

Results: the bottom lime effect of your effort (saved time or money, exceeded sales goals, reduced errors)

Quantify whenever possible

ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS• Skills

Languages -- Specify language and degree of fluency

Computer -- Name software and hardware

• Professional Affiliations• Publications

WRITING STYLE - EXPERIENCE• Use present tense for current job• Use past tense for previous jobs• Don’t use pronouns – “I, We, They”• Don’t refer to yourself in 3rd person• Complete sentences and periods

are not necessary

VOLUNTEER/INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

• Paid or unpaid work is experience and valuable•Make sure to list the hours you committed/weekly, monthly•Describe the environment that you worked in and the responsibilities that were required of you.

WHAT NOT TO INCLUDE• Quirky, silly email addresses• Personal info. – religion, marital status,

health• Hobbies• References- separate document• Bad formatting• Imagery –your pic• Difficult to read fonts• Embellishing the truth about your

accomplishments• Anything that could work against you

FINAL POINTERS• Put your best foot forward - be proud of

your accomplishments!

• Be honest – would former supervisors agree with what you’ve included?

• Ask a few people to review your resume: is it clear, specific, and to-the-point?

• Proofread, proofread, proofread! Assume employers will catch all mistakes

CULTURAL RESOURCES TECHNICIAN

Questions?Comments?

COVER LETTERSPurpose of letter of introduction:Supplements and clarifies resumeShould be targeted in response to a specific job opening

Do not send out general letters

Should be addressed to hiring manager, by name Spell correctly!

COVER LETTERS

Paragraph 1 Position you are applying for How you learned of opening (ad? referral?)State who you areWhy you are interested in the company

COVER LETTERSParagraph 2 Describe how your skills and background match job description

State top 3 skills in the first sentence – topic sentence

Transition with soft skillRefer to the fact that your resume is enclosed

COVER LETTERSParagraph 3Reiterate interest in positionLet them know when/if you will follow-up

Call them two weeks after application closing date?

State that you would be glad to provide the employer with any additional information needed

Thank the employer for his/her time and consideration

Questions?Comments?