This document provides guidance on preparing for the next step in one's career, including resumes, cover letters, and interviews. It emphasizes that a good resume alone will not land a job, and bad resume can cost opportunities. The basics of a strong resume are outlined, including sections for personal profile, education, experience, and activities. Sample resume and cover letter templates are provided. Guidance is given for interview preparation, such as researching the company and position, developing examples to highlight one's skills and qualifications, and preparing questions to ask. The document stresses sending a thank you note after an interview and following up if no response is received.

1. Preparing for Your Next Step

2. Today’s Discussion Points
•Resumes
•Cover Letters
•The Interview
Before, During, After
• Questions

3. Resume Overview
A good resume won’t get
you a job – but a bad
resume will cost you one

4. Resume Basics
*Personal Summary or Profile
The “anti-objective” statement
*Education
It’s the most important thing you’ve
accomplished in the past four or five
years.
*Experience
Skill, skills and more skills

5. *Volunteer/Extracurricular Activities
Helps to show your personality and
qualities, whether you’re motivated,
ambitious, a team player, etc.

6. Joe Smith
jsmith@gmail.com 10 Main Street Hartford, CT 06106 860-555-5555
PROFILE
A highly-motivated, productive and customer-focused communications
graduate with strong interpersonal, organizational, time management,
analytical and problem solving skills. Reliable and dedicated with the
ability to grasp and apply new procedures quickly; organize and prioritize
tasks to meet deadlines and adapt readily to new challenges.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Communications - anticipated May 2016
University of Hartford, Hartford, CT
GPA 3.50, Dean’s List all semesters, National Honor Society
Relevant courses: Graphic Communications, Intellectual Communication,
Public Relation Writing, Mass Media Writing

7. RELATED EXPERIENCE
Business News Intern July 2015 - Present
ABC News, Stamford, CT
One of ten students selected for this highly competitive internship. Leverage
coursework in communications and public relations to support organizations
objectives.
* Participate in daily coverage of business and economic stories for the newsroom
* Assist in reporting, writing and editing for daily business and economic news
* Brainstorm with reporters to decide which stories were newsworthy
* Collaborate with internal and external contacts on various news projects
Marketing Intern March 2014 – October 2014
Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs, CT
* Photographed weekly race action for use in company brochure and website
* Developed, wrote and implemented company business plan which involved
researching industry trends, analyzing of competitors and outlook of marketplace
* Designed site map and wrote copy for company website: www.sms.com
* Demonstrated customer service skills in attending to walk-in customers, managing
customer questions, comments and concerns

8. VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
ESL Tutor September 2012 - Present
Hartford Neighborhood Center; Hartford, CT
*Teach a class of 8-10 students of different ages, native languages, and
varying levels of English competency.
*Exercise articulation, patience, and interpersonal skills to promote
successful communication and instruction to the diverse group.
SKILLS
*PC & Mac; Microsoft Office, Paradigm, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Picture
It

10. Cover Letters
What goes in a cover letter?
*Let the person know why you are contacting them
(identify the specific job or a person who is referring you)
*Provide a short background about yourself and a
career/college highlight or two
*Don’t just summarize your resume
*Set yourself apart from the competition

11. Preparing for Interviews
know the key
competencies for
the job
anticipate
questions
prep your
answers
prepare
questions that
you will ask
research the
company
Know the
interview team
identify any
challenges the
company faces
gather relevant
info and bring it
with you (writing
samples, etc.)
align your skills
with the ad
dress for success

12. Behavioral Interviewing
Behavioral interviewing asserts that “the most
accurate predictor of future performance is
past performance in a similar situation.”
“Give us an example of when you…”

13. Behavioral Interviewing
Not every interviewer is going to ask you behavioral
questions. Your goal is to give behavioral answers
anyway thus giving YOU more control over the
interview

14. Behavioral Answers – the STAR approach
A good behavioral response should have 3 parts to it:
1. ST: Situation or Task -
Describe the context in which the behavior or action took place
2. A: Action –
Logically take the interviewer through the steps you took to handle the situation or resolve the problem. Keep
your answers clear and concise.
3. R: Results –
Explain your results even if you weren’t as successful as you’d hoped. It’s important that you understand the
implications of the outcome and why it happened.
For each competency you think will be questioned, develop a coherent and
articulate STAR response. You should prepare at least one STAR response for each
bullet point on your resume.

15. Questions You Should Ask
* What is the work environment like?
* To whom does this position report?
* What is the management style of that person?
* What type of employee development opportunities are available?
* What type of career opportunities are available?
~ Do you have a succession management program?
~ Do you have a mentoring program?
* What are your thoughts on work/life balance?

16. * What is the performance appraisal process like?
~ Do I have a chance to complete a self-appraisal?
~ Do I participate in the goal setting process?
(Do you get to sit down each year and determine some of
your work related goals or are they determined by your
supervisor?)
~ Are merit increases based on performance?
Closing thoughts
* Do you have any reservations about my ability to do this
job?
(This will give you a chance to clarify any gray areas or it
may identify areas you need to improve.)

17. Or, you could close with something like this….
Thank you for taking time to talk to me about the position
today. After meeting with you and hearing the details, I’m
even more interested in the job. It sounds like it would be a
good fit for both of us. What are the next steps in this
process?

18. After the Interview
What’s the first thing you do when you
get home?
Sit down and write a thank-you
note/email to each person with whom
you interviewed.

19. Dear _______,
Thank you very much for the interview
today. In reviewing the opportunity with
[name of company], I am very impressed
with the organization and the position. Our
discussion regarding _____________ was
very interesting and I look forward to
meeting again to discuss it in more detail.
Very truly yours,

20. Don’t hear back? Try a follow up email to the main
interviewer:
Good Afternoon, Dave,
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me
for the position of ______. I want you to let
you know that I am very interested in this
opportunity with [name of company]. Please
call or e-mail me with an update at your
earliest convenience.
Sincerely,

21. Good Luck!
Success in the working world is
about 1 thing…..RELATIONSHIPS!
Questions?
jim.tamburro@cga.ct.gov