Resumes and Other Written Materials for a Job Search (275-306)

“Resumes and Other Written Materials for a Job Search”

“Written Resumes and Letters in the Language of Employers” (Munschaucer)
-What can the candidate do for us?

Why Use a Resume
-purpose is to convey message
-conflicting ideas on structure and purpose (page length, what should come first, etc.)
-Concentrate on MESSAGE!
-Example of Cheryl the alto singer and former secretary

Giving Your Message
-Don’t think about what you want; think about what employer needs
-Example-Related problems babysitting to problems in publishing

Importance of Knowing What the Job is All About
-letter vs. resume

Letters of Application
Good ones
-looked like business letters (paragraphs were neat on crisp stationary)
-were succinct
-no misspellings or grammatical errors
-less is more when it comes to word count (ex. 283-84)
Structure
-stated who he was and want he wanted in 1st paragraph
-2nd, 3rd, 4th indicated about talents and qualifications
-final paragraph suggested a course of action

Hard Work and Attention to Detail Make for a Good Letter
-write and rewrite, put forth effort that most people won’t

Don’t Delegate the Job of Letter Writing
-it should be your own resume
-even if you don’t use it putting your thoughts on paper will help you organize your ideas and interrelate them

Resume Preparation
Nancy Jones-A Good Resume Made Better
-line about weight, height –questionable
-double spaced GPA to make it stand out
-sorority information and probation officer with tutoring math and chem.?
-everything about biology and other information of use to employer should be under own separate heading

Janet Smith –Proper use of headlines
-don’t put fluff/baloney in career objective
-capitalized Universal Methodist Church as heading instead of job held there

Mark Meyers-The Functional Resume
-preparing a resume for a specific job
-example editorial secretary
-different functions highlighted depending on what job entails

Bruce Gregory Robertson- A Resume Reflecting an Active Mind and Body
-depends on if position calls for active body and mind
-employers look for energy

Michelle Trio: The Curriculum Vitae
-resume for academic position and doesn’t need a statement of goals or interest
-look for prestige

The Job Objective
-objective in some form should be on resume
-Can’t have purpose with out resume, and can’t have a resume without a purpose

One Page or Two
-If it can be kept to one great!
-more tiring to scan a crowded page then to flip a page
-it is an outline so it needs white space
-it needs headings that stand out
-don’t sacrifice to make it one page

Additional Advice About Resumes
-test it before you send it to employers (give it to friends)
-hold a few feet away and ask for opinion on form/appearance
-questions for critics of resumes to ask: what qualifications does a person have, what can they do with qualification, what kind of employer would hire this person, does the resume project an image of a certain type of person if so what kind (energetic, thoughtful, aggressive)