Building a Professional

Resume & Cover Letter

 Cover Letters and Resumes
• Your cover letter and resume should work
together in presenting you effectively to a
potential employer
• Your cover letter will allow you to present your
“voice” through written word while…
• Your resume will be an accurate and detailed
representation of your experience and
accomplishments
 Information Gathering
• Make a list of your education, recent work
experience, community service, research, etc.
• Make a list of your strengths and limitations
• Think about the details of your ideal job
• Use job descriptions to help you write your work
tasks
• Ask your mentor, instructors, current employer for
their advice (sample resumes, pet peeves, etc.)
 A Professionally Designed Resume
• Does highlight your unique
talents, interests and
experience
• Does appear well organized
and succinct
• Does use meaningful action
words
• Does fit on 2 or less pages
• Does reflect the field you are
in or are entering
• Does take time to develop into
a masterpiece
• Does win you an interview!
• Doesn’t only list tasks
performed
• Doesn’t use more than 2
pages
• Doesn’t look like anyone else’s
• Doesn’t have spelling,
grammar or punctuation
errors
• Doesn’t leave out information
like degree earned, graduation
& employment dates and
locations of employers and
education.
 Relevant Information
• Name and contact information
• Email addresses should be professional!
• Recent and relevant career experience
• Education
• Community involvement
• Awards, recognition, specific skills
 Individual Profile Inventory
• Name • Willingness to travel • Strong
• Address • Public speaking activity personal
• Phone number • Special computer skills attribute
• E-Mail address • Volunteer work • Honour and
• Fax number • Organization awards
• Website (If online resume)membership
• Interest and
• Community service
hobbies
• Foreign
language skills
 Education Inventory
• School names, location and dates
• Diplomas, certificates and
degrees Major(s) and minor(s)
• GPA or class rank
• Job-related courses
• Special Projects and research
completed
• Group projects (teamwork
examples)
• Sports participation
• Leadership role
• Computer software/hardware
skills
• Education honors and awards
• Membership in honorary
organizations
• Academic achievement awards
• Certificates of recognition or
appreciation
• Scholarships
• Professional organization
membership
• Community service or other
activities
• Leadership activities
• Study/travel abroad experiences
 Tips in writing work experience details
• Use powerful action words in all of your job
descriptions (see next slide)
• Research job duties for each work experience
• Always include anything above and beyond your actual
job title
• Use numbers if possible (ex. Increased productivity by
12% over last 12 months, decreased number of errors
from 25 to 10 per day)
• Include any professional development you obtained
during that experience
• Try to point to any responsibilities and/or duties that
would be beneficial or suitable for the position for
which you are applying
Action Words
 Chronological
• Lists positions from most recent on top to the
oldest on bottom
• Education section should be placed depending
on how recent and relevant it is to the job
• Other sections can be presented at the end
 Functional
• Sections are divided into skillsets
• Still should include a list of employment but
this can be listed in order of relevance to the
job
• Employment history can be listed at the end to
allow your skills to be highlighted
 Combination
• Sometimes it is beneficial to use a
combination of the functional and
chronological resume
• Sections can labeled in similar job clusters,
“Marketing Experience” and then list all
employment that is relevant in chronological
order (most recent first)
 Stylistic Tips to Consider
• Testimonials
• Bulleted list of “potential values to the
company” for hiring you
• Two columns comparing the qualifications in
the posting to your own experiences
• Finding the common themes in your varied
work experiences and allowing them to work
FOR you rather than AGAINST you
Your Requirements My experience
• Communicates in Portuguese and • Fluent in reading, speaking and writing
Spanish Portuguese, Spanish and English
• Translated an entire book from
Portuguese to English

• B.A. in International Relations

• International Experience • US Citizen who has lived in Brazil,
Japan, Australia and Africa

• Completed Sporting Goods

• Public Analysis on Brazil’s economy for
Relations/Liaison/Communications/S US Department of Commerce
ports Experience • Resolve ongoing public relations
and communications challenges as
the “flight attendant in charge”
 Rough Drafts, Editing & Feedback
• You have to start somewhere!
• Save all rough drafts if possible
• Save some templates based on similar job types
• Use smarthinking.com!
• Ask anyone else you trust to look it over (mentor,
instructors, colleagues, friends)
• If you are using your own templates, scrutinize very
carefully that you changed every detail!
• Everyone has their own hang ups about resumes and
cover letters, in the end – it’s up to you!
WRITING A PERFECT
COVER LETTER
 Purpose of a cover letter
• Supplementing & Introducing the resume’
• Highlighting your strengths in terms of
benefits to the reader
• Expresses your interest in a position
• Gaining an interview
 Cover Letter Format
Your Street Address
City, Post Code
1. Why you’re
Their Name
Title
writing,
Company identify the
Street Address position,
City, Post Code
summarize
2. Match your Dear Mr./Ms Blank: your
qualificatio strengths.
1st paragraph - Explain why you are writing; identify the position and your source of information.
ns with the Indicate in summary form your strongest qualifications for the position using a series of phrases.

preferred Should contain at least 3 sentences.

2nd paragraph - Outline your qualifications and experiences in detail and show how they match the
requirement position requirements. As much as possible, provide evidence of your related work, extracurricular,
s. and academic experiences and accomplishments. Refer to your resume. Should have between 5-10
sentences.
Sell yourself! 3rd paragraph - Optional. Convince the employer that you have the personal qualities and motivation
to succeed. Relate your interests and qualities to your knowledge of the company. Should have 3-8
sentences.
4th paragraph - Thank the person for looking at your application. Offer to provide any necessary
4. Offer additional information and indicate how and when you can be contacted. Should have 3-5
gratitude sentences.
and state
Sincerely,
how you (Handwritten signature)
can be Your name, typed
reached. Enclosure Date
Tasks before editing a Cover Letter
 If you have a company or employer in mind,
do some research regarding their policies and
Principles
 Review websites, brochures, pamphlets and any other pertinent
materials you can find about the company
 If you can, try to speak with current employees this will provide you
with a unique inside perspective
Tasks before editing a Cover Letter
Continued
 Once you’ve done your research and you have
a good idea of what qualifications the
company is looking for, it’s time to separate
yourself from the rest of the pack
 Before you begin writing your letter, take
some time to brainstorm. Make a list of
reasons why you’re the ideal candidate
 Address of the addresser
 You should address the letter to a specific
person at the company you’re applying to. You
can usually find a name in the company’s
publications or you can inquire by telephone
 Ms. Sumika Farooqui

HR Manager
P&G Pakistan
Harbour Front,
Sea View, Clifton
Karachi, Sindh.
 Salutation
•If you are addressing the letter to a specific
person, start out with the formal salutation:
Dear Ms. Farooqui.

•If you don’t know the name use:

Dear Hiring Manager
 Opening Paragraph

 The opening paragraph should accomplish a couple

of goals:
1. It should grab the reader’s attention
2. Discuss the position you are applying for
3. List your references or how you heard about the job
4. Highlight the main points you will focus on in the
letter
 Opening Paragraph Example
• Dear Ms. Farooqui
• As the enclosed resume attests, the assistant IT
manager’s position advertised in the Dawn News is a
perfect fit with my qualifications. My experience of
working as a Help Desk Student in the IT Division and
as a students council member at Bahria University
has prepared me for the technological and user
support this job requires, thus making me an ideal
candidate for this position.
 Body Paragraph(s)
 The body paragraph should accomplish a couple of
goals:
1. Emphasize your strongest qualifications or top
selling points
2. Show how these qualifications will benefit the
company you’re applying for
3. You may provide examples of your achievements
that have benefited previous companies
4. Be specific in your descriptions
 Body Paragraph Example
As my resume highlights, I have offered high-responsibility
computer and software support for faculty, staff and
students. This experience, along with constant home use of
computers, has given me a thorough background of many
different forms of software and operating systems including
the Windows and Apple families and Microsoft Office. I
have also become very comfortable at performing
hardware and software upgrades on Windows and Mac
machines and working with various types of networks
including wireless and LAN. In addition, I master new skills
quickly and complete tasks efficiently.
 Closing Paragraph
 Your closing paragraph should accomplish a couple
of goals
1. Ask for an interview
2. Set up a possible time and date
3. Try using an active ending; in other words, rather
than asking them to contact you, tell them you will
contact them in a few days
4. Be genuine and thank them for their time
 Closing Paragraph Example
• Please take the time to look over my resume,
and feel free to contact my references. I would
love to further discuss this position in person. I
will follow up with you in a few days to answer
any preliminary questions you might have. In
the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact
me at +92 333-444-555.
• Thank you for your time and consideration.
(Don’t forget to sign your letter)
 Double and Triple Check Before
Sending
 Check for spelling and typing errors, remember
professionalism is a must
 Don’t go over a page
 Always customize your cover letter. Don’t forget
to change your contact information
 Maintain a friendly and professional tone
throughout the letter
 Be sure to send
both resume and
cover letter to the
prospective
employer.

Good Luck!