CHAPTER 13

The Job
Search,
Résumés, and
Cover Letters

Instructor Only Version

© 2010 Thomson South-Western
 Test Your Job Savvy
This quiz is intended to pique your interest
and dispel some myths about job searching.

1. Workers between the ages of 18 and 38 can

expect to have how many different
employers?
6 10
8 12 or more

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 2

 Test Your Job Savvy

2. The biggest change in résumé formats

over the last decade has been
 greater emphasis on hard skills
 greater emphasis on soft skills
 switch from job objective to a summary at the
top
 use of a computer template to prepare one
version for all jobs

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 3

 Test Your Job Savvy

3. Having your job terminated ranks in the

top 10 of the most severe crises in life.

True False

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 4

 Test Your Job Savvy

4. What résumé format do recruiters

generally prefer?

 Chronological (arranged around dates of

employment, education)
 Functional (arranged around skills)

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 5

 Test Your Job Savvy

5. Many experts in the field of recruiting

think that the best way for a college
graduate to find a job today is by
 searching the  networking
Internet  reading the
 sending out classified ads
hundreds of
résumés

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 6

 Test Your Job Savvy

6. The best place to look for a job online is at

Monster.com Company Web sites
Yahoo! Hot Jobs CareerBuilder.com

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 7

 Test Your Job Savvy

7. You’ve heard that “networking” is a good

way to find a job. Who should be on your
list of people to contact about job leads?
 Potential employers, professional organizations,
and friends
 Family members, neighbors, and business
associates
 School alumni and former instructors
 Your dentist, your doctor, your insurance agent,
and others
 All of the choices

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 8

 Test Your Job Savvy

8. A savvy job candidate would prepare

which of the following résumés?

 A traditional  An embedded
print-based résumé
résumé  All three
 A scannable versions
résumé

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 9

 Test Your Job Savvy

9. The primary purpose of a cover letter is

to ask for a job.

True False

The primary purpose of a cover

letter is to request an interview.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 10

 Test Your Job Savvy

10. During a job interview, you are asked to

“tell a time when you . . . .? What
strategy should you use to answer such
behavioral questions?

 AIDA strategy  KISS strategy

 STAR strategy  NASA strategy

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 11

 Preparing for Employment
Identify
your
interests
Search Evaluate
for a job your
traditionally qualifications
START HERE

Search Recognize
the
for a job changing
electronically Learn about nature of jobs
careers and
choose a
path
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 12
 Preparing for Employment

 Identify your interests.

 Do you enjoy working with people, data
or things?
 Do you need to be your own boss?
 How important are salary, benefits,
location, and so forth?
© ISTOCKPHOTO.COM / DEAN SANDERSON

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 13

 Preparing for Employment
 Evaluate your qualifications.
 What technology, language, and people
skills can you offer?
 How can you demonstrate your skills?
 Recognize the changing nature of jobs.
 Fewer people in permanent positions
 More flexible workplace, including
telecommuting
 Lifelong learning needed to continually
update skills
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 14
 Preparing for Employment

 Learn about careers and choose a path.

 Visit your campus career center, search
the Web, use your library.
 Take a summer or part-time job in your
field.
 Volunteer with a nonprofit organization.
 Interview someone in your field.
 Join professional organizations.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 15

 Preparing for Employment
 Search for a job electronically.
 Check the big boards: Monster,
CareerBuilder, College Recruiter, Yahoo
Hot Jobs.
 Use the big boards for information; realize
that few people actually find jobs on them.
 Look beyond the big boards to corporate
Web sites, professional association sites,
as well as local employment, niche, and
social sites (such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, and
Facebook).
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 16
 Preparing for Employment
 Search for a job traditionally.
 Check classified ads.
 Check alumni and professional
association listings.
 Contact companies directly.
 Sign up for campus interviews;
attend job fairs.
 Ask for advice from instructors.
 NETWORK, NETWORK,
NETWORK!
MaryMary
EllenEllen
Guffey,
Guffey,
Essentials
Essentials
of Business
of Business
Communication,
Communication,
8e 8e Chapter
Chapter13,
1, Slide 17
Writing a Customized Résumé
Preparation
 Research the job market.
Use newspapers, the Web, and other
resources to learn about jobs, qualifications,
and employers.
 Analyze your strengths.
What will sell you for the job you want?
 Study other résumés as models.
Experiment with formatting.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 18

 What is
the goal of
a customized
résumé?

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 19

Writing a Customized Résumé

Choose a Decide Arrange

résumé on the
style length parts

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 20

 Choosing a Résumé Style

Choose a CHRONOLOGICAL
Résumé
Style Focuses on job history
with most recent
positions listed first

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 21

 Choosing a Résumé Style

Focuses on skills
Choose a
Résumé
Style FUNCTIONAL

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 22

 Deciding on Length

Decide Make your résumé as

on long as needed to sell
Length your skills to recruiters
and hiring managers.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 23

 Arranging the Parts

Main Heading Work

Experience
Career
Objective Special
Arrange Skills
the Summary of
Qualifications Achievements
Parts
Awards
Education Activities

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 24

 Arranging the Parts

Heading and Objective

 List your name, address, phone, and e-
mail address.
 Include a career objective only for a
targeted job.
 Ideally, name job title, area of
specialization, and type of company.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 25

 Arranging the Parts
Summary of Qualifications
 Present your most impressive skills and
accomplishments in a concise list.
Education
 Name your degree, date of graduation, and
institution.
 List your major and GPA.
 Give information about your studies, but
don’t inventory all your courses.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 26
 Arranging the Parts

Work Experience
If your work experience is significant and
relevant to the position sought, place this
section before education.

Include
List your Describe
non-
previous your
technical
jobs experience
skills

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 27

Arranging the Parts of a Résumé
Start with the most recent jobs.
List your Include employer’s name and
previous
city, dates of employment
jobs.
(month, year), and most
significant title.
Salesperson, Kmart, Dayton, Ohio. 4/08 to 5/09
Manager, Fleet Equipment, Kettering, Ohio. 6/09 to
present
Tax Preparer, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
program. March, 2009 to present. Sinclair College,
Dayton, Ohio
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 28
 Arranging the Parts:
Work Experience
Describe Use action verbs to
your summarize achievements
experience and skills relevant to your
targeted job.

Prepared state and federal tax returns for

individuals with incomes under $25,000.
Conducted interviews with over 50 individuals to
elicit data regarding taxes.
Determined legitimate tax deductions and
recorded them accurately.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 29
 Arranging the Parts:
Work Experience
Include Give evidence of communication,
non- management, and interpersonal
technical skills. Employers want more than
skills
empty assurances. Try to
quantify your skills.

Organized holiday awards program for 1200

attendees and 140 awardees.
Praised by top management for enthusiastic
teamwork and excellent communication skills.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 30

 Arranging the Parts

Special Skills, Achievements, Awards

 Highlight your technical skills.
All employers seek employees proficient with
the Internet, software programs, office
equipment, and communication technology
tools.
 Show that you are well-rounded.
List awards and extracurricular activities,
especially if they demonstrate leadership,
teamwork, reliability, loyalty, initiative, efficiency,
and self-sufficiency.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 31
 Arranging the Parts

References
 Listing references directly on your résumé
takes up valuable space.
 Instead, most recruiters prefer that you bring
to the interview a list of individuals willing to
discuss your qualifications.
 The best references are instructors, your
current employer or previous employers,
colleagues or subordinates, and other
professional contacts.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 32
 Sample Reference List

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 33

 Arranging the Parts
Additional Tips
 Omit references (unless specifically required).
 Look for ways to condense your data.
 Double-check for parallel phrasing.
d !
 Project professionalism and quality. r e a
o f
 Avoid personal pronouns.
P r o
 Omit humor.
 Use 24-pound paper and a quality printer for your
print copy.
 Know how to send your résumé by e-mail.
 Have a friend or colleague critique your résumé.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 34
 Examine These Résumés

Discuss ways to
improve this poor résumé.

Adobe Acrobat
Document

Click icon to view

an improved version.

Adobe Acrobat
Document

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 35

 Textbook Résumé Models
(click accompanying icon to view)

Chronological Résumé Models

 Recent college graduate with
related experience (Figure 13.7) Adobe Acrobat
Document

 Current college student with

limited experience (Figure 13.6) Adobe Acrobat
Document
 Current university student with
limited related experience
(Figure 13.8) Adobe Acrobat
Document

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 36

 Textbook Résumé Models
(click accompanying icon to view)

Chronological Résumé Model

 University graduate with
substantial experience Adobe Acrobat
(Figure 13.9) Document

Functional Résumé Model

 Recent university graduate with
unrelated part-time experience Adobe Acrobat

(Figure 13.10) Document

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 37

 Optimizing Your Résumé for
Today’s Technologies

Preparing a
Preparing a
Maximizing Plain Text
Scannable
“Hits” Résumé for
Résumé
E-Mailing

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 38

 Preparing a Scannable Résumé

 Use 10- to 14-point type.

 Avoid unusual typefaces, underlining, italics, and
double columns.
 Be sure your name is on the first line.
 List each phone number on its own line.
 Use smooth white paper, black ink, and quality
printing. Provide white space.
 Avoid double columns.
 Use smooth white paper, black ink, and quality
printing. Provide white space.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 39

 Maximizing “Hits”
 Focus on specific keywords.
 Incorporate words from the job ad.
 Use typical headings (Objective, Education,
Skills, etc.)
 Use accurate names; watch abbreviations.
 Describe interpersonal traits and attitudes.
 Use more than one page if necessary.
Click icon to view
scannable résumé Adobe Acrobat
Document

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 40

 Preparing a Plain Text
Résumé for E-Mailing
 Follow the tips for scannable résumés.
 Reformat with shorter lines (such as 4-inch).
 Think about using keyboard characters to
enhance format (=== or ~~~).
 Move all text to the left.
 Save your résumé in plain text (.txt) or rich
text format (.rtf).
 Test your résumé before sending it.
Click icon to view
plain text résumé Adobe Acrobat
Document

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 41

 Being Honest and Ethical

 Do not inflate your education, grades, or

honors.
 Do not enhance job titles.
 Do not puff up accomplishments.
 Do not alter employment dates.
 Do be honest, ethical, and careful.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 42

 Polishing Your Résumé
 Avoid including anything that could become a
basis for discrimination: photograph, age, marital
status, national origin, race, etc.
 Do not send a photograph.
 Don't include your social security number.
 Don't include high school information,
references, or full addresses of schools or
employers.
 Don't put the word "résumé" at the top.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 43
 Submitting Your Résumé

Employers may ask you to submit your

résumé in one of these ways:
 Word document
 Plain-text, ASCII document
 PDF document
 Company database
 Fax

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 44

 What Turns Recruiters Off
When Reading Résumés?

A focus group
of nine expert
recruiters gave these
individual responses:

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 45

 What Turns Recruiters Off
When Reading Résumés?
 “Personal data. That’s a major ‘red flag.’ Also
typos, inconsistent punctuation, and huge
paragraphs that look like job descriptions.”
 “Odd-sized résumés from services saying
‘Presenting the candidacy of . . .’ I don't even
read them anymore. They’re a major rip-off.”
 “Résumés that show no research; not looking
at the employer’s needs.”
 “Omissions in terms of dates. And
misspellings!”
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 46
 What Turns Recruiters Off
When Reading Résumés?
 “Long cover letters and résumés over two
pages.”
 “Excess cosmetics, substituting form for
content. A résumé should look nice but not
go overboard.”
 “A photo. I have to remove them because
managers must be color and gender blind.”
 “Not sending the résumé to the right place.”

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 47

 What Do Recruiters Consider
Most Important in a Résumé?
 “The objective. Plus dates when things
happened and accomplishments.”
 “Information about skills that apply to the
job; less about job history and past duties.”
 “The candidate’s address and phone
number. Lots of people put them only in
the cover letter!”

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 48

 What Do Recruiters Consider
Most Important in a Résumé?

 “Valid information in an easy-to-read,

attractive style.”
 “Meeting the qualifications for the job.”
 “The presentation and the objective.”
 “A clear objective, backed up with
qualifying experience and continuity in the
work history.”

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 49

 Writing a Customized, Persuasive
Cover Letter

Opening Body Closing

 Address the letter to an individual by name.

 For advertised jobs, name the source; include job
title, date, and publication.
 If someone referred you, name that person.
 Show that your qualifications fit the job
specifications, show your knowledge of the reader’s
business, or show that your special talents will be
assets to the company.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 50
 Writing a Customized, Persuasive
Cover Letter

Opening Body Closing

 Demonstrate that your background and training

meet the job requirements.
 Summarize your principal assets from
education, experience, and special skills.
 Avoid repeating specific data from your résumé.
 Refer to your résumé.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 51

 Writing a Customized, Persuasive
Cover Letter

Opening Body Closing

 Ask for an interview. Consider hooking the

request to a statement reviewing your
strongest points.
 Make it easy to respond. Tell when and where
you can be reached (during office hours).
Some recruiters prefer that you call them.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 52

 Model Cover Letters

Click icon to view

solicited cover letter.
Click icon to view
Adobe Acrobat
unsolicited cover letter.
Document

Adobe Acrobat
Document

Click icon to view

e-mail cover letter.

Adobe Acrobat
Document

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 13, Slide 53

 END

Instructor Only Version

© 2010 Thomson South-Western