Cover Letters, Resumes, and Personal Statements
Here I am again. Last week, I attended a wonderful workshop on cover letters, resumes, and personal statements that was given by our own Sylvia. I thought that I would share some of the things I learned.
I’ll first start with cover letters. Whenever you are applying for a job you should always have a cover letter. A cover letter allows you to mention things in greater detail than your resume will allow and also lets you suck up to your prospective employer. Your cover letter should be specific to the particular job that you are applying for. Never use the same cover letter for more than one job that you are applying to. The employer will notice and they won’t like it. If possible, try to find out the name of the person you should include in the salutation. This will give you extra brownie points. Many times it is hard to find out this information. If this is the case use a salutation such as Dear Search Committee, Dear Hiring committee or To Whom It May Concern. Never use Mr. or Ms. Try to learn as much about your potential employer as possible. This will allow you to expand on your past experiences that are relevant to the position. If you are not familiar with particular terms that the job ad describes, find out what they are. Even if you haven’t had any experience with a term used in an ad you will look good to the employer if you put the extra effort into learning what it is. Some visual elements that should be involved in a cover letter are pretty self-explanatory. Use a standard font that is readable. Don’t use a cutesy font like Comic Sans; Times New Roman will work just fine. Also use your space well. Don’t leave a bunch of white space. If you leave space the employer will think that you don’t have anything to say. Even if you don’t have anything to say you don’t want the employer to know this. Remember that sometimes employers read more than 30 letters and resumes. Try to make it as easy as possible for them.
The next thing you should focus on is your resume. Although it is ok to make a mass resume for many different jobs, it’s a nice touch if you make each resume particular to the job. One of the most important things when writing a resume is to give the employer what they want. If they ask for five references, give them five references. If they don’t ask for something don’t give it to them. Try to keep your resume to one page, unless the position you are seeking requires extensive experience. Be selective in your work experience. It isn’t necessary to list 20 jobs if only 5 are relevant to the job you are seeking, unless they ask for it. Another nice touch for students who haven’t had a lot of professional experience is to include a section called “relevant coursework”. Maybe you have never worked as a technical writer, but you did take a class. You should include this in your resume.
A personal statement, often used for grad school’s, are similar, but different than a cover letter. Often you will be asked to say what is impressive and unique about yourself. Think about something that makes you stand out! You’re creative. So what! Explain why you are. Avoid vague abstractions. There is a lot more to talk about, but I think that this is enough for now.
I’ll first start with cover letters. Whenever you are applying for a job you should always have a cover letter. A cover letter allows you to mention things in greater detail than your resume will allow and also lets you suck up to your prospective employer. Your cover letter should be specific to the particular job that you are applying for. Never use the same cover letter for more than one job that you are applying to. The employer will notice and they won’t like it. If possible, try to find out the name of the person you should include in the salutation. This will give you extra brownie points. Many times it is hard to find out this information. If this is the case use a salutation such as Dear Search Committee, Dear Hiring committee or To Whom It May Concern. Never use Mr. or Ms. Try to learn as much about your potential employer as possible. This will allow you to expand on your past experiences that are relevant to the position. If you are not familiar with particular terms that the job ad describes, find out what they are. Even if you haven’t had any experience with a term used in an ad you will look good to the employer if you put the extra effort into learning what it is. Some visual elements that should be involved in a cover letter are pretty self-explanatory. Use a standard font that is readable. Don’t use a cutesy font like Comic Sans; Times New Roman will work just fine. Also use your space well. Don’t leave a bunch of white space. If you leave space the employer will think that you don’t have anything to say. Even if you don’t have anything to say you don’t want the employer to know this. Remember that sometimes employers read more than 30 letters and resumes. Try to make it as easy as possible for them.
The next thing you should focus on is your resume. Although it is ok to make a mass resume for many different jobs, it’s a nice touch if you make each resume particular to the job. One of the most important things when writing a resume is to give the employer what they want. If they ask for five references, give them five references. If they don’t ask for something don’t give it to them. Try to keep your resume to one page, unless the position you are seeking requires extensive experience. Be selective in your work experience. It isn’t necessary to list 20 jobs if only 5 are relevant to the job you are seeking, unless they ask for it. Another nice touch for students who haven’t had a lot of professional experience is to include a section called “relevant coursework”. Maybe you have never worked as a technical writer, but you did take a class. You should include this in your resume.
A personal statement, often used for grad school’s, are similar, but different than a cover letter. Often you will be asked to say what is impressive and unique about yourself. Think about something that makes you stand out! You’re creative. So what! Explain why you are. Avoid vague abstractions. There is a lot more to talk about, but I think that this is enough for now.
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