Résumé and Cover Letter: Discussion & Case Studies

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Résumé and Cover Letter Development Skills The sole purpose of a résumé and cover letter is to get you an interview. Your résumé and cover letter are a representation of you. By including clear, concise and compelling information, they will help you make a great first impression. Your résumé and cover letter must put you in the best light possible and stand out above all the rest. Not because you’ve included bright graphics but because the words make you leap off the page as someone this person wants to meet and eventually hire for this job. You should clearly be the “best person” for the job. “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” – Estee Lauder TOP TEN RÉSUMÉ AND COVER LETTER TIPS 1. Don’t regurgitate your résumé in your cover …show more content…

Format your résumé carefully. Use a logical format, wide margins, clean type and clear headings. Selectively apply bold and italic typeface that help guide the reader's eye. Use bullets to call attention to important points (e.g., accomplishments) and keep it in reverse chronological order with your most recent experience listed first. You should see more white than black on your résumé. Know what résumé format your profession prefers. 7. Keep it to one page. The bottom line is you want the information on your résumé to be concise. Keeping it to one page is a good way to force yourself to do this. 8. Consider an online supplement. Can’t figure out how to tell your whole story on one page? Want to be able to include some visual examples of your work? Consider providing a link in your résumé to a personal website with samples or your work, your digital badging account or LinkedIn. 9. Highlight honors not GPA. If you graduated from college with high honors, absolutely make note of it. While you don’t need to list your GPA, don’t be afraid to showcase that summa cum laude status or the fact that you were in the honors college at your …show more content…

What did you learn during this activity? 2. What was the most challenging aspect of this activity? PROBLEM-SOLVING Divide into small groups to discuss the following case study. Allow time for the groups to talk about the situation and attempt to solve the problem. RÉSUMÉ CASE STUDY Susan just graduated and is starting to apply for jobs. She is worried that her résumé doesn’t look very impressive and wants to do more to get attention. Her friend has suggested she “pad” her résumé with some false information so that she can start getting interviews. Her friend has told her not to worry about falsifying information on her résumé because it is just a tool to “get in the door” and once they meet her they won’t even refer back to this. DISCUSSION 1. What do you think Susan should do? 2. What are the risks of putting false information on her résumé? 3. What advice would you give Susan? COVER LETTER CASE STUDY Kate is in the process of sending out a ton of résumé and cover letters in the hope of getting a job. She has one résumé and one cover letter that she uses for every job posting she applies for. Her friend, Lauren, shared that she has three different versions of her résumé and writes a specific cover letter for each job she applies for. Kate thinks Lauren is making more work for herself than is needed, but is frustrated that she doesn’t seem to be getting any interviews and she sees that Lauren has had many already. They’ve both been applying for jobs for the same amount

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