This document provides an agenda and instructions for a tutorial on resumes and cover letters. It outlines a peer review activity where students will review and provide feedback on each other's resumes and cover letters. The document discusses formatting guidelines and components of effective resumes and cover letters. It also provides examples of strong and weak experiences and interests sections. Finally, it notes what kinds of minor and major errors will result in point deductions during the peer review.

1. COMM 202Tutorial 5: Resume & CL Peer Review
LAPTOPS & PHONES AWAY! NAME TENTS OUT!
T21 + T28

2. AGENDA For today
Course Timeline
TA Feedback
Resume & CL Peer Review
Action Items

3. Course Timeline
Reading break next week!
week 10week 7 week 9week 8
• tutorial: resume &
cover letter peer
review
• due: 2 copies of
resume draft &
cover letter draft &
job posting
• tutorial: LinkedIn /
networking
• due: LinkedIn due
before class
• tutorial: event
networking /
informational
interviews
• Due: cover letter &
resume due
Tuesday, March 7th
@ 2:00PM
• networking event
on March 9th
reading break

4. Feedback time!
Start. Stop. Continue.

5. Time to
Peer edit

6. The room setup
Ali

7. Instructions
• Write your table number on ALL documents
• Put all Resumes in a pile in the middle of the table
• Get out your marking utensils!
EACH NEW SLIDE SECTION:
PASS Resumes TO THE next table!

8. Let’s learn about
FORMATTING

9. CL Formatting
• Left aligned (NOT justified)
• No indents on paragraphs
• Bullet points vs. paragraphs
• 2-3 relevant skills
• Consistent font size (min. size 10)
• Appropriate font
• Margin sizes
• Spacing between paragraphs
• White space
• One page

10. 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

11. Take a look at both documents
Are they consistent?
Header? Margins? Font?

12. Addressing the cover letter
Date
Contact Name
Title
Company
Address 1
City, Province Postal Code
Re: Position Title (reference number if given)
Dear [first name Last name],
or Dear Hiring Manager/Committee,

13. Here are some examples
specific person
(assume known marital status)
unknown person

14. SIGNING OFF THE RIGHT WAY
Sincerely, / Regards, / Best,
(Written signature if you
want)
Your name
Bcom Candidate 20XX
Sauder School of Business
Enclosed vs. Attached:
Resume

15. Let’s look at the
Opening
Trade Documents!

16. The opening
• Expresses very keen genuine interest and/or
passion for position
• Makes a clear expression of the
skills/experience matching the job description
• Integrates genuine and unique primary or
secondary research indicating interest in firm
• Name Drop (when applicable)
• HOOK

17. The opening: BRANDING
• Provides strong, insightful research that demonstrates
knowledge and interest in the industry or organization
• Clearly illustrates how the candidate will “fit” into the industry
or organization
I want to belong to Devon Canada because its mantra “be a good
neighbor” aligns with my goal of building relationships to enrich the area
where I work and live. This desire, along with the skills I have gained
from my previous work experiences in the Calgary energy industry, will
allow me to make valuable contributions to Devon Canada’s initiatives.

18. Moving onto
Skills Matching

19. Skills Matching
• Describes specific skills that are clearly matched to the job
description, referencing specific examples that leverage
experiences and qualifications
• Experiences highlighted are specific and concise linking past
experiences through transferable skills
• Results show success or strength in past experiences
• STARL FORMAT (EMPHASIZING ACTION… LINK WHERE APPLICABLE)
• TEAM EXPERIENCES – EMPHASIZING INDIVIDUAL VS. TEAM ACTIONS
• SHOW ME, DON’T TELL ME

20. Skills Matching: LINK
I spent this past summer at Total E&P Canada, where I compiled and calculated
information for numerous government payment and application documents. I had
to prioritize my tasks and organize my progress as I updated versions of multiple
documents, and was constantly in correspondence with external auditors and
other departments. At Devon Canada, the accounting department faces
numerous deadlines and supports a variety of different parties. My ability to
efficiently manage multiple projects will be vital to my success.

21. And now
The closing

22. Closing Effectively
• Very clear reference to specific skills
• Interest and request for meeting
Aka “call to action”
• Graciously thanks the employer for their
consideration
• TIE BACK TO HOOK/INTRO

23. ResumesMove documents to the next table!

24. 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

25. Profile
• No more then 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?)

26. Profile

27. Education Section
• Does it clearly summarize education experiences (i.e.
including academic projects / relevant courses / grades /
awards)?
• Is there any ambiguity with respect to the info provided?
• Does it match the job description?

28. Education Section
• BCom not BCOMM
• 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

29. And now
Work experienceMove documents to the next table!

30. Experiences
• 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?

31. Experiences Cont.
• 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)

32. Examples…
Removed ambiguity from taxation budget by correctly coding over 250
invoices, through the research of taxation legislation and analysis of archived
invoices for the cost control department’s budget report
Qualitative:
Reduced stress among new BCom students by providing academic support and
mentorship, through the creation of individualized exam preparation schedules
during one-on-one coaching sessions.
Quantitative:
Doubled previous year’s number of appointments with new BCom students by
creating individualized exam preparation schedules and building authentic,
trust-based relationships during one-on-one coaching sessions

33. Onto their
InterestsMove documents to the next table!

34. 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
*NOTE for the candidate: Be able to speak
about these interests extensively!

35. Branding
• Personal qualifications are well tailored to
requirements of job (clear 60-70% match)
• Multiple words from job description are
included in resume (5+)
• Interests section show personality and
relevant specific interests
• There is strong evidence of CAN-WANT-FIT
match made

36. A note about
Marking

37. Errors
Minor errors lose you one point
Critical errors lose you two points
The max you can lose per document is 4 points (20%)
Error Minus one point Minus two points
Spelling mistake X
Grammar mistake X
Inconsistency X
Having positions in wrong
order
X
Improper formatting (CL) X
Spelling name of addressee
incorrectly
X

38. One last
thing

39. Action items
• Sign up for office hours
• Work on your resume & CL over break
• Networking event: Thursday, Mar. 9 from 6-8pm
• Career Peer Advising and BCC Coaching
appointments on COOL (also over reading week)
• LinkedIn profile due (Check Blog!)
* LECTURE after reading week