How to Write an Effective Resume and Cover Letter
By
[Student's Name]
[Current Date]
The Resume
Overview of Resumes
The resume is a simple, well-organized profile of your qualifications for employment. It
is probably the most crucial component of the pre-interview stage of the career search. Its
purpose is to organize the relevant facts about you in a written presentation. It should sell
the employer on giving you an interview. Interviews get the job--resumes can only get an
interview.
Thus, the resume should contain brief but sufficient information to tell a prospective
employer:
Who you are
What you can do for the employer
What you have done
What you know
What kind of job you would like
Basic Principles Of Resume Construction:
Keep it simple.
Keep it to one page.
Layout is extremely important. Good spacing, margins, and headings contribute to
appearance and readability. Your resume has approximately 45 seconds to make a
favorable impression. It must have "graphic appeal."
Sentence structure should be choppy (as in a telegram). Use action verbs. Don't use the
verb "to be."
Don't use a lot of dates or numbers. They tend to clutter.
Orient it to a particular type of job.
Use a clear reproduction process such as typeset, a word processor, or a reliable printer.
Avoid the use of mimeo, Xerox, or stencil.
Misspellings, strikeovers, smudges, careless grammatical constructions, or a crammed
appearance are to be avoided.
Organizing Your Resume
The content and arrangement of the resume will vary from person to person and how one
plans to use it. Remember to keep it simple. People don't read resumes; they skim them.
The Information Below Should Be Included
Career Objective. Describe clearly the type of job you want. If you are interested in a
broad occupation, state it as clearly and concisely as you can.
Education. Most students just out of college list this first because that is their most recent
and substantial accomplishment and frequently includes experiences and achievements
beyond the academic coursework. There is no need to list high school education. Include
GPA if above 3.0.
Name, Address, and Phone Number. If you expect people to contact you, you must be
certain that this information is correct. (One student unhappily discovered that his phone
number was incorrect on 100 freshly printed resumes.)
Work Experience. If you have had work experience of a kind and duration you want to
emphasize, you may want to list them before your education. Full-time, part-time, paid,
and unpaid work can all be valuable work experience which you should discuss. Include
internships, field work, or clinical experience. Money-making menial jobs can also tell
significant things about you. Anything which will help the employer know about the
skills, abilities, attitudes, or interests you have developed through experience should be
listed. Responsibility, leadership, innovation, loyalty, perseverance, hard work, and
commitment are things employers understand, admire, and want to know about. Do not
overlook periods of self-employment. Include your achievements.
References. Ask faculty or previous employers who know you well for references. Often,
a college placement office will have forms available for references. If these references are
on file with the college placement office, you can then use the statement "Available upon
request from [Name of College] Placement Office" on your resume. Never use a person
for a reference without prior consent. You could be embarrassed!
Honors and Awards. List any academic honors such as President's List, Dean's List, or
honor societies to which you belong. Include any awards or certificates such as sports'
letters, certificates of proficiency, Who's Who, or community service awards.
Special Skills. List any special skills the employer should be aware of such as: various
computer languages, typing speed, word processing, accounting, etc. List only if space
allows.
Activities. Note your school and community activities as well as interests. This section
should give another dimension of you as a person. You can include high school activities
if you are a recent high school graduate.
The Cover Letter
Overview of Cover Letters
The cover letter or letter of application has the purpose of bringing to the attention of an
employer the fact that a qualified person is available and interested in employment. The
letter is crucial in that it must stimulate the employer to become interested in the
candidate.
Certain measures are needed for the cover letter:
Every good cover letter should be individually typed (or printed).
Good quality 8 1/2" x 11" paper should be used.
The letter must be free of errors and should be no more than one page in length.
The cover letter should follow standard business format.
When writing a cover letter, one should try to address it to a person rather than "Dear
Sir," "To Whom it May Concern," or "Dear Personnel Director." An individual's name
can be found by doing some research.
If for any reason, you are unable to obtain an employer's name, please keep in mind that
many women hold important managerial positions and might be offended by a letter
simply addressed as "Dear Sir." When addressing a letter to an anonymous employer, the
correct salutation is "Dear Sir or Madam."
When writing your cover letter, do not underestimate yourself. You have intelligence,
otherwise, you would not be attending an institution having such a rigorous curriculum.
What you lack in work experience may be more that compensated by the abilities you
have developed in school:
Communicating effectively both orally and in writing
The ability to analyze and understand abstract theories and data
A knowledge and appreciation of people and their different lifestyles and cultures
An ability to do research
Think about this: Professional positions require these skills as a basis for successful
employment.