JOBTALKS

1. JOBTALKS Writing Killer Resumes and Cover Letters Workshop Indiana UniversityKelley School of BusinessC. Randall Powell, Ph.D Contents used in this presentation are adapted from Career Planning Strategies and used with the permission of the author.

2. Indiana University Writing Killer Cover Letters and Resumes A Workshop Approach

3. Purposes of This Session • Understand the overall concept of your resume for your job search • Discover what employers really want • Understand how to “market” yourself • Know the mechanics of writing an effective cover letter

4. What is a Resume? • 30-second infomercial • Marketing brochure • Door opener • Guide for interview questions • It should: • summarize your qualifications and values • highlight the history of your experiences and accomplishments

5. Why Do You Need a Resume? • market yourself to a potential employer • summarize your skills • identify your strengths • fine-tune your career plans • prepare for an interview

6. Launching the Product • Package yourself • Know your product – Assessing Yourself • What are your strengths? • How can you differentiate yourself? • What makes your product better than the competition? • What are your accomplishments? • Know your market • Do you know your target audience? • Have you done your research?

7. Package Yourself • Use terminology appropriate for the industry or professional job • Ensure content is relevant and marketable • Quantify your actions • Check for errors • Make it easy for the reader

8. How to Differentiate Yourself? • Leadership • Teamwork/Building partnerships • Initiative and Follow Through • Communication • Decision-making • Learning & Growth • Creativity and Innovation • Analytical • Customer Service How Do You Show This?

9. Leadership/Management Skills • Has a vision or takes initiative to make improvements. • Aligns resources to achieve results • Founded lawn care business and grew to a customer base of 30 residences • Led a team of six to develop a marketing plan for volunteer event resulting in largest attended event in 3 years • Initiated philanthropy program for nonprofit group to increase participation by 10%

10. Teamwork Skills • Works cooperatively and collaboratively with diverse people to seek their opinions to achieve a common goal and shares credit with others. • Collaborated with camp staff to organize special events and educational programs for more than 20 children ages 5 – 12 • Managed and trained a kitchen staff of 12 for a private club with a membership of more than 800 families • Acted as a liaison between my University and local politicians in organizing meetings for 1,400 students with local political concerns and issues

11. Communication Skills • Demonstrate verbal, written, presentation, and listening abilities • Contacted customers by cold-calling to increase customer database by 5% • Composed training manual for 60 employees to introduce new service • Presented to groups of 40 persons using PowerPoint to explain product benefits • Adapted rapidly to living in another culture during 6-month studies in Spain

12. Analytical Skills • Ability to synthesize information and form conclusions. • Analyzed financial data for loan department to determine credit worthiness of commercial accounts • Evaluated customer service by surveying customers over a 3 month period • Researched market effectiveness for 2 products and reported results using spreadsheets, tables, and graphs • Solved technical problems for up to 45 daily users of a computer lab

13. Decision Making Skills • Make rational decision based on factual information and logical assumptions • Ability to develop alternative solution to problems. • Conceptualized new service offering to solve summer delivery problem • Developed strategic plan for local non-government organization using strength-weakness-opportunity-threat (SWOT) analysis • Planned layout for summer garden merchandise display in a 3600 sq. ft. area

14. Creativity and Innovation Skills • Takes informed risks and thinks out of the box. Strives for technical and market leadership. • Crafted set displays for local theater group using recycled materials • Displayed merchandise to increase traffic through kitchen wares department • Entertained groups of residents in a nursing home using music and drama

15. Image-Involvement • Employers look for engagement – not just membership • Student Professional Organizations • Community Service & volunteerism • Study Abroad • Student Competitions • Student Government • Student Athletics

16. Wrap the Package • Wrap the package by highlighting essential skills and experiences that bind the “total package” together • Internship Experience • Part-Time Job Experiences • Volunteer Work Experiences • Balance of core skills with broader workplace competencies • Communication • Leadership • Teamwork • Computer literacy • Interpersonal skills and personal traits • Integrity • Second language skills

17. Organize the Resume • Contact information must be accurate • List information in order of importance • from the top to the bottom • from left to right • within headings • Use bullets, short statements, and powerful verbs • Start with action words, then show results • Be consistent in your format • Avoid jargon, abbreviations, and acronyms • Keep it to 1 page--2 pages if for network partners

18. Contact Information • Design it like a letterhead • Use clear, bold, large font • Name • Current and permanent address • Telephone/cell number with area code • E-mail address Use a clear, bold, large font • Second e-mail backup? (parents/friends)

19. Mary Jane Parker Current Address:Permanent Address: 1515 Foster Drive 111 Ariel Street My campus, IN 47405 My Home, IN 44444 (812) 555-5555 email@indiana.edu (812) 555-1212

20. Objective • Optional • Relate to job and industry • Make it powerful and employer focused • Helps the employer see the “total package” • Be specific, goal and outcome oriented

21. Mary Jane Parker Current Address:Permanent Address: 1515 Foster Drive 111 Ariel Street Bloomington, IN 47405 Connersville, IN 44444 (812) 555-5555 email@indiana.edu (812) 555-1212 Career Objective Internship position which will use my finance and accounting skills in budgeting, analysis, and reporting supported by my valuable communication, information technology, and organizational skills to result in a more profitable company. Career Objective Sales Representative. Strong communicator seeks to contribute to the continued success of a retail company that desires an entrepreneurial, innovative, and resourceful employee. Desire to use my skills in management, data analysis, and problem solving.

22. Education • Complete name of university and location with descriptions • Anticipated Graduation Date(s) • Identify highest degree first • List majors and minors • Describe academic program • Grades • Study Abroad experiences

23. Mary Jane Parker Current Address:Permanent Address: 1515 Foster Drive 111 Ariel Street Bloomington, IN 47405 Connersville, IN 44444 (812) 555-5555 email@indiana.edu (812) 555-1212 Career Objective Sales Representative. Strong communicator seeks to contribute to the continued success of company that desires an entrepreneurial, innovative, and resourceful employee. Desire to use my skills in management, data analysis, and problem solving. Education Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, IN May 2007 Bachelor of Science in Business Majors in Accounting and Marketing GPA 3.4/4.0 Minor in Spanish • Fluent in Persian and Hebrew Study Abroad, Wells College, Florence, Italy (Spring 2005) Studied intensive language and multi-cultural courses

24. Work Experience • Name of organization (describe) • Location • Dates of employment • Job title • Use reverse chronological order • 1or 2 paragraphs per employer/title

25. Mary Jane Parker Current Address:Permanent Address: 1515 Foster Drive 111 Ariel Street Bloomington, IN 47405 Connersville, IN 44444 (812) 555-5555 email@indiana.edu (812) 555-1212 Career Objective Sales Representative. Strong communicator seeks to contribute to the continued success of company… Education Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, IN May 2007 Bachelor of Science in Business Majors in Accounting and Marketing GPA 3.4/4.0 Work Experience First Investors, Indianapolis, IN October 200x - present Human Resources Intern • Maintain Access database for human resource department and track employee Series 6, 63 and life insurance certification training • Work to pay for college tuition and living expenses Sheraton Hotel and Suites, Indianapolis, IN Summer 200x Banquet Prep Team • Provided assistance to customers, guest speakers, and hotel staff to ensure facility specifications and requirement were meet in a professional and timely manner • Performed supervisory role in absence of supervisor, including scheduling a team of 15, assignment of tasks, and customer service Capital Management, Chicago, IL January – May 200x Finance Intern • Analyzed financial performance of various funds in excess of $5.6 billion to determine the correlation between fund size and actual performance • Researched and analyzed more than 30 potential investors to discover mandate size and level of interest in the hedge-fund industry

26. Activities and Honors • Indicate membership in professional organizations and student associations • Identify leadership roles or offices held • List additional training, certifications, or conferences attended • Honors, awards, and scholarships • Committee work

27. Mary Jane Parker Current Address:Permanent Address: 1515 Foster Drive 111 Ariel Street Bloomington, IN 47405 Connersville, IN 44444 (812) 555-5555 email@indiana.edu (812) 555-1212 Career Objective Sales Representative. Strong communicator seeks to contribute to the continued success of company… Education Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, IN May 2007 Bachelor of Science in Business Majors in Accounting and Marketing. GPA 3.4/4.0 Work Experience First Investors, Indianapolis, IN October 2005 - present Human Resources Intern • Maintain Access database for human resource department and track employee Series 6, 63 and life insurance certification training • Work to pay for college tuition and living expenses Activities and Honors • Volunteer, Nonprofit Agency – Directed the recruitment of new members and developed a strategic marketing campaign to promote the benefits of involvement. Assisted in managing 15 social and networking events • Captain, Soccer Team – Organized daily team practices and provided leadership to 12 players • Peer Tutor, Business Administration Department – Assisted students enrolled in an introductory computer course with Excel, Word and Access. Selected by faculty for exceptional performance while enrolled in class • PricewaterhouseCoopers Case Competition National Winner – Evaluated and presented recommendations to corporate judges about the accounting standards and business practices of a fictitious economy

28. Other Examples Activities and Honors • Volunteer, Nonprofit Agency – Directed the recruitment of new members and developed a strategic marketing campaign to promote the benefits of fraternal involvement. Assisted in managing 15 social and networking events • Captain, Soccer Team – Organized daily team practices and provided leadership to 12 players • Peer Tutor, Business Administration Department – Assisted students enrolled in an introductory computer course with Excel, Word and Access. Selected by faculty for exceptional performance while enrolled in class • PricewaterhouseCoopers Case Competition National Winner – Evaluated and presented recommendations to corporate judges about the accounting standards and business practices of a fictitious economy • Cadet, Army Reserve Officers Training Corps – Training concentration included leadership, physical fitness, and motivation. Responsible for up to 10 cadets while serving as underclass mentor • President, Local Volunteer Group - Coordinate daily management activities of nine operational boards and oversee a budget of $14,000 with a 5 member executive board • Volunteer, Big Brothers – Volunteer hours to provide companionship to 7th grade student • Dean’s List (Fall 200x)

29. References • Use a separate page with-- • Your contact information duplicated from resume • Provide name, title, company name, address, telephone, fax, and email for each reference • Be sure to get permission to use each reference • Help your references by providing them with a job description/resume in advance Be prepared to distribute to employers

30. Jeffrey L. Herbert 1752 E. Sixth Street Location Address (812) 555-1555 email@indiana.edu References Michael J. Fixx Professor, Marketing Studies Indiana University, Kelley School of Business 1309 E Tenth Street Bloomington, Indiana 47405 (812) 555-5555 email@indiana.edu Sally J. Ridden Director, Habitat for Musicians 1515 N Left Street Blominer, Indiana 44555 (812) 555-1111 email@indiana.edu Petra Mc Nammin Department Supervisor Tarvyn’s Supercenter 919 Mall Center Road San Diego, CA 24552 (213) 555-5555 email@indiana.edu

31. UCSO Registration • Main source of information for recruiters and Career Center staff • Keep your information up-to-date and accurate • Contact information including phone and email • Graduation date • Grades • Major academic study areas • Activities and Honors • Geographic preference

32. Do you have a location preference? Are you fluent in a second language? Don’t forget your activities Be sure to release your resume Registration Information

33. Simple MS Word Resume Format • Career center recommends a basic MS word format for all Web Resume Book resumes. • Preferred by employers. • Easier for recruiters to read and compare candidates. • Chronological format • Career Objective • Education • Work Experience • Activities and Honors

34. Other Resume Formats • You may have up to 3 additional resumes on the career center website based on the job targets that you select. (different language) • You may choose any resume style for these “job target” resumes.

35. Electronic Delivery • Word resume and cover letter upload • Can upload other documents • Text version without graphics, colors, or uncommon fonts, etc. • Unprofessional sounding email addresses should be avoided • Consistent use of keywords

36. Resume/Cover Letter Resources • Career Center Resume Website • View and Upload Word Resumes • Create Targeted Resumes • Resume/Cover Letter Writing Guide • Resume Action Words • Resume/Cover Letter Templates and Samples • Reference Templates

37. Review and Proofread • Look for errors • Remove any negatives • Ask for other opinions • Spell Check • Read it CAREFULLY!

38. Remember • Tailor your resume to each job position. • Keep your resume updated. • Re-read your resume before every interview (the recruiter is doing the same) • Seek resume/cover letter help from the Career Center staff

39. Cover Letter • Accompanies your resume • Can illustrate more of your personality than the “factual” resume • Enables you to attract the employer’s interest and get your resume read! • Communicates skills and highlights specific qualifications that are directly relevant to the job you are seeking

40. Cover Letter Format Hints • Use 11 - 12 pt. font (Usually Times New Roman) • Electronic cover letters are the email body • Different formats can be used (A safe bet is to left justify) • Pay attention to spacing (See sample format) • Pay attention to grammar and spelling

41. Format Example

42. Salutation • Inside address and salutation • Attempt to contact the organization/program for the actual name of employer you are addressing • Verify address and the correct spelling of name • Do not use “Dear Sir or Madame” and avoid “To Whom It May Concern” • If employer or recruiter is unknown, use “To Employer” or “Dear Search Committee”, etc.

43. Keywords • Try to include keywords directly from the job posting or employers website in your email cover letter • Deconstruct the job description • Address specific needs of the employer • Understand how you fit more specifically with the job description and how you can present this fit

44. First Paragraph • Include information about how you learned of the particular position or organization • Clearly state the particular position for which you are applying • “Name drop” if someone referred you • Indicate what interests you about the position (based on your research of the organization and its products) Example: The fact that OrganizationX uses a “teamwork” atmosphere appeals to me.

45. Second Paragraph • Sell yourself in this paragraph! It basically should tell the employer why they should hire you! • Describe your educational background and relevant experiences that qualify you for the position • Illustrate through SPECIFIC examples how you will be an asset • Use key words from the job listing and focus directly on the skills/qualifications that the company/program is looking for! You can use 1-2 paragraphs for this section

46. Third Paragraph • Invite the employer to contact you by including your phone number and e-mail address and the best time to reach you • Illustrate open dates for an interview (for example if you are visiting that city during a particular week, etc.) • Thank the employer for their time/consideration Perhaps use the aggressive approach – inform the employer that you will call during a particular week to follow up/set up an interview

47. A Good Ending • Your signature • Use “Sincerely”, “Respectfully”, or “Best Regards”

48. The Subject Line • Be specific as possible • Do not leave subject line blank • Read job posting carefully to see if a job number or specific use of the subject line is required

49. Cover Letter Reminders • Proofread!!! • Have a friend, instructor or career coach proofread your cover letter • Target your letter to the specific job

50. Career Center • Contact career center at: • Location: • Email: • Web: