1. Cover Letter and Resume Writing
Workshop
MARGARET BELLO-DIGAMON, MEED-ICT
Resource Speaker
2. RATIONALE
Hiring
qualified people remains the biggest
issue faced by different government and private
industries today.
mismatch – what does this really mean?
The students lack the required competencies
needed for them to get hired.
Job
4. Job application
When you apply for a job, you’ll generally
be asked to send in your CV/résumé,
together with a letter or email of
application.
A CV (short for curriculum vitae) or
résumé is a brief account of your
previous employment, education, and
qualifications.
Employers often receive hundreds of
applications for a job, so it’s very
important to make sure that your
CV/résumé and job application letter
create the right impression and present
your personal information in a focused,
5. How important is an
application?
… employers use application
information to select who will
get an interview.
… do not under estimate the importance of
the application.
10. Effective Applications
Finding out about jobs
Application Forms
Cover Letters
Preparing CVs
Online Applications
Useful sources of information
11. Finding out about Jobs
Company
Notice of Vacancy
DOLE: Jobs section
Noticeboards
Jobs/Careers Fair
Newspapers
and periodicals
Business reports
Own contacts
12.
13. Before Applying
Research the Company
◦ Company literature, websites, directories
◦ Analyze job descriptions
Research Yourself
◦ Review experience and career interests
◦ What is relevant to this particular job
◦ What evidence will I provide
Research Careers
◦ Check out similar or related jobs
◦ Prospects Planner/website
14. Employer’s Perspective
Find out about the candidate
What contribution can she make?
Why is she interested in this
job/company?
Does she understand what the job
entails?
Does she have the relevant
qualifications?
Does she have the right mix of skills?
Is it worth my time interviewing her?
15. Questions to ask yourself
What sort of person is the organization
looking for?
What knowledge, experience, skills
are required to fill this role?
What past experience do I have that
demonstrate these competencies?
Provide evidence to match the key
competencies
16. You only get
one chance to
make a first
impression…
Since employers are
looking for the best
person to fill the job…
…always be confident and prepared.
…making a good first impression to potential
employers is essential to securing employment.
18. Cover Letter
◦ Purpose of Cover Letter
Augments resume.
Do not repeat/restate items from
resume.
Give the big picture, summary of your
talents and skills.
“If you don’t toot your own horn,
nobody will.”
Maintain a sense of pride
19. Cover Letter
Vital Ingredients of Cover Letter
• Gratitude for the opportunity.
• A significant accomplishment.
• Your interest in becoming a
part of the organization
20. Cover Letters
One page - business letter format
Send to a named person
Letter supports CV
Tailor it to company and job
Highlight skills and experience
Structure it well
◦
◦
◦
◦
Introduce yourself, specify vacancy
Why are you interested in the company/job?
Why should they consider you? (relevant skills)
What next? – availability for interview
27. The Resume
Purpose
of Resume
◦ Your Ambassador to the Professional
World
Who
◦
◦
◦
◦
Looks at Resumes?
Human Resources
IT Manager
Department Manager
Owner of company
28. The Resume
Resume Basics
◦ Length: Brevity is Key – 1 page
◦ Bulleted lists – no paragraphs
1.Skills
2.Experience
3.Education and Awards
Do not put initials for certifications
after your name.
29. The Resume
Resume Guidelines
◦ No special groups or unrelated
awards
◦ Be honest!
◦ Job Objective (optional)
◦ Neat, looks professional
◦ Error free
◦ Experience – can omit unrelated jobs
◦ See sample resumes on.
30.
31. Tips for preparing CV
Restrict it to 2 pages, no fancy cover
Customize CV to reflect job requirements
Start with the most recent/relevant information
Allocate space in accordance with the importance
of the information
Emphasize the most relevant details
Use action words
Use headings and bullet points
Highlight skills and responsibilities
Make it look good – plain font
Check spelling and grammar
Send it with a decent cover letter
32. Reasons for Rejection of CV
Too much/too little information
Irrelevant Information
Poor presentation
Spelling mistakes
Not targeted to position
No personality or enthusiasm
33.
34. Standard Contents
Personal Details
◦ Name, Address, Tel No, Email address
Education
◦ Start with most recent
◦ Dates, Name of college, Course Title,Thesis title, Core
subjects, results (if impressive)
◦ Provide details of research projects
Work Experience
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Start with most recent or relevant
Separate relevant and other experience
Provide job title and name of organization
Highlight responsibilities and achievements
Include unpaid work
35. Standard CVs (cont)
Competencies
◦ Identify key competencies required for position
◦ Provide relevant evidence from previous experience
Skills Profile
◦ Computing – be specific, name packages
◦ Languages – what level
◦ Driving Licence
Interests
◦ Provide evidence of balanced individual
◦ Focus on achievements
Referees
◦ Normally 2 referees required: one academic, one work
◦ Seek permission in advance and provide information
37. The Resume Styles
Chronological – presents information in
chronological (oldest first to most recent) or
reverse chronological order (most recent
listed first and then going backwards in time)
your job-related volunteer and work
experience.
Functional – groups your skills and
experiences together based on job-related
functional areas regardless of when they
occurred.
Accomplishment – emphasizes your
accomplishment and what you have done
well that relates to the needs of the employer
38.
39.
40. Accomplishment Style Resume
When
writing an accomplishment style
resume it is often challenging to figure out
what to write about.
This exercise will help you identify what you
have done in the past that you may want to
share with employers (while obtaining a
degree or in the period following).
The key is to identify tangible evidence in
your history that allows you are a qualified,
effective worker who is able to utilize
particular skills to produce results.
41. Accomplishment style (cont.)
Complete as many of the following sentence
fragments as you can. Quantify your
examples using time, percentages, of
increase or decrease, as much as possible.
From these examples you will be able to
create stories to tell employers.
One relevant project I completed while obtaining my
degree was:
One time that I went beyond what was asked of me
was:
One time I solved a problem was when:
One good thing my previous instructor said about me
in performance review was:
One time I received a compliment or award for:
43. Online Applications
◦ Increasingly popular with large
employers
◦ Fast and efficient – scan for key
words
◦ Preselection - can incorporate
aptitude & personality tests
◦ Self-assessment - match to different
jobs
44.
45.
46. Tips for Emailing CVs for Online
Application
Check with company first in case of viruses
Use common software, Microsoft Word.
To retain format of CV, send as attached file
Also include CV in body of email
If cutting and pasting, check font size
Check impact by sending copy to yourself
To be doubly sure, also forward hard copy
48. Conclusion
You have opportunities.
Careers always exist because they are long
term.
You must understand the role of technology,
understand and speak in business terms, and
provide solutions that are focused on that
understanding.
“Confidence is terrific, overconfidence is
terrible”.
49. References:
The IT Career Builder’s Toolkit
by Matthew Moran
Five Star Staffing & Accounting
Recruiters