Chapter 14—The Job Search, Résumés, and Cover Letters

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Begin the job search by studying the job market and

a. identifying your interests, goals, and qualifications.
b. specifying your target job, ideal supervisor, and perfect working conditions.
c. developing a short-range career plan to present at interviews.
d. searching Web sites for job openings.
2. Your first step in finding a satisfying career should be
a. researching salary, benefits, and job stability in a chosen field.
b. developing an effective résumé to send to prospective employers.
c. locating job openings at desirable companies.
d. learning about yourself, the job market, and the employment process.
3. Which of the following is an effective question you should ask to determine your best career path?
a. Do I speak, write, or understand another language?
b. Do I want to retrain frequently, and will my employer pay for this retraining?
c. How well will I stand out from other candidates applying for jobs in this career field, and
how likely will I be to get an interview and land a job?
d. Would I like to work for someone else or be my own boss?
4. Which of the following statements about the changing nature of jobs in today's workplace is most
accurate?
a. In many companies teams complete special projects and then disband.
b. The primary employers in today's economy are large businesses.
c. Employers prefer hiring people for jobs with narrow descriptions.
d. Jobs are becoming less flexible and more permanent.
5. As you prepare for a successful job search, you must understand the role of the Web in the process.
Which of the following is most accurate?
a. The Web has made the process both easier and more challenging.
b. The Web has made it easy for job candidates to get noticed; standing out among
candidates is now simple.
c. The Web should be the only research tool in the job-search arsenal for savvy hunters and
recruiters.
d. The Web now provides one-stop employment services for job seekers and for employers
seeking employees.
6. Given the changing nature of the job market today, which of these is the best advice for job seekers?
a. Seek a lifelong career with a single company.
b. Upgrade your skills regularly and plan to retrain yourself frequently.
c. Start with a career that relies on existing technology skills to remain secure over the long
haul.
d. Remember that you will still have pay raises, promotions, and, finally, a comfortable
retirement over the course of your career, despite the changing job market.
7. The best advice for college students who need to learn about careers and establish a professional
network is to
a. enroll in classes in many programs to sample every career path.
b. write your own blog to attract potential employers.

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 c. volunteer with a nonprofit organization.
d. purchase a good interview suit.

8. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

a. You can expect to have two or three employers over the course of your career.
b. Because you are likely to change jobs often, do not train now for a specific career.
c. You make better career decisions if you match your interests to specific career
requirements.
d. The Web provides all the career data you need to gather.
9. Kendra is searching for a job and wants to use electronic sources. Which of the following will
probably be her best source of online job listings?
a. Big job boards such as Monster.com and Yahoo HotJobs
b. Specific company Web sites
c. Her college Web site job board
d. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook
10. Experts report a new online information source for successful job seekers. What is this recently
emerged online job source?
a. Big online job boards
b. Online newspapers
c. Public service Web sites
d. Social media sites
11. Which of the following is a traditional job-search technique?
a. Developing a network
b. Searching CareerBuilder and HotJobs
c. Visiting a company Web site to search for job openings
d. Checking LinkedIn or Facebook
12. Which of the following tips will best help you conduct a safe, effective Web job search?
a. Respond only to "blind" job postings.
b. Renew your résumé posting about every 45 days.
c. Post your résumé only at reputable sites that charge a fee for this service.
d. Consider omitting your home address and home phone number.
13. The most successful job seekers are those who
a. avoid career fairs and other "cattle calls" where the job seeker can become lost in a crowd
of applicants.
b. launch aggressive, proactive campaigns, which includes sending unsolicited application
letters with résumés to target companies.
c. focus their job searches on nontraditional methods such as Twitter and Facebook and use
traditional methods only as a last resort.
d. study the job market and companies in college and don't worry about their grades because
employers no longer place importance on GPAs.
14. Because job competition is stiff, you must have a customized résumé. Having a customized résumé
means that you
a. prepare a special résumé for every position you want.
b. create résumés for each of the job categories to which you plan to apply.
c. hire a professional résumé preparation company to review and refine your basic résumé
and then "dress it up."
d. include your photo, add color, or place other graphics on the résumé.

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15. The primary way to make a résumé persuasive is to
a. limit it to one page.
b. customize it to fit each company and position.
c. use a good laser printer to print it on high-quality bond paper.
d. put a copy of it on the Web.
16. Because it quickly reveals a candidate's education and experience record, most recruiters favor a(n)
a. scannable résumé.
b. functional résumé.
c. chronological résumé.
d. online résumé.
17. You are just graduating from college and have little employment experience, yet you want to put
together a persuasive résumé. What would be the best résumé style to use?
a. Chronological résumé
b. Scannable résumé
c. Functional résumé
d. Online résumé
18. Which of the following is the best advice about résumé length?
a. Because recruiters are busy, keep it to one page.
b. Because recruiters and hiring managers want to know your skills, make it as long as
needed to sell yourself.
c. Because recruiters interview applicants with two-page résumés, make it two pages.
d. Because experts are divided between one- or two-page résumé length, make your résumé a
page and a half.
19. Which of these is the best tip for arranging the parts of a persuasive résumé?
a. Always include a Career Objective to show your commitment.
b. Use as many headings as needed to cover your background essentials.
c. List Education before Work Experience.
d. Always begin your résumé with your name and contact information.
20. Opinions on the use of a Career Objective on the résumé are mixed. Which of the following the best
reason for candidates to add a Career Objective to their résumés?
a. An Objective shows flexibility and indicates that a candidate is adaptable and willing to
change to suit the employer's needs.
b. The primary goal of an Objective is to make the recruiter's life easier by quickly
classifying the résumé, which means the applicant is more likely to be hired.
c. An Objective can rapidly disqualify a candidate if the stated Objective does not match a
company's job description.
d. An Objective can tell the prospective employer that this candidate is sure about what he or
she wants to do.
21. Which of the following is the best Career Objective for a résumé?
a. An entry-level position in the marketing area with a possibility of promotion
b. A challenging job at an organization that raises the bar in data security
c. Serving as a team player in a company where independent thinking is Job #1
d. An accounting position in which 10 years' experience and a license as a CPA will allow
me to assist the company with payroll, employee benefits, and governmental tax and
records reporting
22. What statement best describes the Summary of Qualifications portion of a résumé?

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 a. Recruiters and hiring managers dislike the Summary of Qualifications section because it
adds reading time.
b. The Summary of Qualifications usually appears at the end of a résumé to provide a strong
closing.
c. Smart job seekers add a summary of their most impressive qualifications to their résumés
to save the time of recruiters and hiring managers.
d. The Summary of Qualifications section is typically one or two concise paragraphs.
23. In the Education section of your résumé, you should
a. list all college courses you have taken to give the employer a complete picture.
b. include relevant seminars attended and workshops completed.
c. list only colleges where you have completed a degree or certificate program.
d. specify your high school and college GPAs.
24. Which of the following statements describing employment achievements would be most effective on a
résumé?
a. Directed work flow and scheduling for emergency room personnel
b. Performed preventative maintenance on production equipment
c. Achieved 125 percent of production goal for three consecutive quarters
d. Knowledgeable in a variety of production processes and Just-in-Time theories
25. Which of the following statements uses an action verb to highlight an aptitude?
a. Competent in creation of multimedia presentations
b. Mastered QuickBooks Pro accounting software in 20 hours with minimal instruction
c. Ability to develop innovative and interactive Web pages
d. Able to adapt quickly to changing work environments
26. Which of these résumé tips is most accurate?
a. Don't list awards and honors on a résumé; if you list them, you will appear to be bragging.
b. Omit school and community activities from your résumé because they are unrelated to
your work experience.
c. Include your personal information (height, weight, and marital status) to give a potential
employer a complete picture.
d. Improve the visual impact of your résumé by placing your employment achievements and
relevant job duties in an easy-to-read bulleted list.
27. Which statement represents the best advice on the use of references?
a. Include a list of references directly on the résumé.
b. Do not include personal or character references.
c. Remember that companies generally check references before a job interview to learn about
a candidate in advance.
d. Be sure to add the statement References furnished upon request at the bottom of your
résumé.
28. Experts argue about the best length for a résumé, but they agree that you shouldn't waste space on
unnecessary information. Which of the following should you omit on your résumé?
a. Awards, honors, and certificates
b. Description of internship experiences as part of your college education
c. Complete listing of all courses taken during schooling
d. Skills and responsibilities learned at part-time jobs while in college
29. Employers today will probably ask you to submit your résumé in any of following formats except as a
a. PDF document.

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 b. professionally typeset document.
c. Word document.
d. plain-text document.
30. Employers often use scanners to sort and evaluate résumés. Which of these steps will maximize the
"hits" your résumé receives from scanners?
a. Describe your experience, education, and qualifications in general terms.
b. Spell out all abbreviations and acronyms, especially those related to your field.
c. Eliminate descriptions of interpersonal skills or aptitudes.
d. Use accurate, specific names of schools, degrees, products, job titles, and companies.
31. What is the most accurate statement about plain-text résumés?
a. Plain-text résumés are in high demand for electronic applications because recruiters and
employers no longer ask candidates to send application materials by postal mail.
b. A plain-text format is widely used for posting to online job boards and for applying by e-
mail.
c. Plain-text résumés will look exactly like the original and cannot be altered without Adobe
Acrobat and other conversion software.
d. A plain-text résumé enables employers to plug your data into their formats for rapid
searching.
32. Another name for a print-based résumé is
a. presentation résumé.
b. plain-text résumé.
c. employability résumé.
d. e-portfolio résumé.
33. An e-portfolio is
a. an electronic copy of your résumé recorded on a CD or flash drive.
b. the addition of work samples and personal information as an attachment to your embedded
résumé.
c. a collection of digitized materials that give a snapshot of the candidate's qualifications.
d. the name given to résumés posted on job-search Web sites such as Monster.com.
34. Generally, job seekers offer their e-portfolios on Web sites where potential employers can access the
information round the clock, but e-portfolios are also
a. burned onto CDs and DVDs to be mailed to prospective employers.
b. shared via YouTube and Tweets.
c. printed into hard-copy and arranged into three-ring binders.
d. posted on the big job boards.

35. Omar has asked you for a tip to improve his résumé. Which of these is your best advice?
a. Switch your incomplete college education from a total number of credits to a completed
degree because a small inflation is normal.
b. For the employers who didn't assign actual job titles to your positions, create more
impressive job titles, for instance, replacing data entry technician with information
technology administrator.
c. Study model résumés to get ideas to improve your own; and if your skills don't measure
up, begin working now to improve them.
d. Improve your employment record by claiming a couple group projects as a solo effort that
you completed.
36. Which of the following statements about résumés is inaccurate?

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 a.A résumé is expected to showcase your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
b.An ethical résumé may include half-truths but not outright lies.
c.Even after you have been hired, a misrepresentation on the résumé can be cause for firing.
d.Although they can't verify everything, most recruiters will verify your previous
employment and education before hiring.
37. Which of the following is considered unethical on a résumé?
a. Misrepresenting a job title to make it sound more important
b. Extending employment dates to avoid showing periods of unemployment
c. Making your job duties sound more impressive and responsible than they really were
d. All of these choices are unethical.
38. Because your résumé is probably the most important document you will ever write, you should
a. enhance your job titles to make your résumé more impressive.
b. include ample use of the personal pronoun I to make it more personal.
c. consider having a knowledgeable friend or relative proofread it.
d. use a professional résumé service to prepare your résumé.
39. When writing your job application letter, avoid the biggest error most applicants make, which is
a. misspelling the receiver's name or the company's name.
b. forgetting to enclose their résumé.
c. making the letter too generic.
d. not asking for the interview.
40. The purposes of a cover letter include all of the following except
a. securing a job offer.
b. introducing the résumé.
c. relating the sender's strengths to reader benefits.
d. gaining an interview.
41. A job opening has been announced. Which of these answer choices will be the best opening sentence
in an application letter?
a. You seek a master Web engineer, and I need a job; we are perfect for each other!
b. Dr. Matthew Skalski, IT director at Northwestern University, told me that you have an
opening for a Web engineer with experience in networking, data management, and
innovations.
c. Please consider this letter my application for your opening in the IT Department.
d. Do you need a Web engineer with over three years of experience?
42. Openings in a cover letter for a solicited job should refer to
a. the source of the information, the job title, and qualifications for the position.
b. the reader's business, position, and name.
c. the applicant's education, the target position, and the desired hire date.
d. the desired position, the applicant's qualifications, and the desire for an interview.
43. Which of the following statements is inaccurate regarding the opening in a cover letter for an
unsolicited job?
a. If you are unsure whether a position exists, use a more persuasive opening.
b. Demonstrate knowledge of the reader's business that may convince the person to continue
reading.
c. Show how your special talents will benefit the company and convince the reader that your
skill is exactly what this position demands.
d. Be vague about the type of position you're seeking so that you might be considered for a
variety of jobs.

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44. Which of these statements about the body of a cover letter is most accurate?
a. Discuss the company's qualifications as your potential employer in the body.
b. Explain what courses you took in college and what duties you performed in previous jobs
to give hiring officers a complete picture of your background.
c. Stress writer benefits because hiring officers want to know what appeals to you about this
particular company.
d. Share your experiences demonstrating your initiative and ability to learn easily because
employers seek employees with these qualities.
45. Which of these is the best statement to present a job candidate's information in the body of a cover
letter?
a. I am a qualified and fully licensed pediatric nurse.
b. Your posting description closely matches my experiences assisting dysfunctional families
in crisis, and recently I've taken seminars in family dynamics to develop the additional
skills that your ad indicates are essential.
c. You need a licensed, registered nurse, and I meet those qualifications.
d. Having graduated summa cum laude from Southwest College, I am well-prepared and
eager to apply my knowledge in nursing.
46. Choose the best closing sentence for a cover letter.
a. You should schedule my interview on Tuesday, September 7, at 10 a.m.
b. Please feel free to call me at your earliest convenience.
c. I hope you contact me soon to set up an interview for the systems analyst position.
d. To add to your team an experienced systems analyst with proven analytical and
troubleshooting skills, call me at (555) 555-4321 to arrange an interview.
47. Which of the following is the best advice for a cover letter to accompany a résumé sent by e-mail or
fax?
a. Take the time to prepare a professional cover letter to accompany your résumé sent
electronically.
b. Send your cover letter separately from a faxed or e-mailed résumé.
c. Shorten your e-mail or fax cover letter to a brief statement such as Please consider the
attached résumé for your opening.
d. Skip the cover letter; you don't need to introduce yourself because the fax or e-mail
includes your name.
48. Which of the following is the best tip for creating a successful cover letter?
a. Use different paper colors and paper types for your résumé and cover letter to create a
strong visual impact.
b. Make activities and outcomes, not yourself, the subject of sentences to reduce overuse of
"I."
c. Use a creative letter style to surprise the reader and make a big impact.
d. Keep the focus on your skills and traits through frequent use of "I" statements.
49. To ensure your cover letter will look professional and suggest high quality, you should
a. revise it yourself and then pay a professional to read it for content and mechanics.
b. format the document traditionally using a business memorandum heading.
c. create a quality, professional look by (1) printing your letter on a brightly colored paper;
(2) choosing a fun, appealing font; and (3) signing your letter in a complementary ink
color.
d. polish the letter repeatedly because just like your résumé, your cover letter must be
perfect.
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 50. Choose the best sentence to present an applicant's skills in an application letter.
a. I took classes in business at the local college, and I learned the skills needed to perform
well in any business setting.
b. I really enjoy and excel at teamwork, but I work well independently too.
c. Helping customers has been a pleasure in previous jobs, and serving your customers
would be equally rewarding.
d. If I didn't know better, I would swear this job had been written precisely for me because
the description exactly matches my skills and experiences.
TRUE/FALSE

1. The employment process begins long before you are ready to prepare your résumé because you must
invest time and effort in self-evaluation.

2. You can analyze your qualifications by asking such questions as Do I enjoy working with people, data,
or things? and Would I rather work for a large company or a small company?

3. People who learn quickly and adapt to change will always be in demand in today's new workplace.

4. Because you will probably be frequently changing jobs throughout your career, you should not train
for a specific career now.

5. You can decide what qualifications you possess and how you can prove them by asking yourself What
evidence can I offer that I am a self-starter or a leader?

6. Students who are serious about the job search should include an internship in their education because
polls indicate that nearly 90 percent of employers offer full-time positions to their interns.

7. Smart job hunters know they need to search only the job boards because nearly one half of external
hires come from responses to online postings.

8. Many job seekers today use social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to network and to find
positions.

9. Landing a job today depends largely on your technical expertise and ability to navigate the big job
boards.

10. To conduct a safe job search online, you should post your information privately and limit your
personal information by omitting your home address and phone number.

11. The most successful job seekers launch smart, reactive campaigns.

12. Your primary purpose in preparing a persuasive résumé is to obtain an interview.

13. The résumé format most popular with recruiters and hiring managers is the functional résumé because
it focuses on the job applicant's skills and abilities related to the position sought.

14. Résumés usually fall into four categories: chronological, functional, customizable, and popular.

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15. Recruiters may say they prefer one-page résumés, but many choose to interview those with longer
résumés.

16. The parts of résumés should be arranged in the order expected by hiring managers, and that places the
education section before the employment history.

17. To clearly label the purpose of your résumé for potential employers, always place the word Résumé
above the main heading.

18. The Summary of Qualifications section will replace the Education and Experience sections.

19. The purpose of a Summary of Qualifications is to present your most impressive qualifications and to
motivate the recruiter to read further.

20. Including a Career Objective on your résumé is appropriate for a specific, targeted position, but it may
limit a broader job search.

21. It is unethical to present your grade point average (GPA) as a calculation based on the grades in your
major courses only.

22. In the Education section of your résumé, list your degrees and your GPA (grade point average), but do
not list all the courses you have taken.

23. Experts recommend not listing foreign languages skills on your résumé because recruiters often
assume your nationality or ethnicity based on your language skills.

24. You can include your hobbies or interests on your résumé because these may grab the recruiter's
attention or serve as conversation starters.

25. In the Work Experience section of your résumé, you should include only those jobs that you think will
help you win the targeted position.

26. Your résumé should include school, community, volunteer, and professional activities to demonstrate
leadership and interpersonal skills in descriptions like Secretary for Lions Club.

27. The closing section of a résumé should include personal data (birth date, health, height and weight, and
sometimes a photograph) to help the recruiter finalize his or her decision.

28. The first reader of your résumé may be a computer.

29. Because résumés are increasingly becoming part of a searchable database, most job seekers now create
only one résumé format: the scannable résumé.
30. You can maximize recognition of your résumé by a scanner if you use targeted keywords and
incorporate words from the advertisement or job description.

31. Many applicants prepare a plain-text résumé because it can be pasted directly into the body of an e-
mail message.

32. The most important reason to prepare an e-portfolio is that it shows off your talents and qualifications
more thoroughly than a print résumé.

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 33. To fool scanning programs into ranking your résumé higher, you should insert hidden keywords into
your scannable résumé.

34. Because they expect you to showcase your strengths and hide your weaknesses, employers say it is
acceptable to self-promote and distort facts on your résumé.

35. A cover letter doesn't always need to accompany your résumé; for instance, if you send your résumé
by fax or e-mail, a cover letter is not necessary.

36. The maximum length for a cover letter is always one page.

37. The biggest mistake job seekers make when writing cover letters is making them sound too generic.

38. You can make your application letter more appealing by addressing it specifically to the Human
Resources Department or Hiring Manager.

39. If an employment position has been announced and applicants are being solicited, you can write your
cover letter using a direct approach.

40. Although a résumé must be perfect, a few errors or typos in a cover letter are acceptable.

COMPLETION

1. ____________________
Networking accounts for most of the jobs found by candidates.

2. A résumé that focuses on a candidate's skills rather than on past employment has been prepared using
the ____________________
functional style.

3. A résumé that lists work history job by job, starting with the most recent position, has been prepared
using the ____________________
chronological style.

4. Seeking a position in criminalistics in a professional crime laboratory where my skills in operating lab
and field equipment, knowledge of the procedures to protect evidence, and six years' experience
analyzing physical evidence will help the organization prevent crime and convict criminals is an
example of a career ____________________.
objective

5. A(n) ____________________
summary of qualifications, which presents three to eight bulleted statements
identifying your most impressive accomplishments to prove you are the ideal candidate for the
position, appears near the top of your résumé.

6. A(n) ____________________
scannable résumé should be sent to companies that use automated applicant-
tracking software to screen incoming résumés.
7. An e-____________________
portfolio offers links to examples of a job candidate's performance, talents, and
accomplishments in digitized form.
8. When an employer has advertised a job opening, you will write a(n) ____________________
solicited
application letter.
9. In the ____________________
body of your application letter, you should promote your qualifications for
the position.

10. Motivate action by requesting an interview in the ____________________

closing of your application letter.

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Guffey, Du-Babcock, and Loewy | Essentials of Business Communication, 3rd Asia Edition
© 2016 Cengage Learning ● All Rights Reserved
11