Job Application Packages_How to craft scannable, clear, descriptive résumés

The contents of this posting is a summary to memorize the information of BCIT COMM 1116 and 2216 Business Communications.

Source from WRITING IN THE TECHNICAL FIELDS - A Practival Guide wirtten by Thorsten Ewald

 

1. How to craft scannable,clear, descriptive résumés

2. How to wirte concise, persuasive application letters

3. How to find job openings to which to apply in the first place.

 

jobs always ask for experience, even for entry-level positions.

How do we get experience until we land our first job? 

People with more qualifications will typically apply for high-level jobs with leaving the entry-level jobs wide open for us. 

Our job application package should paint a picture of our as a reliable, diligent, responsible, hard-working, enthusiastic, dependable person who will make an excellent investment as a long-term hire.

 

Résumé

Prospective employers will see resume as defining our professionalism, attention to detail, and respect for out employer's time, as well as reflecting our ability to communicate.

 

Parts of a Résumé

All résumés have several standard parts. The order of these parts will vary depending on our evel of experience. 

 

LetterHead ( Contact Information)

The top of the résumé should contain your name, address, and contact information. The information should apperar in a neat block of text, either centered or left aligned.

 

Career Objective

The career objective lets our prospective employer know that we have clear goals for our future and realistic expectations for our current job prospects. An effective career objective can help us look confident, ambitious, and competent. When we submit an applicationo on line, a career objective can also help bump up our résumé in the queue if it uses key words that the employer has set filters to scan for. Therefore, it is good to include a few words from the job advertisement in the career objective.

 

Skills / Qualifications Summary

Skills summaries provide brief, bulleted lists of our chief qualifications. The employer will look for proof, so make sure our claims are backed up there. Include professional licences and fluency in languages other than English in this list. 

 

Education

List our grades or grade point average about educational programs and institutions we have attended if they are impressive. It is often better to list the skills we have acquired than the courses we have taken. List educational accomplishments in reverse chronological order; starting with the most recent. By including the programs that we chose not to complete, we do not leave any unexplained gaps in the résumé's timeline.

 

Experience

list the full-time and part-time jobs we have had. We can also include volunteer experience because many volunteer positions teach valuable leadership, organizational, and management skills, thereby providing transfferable skills that are valuable in any job.

 

Honours/ Awards

If you have a series of honours to list, use an honours section. If you have only one or two, you can include them on the description of the job or school at which you won the honour.

 

Activities and Interests

Employers like to get a complete picture of their prospecive employees. Our education section will provide them with an idea of that skills we have acquired scholastically, but it will not tell them what we are like as a person. By listing our activities, such as community involvement, and our hobbies and sports, we demonstrate that we are well-rounded.

 

Memberships

This section is optional. Be sure to include any notable positions you have held within assocations as well as any significant contributions you have made.

 

References

If we provide reference, include the nae and title of the reference so the prospecitve employer knows how the reference fits into your life. Whether you include references in your résumé or provide them on a separate aheet ata an interview, always list (at least) three references. Three seems to be a magic number. Privode three and the reader assume you have selected a mere three from the trongs of people eager to say giid things about you. Provide onlly two references and the impression is that you have fallen short, that you can find only two people in the whole wide world whilling to spea well of you.

 

Organization of a Résumé

There are two types of résumés: standard (chronological) résumés and focused (functional) résumés.

Standard résumé focuses on your education and your experience. It often begin with a brief skills summary section followed by more detailed education and experience sections. This is the résumé most frequently used by recent or near-graduates because it focuses on recognized eductional qualifications for entry-level jobs.

Focused résumé focuses on specific skills, projects, or achievements, and it leaved the more general educational qualifications and job titles for later. This is the résumé most frequently used by professionals with a few yers of experience in their fields ( and sometimes recent graduates) who are applying for higher-level positions for which specific and related job experience and a proven track record are important. This sort of résumé can also be a good strategy fot students in set programs from which emplouers regularly recruit.

 

Formatting of a Résumé

Attractive formatting woth plenty of white space is vital in a résumé. It shows our level of professionalis, our attentions to detail. and our understanding of the importance of visual presentation. Convey the most important and impressive information in just a few seconds and make it into the Maybe pile will gt a closer reading.

 

Wording of a Résumé

Yo need to find a way to demonsttate that you possess attributes even it you have demonstrated them in another, compeletely unrelated job. To paint a vivid, positive picture of yourself, use strong, active verbs to descrive your activities and successes: "built", "served", "develped", "coordinated", "managed", "initiated". Use the present tense for current jobs and activities and the past tense for jobs and activities you no longer perform.