Resume and application letter

Résumé & Application Letter Due: Wednesday, February 11th at midnight

The paper will consist of three parts

1 Job Description

2 Your Résumé

3 Your Application Letter

This paper is worth 10% of your final grade

1 Job Description

1. Login to Handshake and visit the event page for the Alpha Kappa Psi Career Day o Link on Blackboard  Employment

2. Search the Employers attending

3. Choose a company you would like to visit and perhaps work for one day

4. Find the company job / internship posting

 If the posting is not on Handshake visit the company’s website. Search under careers.

o A job posting is an advertisement for an open job / internship and will include the following information:  Job Title  Job Summary  Job Requirements (knowledge, skills, & abilities)  Additional Information (e.g., location, how to apply, etc.)

5. Copy and Paste the job posting into a Word document.

6. Identify the skills and experiences required

o Use the shading tool to colorize the skills and experiences that you can demonstrate on your résumé – 250, 140, 140  Red: 250  Green: 140  Blue: 140

2 Résumé

1. Taylor your résumé to include your skills and experiences that most closely match those in the job posting.

2. Write your skills according to the following format:

 Action Verb  Who / What  Why / Result of Your Actions

o For each skill make the action verb Bold. o Use the shading tool to colorize the action verbs that are found in the job

posting – 250, 140, 250  Red: 250  Green: 140  Blue: 250

o Shade the Who / What accordingly – 200, 230, 240  Red: 200  Green: 230  Blue: 240

o Shade the Why / Result of Your Actions accordingly – 210, 190, 220  Red: 210  Green: 190  Blue: 220

3. Design your résumé according to the HATS acronym  Your goal is to make the information easy to find.

o Headings  Use headings to show how the information is structured.

o Typography  Use a different font (Serif or Sans Serif) for the headings and the body

text. o Spacing

 Clump related items with each other. Separate these clumps from one another.

3 Application Letter

1. Write an application letter to emphasize two or three skills or experiences that appear on both the job posting and your résumé.

o See the examples on pages 192-193

2. Follow the OABC framework o Opening – Try to make a connection with the company (page 191) o Agenda – Consider using bullets for your agenda items o Body – All body paragraphs must have the following:

• Topic Sentence • Cohesion (pages 69-70) • Unity (page 66-67) • All sentences must be written in active voice

 If you have three or more body paragraphs, consider using bullet points. If you use bullets for your body, do not use bullets for your agenda.

o Closing – Reference your résumé, explain how you will follow up, and thank them for considering you.

3. Use the shading tool to colorize the application letter accordingly

o Opening o Agenda

 Reference to Skills that appear on your résumé – 250, 250, 140 • Red: 250 • Green: 250 • Blue: 140

o Body  Topic Sentence – 140, 250, 140

• Red: 140 • Green: 250 • Blue: 140

 Cohesive Phrases – 250, 140, 90 • Red: 250 • Green: 140 • Blue: 90

o Closing  How you will follow up – 10, 140, 250

• Red: 10 • Green: 140 • Blue: 250

Overall Proofread

• Both your Résumé and Application Letter should be free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Consistency

• On both your Résumé and Application Letter, use the same formatting for your contact information

Be Concise

• Brief: Avoid unnecessary words and phrases • Comprehensive: Keep your sentences as short as possible without losing meaning

How to Submit

• Save the document as one PDF file • Upload the PDF file to BlackBoard

o Under the “Employment” tab  “Résumé and Application Letter”

Example Job Description

Job Title: Logistics Coordinator Location: Grandville, Michigan Hours: Monday - Friday, First Shift Opportunities TransCorr has immediate career opportunity openings for qualified individuals. The position of logistics coordinator is responsible for all aspects of transportation from start to finish. Prospective candidates must be well organized, detail oriented and possess the ability to multitask. We are looking for individuals to work out of our Grandville, MI office. Salary plus bonus options. TransCorr employees are aggressive, energetic problem solvers who work well in a high energy atmosphere. If this sounds like you, we welcome you to apply today to become a successful member of TransCorr National Logistics. Primary Responsibilities:

• Managing truckload freight • Coordination of shipments between customers and carriers • Proactive communication internally and to external carriers

What you should offer:

• Excellent Communication Skills • Excellent Organizational Skills • Excellent Problem Solving Skills • Must be able to Multi-task • Computer and Internet Knowledge • Positive Attitude and Strong Work Ethics

Example Résumé

Current Address 123 Fake Street Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

Ashley Awesome [email protected]

(989) 876-5432

Permanent Address 456 Parents Place

Smalltown, MI 48416

Education Central Michigan University  May 2024 (expected) Major: Logistics Management/Marketing  GPA: 3.1

Work Experience

Sales Associate  Under Armour  Jun 2018 – Present

• Communicated deals to customers fostering a positive relationship with the store and brand • Organized merchandise to draw attention to high margin items to increase store profitability

Hostess / Busser  Timothy’s Restaurant  Mar 2018 – Aug 2018

• Coordinated with a team to keep the restaurant clean and organized to uphold its image • Multi-tasked duties to complete them on time contributing to the restaurant’s efficiency

Food Server  Classic Catering  Jun 2017 – Mar 2018

• Coordinated food and table settings to ensure the event ran smoothly Leadership Development

Leadership Safari  Aug 2018 - one week • Solved problems through activities presented by our Safari Guide and developed new insights

about leadership that I have applied to group projects • Motivated team members to enhance group performance

Team Leader for the United Way  Spring 2018 • Coordinated volunteers to complete parts of a larger project before a final deadline • Managed the completion of jobs to verify that the work was done correctly

Awards

• Central Michigan University Academic Prestige Award • Central Michigan University Jerry & Felicia Campbell Scholarship Award

Example Application Letter

Current Address 123 Fake Street Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

Ashley Awesome [email protected]

(989) 876-5432

Permanent Address 456 Parents Place

Smalltown, MI 48416

To: TransCorr Logistics Grandville, Michigan TransCorr Logistics, I am applying for the logistics coordinator position for the summer of 2020. My previous experiences have provided me with the skills listed in the job posting. Those skills include the following:

 Leadership  Multi-tasking

Leadership: I gained leadership experience while volunteering for the United Way. During this time, I was promoted to Team Leader, and I was given three responsibilities: recruitment, training, and managing volunteers. I accomplished my first responsibility by visiting community organizations (e.g., churches, social clubs, etc.) to recruit volunteers. My next responsibility was to train these new recruits. However, some of the training was difficult because I had to first learn the job myself. The third responsibility was to manage the volunteers. Managing involved coordinating when volunteers would complete projects and verifying that the work was done correctly. Overall the Team Leader position provided me with leadership skills that could benefit your organization. Multi-Tasking: As a hostess and busser I was responsible for two areas of the restaurant at the same time. One area was the front door. Here I was responsible for greeting and seating customers. In addition, I had to organize where customers sat to coordinate with servers’ shift changes and break times. The other area I was responsible for was within the restaurant. Therefore, when I was not seating customers, I was bussing tables. As a result of having two areas of responsibility, I was constantly focused on both customers to greet and tables to clear.

To see more of my experiences and accomplishments, you can refer to my attached resume. I will be contacting your office next week to set up a time to meet with you. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Ashley Awesome