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Resume & Cover Letter Tips

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u Set the direction for your search– this should be a targeted selling document highlight transferable skills and experiences that will be valued by your field of interest. Transferable Skills are determined by your targeted: INDUSTRY(Finance), FUNCTION(IB, PB, S&T, etc.), COMPANY, POSITION u Showcases your skills, attributes and interests u Highlights your progress, accomplishments and skills (essential elements) - Progress and accomplishments as opposed to responsibilities. Avoid the phrase ‘Responsible for:’ u Include essential elements (ACR)
• Action – Active Verb/Skill Employed
• Context – Background Information
• Result – Results of Actions
Redesigned the packaging of a leading parcel delivery company resulting in $1MM annual cost savings and 50% reduction in air pollutants.
Analyzed ash receptacle failures and identified design changes that improved customer satisfaction and reduced warranty costs by 92%. (Senior Engineer, Manufacturing)
Administered a $1M annual budget and negotiated maintenance contracts with agencies outside of the Army in support of $60M worth of equipment (Maintenance Manager, US Army)
Initiated development of new machinery that spurred efficient innovation in food processing. New equipment improved product quality and decreased production costs by X%.
Managed cross-functional team charged with development and implementation of new technology completing project under budget and before deadline.

u Quantify accomplishments/results u Bullet vs. Paragraph - The bullet format enables a reader to jump around on a resume and make a quick decision about whether or not to move forward with you as a a candidate. Paragraph format - no point of entry, run the risk of it being tossed aside to read later u Use of action verbs –
Analyzed all marketing opportunities ensuring their strategic fit within goals of organization. u Use of articles, periods and personal pronouns u Emphasis in Corporate Strategy and involvement in the Consulting Club would lead someone to believe you are interested in consulting. Clubs do a lot of educating for student members (panels, company visits, etc.) and can re-enforce what you are looking for. u Before: Design and build responsibility of the 2002 Dodge Ram Truck program.
After:
Coordinated cross-functional team in the design and build of the 2002 Dodge Ram Truck. Managed $44 million in equipment and met all budgetary and timeline oriented milestones.

u Effectively invested and tracked life science portfolio, achieving a 42% gain in 2001. u Avid runner; completed Chicago Marathon in 1998 and 2000 u Volunteer basketball coach – 2000-2001 u Connoisseur of fine beef and pork barbeque u 1. You should memorize all the specific facts and figures used to support your resume. This information should be kept and filed for future reference should you need to look for work again. u 2. When you quote $’s, %’s, #’s, you have to be able to back them up with specific facts and figures. i.e. Your resume says that you increased sales 18%. You need to be able to translate that 18% into dollars – From $2.4 million to $2.83 million u 18. Prioritize everything – accomplishments, responsibilities, etc. That way, if the resume reader is scanning, they see your most important accomplishments first.(those most relevant to the specific job profile). The experience and accomplishments in your resume are only relevant to the hiring manager if he/she thinks it can address the issues and problems important to their company. You have to demonstrate the you have what will benefit the employer and that what will make you succeed in the role being offered. u Don’t keep switching tenses between current and past. i.e..I used to., I am currently. u Essentially, if it doesn’t make you look great, don’t put it on your resume. If it doesn’t help, it will either hurt you or take up valuable space. u should have a lot of white space and use bullet points, with short effective phrases that are easy to read quickly. http://jobsskillsandadvice.com/resume-power-words-confidence/ ==
• How well does the candidate do in selling themselves?
• How is their presentation style?
• Where does this person stack up against their competition?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• Did they take the time to present their resume well?
The Summary element of your resume needs to pack a punch to be most effective. It contains the best about how and why you qualify for the job.
You want the employer to focus in quickly on this section because it will highlight your most important accomplishments, talents, and qualities. After reading your Summary, the employer should know, without any doubt, that you are the best man or woman for the job. This is where you will shine! This will be your moment to show your stuff. After reading this section, the employer will be compelled to read more! Writing this section, you will use many colorful and descriptive words. If one of your best talents is sales, write that you are a gifted salesman, able to close the deal in record time! If your talent is interior decoration, write that your creations have been featured at XYZ Interiors show and that your technique is now copied in offices and homes throughout the south! You get the idea. This section will only contain information about you that is commendable and that will set you apart from the crowd. Using the right kind of descriptive, complimentary words, you achieve this handsomely. Your summary will show your prospective employer that you alone will be the best fit for the position needed to be filled.
Work on writing positive and affirming statements that exemplify your unique abilities and talents to be most affective in the intended position. Practice using descriptive words.
If you want to write that you are a good leader, write instead that you are “proven leader” with initiative and motivational skills that cause others to act! Describe why you are good at what you do and leave no room for interpretation.
Using words like “good” and “competent” speaks in general terms. Describe how you possess these attributes and you will have done your job well!.
A Summary Section highlights for your reader those personal and professional skills you possess that allow you to excel in your chosen field and position.
Items and skills of greatest importance (from your readers’ viewpoint) should be listed in priority, supporting an impression of both “fit” and potential success. In addition, these should be aspects of your background that set you apart from your competing candidates, particularly candidates with skill sets similar to your own.
You are, in effect, showing your reader how you will solve their problems – better than the competition – and why interviewing you will be a worthwhile expenditure of their time.
• Start with a concise phrase that describes your profession.
• Next, another concise phrase showing your broad or specialized experience.
• Make a few more concise statements to show the following: o - the full extent of your skill-set o - the variety of your skills o - diversity in your experience o - an accomplishment worth noting o - Anything remarkable about your accomplishments.
Optional
• Professional achievements
• Personal Characteristics worth noting
• Concise statement to highlight professional objective.
In preparing your resume, the more you know about the position you are targeting, the better. If you know the company’s missions and goals, if you understand the needs of the position, if you recognize the company’s “concerns,” and if you know who comprises the company’s competition, you will be prepared.
When writing your resume, keep in mind your specific reader. Listing information that will be of no value to the position or company being targeted is just a waste of time.
Check for redundancy in your statements. If the positions you have held are similar, then repeating the same functions in detail throughout your document is unnecessary (heard it, got it). However, do not short-change yourself on your accomplishments.
Highlight how you have benefited employers in the past. Take credit for your participation and accomplishments.
The layout of your resume is extremely important. Your resume needs to maintain a “clean” and professional appearance (remember, it is representing you!). It should allow the reader to access the information quickly. Neat margins, adequate “white space” between groupings, and indenting to highlight text, aid the ease of reference and retention of the material.
Use “bolding” and italics sparingly. Overuse of these features actually diminishes their effectiveness of promoting the material they are intended to highlight.
Your contact information (how the reader can reach you) is essentially the most important information in the entire document. Make certain your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address (if included) are clearly visible and at the top of your document (from habit, this is where your reader will look for this information – do not make them search for it).
If you are including additional pages, be certain that your name is on these secondary pages. Consider including your phone number here, too, in case your sheets become separated.
1. to be concise,
2. to the point, and
3. easy to read. http://jobsskillsandadvice.com/5-resume-mistakes-kill-career/ Most job-seekers write their resumes with one thing in mind—themselves! They toot their own horn so loud the interviewer is blown away by the sound. The “I did this” and “I achieved that” approach is important, of course. The hiring manager wants to know what you’ve accomplished in your previous line of work and how you can benefit his or her company in the new position.
BUT—he or she is also looking for some intuitive abilities that a potential employee can express on the job without every detail being spelled out. This means the new hire should be able to anticipate and sense problems and challenges and be able to meet them instinctively.
For example, suppose you hope to be hired as an administrative assistant to the president of a financial corporation. You have computer skills, an ability to organize corporate data, you’re capable of keeping the filing system up-to-date, and you’re ready to field phone calls and e-mails for the executive without being told
An employee of real value is one who not only meets the requirements for the job, as described, but goes beyond them, delivering both practical help and heart-felt support that call for intuition and attentiveness.
One of the key ways in which a company can reduce its costs is be being able to hire people who will have much shorter learning curve and thus are able to start delivering results more quickly. You must ensure that your job resume reflects that.
TEACHING IS IN THE WORDS LEARNING IS IN THE SILENCE
“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” –Aristotle
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” –Steve Jobs
Then you can emphasize that you always expect excellence from yourself and you deliver it as much as is humanly possible, not because you’re trying to impress management but because it makes your life worthwhile and contributes to others.
Cover Letter
Start by thanking the hiring manager for the opportunity to introduce yourself, mention how you found out about the job, the good report you’ve heard about the company’s performance, and why you believe you’re a good fit for the position. Also refer to your previous employment and the tasks you were responsible for. Add a sentence that asks the employer to look at your enclosed resume for further details.

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