Read a Job Description to Write Effective Resumes and Cover Letters
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This presentation walks viewers through resume and cover letter writing strategies and samples. It also addresses the importance of updating ones documents to align with the job description.
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Read a Job Description to Write Effective Resumes and Cover Letters
- 1. This could beYOUR resume!
- 2. Resume/Cover LetterWriting & Reading Job Descriptions Murray State Career Services 100 Oakley Applied Science Bldg 270.809.3735 | murraystate.edu/career
- 3. What is a Resume? ▪ A summary/highlight of your qualifications ▪ Marketing tool ▪ A way to get an interview!
- 4. Types of Resumes ▪ Chronological ▪ Emphasizes experience by dates ▪ Use when experience and education are relevant to objective ▪ Functional or Skills-based ▪ Highlights skills without boundaries of dates ▪ Use when transferable skills are stronger than job titles ▪ Combination ▪ Equally illustrates experience and applicable skills ▪ CurriculumVita (CV) ▪ More comprehensive document ▪ Use in education, graduate school applications or jobs abroad
- 5. Are there any rules? ▪ Don’t use a template ▪ Don’t include discriminatory information ▪ Do include relevant information ▪ One page is almost always preferred ▪ Margins should range from ½” to 1” ▪ Font(s) should be common ▪ Print (if applicable) on quality paper
- 6. TheTrifecta Review ▪ The following people should review your resume ▪ Career services professional ▪ Someone in the field (e.g. professor, supervisor) ▪ Someone who loves/supports you (e.g. parent)
- 7. Resume Review Survey ▪ 1000 resumes reviewed resulted in… ▪ Targeted Focus: 29% lacked clear objective ▪ Value Proposition: 97% offered no value/sales pitch ▪ Relevancy: 82% included info not related to position ▪ Measurable: 76% lacked quantifiable proof ▪ Spelling / Grammar: 29% had errors ▪ Design / Format: 96% nearly identical to common templates (internet, books, and word processors) Resource: Graham ManagementGroup Survey from EducationCareer Services presentation (SoACE, Dec 2011) edu-cs.com.
- 8. Resume Facts ▪ 427k are posted on Monster every week ▪ An average of 250 are received for each job position ▪ 88% job rejection if there’s a photo of yourself ▪ Recruiters spend 5 – 7 seconds looking at a resume ▪ 1 spelling or grammar mistake and it lands in the trash ▪ 76% are ignored if email address is unprofessional
- 10. 5 to 7 seconds looks like… ▪ Note how the recruiters’ eyes scanned these resumes ▪ Where did they look? ▪ Where didn’t they? ▪ Design matters ▪ Brevity matters Resource:BusinessInsider
- 11. Resume Header • Name: 18 – 22 point font and bold • Content: 11 – 12 point font • Mailing address (add permanent if transitioning) • Professional email address (remove hyperlink) • Phone number (voice mail must be professional) • Career-related website, LinkedIn, etc link
- 13. Objective or Summary ▪ Objective ▪ More traditional option ▪ State position you seek and skills/personal traits you offer ▪ Summary of Qualifications ▪ List in 3 to 5 bullets the skills and personal traits that make you the best fit for the position you are seeking ▪ Will change for each position to align with job description ▪ Don’t use both
- 14. Objective or Summary Samples
- 15. Education ▪ Include school name with city and state of location ▪ List degree and month/year of expected graduation ▪ List any minors or concentrations ▪ List GPA (cumulative and major) if 3.0 and above ▪ Only list applicable coursework as an additional section if relevant to job search and unique to major ▪ College graduates will not include high school
- 17. Experience ▪ List job title and dates of employment (present to past) ▪ List employer and city and state where located ▪ Use bulleted list to highlight skills and past successes ▪ Be concise and don’t list every task ever completed ▪ Start each bullet with an action verb/skill ▪ Use numbers and dollar amounts when possible ▪ Be consistent with punctuation ▪ Stay positive
- 19. Key Skills ▪ Computer ▪ List applicable programs and applications, etc. ▪ Personal ▪ Summarize personal traits and skills ▪ May not be needed if using Summary of Qualifications ▪ Foreign Language ▪ List proficiency, not years studied ▪ Training/Certifications ▪ List applicable trainings and certifications you have completed
- 21. Activities & Honors ▪ Activities ▪ Include leadership roles and dates ▪ Demonstrates well-roundedness and time management ▪ List those most related to potential job ▪ Honors ▪ Include those related to career field ▪ Include those in which you were actively involved ▪ Cautions ▪ Does it communicate a fit to job you seek? ▪ Is it understood by audience? ▪ Could you be discriminated against by including
- 22. Activities & Honors Samples
- 23. References ▪ If must, state “Available upon request” ▪ However, section is not required on resume ▪ Set-up as a separate page
- 26. What is a Cover Letter? ▪ Provides an additional page ▪ Expands on experience and skills ▪ Answers why you are qualified for the job ▪ Answers why you are interested in this job
- 28. Types of Cover Letters Traditional Executive Summary
- 29. Saving & Sending Documents ▪ DOC/DOCX ▪ Scannable ▪ May not hold formatting ▪ RichText Format (RTF) ▪ If format is removed, received format will be similar ▪ PDF ▪ Format will stay the same ▪ Sometimes not scannable ▪ JPG ▪ Format will stay the same ▪ Not scannable
- 30. Why, “Read the job description”? ▪ Allows you to… ▪ Speak the right language ▪ Prove your value ▪ Stand out
- 31. Resources to Help ▪ Job Description ▪ What can I do with a major in…? (link) ▪ O*Net (onetonline.org) ▪ Word Cloud Generators ▪ Tagcrowd.org ▪ Wordle.net
- 32. PR Specialist Job Description public relations strategic planning client relations product planning customer service quick thinkers communication engaging personality multi-task (twice) create and maintain relationships analyze and plan pursue, manage and complete projects bachelor’s degree in public relations strong orientation to detail Microsoft Word, Excel & Outlook self-motivated adapt to new situations customer service skills Worried about…. master UDA products/services data management
- 34. Resources ▪ Career Handbook,Tip Sheets & Samples ▪ murraystate.edu/career/resume ▪ eResume Feedback ▪ msu.eresume@murraystate.edu ▪ Feedback within 48 business hours ▪ Schedule an appointment ▪ M – F, 8:00AM – 4:30 PM ▪ Call x3735 to schedule
- 35. Questions? Murray State Career Services 100 OakleyApplied Science Bldg 270.809.3735 | murraystate.edu/career Follow @ MSUCSO Join the Murray State University Career Services group
Editor's Notes
- Here are what the statistics say about the “guidelines”