resume and cover letter workshop - october 2013
DESCRIPTION
This is a presentation that I have prepared for the Korean Commerce Student Association of University of British Columbia, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I was the presenter for two career development workshops - Resumes and Cover Letter, and LinkedIn.TRANSCRIPT
Resumes and Cover Letters
KCSA Workshop #1 on Advancing Professionally:#1 Resume and Cover Letters Workshop
#2 Maximizing your social presence through LinkedIn (November 5, 2013)
STREERING CAREER SUCCESS ON THE DRIVER’S SEAT
About MeP R O F E S S I O N A L E X P E R I E N C E
• Research Analyst, RCI Capital Group (Dec 2011 – Present)
• Summer Analyst, Credit Risk, Standard Chartered Bank
• Investment Banking Summer Analyst, Nomura Holdings International
C A R E E R A D V A N C E M E N T S
• Finalist, National Investment Banking Competition (2010, 2013)
• Finalist, Pacific Venture Capital Competition (2013)
• Founder, UBC-SFU Investment Banking Study Group
• Founder, UBC Korean Commerce Student Association (est. 2009)
Why are resumes and cover letters important?• Your resume is your professional life… in one page (or
two)
• The cover letter is something that is more ‘humane’ and unique• Sometimes, cover letters are a judge of your writing skills
• This is not a CV – Curriculum Vitae is a more comprehensive document
• In any North American career advancement process, you need at least your resume to begin your professional life
What is a good resume?
What is a good resume?
What is a good resume?
What is a good resume?
Skills?
Interests?
What to include• Your name, e-mail, address, home address, phone number accurately
• Company names and dates
• Job titles
• Job responsibilities
• Licenses and certifications
• Education
• Patents and publications
• Professional groups
• Languages
What not to include• The word Resume at the top of the page or References Available Upon
Request at the end
• Reason for leaving a job
• Salary requirements/ history
• Religious or political organizations
• Negative information
Seriously, watch out for…• Your font. No one wants to read your name in this font.
• Margins. You have some freedom here… but there are some that are unrealistic.
• Colors. These are rare mistakes, but these uncommon mistakes will most definitely make your chances of getting a job – at best – uncommon.
An example of a poorly written job description
“Good to include” – skills and interests
• What are your interests?
• What do you do as a hobby? Soccer? Yoga? Singing? Etc.
• What are your volunteering interests (if any)?
• What skill sets do you have?
• Computer Skills (programming, MS Office, Photoshop, etc.)
• Job-specific skills (Science/Engineering students will have labs/procedures that you can perform. Business – build your own skills.)
Final thoughts on resumes
• The goal is to provide an ‘outline’ of you in one page. Always keep this in mind.
• When you think that you don’t have anything to write:
• Yes. Military service is a qualifying work experience.
• Private Tutoring… this is one of the things that I hate seeing on resumes.
• Go out there. Be involved.
• Set schedules to revise your resumes, at least twice a year.
And aim to have something meaningful on your resume, by the time that revision schedule comes around.
Cover Letters
• The truth is, people don’t really read them.
• But if you don’t have one – then the recruiters will look for one. If you don’t have one, it’s a minus for you, but if you do, it’s not necessarily a plus.
• There are exceptions…
• Your cover letter is like a well-written essay
• But it’s not about yourself – it should be specific to every employer. Show that:
• You know about the employer, and your genuine interest• Show that you actually read the job description
The typical format
• Introduction
• How did you hear about the job?• Why are you interested?• In short, why do you deserve this job?
• Your body paragraphs
• This depends. Who are you addressing it to? Who is reading your cover letter?
• The bored CEO• The overstaffed entry-level HR professional• Your potential team members
The typical format
• Conclusion
• Not your average conclusion…• Summarize your skills and interest.• State that you are interested, and how to contact you.
• Personally signed letters are the best. Leave an impression.
• Electronic submissions to e-mail accounts should be in PDF formats.
• Get your cover letters proofread for spelling, flow, and message.
• This should be more important than your 5% written assignment for class that you would sell your soul for free proofreading.
Final, final thoughts…
• Resumes and cover letters are the two most important pieces of documents that you will write in your university life.
• It gets you a job. The expected value of these documents should be very, very high.
• Be involved. Go out there, join a club, start up a club, or do something otherwise beneficial to your resume. This includes EVERYTHING ELSE related to career development other than studying.
• Getting a job – build your network. NOTHING matters more than building your own network when you are a fresh undergraduate from university.
Final, final thoughts…
• Reach out. By attending, you chose to utilize a resource that you have. You have many others:
• Your KCSA execs. Reach out at [email protected]• Your Career Centre. They get paid for helping you.• Your friends. At least someone would write better than you/willing to
look at your cover letter and resume.
• Come to next week’s workshop. On November 5, 2013 -
Thank you. Any questions?