Employment

CorrespondenceBusiness Writing

Chapter 17

Professor: Leticia Esteves

March, 2015

Panama

Résumé

&

Cover Letter

The letters you write to apply for a

job are probably the most

important for your personal career.

Before writing a résumé or a cover letter, you must:

• Think about yourself

• Picture your:

• personality

• background

• experiences

Make a list of your experiences in any order…

Jobs you have held

Schools you have gone to

Areas you have majored in

Special Courses you have taken

Extracurricular activities you have joined in

Memberships you have held

Awards/Honors you have received

Athletics you enjoy

Languages you speak

Special interest you have

Special skills you have

On your list, try to include any fact that

could help an employer see your value as

an employee.

Once satisfied with your list….

• Rewrite it

• Arrange facts into categories

• Use it as a worksheet to write your

• Résumé and/or

• Letter of Application

The Résumé, Data sheet or Vita

It is a presentation of your

qualifications, background &

experiences, arranged to convince a

business person to grant you an

interview

The Résumé, Data sheet or Vita

An OUTLINE of all you

have to offer a

prospective employer

It is the first IMPRESSION

you make on an employer

The Résumé, Data sheet or Vita

The Résumé must…

look professional

be PRINTED on business-size bond

be updatable, reprintable and photocopiable

have a neat appearance

have wide and balanced margins

have HEADINGS that stand out (capitalized, bold-faced, underlined)

have parallel HEADINGS

include accurate and complete information

consist of facts

express information in short phrases (Outline form, not sentences)

be kept to 1, 2 or maximum 3 pages

Update and reprint the whole document

NEVER send a résumé with handwriting nor typed additions

Decide facts you would like the employer to know

Eliminate facts you would rather he not know

Eliminate facts the employer might consider irrelevant

Omit religious & political affiliations (unless relevant to the job)

Exclude negative information (lawsuits)

Do not offer reasons for leaving previous jobs

Do not make critical comments about previous employers

Exclude lies

What not to…?

At the top put your

• name

• address

• telephone numbers

• e-mail address

Set up your Résumé

This information can be centered or blocked along

the left margin

Set up your Résumé

The rest of your résumé consists of the facts from your list, categorised and printed under HEADINGS

• Employment/Career Objective

• Education and/or Training

• Achievements and/or Accomplishments

• Awards and Honors

• Work Experience

• Related or Extracurricular Activities

• Special Skills

• Personal Data

• References

You do not need to use all the categories in your list

Add only those that relate to facts on your list

The order for listing categories is flexible

List your strongest sections first

List first the section that is most relevant to the job in question

If you have had little business experience, list education first.

If your college education was in an unrelated field but you have

had relevant part-time jobs, list work experience first.

The Résumé, Data sheet or Vita