Chapter 13 Preparing Resumes and Application Messages
Chapter 13
Preparing Résumés and Application Letters
Learning Objectives
1. Prepare for employment by considering relevant information about yourself as it relates to job requirements.
2. Identify career opportunities using traditional and electronic methods.
3. Prepare an organized, persuasive résumé that is adapted for print, scanning, and electronic postings.
4. Utilize employment tools other than the résumé that can enhance employability.
5. Write an application message that effectively introduces an accompanying print (designed) or electronic résumé.
Chapter Overview
Chapter 13 aids students in seeing the need for career planning, gathering information for inclusion on a résumé, and arranging the information on paper or for electronic distribution. Additionally, students learn to use traditional and electronic means to identify career opportunities and prospective employers to whom the résumé might be sent. The chapter discusses principles for writing a persuasive résumé using appropriate organizational patterns, and it explores alternate delivery options for résumés, including text formats, scannable versions, electronic postings, and YouTube video résumés. The chapter also presents techniques for writing effective application messages.
Chapter Outline
PREPARING FOR THE JOB SEARCH 216
Gathering Essential Information 217
Identifying Potential Career Opportunities 218
PLANNING A TARGETED RÉSUMÉ 221
Standard Parts of a Résumé 221
Types of Résumés 226
PREPARING RÉSUMÉS FOR PRINT AND ELECTRONIC DELIVERY 227
Preparing a Print (Designed) Résumé 227
Preparing Electronic Résumé Submissions 228
SUPPLEMENTING A RÉSUMÉ 234
Professional Portfolios 234
Employment Videos 234
COMPOSING APPLICATION MESSAGES 237
Persuasive Organization 237
General Writing Guidelines 241
Finishing Touches 242
Key Terms
Application message 237
Beamer 232
Chrono-functional résumé 227
Chronological résumé 226
Electronic applicant-tracking systems 233
Functional résumé 226
Inline résumé 232
Multimedia résumé 234
Professional portfolio 234
Résumé 216
Scannable résumé 233
Targeted résumé 221
Text résumé 232
Unsolicited application message 237
Video résumé 236
PowerPoint Slides
· Lecture Slides — Students can review key chapter concepts on the Lecture Slides (found on the companion website (Student’s Resources)). Slides can be downloaded for convenient printing of handouts for taking class notes.
Slide Number and Title
1. Chapter 13
2. Learning Objectives
3. Process of Applying for a Job
4. Process of Applying for a Job (cont.)
5. Sources for Identifying Career Opportunities
6. Using Electronic Sources
7. Standard Parts of a Résumé
8. Preparing a Print (Designed) Résumé
9. Types of Electronic Submissions
10. Preparing Electronic Postings
11. Preparing a Scannable Résumé
12. Making a Résumé Search Friendly
13. A Professional Portfolio . . .
14. Preparing Effective Application Messages
· E-lectures — Slides with engaging narration of key concepts—useful as reinforcement of lectures and exam reviews—are available through the CourseMate site for BCOM3.
· Resource Slides — A larger deck of slides for instructors for displaying in the classroom; these slides for class enrichment and solutions to activities and applications are also available at the companion website (Instructor’s Resources) and on the Instructor’s CD.
Slide Number and Title
1. Chapter 13
2. Learning Objectives
3. Learning Objective 1 Prepare for employment by considering relevant information about yourself as it relates to job requirements.
4. Process of Applying for a Job
5. Process of Applying for a Job (cont.)
6. Learning Objective 2 Identify career opportunities using traditional and electronic methods.
7. Sources for Identifying Career Opportunities
8. Using Electronic Sources
9. Learning Objective 3 Prepare an organized, persuasive résumé that is adapted for print, scanning, and electronic postings.
10. Standard Parts of a Résumé
11. Preparing a Print (Designed) Résumé
12. Selecting an Organizational Plan for a Résumé
13. Types of Electronic Submissions
14. Preparing Electronic Postings
15. Preparing a Scannable Résumé
16. Making a Résumé Search Friendly
17. Learning Objective 4 Utilize employment tools other than the résumé that can enhance employability.
18. A Professional Portfolio . . .
19. Electronic Portfolio: Post on Your Website
20. Preparing Vésumés for YouTube
21. Learning Objective 5 Write an application message that effectively introduces an accompanying print (designed) or electronic résumé.
22. Preparing Effective Application Messages
23. Email Application Message: The Content Does Not Change
24. Email Application Message: The Content Does Not Change (cont.)
Teaching Suggestions
Learning Objective 1
Prepare for employment by considering relevant information about yourself as it relates to job requirements.
Preparing for the Job Search
· Because two major topics are covered in this relatively long chapter—résumés and application letters—consider breaking the chapter into two parts. Require students to read to the “Supplementing a Résumé” section for the first reading assignment and the remainder of the chapter after completing the primary discussion of résumé writing.
· Ask students what they said they “wanted to be when they grew up.” How does that childhood dream correlate with the realities they are training for? How can they integrate their childhood dream into the major/career fields they have chosen?
· Remind students that a major in college does not directly translate into a career. Ask students about their interests. How do those interests fit into their chosen field?
· Send students to explore career and vocational tests at www.jobhuntersbible.com/counseling/sec_page.php?sub_item=048 and take the Career Values Test on careers and interests.
Gathering Essential Information
· Provide students with this scenario: “John W. applied for a position to sell medical equipment to hospitals. The job announcement said qualified applicants must have two years’ sales experience. John has been in outside sales for six years and has sold medical equipment before. He knew the sales territory, was willing to relocate, and had a proven track record for sales. Yet, he was not called for an interview.” Why not? His application packet did not sell his abilities well enough for the company representatives, so they did not spend any time learning more about him. Remind the students of the importance of preparing highly professional job credentials that sell their qualifications in terms of employers’ needs.
Whitaker, B. (2007, January 28). From tech workers to nurses, an employee’s market. The New York Times, 25.
· Invite guest speakers to discuss the job search process and discuss preparing winning résumés and application letters. Consider former students, local human resources professors and managers, officials in the school’s career services division, or local employment agents.
· Discuss career planning as a three-step process that identifies the prospective employee’s needs and the employer’s needs and then combines those needs into a description of a possible position.
· Refer students to Figure 13-1 on p.218 in the textbook and display the visuals as your discuss the job-search process.
Resource slide 4: Process of Applying for a Job
Resource slide 5: Process of Applying for a Job (cont)
o Step 1: Conduct research, analyze self, career, and job.
o Step 2: Identify job listings using traditional and electronic sources.
o Step 3: Prepared targeted résumé and application messages in the required formats. Formats include Print (designed), scannable, and electronic postings.
o Step 4: Consider supplementing résumé with a portfolio (print or electronic and video recording.
o Step 5: Interview with the company.
1. Gather relevant information for decision-making.
Self-Analysis
· Emphasize the importance of understanding one’s own talents, abilities, and interests. Salary will not provide sufficient job satisfaction for many. Give examples of people who have undertaken mid-life career shifts to do the type of work they really love.
· Most campuses provide free-of-charge counseling and career services for students. Services often include job aptitude screening, personality inventory testing, etc. Encourage students, especially those who are unsure as to their career choice, to utilize these services.
Career Analysis
· To enforce the value of the job analysis, emphasize the importance of matching the characteristics of a job to the individual’s personal characteristics. A “bad fit” will not be satisfying, no matter what the job entails or pays. The following analogy may assist in making the point: The attractive shoe on the store display may catch the shopper’s attention but may simply not feel comfortable when it is tried on.
· In addition to the interview with a career person, recommend that students arrange to “shadow” a career person for a day, if possible. Observing the career person at work will give a more realistic view of what the job entails.
2. Prepare a company/job profile.
· Ask students to visit www.jobhuntersbible.com/counseling/sec_page.php?sub_item=048 and complete the self-analyses, career analyses, and job analyses, an interview of a career person, and a company/job profile. This research process will enable students to construct a résumé and an application letter that relate their qualifications to an employer’s needs.
Web Enrichment Content: Career Planning Guide
· Ask students to read the information on the companion website titled “Career Planning Guide” that provides templates to walk students through the process of analyzing their needs and interests and the necessary qualifications of the position being considered.
· Have students fill out each of the included templates and discuss their responses in class.
Learning Objective 2
Identify career opportunities using traditional and electronic methods.
Job Search Organization
· Discuss the importance of approaching the job search process with logic and organization. Remind students that keeping up with their searches and applications will increase their chances of finding positions.
· Encourage students to use the templates in the web enrichment titled “Assessment of your interests and qualifications related to the job,” “Company/job profile for a job you wish to pursue,” and “Analysis of your marketability including identification of key qualifications and contents of an electronic portfolio” as guides for setting up a process for handling each potential position, application submission, interview, thank-you note, offer, and decline.
· Discuss other options for job search organization forms, including Microsoft or Winway. Remind students they can organize their own templates also.
Sources for Finding Prospective Employers
Project the visual as you discuss sources for finding prospective employers.
Resource slide 7: Sources for Identifying Career Opportunities
Using Traditional Sources
· Invite a manager of an employment agency or placement service to speak to your class about employment activities and interviewing.
· Arrange a class tour of your institution’s career services or placement center. Ask the director to share job search information with the students. This information will likely be more meaningful to students when provided by the director than when presented by the instructor.
Using Electronic Job Sources
· Require students to visit http://monster.com before discussing this material electronic job searches. Ask about their impressions of the site and how they might use the various features.
· Invite an MIS professor to serve as a resource speaker, or ask students and alumni who have sought jobs using online sources to share their experience with the class.
· Show the visual as you discuss with students how to use networking in the job search process. Remind them that meeting people in the careers they would like to pursue is a great way to find out about jobs. Discuss with them the need to meet networking contacts before using tips they may provide.
Resource slide 8: Using Electronic Sources
· To emphasize the value of locating career guidance information, assign Activity 1 and ask students to be prepared to present a short report summarizing the useful information they located.
· To emphasize the value of the web in identifying job listings, assign Activity 4 as a group activity. Have students briefly summarize their action plans.
Case Assignment 1: Employment Market Undergoes Cyber Revolution
· Have students read the case and complete the activities as directed.
· Lead a discussion as to how job searching has changed over the last 20 years and what the prospects are for additional change in the near future.
Learning Objective 3
Prepare an organized, persuasive résumé that is adapted for print, scanning, and electronic postings
PLANNING A TARGETED RÉSUMÉ
· Discuss the importance of designing a résumé that sells one’s self most effectively for a specific job listing that is identified through traditional and electronic search methods. Just as each candidate is unique and different, each résumé should be also.
· Lead the class in a discussion of ethical reporting of information in résumés. Discuss with students how the CEO of Radio Shack lied about holding a bachelor’s degree. Discuss the need to be completely honest on a résumé to avoid any ethical difficulties.
Standard Parts of a Résumé
· Project the visual as you discuss the typical coverage in a résumé.
Resource slide 10: Standard Parts of a Résumé
· Refer students to Figure 13-2 on p. 229, an example of a résumé in chronological arrangement, to show as you discuss résumé components and how to “beat out” fierce competition for available positions.
· Remind students they should always have their résumé updated and ready because they never know when a networking contact might call with a potential position. Being on top of the game all the time will make their job search easier. When Olympic figure skater Emily Hughes was called to step out of her alternate slot and into the limelight, she performed admirably for a first-time Olympic skater.
· Ask students to begin identifying information to be included in the various sections of their résumés. Show the slides below as you discuss what should and should not be included on a résumé. What sections will not be needed? Will special sections need to be added?
· Refer students to the photo caption on page 225. Ask them what they have on their MySpace and FaceBook profiles. Is it information they would want a potential employer viewing? Remind them that MySpace and Facebook information is included in search engines for background checks, which recruiters often perform.
· Also discuss the need for action verbs when listing tasks from a past job. Ask students to list additional action verbs.
· Before discussing guidelines for constructing a résumé, ask students to prepare a résumé during the class period and submit it. After Chapter 13 has been read and discussed, return each student’s résumé. If students can find their own errors, the learning experience is genuine. They may be able to use their first draft in refining the next draft.