GETTING THE JOBSeat of Wisdom College Career Centre

Overview

Resume

Cover Letters

Interview Skills

Purpose

Your cover letter and resume are the first thing the employer will likely see about you. First impressions matter. A resume full of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes will reflect very poorly on you, and will hurt your chances of getting an interview and your job prospects.

“According to a study released by TheLadders, an online job-matching service,

recruiters spend an average of six seconds reviewing an individual resume. The standard thought was that recruiters spent at least several minutes on each CV. Nope.”

http://business.time.com/2012/04/13/how-to-make-your-resume-last-longer-than-6-seconds/

Key Elements of a Resume

Personal and contact details

Objective statement

Work experience

Education

Qualifications

Add accomplishments

Skills

Volunteer Experience

Awards section

Five Tips1. Keep it Simple Make sure your resume is not cluttered or confusing. Keep the font simple. The font style and size should be the same through the resume; however, size can be slightly changed in headings. Headings should be bold and can also be italicized. Use bullet points to create a streamlined resume.

2. Use job-specific keywordsUse the job description to find the key words that employers are looking for. For example, if the position requires someone with strong communication skills, and you have them, be sure to include that in your resume.

3. Tailor your Resume Each resume should be tailored according to the position and industry you are applying for. You will want to emphasize different skills or experience for particular jobs. Use relevant information only when applying for an employment opportunity.

4. Use Power WordsAvoid passive words and phrases in your resume (e.g. “in my job I learned to develop…”). Instead, use words like: Implemented, executed, developed, initiated. These leave the impression that you are capable.

5. Keep it shortStudies show that employers look at each resume for approximately 6 seconds. Your resume needs to be short and precise to keep their interest and attention.

Use bulletsBullets will keep your resume short, specific and clear to read. This will also

help the interviewer to compare different resumes and also while asking

questions during the interview.

PROOFREAD!!!Ask someone to read your resume and cover letter.

COVER LETTERS

Don’t repeat your resume

Do not use your cover letter as a means of summarizing your resume. A lot of

people write cover letters as if they were paragraph-form resumes. Use the cover

letter to show personality, curiosity, and interest in the field you are applying to

work for.

Keep it short

This is a theme for job applications – keep it to three paragraphs, and avoid being

too wordy and boring.

Address Nobody

If you don’t know who you should be addressing, keep it to a generic: “To Whom It

May Concern”.

Send it as a PDFYou want to be sure you send your resume and cover letter in a format that won’t change with file conversions.

Never ever, ever use the following phrase: “My name is ___, and I am applying for the position as ____”. They already know this, and you’ll sound inexperienced.

Close strongAvoid rambling. Explain how your experience and skills make you the right fit for the job then close the letter.

INTERVIEW SKILLS

Before the Interview

•Research

•Practice

•Know yourself

•Cultivate virtue

•Always take the High Road

•Prepare your own questions for the interviewers

During the Interview

•Good attitude and posture

•Breathe

•ZERO TECHNOLOGY

•Be honest. Do not lie

After the Interview

•Debrief

•Thank them

GOOD LUCK!