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4. Resumes and Cover Letter
Assignment One: Write or Revise Your Own Resume
1. Using your notes from Ontario Skills Passport/ Work Plan, create a resume to suit your needs. Refer to the attached sample.
2. As you write, make sure that your work experience duties are listed in verb form (they begin with action words). For example:
§ Served customers
§ Organized orders
§ Bussed dishes
§ Received cash
§ Swept floors
Tip: Log on to your Career Cruising Portfolio (see Step One). From your portfolio homepage, select Resume Builder. Enter the information listed on the left hand side. Save and Print.!
Assignment Two: The Cover Letter
A covering letter is used to introduce a package of material. We most often use a cover letter to introduce our resumes when we apply for jobs. The cover letter identifies:
§ the sender
§ the position applied for
§ contents of the application form (resume, letters of recommendation, certificates etc).
§ the applicant’s most relevant skills or experience
Cover letters are usually about three paragraphs long and are written as formal business letters.
Paragraph One: identifies the purpose of the letter and the specific job you are applying for.
Paragraph Two: highlights your qualifications for the specific job you are applying for.
Paragraph Three: expresses enthusiasm for the job and company and expresses a desire for an interview
See the attached sample, or refer to sample on OSP site.
Assignment Three: “The Toughest Interview Questions Should Be Your Own”
Read the attached story “The Toughest Interview Questions Should Be Your Own”.
Source: Michael Stern in Foundations of English 11, Harcourt, Canada; Toronto.
1. Why does the author of the article say that the toughest questions should come from yourself?
2. Why should you never “wing” an interview?
3. List in point form notes, the steps the writer recommends you take to prepare for an interview.
4. There are three text boxes listing questions you should think about and prepare answers to. In three paragraphs, respond to each set of questions. (For the second box, think about a realistic, but ideal job).
Assignment Four: “Beware of Illegal Questions in Employment Interviews”
Read “Beware of Illegal Questions in Employment Interviews” in Foundations of English 12 on p. 118, and answer the following questions.
1. List five questions that the article states are illegal for an interviewer to ask a prospective employee.
2. State the Human Rights guidelines for employment interview questions.
3. Identify three options you have, if you are asked an illegal question during an interview?
4. Use the graphic aid in the article to identify how interviewers can educate themselves on the types of questions they can and cannot ask.
5. Examine the illustration on page 119. In a brief paragraph, explain why this picture is appropriate for the article.
Assignment Five: Self Reflection
In two or three paragraphs, think back to a job interview that you have had in the past. Based on what you have read and learnt in these two articles, explain what went well in the interview and what you would improve upon in your next interview.
Portfolio Checklist
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ð Cover Letter
ð Interview Reflection