PREPARE AN EFFECTIVE
RESUME
1. Summary of your qualifications and
experiences
2. Include only the most important
information:
• Personal data
• Career objective
• Education
• Work experience
• Special/technical skills
• Special qualifications
(e.g., awards, exchange programmes)
• Community/extracurricular activities
• Personal interests
• Statement about references
3. Not more than two pages
4. Use reverse chronological order for
education and work experience.
5. Do not shrink the typeface to fit
more words on the page.
6. Keep all four margins to no less than
one inch.
7. Use bullets to attract attention to
important points; but do not overuse.
8. Do not overuse boldface, underlining,
and italics.
9. Leave plenty of white space.
IMPORTANCE OF THE
COVER LETTER
1. One of the most important letters
you will write in your lifetime
2. Captivate the interest of your
prospective employer.
3. Employers don’t have time for
irrelevant details.
4. Move from “This is what I have
done” to “Here is how I can help
you.”
5. Give the cover letter (and the
resume) your greatest attention.
WHAT QUALITIES DO
EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR?
1. Accomplishments
•
What you have learned and achieved
that is relevant to the needs of the
employer
2. Enthusiasm
•
Positive attitude
•
Work ethic
3. Organization of thought
•
Unified and coherent paragraphs
4. Grammatical and spelling correctness
•
Attention to details
•
Level of professionalism
5. People skills
•
Interacting with people in various roles
•
Oral presentations
•
Leading others or acting as
coordinators
MAIN POINTS IN A
COVER LETTER
1. State how good you are for the position.
2. Support that statement.
3. Ask for action.
ELEMENTS OF A GOOD
COVER LETTER
1. Be brief: one page only.
2. Include adequate white space.
3. Do your research about the company.
4. Match your skills to their needs.
5. Address your letter to a person rather
than “To Whom It May Concern” or
“Dear Sir or Madam.”
6. Show your accomplishments
(Do you have a third-party endorsement?)
7. Keep a positive, but not over-assertive,
tone.
8. Do not do anything fancy or strange.
9. Make a neat and professional
presentation.
10. Make sure there are no grammatical
and spelling errors.
11. Be clear, concise, and focused.
WRITING TECHNIQUES
1. Keep your sentences short.
2. Keep your paragraphs short.
(Guideline: 5 lines per paragraph)
3. Use action words.
Not: I was responsible for
organizing group activities.
But: I organized group activities.
Not: I was responsible for many
research projects.
But: I supervised household interviews
in five research projects in the
summers of 2000 and 2001.
Not: My duties included designing
the learning materials.
But: I designed the learning
materials.
4. Vary your sentences.
5. Use plain, familiar words.
Not: I am conversant with the use
of computers.
But: I am familiar with the use of
computers.
I am experienced in the use
of computers.
6. Avoid using contractions, abbreviations.
I’ve worked
CUHK
I have worked
(spell out)
UK
the United Kingdom
Admin Dept
Administration
Department
7. Be careful with the word “very.” Try to
use a more specific word.
Not: I am very interested in the
position, and would very much
appreciate your consideration.
But: I am enthusiastic about the
position, and would appreciate
your consideration.
8. Watch the “I” word.
• Do not start most sentences with the
word “I.”
e.g., I am responding to your
advertisement in the South China
Morning Post on (date). As you can
see, the skills I have acquired in
my
undergraduate training directly
relate to the position you have
available.
THE FINAL PRODUCT
1. Fonts
• Choose business-like fonts
(e.g., CG Times, Times New Roman).
• Use the same font, as more than one
font on a page can look confusing.
2. Proofreading
• Leave your document at least
overnight; come back to it later.
• Check and double check:
Spelling
Grammar
Sentence structure
Punctuation
3. Paper
• Use good quality paper:
Better impression
Sharper print resolution
• White or cream:
straightforward
business-like
• Letter stationery should always
match the colour and weight of
your envelope and resume.
• Use only one side of the page.