Job Package

1. Application letter

Your Opening Paragraph

The first paragraph of your letter of application is your introduction. It must get your reader’s attention by answering four questions:

1. Why are you writing?
2. Where or how did you learn of the vacancy, the company, or the job? 3. What is the specific job title for which you are applying?
4. What is your most important qualification for the job?

The Body of Your Letter

The body of your letter, comprising one or two paragraphs, cites evidence from your résumé to prove you are qualified for the job. You might want to spend one paragraph on your education and one on your experience or combine your accom- plishments into one paragraph.

Follow these guidelines for the body of your letter:

1. Keep your paragraphs short and readable—four or five sentences.

2. Don’t begin each sentence with “I.”

3. Concentrate on seeing yourself as a potential employer sees you.

4. Highlight your qualifications by citing specific accomplishments.

5. Mention you are enclosing your résumé.

· Closing


The purpose of your last paragraph is clear-cut—to convince the reader to call or email you for an interview. Keep your closing paragraph short—about two or three sentences—but be sure it fulfills the following four important functions: 
1. briefly emphasizes once again your major qualifications 2. asks for an interview or a phone call
3. indicates when you are available for an interview
4. thanks the reader 


2. Resume By Function or Skill Area

Depending on your experiences and accomplishments, you might organize your résumé according to function or skill area. According to this plan, you would not list your information chronologically in the categories “Experience” and “Education.” Instead, you would sort your achievements and abilities—whether from course work, jobs, extracurricular activities, or technical skills—into two to four key skill areas, such as

· Sales 


· Public Relations 


· Training/Teaching 


· Management 


· Research 


· Technical Capabilities 


· Counseling 


· Leadership 


· Communications 


· ■ Network Operations ■ Customer Service
■ People Skills
■ Teamwork

· ■ Troubleshooting
■ Opening New Markets
■ Multicultural Experiences ■ Information Technology ■ Problem-Solving Skills

Under each area you would list three to five points illustrating your achieve- ments in that area. Functional and skills résumés are often called bullet résumés because they itemize the candidate’s main strengths in bulleted lists. Some employ- ers prefer the bullet résumé because they can skim the candidate’s list of qualifica- tions in a few seconds.

Note Dora Cooper Bolger’s profitable use of a skills résumé format in Figure 7.8. She delayed school for several years because of family commitments, yet she uses the experiences she acquired during those years to her advantage in her résumé organized by “Skills.” No gap of ten years interrupts her valuable marketable skills.