Click here for the Resume and Cover Letter Folders.

What is a Résumé?

p

Who Needs a Cover Letter?  Click here.

  So what exactly is a résumé?

·   Your personal advertisement highlighting your skills and their value.

·   A powerful self-marketing tool.

·   A flattering snapshot of your skills and accomplishments.

·   An article about you: how you act and perform in your job and at school, how you have grown over time in the responsibilities you undertake. It usually forms your first introduction to a potential employer. Your resume is one of the most powerful tools in your job-search "tool kit".  It can also be used to summarize your educational and career accomplishments for college applications.

Your résumé must:

· Highlight the benefits you can offer to a prospective employer or college admissions officer.

· Show how your capabilities satisfy the requirements of the job or college. 

· Differentiate you from the crowd by emphasizing your accomplishments.

Purpose of a résumé:

For you:

The résumé is to help you gain consideration to get an interview (job, college internship, etc.)

For the employer:

The résumé is a screening tool to select candidates that show the skills and capabilities that they are looking for. A screener will initially scan your résumé for 20-30 seconds, and make a decision to either review your résumé or NOT.

Remember that employers develop their first impressions of you from your résumé.  This is your chance to show them that you are an outstanding individual with all of the qualities they seek.

Resume Checklist

Use this checklist to insure that your résumé is complete:

0. One page only, unless you have significant previous experience
0. Word processor generated, with full spell check/proofing; Avoid using the pronoun "I".
0. Times Roman or other Serif font, 10 point to 12 point size
0. No more than two fonts or two sizes; Margins no less than .75" and no more than 1.5"
0. Must have categories:  Name and contact information (address, phone number, email), Objective (clear and focused), Education, Employment and/or Community Service, Skills, Activities and/or interests, References (may be listed)
0. Summary of your top three or four skills
0. High School, type of diploma, significant/pertinent coursework; GPA listed if over 3.0
0. Graduation date listed, even if you have not yet graduated
0. Experience section listing most notable accomplishments (always list most recent 1^st)
0. Industry buzzwords and keywords included
0. Activities section listing your most notable extracurricular activities  (always list most recent 1^st)
0. Spell check and grammar check your résumé--twice; then have at least one other person do it for you again

Who Needs a Cover Letter ?

Everyone who sends out a resume does! Even if the cover letter never "came up" in conversation or wasn't mentioned in an advertisement, it's expected that you will write one.

Many businesses expect both a cover letter and a resume.  In the days before computers, you could maybe get away with not sendig one. Not anymore.  Yes, it adds to the work of looking for a job! But the good news is: the cover letter gives you another chance to emphasize what you have to contribute to the company or organization. The person screening the resumes will think: "how can this applicant help US?" Your cover letter will answer that question in your own words. Your resume will also answer that question but in a somewhat more outline format.

What makes a Good Cover Letter?

1. No spelling or typing errors. Not even one.

2.   Address it to the person who can hire you. Resumes sent to the personnel department have a tougher time of it. If you can find out (through networking and researching) exactly who is making the hiring decision, address the letter to that person. Be sure the name is spelled correctly and the title is correct. A touch of formality is good too: address the person as "Mr.," "Ms.," "Mrs.," "Miss," "Dr.," or "Professor."

3.   Write it in your own words so that it sounds like you--not like something out of a book. Employers are looking for knowledge, enthusiasm, focus.

4.   Show that you know something about the company and the industry. This is where your research comes in. Don't go overboard--just make it clear that you didn't pick this company out of the phone book. You know who they are, what they do, and you have chosen them!

5.   Use terms and phrases that are meaningful to the employer. (This is where your industry research and networking come in.) If you are applying for an advertised position, use the requirements in the ad and put them in BOLD type.   

5 M ake sure you let the employer know you are interested in meeting with him/her and provide contact information.

Make sure your cover letter contains each of these requirements and shows how you measure up. Back to Top