3. Course Timeline
Where are we and what’s coming up?
Week 8 (today) Week 9 Week 10
• Tutorial: Resume
Review
• What’s due: Submit
Resume Draft to
Turnitin before
tutorial
• Tutorial: Cover Letter
and Networking
• What’s due: Submit
Cover Letter Draft to
Turnitin before
tutorial
• Tutorial: Info Interviews
• What’s due: Resume &
Cover Letter
Assignment due on
Mar 12th at 11:59pm on
Turnitin and COOL
• Networking Event on
Mar 13th 6-8pm in CPA
Hall
5. Employers do not
want to read your
story on your
resume they want to
read your
accomplishments!
FLIP IT:
STAR RATS
Accomplishment Statements
RATS
Format
9. Instructions
1. Write your name on ALL
documents – make sure your
documents are attached
2. Put all documents in a pile in the
middle of the table
3. Trade to the person on your left
when a new section starts
4. Get out your marking utensils!
10. Formatting and Consistency
be consistent
font size, font style,
spacing, bullet points,
alignment, punctuation,
date & abbreviation
format, hyphens vs
dashes
first impression
pick a colour scheme
(if you don’t want black-
and-white, which is also
fine) and use white space
wisely; be concise with
your resume page count
third person
always speak in third
person and maintain a
professional tone; no
slang or personal
pronouns (he, she, we, I)
proofread
no grammar mistakes,
typos, spelling errors -
proofread then proofread
again
11. Is the Resume and Cover
Letter Consistent?
Header? Margins? Font?
13. Resume Formatting• Titles formatted the same
• Spacing is consistent
• Margins are reasonable (≥1.5cm)
• Phrases either ALL end in period or not
• Dates
• Usually right-aligned
• All have month and year, or just year
• All months are abbreviated to same # of
letters
• Uses hyphens (–) OR dashes (-)
• Font:
• Size is 10
• Generally no more than two types of font
• Numbers under 10 spelled out (i.e. two vs. 2)
• Bullets: same size/style, aligned
• One to two pages
14. Header and General
• Name is preferred name with
(given name) in brackets
• Phone and address are
included
• LinkedIn URL is personalized
• No personal pronouns (I, we,
he, she)
• Reasonable amount of white
space – is it easy to read?
• Experiences listed in reverse
chronological order by start
date
15. Profile/Key Competencies
• No more than 5 lines for key competencies (4 for profile)
• Can include languages
• Does it clearly and convincingly summarize
strengths/experiences/skills?
• Does it match the job posting (multiple references)?
• Does it provide a clear, convincing link to the rest of the
resume (i.e. is there PROOF elsewhere in the document?)
16. Education
• Bachelor of Commerce not BCOMM or B.Comm
• Start with the degree
• List expected date of completion (either as “Completion: …” or
“Expected Completion: ...”)
• No laundry lists of courses: only specific, relevant courses
• GPA – score/%/letter grade, indicating the school scale
• Key/relevant projects and awards: write in accomplishment
statement form
17. Work Experience
Are experiences achievement based?
Do numbers clearly quantify achievements where appropriate?
Do statements have Accomplishment, Proof, Transferrable skills, and Scope of
Action?
Are the result verbs varied and strong?
Does language indicate familiarity with industry/company? Does it match the job
description?
18. Work Experience
• Reverse chronological order by start date
• You can include explanation sentences of
companies/experiences if necessary
• Eliminate filler words
• Written in third person
• Keep it to one sentence (2 lines is best)
• The elements of the RATS statement should be
apparent (but not necessarily in RATS order)
19. Interests
• Do the interests show personality? Are they specific? Are they
relevant to the job (not always necessary)?
• Do they differentiate the candidate? Are they memorable?
• Be fun! And appropriate
*Be able to speak about these interests extensively!
20. Resume Checklist
Header
-Name
-Phone
-Email
-LinkedIn
Profile
-5 lines of
competencies
-Summarize
strengths/
experience/ skills
-Match job
posting
Education
-Reverse
Chronological
order
-Start with degree
-Include
grades/awards
Experience
-Reverse
Chronological
order
-RATS format
-Achievement
based statements
Interests
-Specific
-Differentiate
yourself
-Reflect your
personality
21. What counts as an error?
Spelling &
Grammar
Incorrect
Information
Improper
Formatting
Missing
Information
Incorrect
order of
Information
Inconsistency
23. Action Items
1. Sign up for office hours
2. Networking Event : March 13th 6-
8pm in CPA Hall
3. Cover Letter Draft due March 7/8
before tutorial on Turnitin (Bring a
hard copy to class also)
4. Resume and Cover Letter due
March 12th @ 11:59pm on Turnitin
and COOL
5. Cover Letter & Resume Toolkit
on MyBcom site
6. Tutorial Next Week!