Resumes and Cover Letter

1. Job Search Strategies
*Information taken from “Career Choices,” Published by the North Carolina State Occupational
Information Coordinating Committee, Number 23, 2006-2007, p. 36-37.
AN EFFECTIVE RÉSUMÉ*
An effective résumé is the most important marketing tool you can have. It has one purpose and
one purpose only: to persuade the reader to contact you for an interview. Résumé writing
involves documenting your accomplishments and skills to showcase what you can offer an
employer. Follow these steps to create a résumé that gets results!
1. Define your career or job objective. Begin your job search and your résumé by
establishing your career objective. Once you identify your goals, you can successfully
communicate it to your network of contacts and potential employers. Your self-
assessment will help you focus on a specific area of career interest. Job objectives can
be defined by type of position, such as sales, administrative support or client services;
by type of industry, such as real estate, manufacturing or health care; or according to
skills you specifically want to use, such as communications, research or analysis.
Objectives can also be a combination of these. Tailor your objective to a specific job by
including keywords and phrases from a job of interest.
2. List all your past work experiences (full time, part time, paid and unpaid) that relate to
your chosen career field, starting with your current job. Start each work experience
with an action verb.
3. List your education and training experiences, including special courses and skills that
show related qualifications and preparation. If you recently graduated, list your
education before your work experiences; otherwise, education appears after work
experiences.
4. Organize this information using a standard format. Choose the format that best
highlights your strengths, then consider alternate presentations or variations – paper,
searchable, and electronic versions. Be brief (keep to one page), clear, neat, and use
action verbs.
5. Proofread and revise your draft until it is the best it can be. A résumé can be written in
a variety of formats. For more tips on preparing your résumé, take a look at
CareerOneStop (http://www.careeronestop.org).
The Chronological Format is the most common and best accepted format for résumés. Your
most recent work or educational experiences appears first, showing your qualifications for the
job. A sample résumé in the Chronological Format follows:

2. Résumé and Cover Letter 2
Job Search Strategies *Information taken from “Career Choices,” Published by the North Carolina
State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, Number 23, 2006-2007, p. 36-37.
Sarah A. Roe
123 Primrose Lane
Durham, North Carolina 27701
(919) 555-1234
sroe@yahoo.com
Employment Objectives
Maintenance Engineer or Plant Technician in a manufacturing or business facility, with
opportunities to use my strengths in maintenance and repair of electronic equipment.
Work Experience
2003-Present Maintenance Engineer
ABC Corporation, Durham, NC
Scheduled and performed regular and emergency maintenance
procedures to support system planning and controls. Installed electrical
and hydraulic equipment controls. Kept records pertaining to
maintenance.
1998-2003 Plant Electrician
My-T-Fine Inc., Durham, NC
Made electrical repairs to equipment and building. Installed controls
and junction panels. Planned work schedule with plant engineer. Also
performed HVAC maintenance.
1994-1998 Electrician
Bob’s Electric, Durham, NC
Installed wiring and fixtures in new construction and existing buildings.
Troubleshot electrical malfunctions and performed repairs. During the
last year on the job, worked as a contractor at IBM, performing
electrical plant maintenance.
Education
1990-1994 Durham Technical Community College
Durham, NC
Completed 60-hour course in industrial maintenance.
Received certificate in electrical HVAC, hydraulic maintenance.

3. Résumé and Cover Letter 3
Job Search Strategies *Information taken from “Career Choices,” Published by the North Carolina
State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, Number 23, 2006-2007, p. 36-37.
Electronic Résumés
More and more businesses are using computers to scan résumés, whether they are submitted
on paper or electronically. Job hunters need to know that computers read resumes differently
than people do. If you are sending a résumé that may be scanned by a computer, here are a
few tips:
 Put your name as the first readable item on the page (one page still preferred to two),
then list your contact information. Include your email address if you have one.
 Substitute a “Keyword Summary” for your career objective.
 Use nouns as your keywords.
 Do not include personal information, such as a social security number, that could expose
you to identity theft.
 Use a non-serif font (e.g., Helvetica or Arial) and 10-14 point size, not decorative type.
 Use white (preferred) or light-colored paper, printed on one side.
 Avoid italics, underlining, shading, graphics, and horizontal and vertical lines; also avoid
staples and folds.
Keyword Clues
Keywords are words that are common to a specific occupation or industry. They relate to tasks,
skills, and abilities required for a job. Using them in your cover letter and résumé indicates to
the reader that you are “in the know” regarding the job for which you’re applying. Choose
keyword nouns that the computer/scanner will identify as relevant to the particular job
opening. For example, keywords for accountant might include “BS accounting, accounts
payable, accounts receivable, tax preparation and CPA.” The more keywords, the better your
chances of catching the employer’s attention.
 Use words from the ad, job description, briefs in Career Choices, or Occupational
Outlook Handbook (www.bls.gov/oco).
 Identify keywords through employers and recruiters.
 Consult databases such as the O*NET Code Connector at www.onetcodeconnector.org
For more electronic résumé suggestions, check your library and/or the Riley Guide at
http://www.rileyguide.com/eresume.html.

4. Résumé and Cover Letter 4
Job Search Strategies *Information taken from “Career Choices,” Published by the North Carolina
State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, Number 23, 2006-2007, p. 36-37.
A Good Cover Letter Can Be the Key to Getting an Interview
A cover letter has one purpose and one purpose only: to “sell” an employer on the idea of
reading your résumé and giving you an interview. A cover letter should always accompany a
résumé, even those you send electronically, and should always be tailored to the employer to
whom you are sending it. Employers often reject generic cover letters—and the résumé that
come with them.
A good cover letter should reflect your knowledge of the company you are applying to, and it
should specifically address the skills and experience the employer is seeking. This means you’ll
need to research the company before responding to a job opening.
A successful cover letter should also show employers how you can fulfill their needs, and that
you will be dedicated to helping the company meet its goals. A well-written, tailored cover
letter makes a good first impression on prospective employers. An effective cover letter:
 Is tailored to a specific position in a specific organization (matches your qualifications
with the requirements of the job).
 Shows the employer why he/she should read your résumé.
 States how you heard about the opening—through a friend, advertisement, etc.
 Contains keywords and/or phrases from the job advertisement.
 Is straightforward, businesslike, and positive.
 Is printed neatly, error free, and on good quality paper. Ask someone else to proof it for
you. Before sending it electronically, e-mail it to a friend to proof.
 Is usually no longer than a page.
 Is addressed to a specific person. Avoid using “Dear Sir/Madam” or “To Whom it May
Concern.” Call the company and ask for the name of the contact.

5. Résumé and Cover Letter 5
Job Search Strategies *Information taken from “Career Choices,” Published by the North Carolina
State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, Number 23, 2006-2007, p. 36-37.
April 30, 2008
Ms. Barbara Moore
Human Resources Director
Metropolitan Hospital
Winston-Salem, NC
Dear Ms. Moore:
Please consider this letter of application and résumé for the position of clinical laboratory
assistant you advertised in Sunday’s Triad Times.
I am graduating from Catawba Valley Community College on June 6, 2008, and will be available
for full-time employment immediately. As my résumé indicates, I have completed my Associate
Degree in Health Information Technology and have hospital experience. I feel that my
education, experience and skills qualify me for the position you advertised.
I would appreciate an opportunity to meet with you to discuss the position and my
qualifications, and would like to call soon for an appointment. Thank you for your time and
consideration.
Sincerely,
Jean R. Henry
2100 E. Elm Street
Hickory, NC 28602
Enclosure