A workshop designed by Nayelee and presented at NSC

1. GoToCollege Ambassadors
Professional Development
Resume and Cover Letter
Writing Workshop
Nevada State College
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2. Workshop Topics
• Types of resumes
• Cover letter
• Sections of a resume
and cover letter
• Writing your resume
and cover letter
• Application
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3. What is a Resume?
A resume is a personal
summary of your
knowledge, training, and
skills. Essentially, this
document contains a list
of attributes for future
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4. Purpose of a Resume
• Highlight your skills, qualifications,
and accomplishments.
• To get an interview!
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5. Two Types of Resumes
• Chronological Resume
• Functional Resume
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6. Chronological Key Points
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8. Functional Key Points
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10. Hybrid Resumes
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12. What is a Cover Letter?
A cover letter introduces you and
your resume to potential
employers or organizations you
seek to join (non-profits,
educational institutions, etc). It is
the first document an employer
sees; therefore, it is often the first
impression you will make.
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14. Characteristics of a Cover
Letter
Cover letters do more than introduce
your resume. A cover letter's
importance also includes its ability to:
• Explain your experiences in a story-like
format that works with the information
provided in your resume
• Allow you to go in-depth about important
experiences/skills and relate them to job
requirements
• Show the employer that you are
individualizing (tailoring) this job application
• Provide a sample of your written
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15. Sections of a Resume
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16. Sections of a Resume
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17. Categories of Skills
• Interpersonal skills • Critical thinking skills
• Oral communication skills • Creative thinking skills
• Public speaking skills • Planning skills
• Counseling skills • Organizational skills
• Advanced writing skills
• Coaching/mentoring skills
• Research skills
• Teaching/training skills • Administrative/clerical skills
• Supervising skills • Financial skills
• Leadership skills • Language skills
• Persuading skills • Perceptual skills
• Mediation skills • Advanced computer skills
• Interviewing skills • Technological skills
• Care giving skills • Performing skills
• Client services skills • Artistic skills
• Analytical/logical thinking skills • Mechanical skills
• Adaptability skills
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18. Review of Resume Headings
• Contact information
• Objective
• Education
• Work Experience
• Activities/Honors/Volunteer Experience
• Computer/language/technical skills
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19. Sections of a Cover Letter
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20. Writing the Resume and
Cover Letter
• Rhetorical Awareness
• User-Centered Design
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21. Rhetorical Awareness
The idea of rhetorical awareness for workplace writing includes the
following concepts:
• Workplace writing is persuasive. For example, when a writer
composes a résumé, the persuasive goal is to get a job interview.
Similarly, a report writer may need to persuade a client to take action
to improve work conditions ensuring employee safety and timely
production
• Workplace writing, since it's persuasive, must consider the rhetorical
situation:
– Purpose (why the document is being written, the goals of the document
– Audience (who will read the document, includes shadow readers-
unintended audiences who might read your work)
– Stakeholders (who may be affected by the document or project)
– Context (the background of and situation in which the document is
created).
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22. User-Centered Design
The idea of user-centered design includes the following concepts:
• Always consider and think about your audience
• Consider your readers based on:
– their expectations. What information do your readers expect to get?
What can be provided to your readers?
– their characteristics. Who, specifically, is reading the work? Is the
audience part of the decision making process? Will stakeholders read the
work? Or is the audience a mixture of decision makers, stakeholders,
and shadow readers? What organizational positions does the audience
hold and how might this affect document expectations?
– their goals. What are your readers planning to accomplish? What should
be included in your documents so that your readers get the information
they need?
– their context. For what type of situation do the readers need this
information?
• Identify information readers will need and make that information
easily accessible and understandable
– User-centered documents must be usable, so consider how the
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23. Additional Resources
• http://writingcenter.unlv.edu/
• http://www.unr.edu/educ/coecareers/pdf/resume_guide.pdf
• http://nsc.nevada.edu/6589.asp
• http://sites.csn.edu/workforce/careercoach.asp
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24. References
Material has been adapted from UNLV career services and the online writing center
at Purdue University.
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