Chapter 15 Job Search Process and Documents ©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly

Chapter 15

Job Search Process and Documents

©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Process of Applying for a Job


Résumé Presentation and Delivery Options

Print (Presentation)

• Mailed to company along with application letter

• Mailed follow up to electronic submission

Print (Scannable)

•Print résumé formatted for computer scanning

Electronic Postings

• Emailed to contacts, career and corporate sites, and career service centers

• Online form

• Electronic portfolio at personal website

• Beamer to PDA or cell phone


Gathering Essential Information

• Self-assessment• Information about career field

and specific job in field• Information about company• Qualifications with supporting

information


Self-Assessment

• What are five things that you have accomplished that have made you most proud? What qualities were required?

• What job do you want? What are the qualifications?

• How much money do you want to make in your first position after college? After 10 years?

• What skills, talents, characteristics do you have to offer an employer?


Information About Career Field and Specific Job

• Current employment trends• Career requirements (education,

experience, certifications, etc.)• Job duties and responsibilities• Career outlook and salary• Input from others


Information about Companies and Career Opportunities

• Printed sources (newspapers, business and financial news, journals)

• University Career Centers• Employers offices• Employment agencies• Professional organizations• Contacts

• Career guidance information

• Job listings• Company web pages• Résumé posting services• Career Development

Center at MTSU

http://www.mtsu.edu/career/

Traditional Sources Electronic Sources


http://www.mtsu.edu/career/

Keep an employment portfolio. Join professional or student organizations

associated with major. Interview someone in your field. Talk to professors in your major. Polish and update your skills. Get an internship. Take interim assignments.

Other Suggestions for Job Search


Traditional Application Documents

Traditional vs. Electronic Documents

Letter of application Resume Scannable & inline resumes References

Study models Target resumes for specific jobs Experiment with formatting


Creating Successful Résumés

Qualities Employers Look For

Your résumé should convey qualities employers seek in candidates: Get things done

Are well rounded

Are flexible

Have standards of excellence

Have good interpersonal skills

Possess strong communication skills


Today’s Employment Trends

More people work for smaller companies, or they start their own business.

Fewer people have permanent positions. Teams complete special projects and then

disband. Companies outsource work to outsiders. Contingency employees work temporarily

and then leave the company.


Searching Electronically

• Visit big job boards, such as CareerBuilder, Indeed, Monster, CollegeGrad, CareerJournal, and so on.

• Look beyond the big boards to company Web sites, professional associations, local sites, niche sites, and social media sites.


Tips For Conducting a Safe, Effective Job Search on the Web

• Use reputable sites.• Limit the number of sites on which you

post your résumé.• Use a dedicated, professional-sounding

e-mail address.• Limit personal information.• Post your résumé privately, if possible.


Searching Traditionally

• See announcements of professional organizations.

• Visit career centers, attend career fairs, ask advice of instructors.

• Contact companies directly.• Develop your own network.• Check classified ads.


Searching by Using Online Resources

• Join a career networking group.• Participate in a discussion group or

mailing list. • Locate a relevant blog.• Start tweeting.


Common Resume Problems

Too short Too long

Too slick Too amateurish

MisspellingsPoor print quality

Grammatical errors Hard to read

Boastful Dishonest

Wordy Gimmicky

http://jobmob.co.il/blog/funny-job-search-work-pictures/


http://jobmob.co.il/blog/funny-job-search-work-pictures/

Honesty

In today's competitive job market, it's easy to be tempted to make your resume look more desirable than it actually is.

Small lies could take your career to the next level. But does that make it okay? And for both employers and jobseekers, what are the consequences?

• 78% of resumes are misleading• 27% of U.S. workers have been fired due to resume lies

What is unethical, however, is outright lying on a resume or job application, which is something 53% of job applicants admit to doing.

And once those resumes get past the gatekeeper, the lying doesn’t stop, as Yolk Recruitment found that 60% of jobseekers admit to lying during an interview. All in all, 84.1% of employers say they have come across candidates who have misrepresented facts on their resumes and/or job applications. This trend is showing no signs of slowing down, as a full 70% of college students say they would lie on a resume to get a job they want.

Top Lies:• Past salary• Job descriptions • Exaggerated titles, • Forged education credentials • Covered-up criminal records• Fake companies worked for

Possible Consequence of Lying

The first consequence is probably the most obvious: termination. GradSchoolHub reports that 27% of U.S. workers admit to lying on their resumes and getting fired once the lies were found out. Conversely, The Economic Times found that 82% of employers immediately terminate employees who fail professional, educational and/or criminal background checks.

http://www.docstoc.com/article/170237602/How-Dishonest-Are-Jobseekers-These-Stats-Will-Surprise-You?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=222&utm_content=7011




Organizing Your RésuméStyle Options

no

Chrono-Functional

• Emphasizes education and employment; shows continuity and stability; preferred by many

• Emphasizes accomplishments and skills; subordinates education and work history

• Provides chronological information as well as summary; is somewhat repetitive

Chronological

Functional


Education

Identification

Career Objective

Career Summary

Experience

Standard Resume Parts

Personal Information

Heading & Objective

Heading – Contact Information.• Name & mailing address(es)• E-mail address• Telephone number(s)

Personal letterhead can be used for resume and other job-related documents

Career objective• Targeted for specific job or company• May include your qualities

Contact Information


Summary of Qualifications

Provide 3 to 8 bulleted statements.

List your most impressive qualifications: experience, skills, education, awards.

Customize the statements to fit the requirements of the targeted job.


EducationMost Recent First and Only Post-Secondary

Degree, graduation date, institution, city and state, major and minor, and GPA if over 3.0.

Scholarships, training, and accomplishments related to education

Sample Education Section

Bachelor of Business Administration, May 2012 Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

• Entrepreneurship major• Business Administration minor • GPA: 3.8 on 4.0 scale

Associate of Science in Management, May 2010 Volunteer State Community College, Gallatin, Tennessee


Experience (Most Recent First)

Job title and dates of employment (month year)

Organization, city and state

Accomplishments (beginning with action verbs and in a bulleted list)


Sample Experience Section

Salesperson, April 2010-PresentKmart, Dayton, Ohio

Tax Return Preparer, March 2008-Present Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA)Sinclair College, Dayton, Ohio

Manager, March 2007-April 2010 Craig’s Kitchen, Cleveland, Ohio


Experience:Accomplishments and Skills

Action verbs to list accomplishments and skills relevant to targeted job

Tax Return Preparer, March 2008-Present Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA)Sinclair College, Dayton, Ohio Prepared state and federal tax returns for

individuals with incomes under $25,000. Conducted interviews with over 50 individuals

to elicit data regarding taxes. Determined legitimate tax deductions and

recorded them accurately.©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Soft Skills / Nontechnical Skills

Interpersonal, communication, and management skills (quantify, if possible)

Organized holiday awards program for 1200 attendees and 140 awardees.

Praised by top management for enthusiasm, teamwork, and achievement.

Communicated with employees in both Spanish and English.


Special Skills & Awards

Computer skills

Employers seek employees with computer skills. List programs and programming languages you know.

Skilled in Word, Excel, FrontPage, C++

Experience with Microsoft Access

Other accomplishments that show you are well-rounded

List awards and extracurricular activities, especially if they demonstrate leadership, teamwork, reliability, loyalty, initiative, efficiency, and self-sufficiency.


Other Suggestions

Omit references (unless requested)

Project professionalism and quality.• Avoid personal pronouns.• Look for ways to condense data.• Avoid complete sentences.• Omit humor.• Double check for parallel phrasing.• Have a good proofreader critique your résumé.


Poor Resume


Poor continued


Improved Resume


Improved Continued


Optimizing Your Résumé for Today‘s Technologies

You need three résumé versions:

1. Print-based

2. Electronic (Scannable)

3. Plain text (.txt)


Other Suggestions (continued)

• Explain red flags, if possible.

• Make sure spelling, grammar, and usage are correct.

• Make sure spelling, grammar, and usage are correct.

• Proofread! Proofread! Proofread!


References

Separate sheet to take to interview

Your heading with contact information

Three to five references Name, title, company and

address, work phone, and perhaps e-mail address.

Supervisors, Professors, Peers at work

Attractively placed on page©2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Convert your print résumé by saving as .txt file.

Use a 10- to 14-point font such as Times New Roman or Arial.

Be sure your name is on first line and contact items on separate lines

Avoid underlines, italics, borders, shading.

Include keywords mentioned in job descrip-tion.

To prepare an electronic (scannable) résumé, …


Reformat with shorter lines—no more than 65 characters.

Move all text to the left.

Consider using equals signs (=) or tildes (~) to separate items and enhance format.

Save file in plain-text (.txt) or rich text (.rtf) format.

Email to yourself to check layout.

To prepare a plain-text résumé, …


Word documentSend your presentation

résumé by surface mail or as an e-mail attachment.

PDF documentUse Adobe software to

convert your presentation résumé. Send as an attachment.

By John S. Donnellan

Submitting your Résumé


Determine company preference for receiving resumes.

› Plain-text, ASCII document: Embed within e-mail or send as an attachment.

› Company database: Complete online form with résumé information.

› Fax: Fax presentation résumé.

Consider following up with a copy of your presentation resume.

Submitting your Résumé


Methods of Sending Resumes

• Postal service• Good quality paper and printer• Large, good quality envelope• No folding, stapling, or paper clipping

• Fax (traditional or scannable)• Plain paper• Sans serif font (Arial) or ASCII format

• E-mail (traditional or scannable)• Word attachment• ASCII attachment (.txt)• Body of Email


Writing Cover Letters (Letters of Application)


Types of Letters of Application

• Solicited versus Unsolicited• Expected – not expected

• Traditional versus Electronic• Paper – Internet


Traditional Formatting

• Use your letterhead (or include a return address at the top).

• Use standard letter parts; don’t forget the date.

• Address to a person (unless specified otherwise).

• Include appropriate salutation (courtesy title & last name).

• Include enclosure(s) notation.


Cover Letter Suggestions

• Avoid overuse of personal pronouns

• Use the organization’s name rather than saying “your company” so often.

• Include reference to resume and/or scannable resume.

• Include research about the company.

• Avoid obvious flattery.

• Use active voice.

http://www.mtsu.edu/career/careerTV.shtml


http://www.mtsu.edu/career/careerTV.shtml

Letter of Application Content

Opening

• Mention the job you want.

• Tell your source; include job title, date, and publication.

• If someone referred you, name him/her.

• Briefly introduce your qualifications.


Since I have focused my education and training on retail management, your advertisement for a management trainee, appearing October 7 in the Los Angeles Times, caught my attention.

The sales associate opening advertised on the XYZ website is an excellent match to my credentials. I am writing to express my interest in this opportunity.

Examples of Cover Letter Introductions


Letter of Application Content

Body

• Demonstrate how your background and training match the job requirements.

• Summarize your principal assets from education, experience, and special skills.

• Avoid repeating specific data from your résumé.


Recent sales and management experience at Day’s Department Store enabled me to develop the interpersonal and supervisory skills specified in the XYZ advertisement. I started as a salesperson and was soon promoted to assistant manager, a position demanding initiative and responsibility.

In addition, my business courses have helped me develop computer and communications skills. Please examine the enclosed résumé for details of my qualifications.

Example of Cover Letter Body


Cover Letter Closing

Closing

• Ask for an interview (not a job). Hook the request to a statement reviewing your strongest points.

• Be enthusiastic, optimistic, and assertive.

• Make it easy to respond. Tell when you can be reached (if appropriate).

• (Some recruiters prefer that you call them.)


Please call or email me to schedule an interview so that we can discuss how my background and training could contribute to Home Depot Stores.

Example of Cover Letter Closing


Before Sending

• Proofread your document• READ YOUR LETTER ALOUD

• To yourself• To someone else

• Have someone else read and critique your document

• Proofread again

