ENGLISH

Writing for Employment

Cover Letters and Resumes

Making Connections

• This week’s discussion and writing assignments are inspired by your reading assignment from Chapter 11. Read through the provided pages, notes, and assignments before you begin. All of this information will help you be successful.

• For the employment portfolio components this week, imagine your ideal job, and prepare your materials with that job and a typical company in the field in mind.

Purpose of Employment Portfolio Resumes and Cover Letters: • Allow you to control the presentation of your skills on

paper.

• Encourage an employer to call you to arrange an interview.

• Give employers something to look at before you fill out any applications they may require.

• Establish goodwill between you and your employer.

Terms Defined • Cover Letter: a one- to two-page letter written to accompany the resume • Resume: a one- or two-page summary of your qualifications • Keywords: significant words that are included in the job announcement. A

keyword search compares qualifications on the resume to qualifications the employer needs and determines whether the resume has enough matches to warrant a closer reading.

• Parallel Structure: use of the grammatical structure already in place. Parallel structure provides consistency, enabling your reader to anticipate your structure. Grammatically speaking, this typically refers to verb form. (Ex. Use the same verb endings for all verbs within a list.)

• Chronological (in order of time)/Reverse Chronological Order (backward through time)

• Priority Order: from most important to least important. • Text File: A text file can be opened regardless of the word processing program

used. Most word processing programs allow you to save a document as a text (.txt) file, often referred to as a plain text file because of its simple, plain appearance. The disadvantage of a text file is the loss of formatting in a carefully designed print resume. A company will often request .pdf or .doc files.

Letter Types

• Cover Letter • Follow-up Letter—to thank the employer for

the interview and to summarize your qualifications

• Resignation Letter—to announce your intention to resign

• Solicited Letter • Unsolicited Letter

Cover Letter Tips and Guidelines • P. 270—sample cover letter • A cover letter should be formal and should include your name and contact

information (preferably in some sort of letterhead), the date, and the name of the company and its contact information before the letter actually begins.

• Even though there will be blocks of writing, white space is still important. Add a space between paragraphs and/or sections.

• Always include a space for your signature—or include it electronically. • A cover letter is a sales letter. A cover letter is composed of an opening (an

attention-getter or a hook), a summary of qualifications (the proof or sell), and a request for an interview (motivation to action).

• The first paragraph should express your interest in the position, describe how you discovered the position, and summarize your major qualifications in a way that sets you apart from your competitors.

• If it is a solicited letter, you should include a reference to the job posting in your first paragraph.

• The body paragraphs should describe your qualifications that appeal directly to the job posting in a level of detail you cannot achieve in your resume. This may include your education, work experience, or specific skills.

• The final paragraph should request an interview, refer to your attached resume, and provide contact information.

Resume Types • Chronological Resume—The chronological resume organizes information in reverse chronological order—or

backward in time through a person’s education and employment record—with the most recent information presented first. A chronological resume offers an approach that most employers recognize and accept. This resume: 1) Provides a history of employment (regardless of the job) and education in reverse chronological order. 2) Accounts for every year the applicant is out of school, with no gaps in time. 3) Tends to emphasize dates in the resume’s design. 4) Uses predictable headings. 5) Places education and work experience early in the resume.

• Electronic Resume—An electronic resume is a chronological or functional resume that has been reformatted so that it can be sent electronically. It may take one of the following forms: 1) E-mail resume sent as a formatted attachment to an e-mail or as part of an e-mail message; 2) ASCII Text resume sent with special text formatting as an attachment to or part of an e-mail; 3) Scannable resume sent as an attachment to an e-mail, part of an e-mail message, or mailed (but eventually scanned by an optical reader); 4)Online resume posted on a company’s or job search website or posted on an applicant’s website.

• Functional Resume—Instead of organizing information around time, the functional resume organizes information around a person’s unique skills, giving an applicant the opportunity to highlight his or her special abilities or experience. This resume may have a section devoted to technical skills, sales abilities, or leadership skills. Some resumes are a combination of chronological and functional resumes, highlighting special skills in one area and using a chronological presentation for the work history. Resumes organized according to function or purpose are more flexible than chronological resumes. Tailored to suit the requirements of a particular job, a functional resume: 1) Summarizes the most important qualifications for the job. 2) May not account for every year out of school. 3)Emphasizes skills, accomplishments, and job titles regardless of time frame. 4) Uses less predictable headings designed for the job. 5) May present education and work experience later in the resume.

• Scannable Resume—Scannable resumes are mailed as a print document, sent as an e-mail, or posted online to be scanned electronically for keywords.

NOTE: Reverse chronological order is the accepted organization of the content of a resume, regardless of type.

Resume Tips and Guidelines • Resumes come in an infinite number of styles and preferences. Unless specified

otherwise, the employee must determine which format and organization best highlights them as a prospective hire.

Standards exist, however, and they are as follows: • Include your name and contact information at the top, often as a header to minimize

space. • Organize education and experience in reverse chronological order. • If you want to highlight education more, you begin with it; if you want to highlight

work experience more, you begin with it; etc. • Place emphasis on whatever is most impressive, but be consistent! If your position is

impressive, place emphasis on job titles. If your length of employment reveals that you’ve had few if any gaps, highlight dates.

• Utilize white space. Resumes should be scannable and read quickly. • Only include long lists if they are necessary. Some industries expect lists of duties as a

standard. If you are applying for a job for which your prior job titles do not seem to prepare you, but your duties reveal otherwise, include all of your duties.

• For most industries, 1-2 pages is standard. For education, however, detail is key, and brevity isn’t a priority.

Things to Avoid

• Do not place too much emphasis on “unimportant” positions.

• Do not include huge blocks of text. If you have more you’d like to say about a particular position, use the cover letter.

• Do not use over-stylized templates, which will distract from the content of your letter or resume.

• Do not use tiny margins or fonts in an effort to keep your resume within a certain length. This makes it difficult to read quickly, which is key in technical communication.

Next Step

You can find the Cover Letter and Resume assignment in

the “Week Four” folder under the “Content” tab.

Discussion Objective(s):

• Select one of the topics, and follow the instructions provided. After completing your assignment, pose one

meaningful question that allows your classmates to

examine your assignment and connect it to our

discussion on employment portfolios. Respond to at

least two of your classmates’ posts. Include which topic

you chose to complete in your subject line.

• Topics can be found in the “Week Four” folder and in the syllabus.