Chapter 9: Job Search, Résumés, and Cover Letters

Your time within your academic program is coming to an end. Now is the time to apply your hard work and training in finding employment in your desired area, using a skill set that is different from the courses you were taught. However, you must rely on this skill set to get the job that you want. In many professions, the intensity of the job competition is fierce, so your communication skills will assist you throughout the hiring process.

This chapter will discuss how to complete a job search using various methods and resources and completing a written component consisting of a cover letter and résumé that showcases your skills.

• 9.1: Job Search Techniques
• 9.2: Creating and Completing Successful Résumés and Employment Applications
• 9.3: Crafting a Winning Cover Letter
• 9.4: Examples of Résumés, Cover Letters, Styles of Letters

9.1: Job Search Techniques

Access the following link for a video regarding job search strategies:

Job Search Topics

• 9.1.1: Strengthening Your Skills and Qualifications
• 9.1.2: Job Availability and How to Locate Them

9.1.1: Strengthening Your Skills and Qualifications

Your job search should begin with a self-analysis. List the skills and qualifications that would make you hireable. If you are having difficulty with this task, take a look at your current program learning outcomes, which gives a description of skills and knowledge that a student must possess to successfully pass the course. All of the items listed cannot be included on a résumé; however, you can tailor your job search to those skills that you consider your strengths.

In addition to program-specific skills, you can also add a range of other skills. Get started by asking yourself the following questions:

• What is my passion and can I develop the passion into a career?
• Do I work well with people, data, or things?
• Am I better with following directions or giving them?
• Am I willing to work in only a specific area or is relocation an option?
• How comfortable am I with using technology?
• Do I enjoy working alone or within a team or both?
• Can I adapt to changes quickly?
• Can I see myself as a leader?
• What type of supervisor or manager would I like to work with?

Have you considered conducting an interview with someone who is working in your desired field? By conducting an interview, you can acquire firsthand knowledge of the business or industry, work conditions, what a typical day consists of, and the expectations of the job.

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9.1.2: Job Availability and How to Locate Them

You have narrowed your list of the skills and abilities that you possess, but what is your next step? Have you thought about where to search for available jobs? Here is a list of options:

Word of mouth: This is an easy way to search for employment. Engage in conversations with individuals who work in your desired career field, letting them know that you are looking for employment. Although you may not achieve immediate results, those individuals may “pass the word” to others who are seeking new employees. Having a frank conversation with friends and family about your job quest could yield great leads.

Newspapers: You’re probably thinking that this is an obsolete practice; however, your local newspaper still posts “Help Wanted” advertisements. Traditionally, the Wednesday and Sunday editions carry the most job advertisements. Try to find one that suits your employment needs.

Job fairs: Nearly every community college or university hosts a job fair at least once per academic year. You can find a variety of businesses and industries located in one space that are in the market for part-time and full-time employees. If you decide to attend a job fair, ensure that you are dressed professionally with several copies of your résumé. Ask questions regarding open positions and what is expected of an employee.

Online search: Conducting an online search is a faster way to identify many job opportunities at once. You can search for your desired career field by various criteria such as geographic location, education, skills, etc. Interested individuals are also prompted to upload their résumé for instant matches in their field and can explore helpful information regarding job searches. Below are a few job posting websites:

• Monster
• Indeed
• CareerBuilder
• Glassdoor
• Wowjobs
• Louisiana Civil Services Jobs
• Louisiana Workforce Commission
• USA Jobs

It should be noted that you should never have to pay to conduct a search or post a résumé. For safety reasons, be careful not to share your personal information such as your home address. Instead, conduct your searches by using your state or region.

A search for a job in a particular field or career of interest can prove disappointing at the beginning of your search if you only explore one of the above sites. It would be beneficial to utilize all sites to seek information in your desired field and then compare your results. Additionally, you can maximize your results by including specific keywords related to your career area of choice. You want to gather as many job leads as possible in order to make a decision on which job openings you would like to apply for.

Now that you have completed your job search, you should prepare your résumé and cover letter. These items are important pieces of your employment process.

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Résumé Topics

• 9.2.1: Purpose of a Résumé
• 9.2.2: Purpose of an Employment Application
• 9.2.3: Selecting a Résumé Style
• 9.2.4: Building Your Résumé
• 9.2.5: Résumé Formatting

9.2.1: Purpose of a Résumé

A résumé is the central document of your job application because it’s what employers focus on most when judging an applicant’s suitability for doing the job they’re hiring for. Does the candidate have the right combination of core and soft skills to do that job? Did they acquire those skills with the right combination of education, employment, and other experience? Are they able to put a document together in a clear, concise, correct, organized, and reader-friendly way? Unable to appear in person to make the pitch at this point, the applicant’s résumé conveniently answers these questions. It’s convenient because (1) it proves the applicant’s writing ability and (2) interviewing every applicant in person about their skills would be logistically impossible. The goal of the résumé, then, is to convince the employer to include you in the small selection of candidates they will interview to find the right person for the job.

Your résumé should be well-prepared so that it sets you apart from other candidates. We’ll discuss the various types of résumés in Section 9.2.3.

• Return to the Résumé Topics menu

9.2.2: Purpose of an Employment Application

An employment application is similar to a résumé; however, the application delves a little deeper. This application could be used as a pre-screening method for companies and also as another way to obtain an interview. Information not included in your résumé may be asked with the application, such as desired salary, current employment status, if you have ever terminated from a job, relevant experience, etc. Employment applications may be issued in person or online.

• Return to the Résumé Topics menu

9.2.3: Selecting a Résumé Style

Imagine that you are auditioning for a part in a popular movie. In your audition, you give it your best shot—hitting all of your marks and delivering an awesome performance. Think of your résumé as your audition—for employment. You should select the type of résumé that would best fit the job that you are seeking. We will explore three types of résumés: chronological, functional, and video.

The most common or preferred résumé type is a chronological résumé. This type of résumé is completed by showing one’s work experience, starting with the most recent experience listed first. A chronological résumé also focuses on education and experience and shows an applicant’s growth and progress through their professional lives. Please see Section 9.4.1 as an example.

A functional résumé focuses on skills and accomplishments instead of employment. This type of résumé is designed for those individuals who have had gaps in employment, those who are seeking full-time employment, or those returning to work after an absence. Functional résumés contain the same information as a chronological résumé, only in a different order. Please see Section 9.4.2 as an example.

As technology changes, so does the way that companies are acquiring information regarding new hires. Video résumés are a part of that future and are a great way for potential employers to see and hear you within your own environment. For this type of résumé, you would basically speak about the items listed on your résumé, detailing your work experience, skills, and abilities. This also gives the potential employer a look into your communication skills.

The video below explores structuring a video resume:

• Return to the Résumé Topics menu

9.2.4: Building Your Résumé

Regardless of which type of résumé you decide to submit for job consideration, you will need to include pertinent information and categorize particular sections. The length of your résumé is important. As a general rule, when you include your experience, you should limit it to fewer than 10 years. However, if you have more than 10 years experience, a 2- to 3-page résumé is acceptable.

Your information should be included in the following areas for a successful résumé:

Main heading: Your name, email address and contact phone number. If necessary, create a separate email address that you will use only for your job interests.

Career objective: Mentioning the company and the position that you are applying for within this area shows the employer that you have a direct interest in the position.

Work experience: Within this area, you should begin with your most recent employment and list your job title, company name, city and state, the year you were hired, and the year when your employment ended. Three to four job duties should be listed. This presents a detailed look at the skills you presented during that time period.

The use of action words is imperative, as well as the verb’s tense when describing your job duties. Using high-impact words can yield great results when detailing your work. Below is a list of some of the action words (Guffey, Loewy, & Almonte, 2016, p. 387) used in résumés:

Education: Beginning with your current educational status, list the complete name of your educational institution, the year you began/ended attendance at this institution, as well as the program/curriculum you are studying.

Skills/certifications: List any particular skills you may have, especially if these are skills related to the job you are applying for. When you list your certifications, list the complete name, along with the date the certificate was obtained.

Memberships: If you are a member of any school or civic organizations, you should list them here, along with the year(s) and any leadership positions held.

Awards or honors: List these, beginning with the most recent award/honor received.

References: This is a debatable section. Depending on the instructions given within the job notice, you may have to list several individuals as references. Your references cannot be a spouse, significant other, parent or grandparent, sibling or friend. Instead, seek a reference from a current or former supervisor, civic organization leader, current or former instructor, clergyman (priest, pastor, reverend, rabbi, etc.), etc. If the company does not require that you include references, simply state “Available upon request.”

The following should not be included on a résumé:

• Your social security number
• Your ethnicity
• Your marital status
• Your GPA
• Number of children you have
• Your sexual orientation

Please watch the video below, which discusses tips on how to write a standout résumé:

9.2.5: Résumé Formatting

You’re doing great! You have all of your content in their respective categories. Organize your categories according to what type of résumé you need to submit. Make sure that you conduct a thorough spelling and grammar check. It may help you to print a copy of the résumé and have someone else review it. By completing this step, you can view items that you may need to rearrange, omit, and/or include.

A résumé, regardless of type, should be legible. The text used should be a standard 11- or 12-point font, which is an easy to read font size. Eliminate additional white space if possible. The résumé should flow smoothly with the absence of chunks of white space.

If the employer requires an electronic submission, follow their directions exactly. If they ask for a PDF or MS Word file named a certain way (e.g., Resume_Yourlastname_Yourfirstname.docx or .pdf), doing it any other way will disqualify you immediately. (The reason is obviously that if you can’t follow simple instructions for submitting your résumé, you’ll have problems taking direction in the workplace—problems that can potentially be expensive to the employer.) If you have a choice between MS Word or PDF, choose PDF because it embeds fonts and formats, so you can be reasonably sure that you’ll avoid issues with font conversion or format scrambling when your document is opened on another computer.

If the employer uses a job search site such as Indeed, beware that your résumé formatting will be stripped out by their scannable résumé converter. Avoid the nightmare scenario of the employer seeing your résumé massacred by the converter and thinking it’s your fault (Terrible Resume Converter, n.d.) by doing the following:

1. Produce a version of your résumé that uses no formatting whatsoever—no bullet points, no tabbing, no columns, no bold typeface, no color, no changes in font size, etc. If the converter can’t do this properly for you, doing it manually yourself will ensure that the employer sees a readable version.

2. Use Indeed (or other search engines) to find job postings, but send your well-formatted application directly to the company via either email or traditional mail.

Try these approaches in combination to ensure the employer gets your application. If the employer uses an online application form, having the simplified version recommended in #1 above ready to copy and paste into the given fields will make your work much easier. This is especially necessary if the form will time out to prevent applicants writing from scratch as they go. Don’t forget: when employers use these electronic filtering methods, it’s for no other reason than to have the program scan the résumés and filter out the generic spam applications that fail to meet a given quota of the job posting’s key terms. The program sends along only the targeted résumés to the hiring manager, so ensure that your résumé content features those key terms and doesn’t crowd them out with much else.

If the employer requires a hard-copy submission, it may be worth going to an office supply store to invest in some high-quality paper and printing. When the employer sees stacks of applications printed on standard paper stock, one printed on quality paper really stands out. High-quality printing also shows respect, suggesting that the employer was worth the extra expense. Also, put an 8.5″ × 11″ cardboard backing in with your application when you mail it in a 9″ × 11.5″ envelope to ensure that it won’t be creased in transit. High-quality writing and convincing content printed on pristine, high-quality paper are a winning combination in the eyes of any hiring manager exhausted by the disappointing quality of the majority of applications.

Please see Sections 9.4.1 and 9.4.2 for examples of acceptable and unacceptable résumés.

9.3: Crafting a Winning Cover Letter

Cover Letter Topics

• 9.3.1: Purpose of a Cover Letter
• 9.3.2: Formatting a Cover Letter
• 9.3.3: Ensuring That Your Cover Letter Stands Out

9.3.1: Purpose of a Cover Letter

The cover letter’s purpose is to serve as the key role of seeking an interview. While the résumé focuses on past work history, the cover letter sets its sights on the future. In this document, you are targeting your qualifications, showcasing your written communication skills, and lastly, asking for an interview. Your overall job is to inform your potential employer of the extra details that you can bring into the desired position.

9.3.2: Formatting a Cover Letter

Should you format the cover letter in the personal modified-block style or standard block style? These two styles differ first in how they present the sender’s address. The personal modified-block letter simply has the sender’s two address lines at the top but tabbed so that their left edges line up along the vertical center of the page. At the bottom, the signature block’s left edge also lines up with the vertical middle of the page. The modified-block-style format is acceptable if you’re required to submit your cover letter as a separate file in electronic submissions. Even better, however, would be if you did a block-style letter with a formal letterhead much like companies have—only your name is the company—in the header and used it consistently across your cover letter and résumé. If you’ve put a personal letterhead in the header of your résumé and can add your cover letter to your résumé file by making it the first page, then the letterhead appears automatically at the top. If so, then adding your address below the letterhead is unnecessary. From there, you would simply follow the format of a block-style letter. Keep it down to one page so you don’t exhaust the busy reader’s patience, unless, of course, you know for sure that they want more detail on a second page.

For additional tips on cover letters, see Section 9.4.3.

For additional tips on letter formats, see Section 9.4.4.

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9.3.3: Ensuring That Your Cover Letter Stands Out

Follow these steps for a winning cover letter!

List your contact details: Include your name, phone number, email address, and your online contact information, such as LinkedIn.

Date and potential employer’s address: You should always include the current date. The potential employer’s contact information should be listed completely, including the full name and mailing address.

A salutation is required: A proper greeting shows respect.

Introduce yourself: Your first paragraph should be your introduction to the company. Grab the company’s attention by stating the position you are applying for, the source of the job advertisement, and your strong desire for the position.

In a new paragraph, expand on your experience: In this paragraph, give the potential employer a glimpse of your skills, knowledge, and abilities. Capitalize on your unique skill set—this will set you apart from other candidates.

In the last paragraph, finish strong: In this paragraph, thank the potential employer for reviewing your cover letter. State that you would like to further discuss your skills within an interview setting and include your contact information.

Your signature is important: End the cover letter with “Sincerely” and your signature.

Your final task will consist of completing a spelling and grammar check of your cover letter. It is also a good idea to print a copy and read it over again. Checking for any inaccuracies, unbalanced paragraphs, or formatting issues is crucial for an effective cover letter.

• Return to the Cover Letter Topics menu

9.4: Examples: Résumés, Cover Letters, Styles of Letters

• 9.4.1: Acceptable Résumé—Juan Castillo
• 9.4.2: Unacceptable Résumé—Allison Green
• 9.4.3: Tips for Creating a Great Cover Letter
• 9.4.4: Letter Formats: Block, Modified Block, and Semi-block

9.4.1: Acceptable Résumé—Juan Castillo

9.4.2: Unacceptable Résumé—Allison Green

9.4.3: Tips for Creating a Great Cover Letter

9.4.4: Letter Formats: Block, Modified block, and Semi-block

Letter Formats: Block, Modified Block… | Lexico.com