Transcript How to write knock-down resume and cover letter MBA Internship Support Training 1

How to write knock-down
resume and cover letter
MBA Internship Support Training
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Writing resume and cover letter
Thinking about your career
Analyzing what you have to offer
Determining what you want
Writing a resume
Controlling the format and style
Tailoring the contents
Writing the perfect resume
Writing the application letter
Writing the first paragraph
Summarizing your key selling points
Writing the last paragraph
Writing the perfect application letter
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Resume
The purpose of a resume
is to list all your skills and
abilities
A good resume will get
you the job you want
Your resume will be read
carefully and thoroughly
by an interested employer
The more good
information you present
about yourself in your
resume, the better
If you want a really good
resume, have it prepared
by a resume service
The purpose of a resume is to
kindle employer interest and
generate an interview
Handreds of thousands of good
resumes cross employers’ desks
every working day
Your resume has less than ten
seconds to make an impression
By including too much
information, a resume may
actually kill the appetite to know
more
Prepare your resume yourself unless the position you’re after is
very high-level and you choose
the service very carefully
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Thinking about your career
Analyzing what you have to offer
List ten achievements in order of importance
Look for a pattern in the skills that contributed to
each achievement
Ask a friend what you are good at, and compare the
answers with your own assessment
List your employment qualifications, including
education, work and outside activities
Ask a friend to list four or five of your most obvious
personal traits, and compare the answers with your
own assessment
List the things you liked best about work you’ve done
before
List your interests and hobbies
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Determining what you want
Determining your functional
goals
Determining your personal
goals
Determining your work
environment preferences
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Writing a resume
«Give me a moment of your busy day!
Listen to me, I’ve got something to
say!»
Show off achievements, attributes, and
cumulation of expertise to the best
advantage
Minimize any possible weaknesses
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Don’ts
Titles
Availability
Reason for leaving
References
Salary
Abbreviations
Jargon
Charts and graphs
Mention of age,race,religion,sex, national origin
Photographs
Health
Early background
Weaknesses
Demands
Exaggerations
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Format and style
Clean paper
Margins
No corrections
Print, not photocopy
One-page
Correct grammar, spellling and punctuation
Simple and direct style
Short phrases with action verbs
example
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Tailoring the contents
Contact information
A Job Objective
A Career Objective
A Career Summary
Education
A Description of Work History
Focus on your strengths
Questions to ask yourself
What specific position do I want?
What specifically qualifies me for this job?
Summarize your strongest qualifications
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Education
Postsecondary schools
Off-campus workshops, seminars and
so on
High school(only if pertinent)
Military service (only if pertinent)
Grades?
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Experience
Name and location of employer
What the organization does
Your functional title
How long you worked there
Your duties and responsibilities
Your significant achievements or
contributions
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Accomplishment statement for
resume (example)
Improved morale and teamwork
Introduced an improved filing system
Improved customer service
Contributed new ideas
Reorganized procedures
Solved problems
Improved work efficiency
Increased sales
Reduced overdue accounts
Devised new products
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Common mistakes
Too long
Too short
Hard to read
Wordy
Too slick
Amateurish
Poorly reproduced
Misspelled and ungrammatical
Boastful. Nonrealistic self-evaluation
Dishonest
Unusual
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Think about yourself
What are some things that come easily to you?
What do you enjoy doing?
In what part of the country would you like to live?
Do you like to work indoors?
Outdoors?
A combination of the two?
How much do you like to travel?
Do you like to work closely with others or more independently?
What conditions make a job unpleasant?
Are you better with words or numbers?
Better at speaking or writing?
Do you like to be motivated by fixed deadlines?
Do you like deadlines?
How important is job security to you?
Do you want your supervisor to state clearly what is expected?
Your task
Answer these questions and write a resume for the job of your dream
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Appication Letter
A
I
D
A
Be yourself but be
businesslike too
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First paragraph
Your strongest work skills and how they would
help the organization
The match between job requirements and your
qualifications
The name of someone respected by the reader
News about the organization that demonstrates
your awareness
A question that reflects your knowledge of the
organization’s needs
An imaginative catch phrase
The source of your knowledge about the job
opening
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Example
When you need a secretary in your export
division who can take shorthand at 125 words
a minute and can write in English and
Spanish - call me
When Tatyana Kim of your human resource
department spoke to our class last week, she
said you often add promising new marketing
graduates to your sales staff at this time of
year.
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Your key selling points
Summarize qualifications that are
directly related to the job
Show how you have put your
qualifications to use
Provide evidence of desirable personal
qualities
Refer to your resume
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What can you write instead of this?
I completed three college courses
in business communication,
earning an A in each course,
and have worked for the past
year at Procter and Gamble
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Closing paragraph
Always ask for an interview
Make an interview easy to
arrange
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Checklist for application letters
Attention (Opening paragraph)
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summary opening (your strongest qualifications)
name opening
Source opening
Question opening
News opening
Personalized opening
Creative opening
Interest and desire or evidence of
qualifications
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Present you job-related qualifications
Adopt a mature and businesslike tone
Link your education, experience, and personal
qualities to the job requirements
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Action