Resume and Cover Letter Workshop
Presented by Brett Wittmershaus
January 22, 2013
The Resume
The Resume
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Your primary marketing tool
1 page “real estate”
List of accomplishments/education
First thing a recruiter will look at
Can have multiple versions
Should be a “living document”
Know Yourself!
• Be confident in your experiences
• Know what you are good at
• Phrase your content to show why
you are an asset to the company
• Pick a focus that describes you
Resume Components
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Heading
Education
Skills and Accomplishments
Employment
Leadership Experience
Volunteer Work
Interests
Lets Build One
These are just formatting examples
Don’t need to (and shouldn’t) follow
them verbatim
Formatting can be changed to accent
different things!
Fonts
Start with choice of fonts (1 or 2):
Times New Roman
Book Antiqua
Garamond
Cambria
Bell MT
Goudy Old Style
Baskerville Old Face
Georgia
Go with a serif font unless you are
going for the “design” resume
The Header
•Full Name
•Mailing address
•Phone number
•Professional email
Something Else You Think Up!
Just make sure:
- Name is larger
- Contact info is correct
The Header
Education
•List your most recent degree(s)
•Expected graduation
•Majors and Minors
•GPA (and Major GPA)
•Honors
•Relevant coursework
•Consult Career Services website for certain
wordings and procedures
•Take off high school around sophomore year
The Header
Education
Skills, Employment,
Experience, Projects,
Research
•Put your most relevant first
•This is where you show why
you are good for the job with
concrete examples
Skills
• List the equipment, software, languages,
certifications and specialized training
• Avoid “soft” skills (i.e. Public Speaking)
unless you have examples
• Can break down according to type
(Technical, Computer, Language, etc.)
SolidWorks, MATLAB, C, microcontrollers, basic
circuitry, laser cutting, 3D printing, manual and CNC
milling, lathes, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop
Employment/Experience/Research
• List the company, location, position, and
dates
• Bullet your most significant
accomplishments
– Focus on quantitative results
– Don’t just use your job duties
• Include any publications
• SMART: Specific, Measurable, Actions,
Realistic, Timing
Employment/Experience/Research
• Action verbs! (check Career Services list)
– Vary them throughout
– Avoid passive ones (Worked, Helped,
Provided)
Projects
• Only use the most relevant ones and if
lacking experience
• Don’t list course code (MEAM101), use
name (Intro to Mech Design)
• State what was impressive about the
specific project as if it was a job or
internship
The Header
Education
Skills, Employment,
Experience, Projects,
Research
Leadership, Activities
Leadership and Activities
• List leadership positions, activities, and
professional memberships (ASME)
• Treat like professional experiences
– Use relevant ones
• Can just be skills you have exhibited
– Use action verbs and accomplishments
The Header
Education
Skills, Employment,
Experience, Projects,
Research
Leadership, Activities
Misc. Considerations
Miscellaneous Considerations
• NOT personal information
• Relevant things that don’t fit
elsewhere
– Hobbies on the side that present skills
– Example: Website writing, Graphic design
• Might be a good spot to indicate
citizenship if needed
The Header
Education
Skills, Employment,
Experience, Projects,
Research
Leadership, Activities
Misc. Considerations
Questions?
The Cover Letter
The Cover Letter
• Give a better impressive of who are
you to your recruiter
• Further distinguish your candidacy
• Don’t just repeat your resume –
elaborate on one or two things
• Show you can write/communicate
• Always include one unless specified
The Cover Letter
• CONNECT YOURSELF TO
THE COMPANY AND
POSITION
– Know the company
– Know the qualifications
– Again, Know YOURSELF
Cover Letter Components
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Contact information
Date
Company contact info
Salutation
Opening
Middle
Closing
Signature
The Header
• Contact information
Name
Address
Email Phone
• Date
• Company contact info
Name
Title
Organization
Address
Salutation
• Try to find the person you are
addressing the application to
– Do research to get this
• No “To whom it may concern”
• At least use title:
– Dear Director of Recruiting,
– Dear [Company] Hiring Manager
Opener
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Grab interest of reader!
Introduce yourself – major, year
State why you are contacting them
Mention any contacts/connections
you have
• Connect yourself to the company
with knowledge of what they do
• Outline the rest of the cover letter
Middle
• Use an example or two to prove
your candidacy for the company and
position
– Related experience
– Demonstrations of valuable skills
– Other achievements
• State why you are interested
Closer
• Restate and seal the deal
• Ask for an interview or next action
• Throw in some knowledge about the
company
– Cool things in the news or something
• Refer them to your resume
• Thank them for the consideration
Signature
Sincerely, or Best Regards,
[Your Name]
Questions?
Thank You!
If you have questions - email bwitt@seas.upenn.edu
If you want a copy of the slides – give me your email