Resumes and Cover Letters

Cynthia FavreCareer Center2003

The Basics Resumes Cover Letters Career Center Help

– Drop off and returned by campus mail– Quick Questions: Mon - Fri, 2:00 - 3:30 – Appointments– Samples

Resumes - General There is no one right way Persuasion paper not a laundry list Effective Resumes

– Show pattern of interest and experience– Make clear connection between

qualifications and opportunity – Readable and professional in presentation

Get Started Experience Memory Jogger (page 4)

– Paid or unpaid?– Does high school count?

Skills and Qualities– Demonstrated or gained

• Make a list of 150 Positive Skills and Qualities– Victory log

• Peak Experiences Patterns

NameCurrent Address Permanent AddressPhone PhoneEmail Email

OBJECTIVE/CAREER INTERESTSSpecific objectives: “Elementary Teacher,” “Public Accountant,” “Consumer Product Sales Representative” or, indicate career interests: “Finance, Banking, Sales”; “Writing, Research, Publishing, and Editing”; “Human Services, Children, Counseling”.

EDUCATIONBachelor of Arts, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, May 20______Major: Minor: GPA:Study Abroad (optional): Indicate where, when, for how long, and what.Special Preparation (optional): Indicate courses or other training that may be of special interest to employers.

EXPERIENCE or SKILLSPosition title, employer, city, state, dates of employment. Short description of activities using past tense verbs and nouns to show skills.

Evidence or proof that you have demonstrated specific skills. For example, evidence of writing may be “GPA of 3.5 in all writing courses.” You may also want to include an employment section with just job titles.

ACTIVITIESList items that indicate skills, leadership, competitiveness, personal qualities or interests. High school activities may be included, but are not required.

HONORSList positions or honors for which you were selected such as scholarships, awards, and other recognition. High school honors may be included.

THE “KICKER”Make the last item a strong statement by centering across the bottom with important information such as:Willing to Relocate and Travel” or “Worked up to 20 hours a week while attending classes full-time.”

Process Gather information Use Resume Worksheet Write Rewrite Layout (this will take time!) Revise Have it reviewed Edit again

Resume Outline Contact Information Career Objective/Interests Education Experience Activities/Honors/Service Kicker

Career Objective/Interests Be specific if you can: teacher, nurse, CPA Career Interests

– Human services, children, program management, counseling

– Sales, marketing, promotions, advertising– Business operations, administration, customer

service Consider more than 1 resume

Education BA- it is the only one we have! GPA Study Abroad

– January Term counts– High School Counts

Selected Courses Special Preparation

Experience

Paid or unpaid Summarize experience not directly

related Give most space to most important

experiences Persuade! (Fill Milk Tanks)

Activities/Honors/Service

Why am I putting this on? What does it tell the reader about me? Summarize similar experiences Scholarships So What?

Kicker

References available upon request is not needed

Make a strong ending– Worked up to 20 hours per week while

attending classes full-time– Eager to travel and Relocate– Commit up to 30 hours a week to varsity

sport

Reference Page

References for Name List 3 -5 references People who can speak to your work Name, position, organization, address,

phone, e-mail address, relationship Give written permission

– Release forms

Cover Letters

Handshake through mail Never send resume by mail, fax, or

email without a letter Resumes submitted in person or given

out at job fair do not need a letter Resumes submitted on eRecruiting

should have letters with them. An added tool to sell yourself!

What to say

Paragraph 1:Tell them why you are writing

Paragraph 2: Promote skills and experiences

Paragraph 3: Tell them what you want to have happen

Make it good

Use past tense verbs Avoid personal pronouns on resumes Be consistent Use graphics sparingly Use no less than 10 point fonts Avoid underlining, italic or script fonts

Send it

Resume, letter, reference page, and envelope all on the same paper

Stay with professional neutral colors of good quality paper

Email - as attachments FAX - with cover page Upload to eRecruiting file SMARTERsource

Tip

To correctly spell resume in Word: hold Ctrl key and apostrophe (next to

Enter key) than any vowel - will put accent mark on

Career Center

phone: 933-7586 fax: 933-6277 career-center@gustavus.edu www.gustavus.edu/careercenter cfavre@gustavus.edu

Hours

Mondays 8 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.– When Classes are in Session

Tuesdays - Fridays 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Quick Questions

– 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mon - Fri– no appointments needed

Get Started!

Let the Career Center know how we can help!