CH_7_How_to_Get_a_Job_Searches_Dossiers_Portfolios_Resumes_Letters.pptx

Chapter 7:
How to Get a Job:
Searches, Networking, Dossiers,
Portfolios/Webfolios, Résumés,
Transitioning to a Civilian Job,
and Interviews
Course: Writing at
Work
Year 3, Semester: II
Academic year: 2023 - 2024
Lecturer: Mr. VATH VARY
Phone: 017 471 117
Email: vathvary017@gmail.com

Introduction
It also contains
information to help
individuals to transition
from their military
assignment to the civilian
workforce
This chapter shows you how to
begin your job search, design
an effective portfolio, prepare
an appropriate résumé, write a
persuasive letter of application,
and prepare for an interview.

Introduction
Finding the right
person to fill that
job also takes
time for the
employer.
Finding the right
job takes time in
this highly
competitive job
market.

Steps the Employer Takes to Hire
1. Deciding what duties and responsibilities go with
the job and determining the qualifications the
employee should possess.
2. Advertising the job on the company website, in on-
line job posting sites, in newspapers, and in
professional publications.
3. Reviewing and evaluating résumés and letters of
application.
4. Having candidates complete application forms.
5. Requesting further proof of candidates’ skills
(letters of recommendation, transcripts, portfolios).
6. Interviewing selected candidates.
7. Doing further follow-ups and selecting those to be
interviewed again
8. Offering the job to the best-qualified individual.
From the
employer’s
viewpoint, the
stages in the search
for a valuable
employee include
the following:

Steps to Follow to Get Hired
1) Analyzing your strengths and
restricting your job search.
2) Enhancing your image.
3) Looking in the right places for a
job.
4) Assembling a dossier and portfolio.
5) Preparing a résumé.
6) Writing a letter of application and
filling out a job application.
7) Going to an interview.
8) Accepting or declining a job offer.
As a job seeker,
expect to go
through the
following
procedures:

Analyzing Your Strengths and
Restricting Your Job Search
 Job counselors advise students to start planning for their
careers several years before they graduate. Here are points to
consider as you develop your professional career plans:
1. Make an inventory of your most significant accomplishments and
identify your greatest strengths.
2. Decide which specialty within your chosen career appeals to you the
most.
3. Consider what types of working conditions most appeal to you.
4. Ask yourself what are the most rewarding prospects of a job in your
profession.
5. Identify some of the greatest challenges in your career today.
6. Look into which specific companies or organizations have the best
track record in hiring and promoting individuals in your field.

Enhancing Your Professional
Image (slide 1 of 2)
 There are several steps you can take to help improve
your changes of getting hired. Here are some
suggestions:
1. Attend job fairs and interviewing workshops.
2. Go to trade shows to learn about the latest products, services,
and technologies in your profession and to meet contacts and
even potential employers.
3. Join student and professional organizations and societies in
your area of interest.
4. Apply for relevant internships and training programs to gain
real-world experience and increase your networking contacts.
5. If available, take a temporary job in your profession to gain
some experience (See Figure 5.1).

Enhancing Your Professional
Image (slide 2 of 2)
There are several steps you can take to
help improve your changes of getting
hired. Here are some suggestions:
6. Confer with your academic adviser regularly.
7. Find a mentor.
8. Do volunteer work to gain or enhance experience working
in a group setting, preparing documents, and so on.
9. Find out if your school or university offers job shadowing
opportunities, where you can follow someone during
his/her daily work routine to gauge whether or not a
particular position or profession matches your skills and
interests.

Looking in the Right Places for a
Job
 Consult the following resources for job-related
information:
1. Personal (face-to-face) networking (Figures 5.13 and 5.14, pages 203–
204)
2. Your campus placement office
3. Online job-posting sites (www.camhr.com/ www.bongthom.com )
4. Newspapers (www. Khmertimes.com, Phnom Penh Post)
5. Federal and state employment offices
6. Professional and trade journals and associations in your major
7. The human resources department of a company or agency you would
like to work for
8. A résumé database service
9. Professional employment agencies

Using Online Social and Professional
Networking Sites in Your Job Search
 Social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter,
and LinkedIn, and Google+)
 are not only personal media sites;
 are essential tools to help you find a job and
advance your career.
 Use Facebook to start your network by finding
 former employers or co-workers, former instructors
who might act as professional references, and
 even friend and classmates who may work at
companies of interest to you.

Figure 5.2 LinkedIn Profile (slide 1 of 2)

Figure 5.2 LinkedIn Profile (slide 2 of 2)

Promoting Your Best Image—
Some Do’s and Don’ts
Used effectively, networking sites allow
you to publicize your qualifications
through text, audio, video images, and
podcasts.
Hiring managers and recruiters check
these social networks for potential job
candidates as well as to screen applicants
to interview and eventually hire.
To project your best professional image, employ
the same care as you would in preparing other
job-related documents, such as memos, letters,
reports, and proposals.

Table 5.2 Do’s and Don’ts When Creating
Your Online Profile (slide 1 of 2)

Table 5.2 Do’s and Don’ts When Creating Your
Online Profile (slide 1 of 2)

Dossiers and Letters of Recommendation
(slide 1 of 2)
 A dossier /ˈdɒs.i.eɪ/
 French for “bundle of documents,”
 provides a file of information about you and
your work that others have supplied. It
includes:
 Letters of recommendation
 Letters that awarded you a scholarship, gave you an
academic honor, or acknowledged your community
service
 Letters that praised your work on the job notified you
of a merit raise, promotion, or recognition
(“Employee of the Month”)
 Your academic transcript(s)

Obtaining Letters of Recommendation
(slide 2 of 2)
 Letters of
recommendation are
written by individuals
you approach who
agree to construct a
letter demonstrating
your strengths and
qualifications to a
potential employer.

Obtaining
Letters of
Recommendati
on
Should
You See
Your
Letters?
Whom
Should
You Ask?
Always
Ask for
Permissio
n
Should You
Ask Your
Current
Boss?

• You have a legal right to see your recommendation letters, but some
employers believe that if candidates read them, their references may be
overly complimentary and more inclined to withhold information.
• Also, some of your references may refuse to write a letter of
recommendation if they know you will read it.
Should You
See Your
Letters?
• Consider asking previous employers, previous professors,
supervisors, and community leaders. Only ask individuals who
are familiar with your work and strong supporters of you (See
Figure Figure 5.3)
Whom Should
You Ask?
• You could jeopardize your chances for a job if a prospective employer
called one of your references and that person did not even know you were
looking for a job or, worse yet, reveals that you did not have the courtesy
to ask to use his or her name.
Always Ask
for
Permission
Should You
Ask Your
Current Boss?
• If your present employer is already aware that you are looking for work
elsewhere (for instance, if your job is temporary or if your contract is about to
run out) or you are working at a part-time job, by all means ask for a letter of
recommendation.
• if you are employed full time and are looking for professional advancement
and/or for a better salary elsewhere, you may not want your current employer to
know that you are searching for another job.

Figure 5.3
Request for a
Letter of
Recommendation

Career Portfolios and Webfolios
 A career portfolio or webfolio contains
documents you have created yourself:
 A mission statement (two or three paragraphs) that outlines
your career goals and work skills
 An additional copy of your résumé
 scans of diplomas, certificates, licenses, internships, and papers
 copies of awards (academic and job-related), promotion letters,
or commendations (e.g., for protecting the environment)
 Impressive examples of written work
 Newspaper or newsletter stories about your academic,
community or on-the-job accomplishments
 Pertinent examples of media presentations or other graphic
work you have done
 A list of references with contact information

What Not to Include in a Career
Portfolio/ Webfolio
• documents or scans of documents that show your
memberships in clubs, fraternities/ sororities, sports
teams, and so on, unless directly relevant to the job;
• links to or printouts from personal webpages, including
Facebook and Twitter (these may contain inappropriate
personal information that portray you as unprofessional);
• pictures of your family, friends, pets, and the like;
• scans of newspaper or newsletter stories about you that
are not directly related to your job search, such as your
winning a cruise or playing on a bowling team.
Anthony Jones (in Figure 5.4) makes it easy for a job recruiter or
prospective employer to find evidence of your qualifications.

Figure 5.4 Résumé
from a Student with
Little Job
Experience

Preparing a Résumé ((also called a
curriculum vitae “cv”)
Résumé (also called a curriculum
vitae “cv”)
is a factual and concise summary of your qualifications,
convincing a prospective employer that you have the
education and experience to do the job you are applying
for.
Key
details
Word Use The order of
information Format

What Employers Like to See in a Résumé
The résumé may be the most important document you prepare for
your job search. Employers like to see the following in a
résumé:
 Honesty: Be truthful about your qualifications—your education, experience, and skills.
 Attractiveness: be pleasing to the eye, with generous margins, consistent punctuation, and
suitable spacing, typeface, and use of boldface.
 Organization: make it easy to follow, logical, and consistent; Include plenty of white space
to separate major sections, and use bullets to list and highlight key facts within each section
 Conciseness: make it to the point; keep your résumé to one page, (See Figure 5.4.); use
action verbs (Table 5.3 on page 176).
 Accuracy: Make sure your grammar, spelling, dates, names, titles, and programs are correct;
typos, inconsistencies, and math errors say you didn’t check your facts and figures.
 Currency: All information needs to be up-to-date and documented, with no gaps or sketchy
areas about previous jobs or education. Missing or incorrect dates or leaving key information
out are red flags.
 Relevance: The information on your résumé must be appropriate for the job description and
level. It must show that you have the necessary education and experience and must confirm
that you can be an effective team player.
 Quantifiable information: include specifics about how much revenue you generated for an
employer (or how much money you saved, or how many times you performed a complex
job).

Create Several Versions
of
Your Résumé
 It is to your advantage to prepare
several versions of your résumé and
then adapt each one you send out to
the specific job skills a prospective
employer is looking for.

Create Several Versions of Your Résumé
The Process of Writing Your Résumé
To write an effective résumé, ask the following important questions:
1. What classes did you excel in?
2. What papers, reports, surveys, or presentations earned you your highest grades?
3. What computer skills have you mastered—languages, software, e-commerce,
blog or website design, collaborative online editing?
4. What other technical skills have you acquired?
5. What relevant jobs have you had? For how long and where? What were your
primary duties? Did you supervise other employees?
6. How did you open or expand a business market? Increase a customer base?
7. What did you do to earn a raise or a promotion in a previous or current job?
8. Do you work well with people? What skills do you possess as a member of a
team working toward a common job goal (e.g., finishing a report)?
9. Can you organize complicated tasks or identify and solve problems quickly?
10. Have you had experiences or responsibilities managing money—collecting fees
or receipts, preparing payrolls, conducting nightly audits, and so on?
11. Have you won any awards or scholarships or received a commendation or other
recognition at work?

Figure 5.5
Résumé from a
Student with
Some Job
Experience

Figure 5.6 (page
185) Résumé
from Individual
with Significant
Job Experience

Balancing Education and Experience
(Figure 5.6, page 185)
• Do not include every detail of your jobs
for the last ten or twenty years:
 Emphasize only those skills and
positions most likely to earn you the
job.
 Eliminate early jobs that do not relate
to your present employment search.
 Combine and condense skills acquired
over many years and jobs.
 Include relevant military schools or
service.

What to Exclude from a Résumé
• Knowing what to exclude from a résumé is
as important as knowing what to include.
Here are some other details best left off
your résumé:
 salary demands, expectations, or ranges
 preferences for work schedules, days off, or overtime
 comments about fringe benefits
 travel restrictions
 reasons for leaving your previous job
 your photograph (unless you are applying for a modeling or
acting job)
 your Social Security number
 information about your family, spouse, or children
 height, weight, hair or eye color
 sexual orientation, religious and political affiliations
 hobbies, interests (unless relevant to the job you are seeking)

Parts of a
Résumé
Contact
Informatio
n
Career
Objective
Credential
s (education
and
experience)
Related
Skills and
Achievemen
ts
Reference
s

Parts of a Résumé
Contact information and Career Objective
• Contact Information: At the top of the page, provide your full
name, address including your zip code, telephone number, and email
address.
• Career Objective: a prospective employer will read your career
objective statement, which specifies the exact type of job you are
looking for and in what ways you are qualified to hold it.
 To write an effective career objective statement, ask yourself four basic
questions:
1. What kind of job do I want?
2. What kind of job am I qualified for?
3. What capabilities do I possess?
4. What kinds of skills do I want to learn?
Compare the vague objectives on the
left with the more precise ones on
the right.

Parts of a Résumé:
Credentials
Education
1. Begin with your most recent education first, then list everything
significant since high school. For each school, give the name, the dates
you attended, and the degree, diploma, or certificate you earned.
2. Don’t overlook relevant military experience or major training programs
(EMT, court reporter), institutes, internships, or workshops you have
completed.
3. Mention any special projects, experiments, or reports that bear directly
on the job you are seeking.
Experience
1. Begin with your most recent position and work backward—in reverse
chronological order. List the company or agency name, location (city and
state), your job title, and dates of employment. Do not mention why you
left a job.
2. For each job or activity, provide a short description (one or two lines) of
your duties and achievements. Emphasize your responsibilities:
 Rather than saying you were an administrative assistant, indicate that you
wrote business letters and used various software programs, maintained
records, designed a company website, prepared schedules for part-time help
in an office of twenty-five people, or assisted the manager in preparing
minutes, accounts, and presentations.

Credentials
Experience
3. In describing your position(s), emphasize any
responsibilities that involved
 handling money (e.g., assisting customers, filing insurance
claims, or preparing payrolls);
 managing other employees; working with customer
accounts, services, and programs; or
 writing letters and reports.
 Prospective employers are interested in your
leadership abilities, teamwork, financial
responsibility, tact in dealing with the public, and
communications skills.
4. Include any relevant volunteer work you have
done

Related Skills and Achievements
Not every résumé will have this section:
 Second or third languages you speak or write
 Extensive travel
 Certificates or licenses you hold
 Memberships in professional association or in community service
groups
 Computer skills
 Honors/Awards:
– List any civic honors (mayor’s award, community service award,
cultural harmony award)
– Academic honors (dean’s list, department awards, scholarships, grants,
honorable mentions), and
– Military awards or medals you have won.
– Memberships in honor societies in your major and technical/business
associations also demonstrate that you are professionally accomplished
and active.

References
• As a rule, do not list references with
personal contact information. Simply say
they are available on request.
– Ask your instructors, previous
employer, or individuals who have
supervised your work.
– Always give the person providing the
reference a copy of your current
résumé.

Organizing Your
Résumé
Chronologically
(See Figures 5.4 and 5.5)
This is the traditional way to organize a
résumé, and appropriate for students who
want to emphasize recent educational
achievements.
It is straightforward and easy to read, and
employers find it acceptable.
By Function or Skill
Area
Sort your achievements and abilities—
whether from course work, jobs,
extracurricular activities, military service, or
technical skills—into two to four key skill
areas
Functional and skills résumés are often
called bullet résumés itemizing the
candidate’s main strengths in bulleted lists.

Preparing a Functional or Skills
Résumé
(Dora Cooper Bolger in Figure 5.6.)
• When you prepare a functional or skills résumé, start
with your name, address, telephone number, and career
objective, just as in a chronological résumé.
• The following individuals would probably benefit from
organizing their résumés by function or skill area
instead of chronologically:
– nontraditional students who have had diverse job
experiences
– people who are changing professions
– individuals who have changed jobs frequently
– ex-military personnel reentering the civilian
marketplace

Preparing a
Functional or Skills
Résumé
(Dora Cooper Bolger in Figure
5.6.)

Transitioning into the Civilian Workforce (slide 1
of 2)
 Transitioning from the military into the civilian workforce
is not easy. It may require you to greatly modify or adapt
your military training or even to change careers altogether.
 Capitalize on these when preparing your résumé and
drafting your letter of application:
 Offering leadership by training and example
 Excelling in building teamwork and efficiency
 Meeting deadlines under stressful conditions
 Working respectfully with individuals from diverse
cultures
 Adapting quickly to change

Transitioning into the Civilian
Workforce (slide 2 of 2)
 Paying attention to detail
 Troubleshooting and solving problems
quickly
 Receiving specialized technical training
 Managing budgets, equipment, supplies and
other resources
 Maintaining equipment
 Exhibiting self-discipline
 Being physically fit

Figure 5.7 Dora
Cooper Bolger’s
Résumé
Organized by
Skills Areas

Figure 5.8 Anna
Cassetti’s Résumé
Organized by
Function/Skill
Areas

Figure 5.9 Résumé
Showing Military
Service to Civilian
Employment

The Digital Résumé
 In addition to preparing a hard copy
résumé, expect to prepare multiple digital
versions.
 Use these guidelines to prepare different
versions:
1. Use the employer-provided application form.
2. Post your résumé on the Web.
3. Send your résumé via an email attachment.
4. Create a scannable résumé.
5. Create an HTML version of your résumé.
6. Send a video résumé.

Figure 5.8
Scannable,
Electronic
Version of
Résumé in
Figure 5.4

FIGURE 5.9 A
Scannable,
Electronic
Version of Dora
Cooper Bolger’s
Hard-Copy
Résumé
in Figure 5.6

FIGURE 5.10
A PDF File of
Beth Pryor’s
Résumé

FIGURE 5.11 A
Scannable
Version of Beth
Pryor’s Résumé

Letters of Application
 The letter of application is a cover letter
you send to a prospective employer to
supplement your résumé.
 Its goal is to get you an interview and
ultimately the job.
 The letter of application should be:
 Personable
 Professional
 Persuasive

Résumé Facts to Exclude from
Letters of Application
• The letter of application should not
simply repeat the details listed in your
résumé. In fact, the following details
that you would include in your résumé
should not be restated in the letter:
– personal data, including license or
certificate numbers
– specific course numbers
– names and addresses of your references

FIGURE 5.12 Letter of
Application from Anthony
Jones, a Recent Graduate with
Little Job Experience

Application from María
López, a Recent Graduate with
Some
Job Experience

Application from Dora Cooper
Bolger, a Job Candidate with
Years
of Community and Civic
Experience

Writing the Letter of Application
As you prepare your letter, use the following general guidelines (Figures
5.12, 5.13, and 5.14):
1. Follow the standard conventions of letter writing..
2. Supply all contact information as part of your heading. Include home address, phone
numbers, email address, and your website, if you have one.
3. Make sure your letter looks attractive. Use wide margins, and don’t crowd information
onto your page. Keep your paragraphs short and readable—no more than four or five
sentences each.
4. Send your letter to a specific person. Never address an application letter “To Whom It
May Concern,” “Dear Sir or Madam,” or “Dear Director of Human Resources.” Get an
individual’s name from the company’s website or by calling the company’s main office,
and be sure to verify the spelling of the person’s name and his or her title.
5. Don’t send a form letter to every potential employer. Customize your letter to make
sure you address the employer’s specific needs.
6. Be concise. A one-page letter is standard in today’s job market unless you have years of
experience.
7. Emphasize the “you attitude.” See yourself as an employer sees you. Focus on how your
qualifications meet the employer’s needs. Convince prospective employers that you will
be a valuable addition to their organization—a team player, a problem solver, an energetic
representative, a skilled professional.
8. Don’t be tempted to send out your first draft.

Parts of Letter
Introduction
• Begin your letter by stating
directly that you are writing
to apply for a job. Get your
reader’s attention by
answering four questions:
1) Why are you
writing?
2) Where or how did
you learn of the
vacancy, the
company, or the job?
3) What is the specific
job title for which
you are applying?
4) What is your most
important
qualification for the
job?
The Body of
Your Letter
• Comprise one or two
paragraphs (education &
experience).
• Follow these guidelines for
the body of your letter:
1) Keep your paragraphs
short and readable—four
or five active sentences.
2) Don’t begin each sentence
with “I.”
3) Concentrate on seeing
yourself as a potential
employer sees you.
4) Highlight your
qualifications by citing
specific accomplishments.
5) Mention you are enclosing
your résumé.
Closing
• Keep your closing paragraph
short—about two or three
sentences—but be sure it
fulfills the following four
important functions:
1) briefly emphasizes once
again your major
qualifications
2) asks for an interview or a
phone call
3) indicates when you are
available for an interview
4) thanks the reader

Going to an Interview
 An interview, a formal meeting with a
prospective employer to apply for a job, is
something you should prepare for carefully:
1. Do your homework about the company.
2. Review the job description carefully.
3. Prepare a one- or two-minute summary of your chief
qualifications.
4. Bring your portfolio, including three or four extra copies
of your résumé.
5. Practice your interview skills with a friend or job
counselor.
6. Brush up on business etiquette. (put phone in silence,
remember interviewer’s name
7. Bring your photo ID and social security card.

Questions to Expect at Your Interview

Questions to Expect
at Your Interview

What Do I Say About Salary?
 Find out what the salary range is for your
professional level in your area.
 If you are asked what salary you expect for the
job, do not give an exact figure.
 You may undercut yourself if the employer has a
higher figure in mind.
• Factor other benefits into your salary
calculations—health insurance, day care,
housing, uniform/clothing allowances, product or
service discounts, opportunities for travel and
language instruction, and tuition reimbursement.

Questions You May Ask the
Interviewer(s)
• Will there be any safety, security, or proficiency
requirements I will need to meet?
• When is the starting date?
• Is there a probationary period? If so, how long?
• How often will my work be evaluated (monthly, quarterly,
semiannually) and by whom (immediate superior,
committee)?
• What types of on-the-job training are required or offered?
• Are there any mentoring programs in place?
• Is there any support for continuing my education to improve
my job performance?
• What is the next step in your hiring process?

Ten Interview Do’s and Don’ts
1. Be on time. Show up about 15 minutes early in case the interviewer or
human resources office wants you to complete some forms.
2. Turn off your cell phone and any other media device!
3. Dress appropriately for the occasion and be well groomed.
4. Be careful about tattoos.
5. Greet the interviewer with a friendly and firm, but not vicelike,
handshake.
6. Don’t sit down before the interviewer does. Wait for the interviewer to
invite you to sit and to indicate where.
7. Speak slowly and distinctly. Never interrupt or finish an interviewer’s
sentences.
8. Do not chew gum, click a ballpoint pen, fidget, twirl your hair, or tap
your foot against the floor, a chair, or a desk.
9. Maintain appropriate eye contact with the interviewer; do not sheepishly
stare at the floor or the desk.
10. When the interview is over, thank the interviewer(s) for considering you
for the job, and say you look forward to hearing from him or her.

The Follow-Up Letter
• Within a week after the interview, it is wise to
send a follow-up letter, not an email, thanking
the interviewer for his or her time and interest
in you.
– In your letter, reemphasize your
qualifications for the job by showing how
they apply to the requirements described
by the interviewer.
– You might also ask for further information
to show your interest in the job and the
employer.

FIGURE 5.15 A
Follow-Up Letter

Accepting or Declining a Job Offer
 When accepting a job, send the employer a
letter within a week of the offer.
 Start by telling the employer you are accepting the job,
indicate when you can start, mention any pleasant
associations from the interview, express your plans to
fulfil any requirements for the job, and reiterate that you
look forward to starting the job.
 When declining a job, do not start with the bad
news.
 Ease into it, then tactfully tell the employer why you are
not taking the job (be honest but do not elaborate
excessively on your reasoning), and end on a friendly
note.

Searching for the Right Job Pays
• As we saw, finding the right job takes a lot of hard
work (researching, organizing, networking, and
writing).
• But all your efforts will pay off with your first and
subsequent checks.
• May all your letters, résumés, portfolios/webfolios,
and applications be models of successful writing at
work.

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