What Employers Most Want to See Not historical summary But
probable future performance
Slide 4
Which Is to Say... Keep your documents reader centered
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Rsum Format/Design Usually 1-2 pages Longer rsum (cv)used in
medicine, law, education, jobs overseas Simple fonts, such as Times
Roman (serif) or Arial (sans serif) not like this Arial Black O R
LIKE THIS Brush Script
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Rsum Format/Design... Make key information stand out Larger
type All caps Bold and italic type Alignment / Order Dont
overemphasize dates, minor details Avoid abbreviations, periods,
ampersands (&)
Slide 7
Rsum Format (Cont.) Chronological format: preferred by most job
recruiters Functional format: good if you have little experience or
negatives to hide Combination format: increasingly popular
Slide 8
The average Fortune 500 company receives hundreds of rsums
every week Scanning Rsums
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Computer-friendly Format Avoid italics, shading, borders,
double columns Put your name at the top of every page Dont worry
about page count and redundancy Proofread carefully Mail your rsum
flat Create a Keywords section
Slide 10
E-mailing Rsums Pay attention to format requirements: plain
text (.txt) or rich text (.rtf) file? PDF? Consider sending in body
of e-mail messagenot in an attachment (an in-line rsum) Use
relevant keywords Include a cover letter Follow up with
recipient
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An Objective Statement ?
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Objectives Avoid using generic statements of purpose: Motivated
individual seeks challenging position with opportunity for
advancement Compare: A Financial Management position in the
consumer goods industry
Slide 13
Objectives (Cont.) Tell what you will give to the employernot
what you will get. Compare: A position as a computer systems
analyst with an innovative and growing company To develop software
systems that provide efficient control of inventory, ordering, and
billing for a web-based business
Slide 14
Alternatives to Objectives Summary of Qualifications Career
Interest Areas of Expertise Profile Commercial lending professional
with extensive experience in structuring innovative and traditional
business loans
Slide 15
Education List academic degrees first if you are a recent grad.
GPA listed should be cumulative unless you indicate otherwise. (3.0
typical cut-off) If space is available: list relevant coursework,
training, portion of costs you covered
Slide 16
If Your GPA Isnt Great Major GPA: 3.3 GPA 2.8 (Worked 30 hours
per week during academic year) GPA 2.8 (3.2 since leaving
electrical engineering program)
Slide 17
Experience List jobs in reverse chronological order. Consider
subdividing your information Beware of puffing your
accomplishments.
Slide 18
Rsum Fraud 25-30% contain false info Common problems: fake
academic degrees, fudged dates, exaggerated titles and skills,
falsified references Credentials verificationa growing
industry
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fakedegrees.com
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Rsum Hall of Shame George OLeary, Notre Dame football coach
Resigned Sandra Baldwin, President, US Olympic Committee
Resigned
Slide 21
Rsum Hall of Shame Kenneth Lonchar, CFO, Veritas Software Fired
Ronald Zarrella, CEO, Bausch and Lomb Forfeited $1 million
bonus
Slide 22
Rsum Hall of Shame George OLeary, Notre Dame football coach
Resigned Larry Lawrence, U. S. Ambassador to Switzerland
Disinterred
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Marilee Jones
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Slide 25
Experience (Cont.) Be specific and quantify wherever possible.
Highlight results. Compare: Raised level of sales above previous
year Reversed negative sales trend; sales up 41% over prior
year
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Experience (Cont.) Compare: Started new employee programs that
lowered turnover Created and implemented two new employee relations
programs (flex time and job posting), resulting in 33% reduction in
turnover
Slide 27
Play the Numbers Game Phone lines answered Forms processed
People supervised $$ amounts handled
Compare-- Parks department crew leader Supervised crew of five
workers to implement physical improvements in city parks General
clerical tasks Established new system for organizing medical
records Sold shoes at the mall Initiated more than 300 sales and
handled customer services at a retail outlet
Slide 30
Experience (Cont.) Describe an employer that is not well known.
--RSG, Inc. (Financial services firm) Distinguish yourself from
coworkers. --Asked to work full time after one month --Earned
end-of-year bonus
Slide 31
Experience (Cont.) Use STRONG verbs: Weak: began, worked on,
dealt with Strong: created, produced, instituted, increased,
upgraded, pioneered Use verb tenses appropriately
Slide 32
What If You Have Little Relevant Job Experience? Emphasize
knowledge gained in employment. E.g., For job as grocery stocker:
Learned to see consumer marketing from the perspective of both the
manufacturer and the retailer. Emphasize community work,
professional affiliations
Slide 33
Awards and Honors Explain awards/honors with adequate detail.
Compare: -- 2nd place in Debate 2005 --Awarded 2nd place out 64
entrants in National Collegiate Debate Finals --Bertram Young
Scholarship --Bertram Young Scholarship ($5,000 award for students
in top 5% of high school class)
Slide 34
Activities Include benefits and outcomes of involvement
--President, Marketing Club, 2004- present (doubled club membership
by presenting guest speakers and special events) --Social Chairman,
Phi Delta Fraternity, 2005 (raised $10,000 for American Cancer
Society through Jail or Bail event)
Slide 35
Things to Leave Out Salary needs Reasons for leaving other jobs
Marital status Race, age, health Religious/political affiliation
References Available Upon Request Exception: International
jobs
Slide 36
Questions Your Cover Letter Should Answer Why do you want to
work for ___ instead of someone else? How do your knowledge and
experience connect with whats happening in this company? How will
you contribute to the success of this organization?
Slide 37
Cover Letter Conventions Avoid abbreviations. (State postal
abbreviations in addresses are OK.) When possible--personalize Use
a colon, not a comma, after the salutation. Most formal: full-block
format Less formal: modified block format
Slide 38
Cover Letter Strategies 1st Paragraph: Clearly identify your
text as a job application letter. State how you learned of the job
opening. Name drop if possible. Body Paragraphs: Supply specifics
to support generalizations. Show confidence and some personality.
Final Paragraph: Orient toward future action. Include necessary
dates, numbers.
Slide 39
Cover Letter Strategies (Cont.) Watch out for repetitive
phrasings/syntax (e.g., too many sentences starting with I) State
negatives in a positive way. Compare: Unfortunately, I have little
experience in the publishing industry. I am eager to apply my
marketing skills in the field of publishing.
Slide 40
And Watch Your Tone After noticing the Finance Training Program
at American Express, I realized that I am willing to provide my
strong quantitative and analytical skills to you this summer.
