Question | Answer |
Goal of a cover letter?
What does it do? 3 points | Introduce resume and move reader to action (interview)
- Gain attention
- Build interest
- Motivate action |
In a cover letter you do not repeat everything on your __________, draw the most attention to the most __________, and _________ aspects | resume.
relevant, concise |
Solicited application | Response to an expressed intention to hire
-Indirect approach
-Make yourself stand out
-If possible demonstrate you've established contact
-Use active language |
Unsolicited application | Goal: Convince reader to hire you
By:
making yourself stand out without the intention of hiring.
- No position advertised |
Format of cover letter | -1 page/ 1/2 page
-Block style
-Attention line if name is unknown
-Proper use of address labels
-Sign name by hand |
Tone of cover letter | Avoid:
Constantly using I
Exaggerations
Apologies
Begging
Don't sound generic, show your personality
-Benefits the reader |
Resume | Goal: to link qualifications to the requirements of the job
-Highlight most relevant aspects
-Make the most of limited time and space
-Provide information for decision
Organize and highlight what your best at |
Resume Language | Use active language
-Strong verbs for describing skills
-Use examples
-Focus how your employer benefitted from you |
Resume: Chronological Approach / Organization | -Lists most recent employment experience and go down
-Describe jobs with relevant details ex. emphasis on your most recent, and most relevant to your position
-Most common, traditional organization style
-Boring to navigate, no creativity |
Resume: Functional | -Emphasis on qualifications
-Focuses on skill rather than work experience
-Useful for new entrants, and unemployed
-Great for those who volunteer
-(Skills, volunteer, qualifications, education) |
Resume: Combination | Includes chronological and functional
-Places skills and capabilities first, followed by employment
-Less standard, may not appeal to traditional employers
-Runs risk of being redundant |
Analytical report | -Provides and analyzes information
-Explain and offer commentary on incident |
Simple report | Main purpose to provide information
-Not comment, interpret, analyze
-Organized for reader
-to make decisions
-to understand situation |
Proposal report | Internal: requests information in organization
External: bids to people outside organization |
What is the process of a report? | 1. Identify purpose
2. Fill in gaps (understand problems, trends, information)
3. Gather information (reliable source? biased?)
4. Transform to reader-needed content
5. Conclusion (sum up, no new ideas) Deliver recommendation only if necessar |
What are the ways to organize a report? | Hierarchy
Chronologically
Geography
Comparatively |
Report: Hierarchy organization | Begins with more important information/conclusion
-Follows through with the second
-Gives best information in the end |
Report: Chronological organization | -Orders information based on when things happened
-Straight forward chronological order |
Report: Geography organization | Organizes report by location, country |
Report: Comparative organization | Organizes to show similarity or dissimilarity between things
-Point by point comparison: Compares based on criteria
-Block comparison: Compares items themselves |
Formal report: | -One specific time/location
-Longer, more complicated
-More sections/subsections
-Written to be useful to a wide range |
Informal report: | -Routine
-Short
-Produced often
-Not really for people to read, filed away. |
Letter of transmittal | -Moves people to specific type of action
-Summarizes the basic topic/main findings
-explanation of how was your research conducted?. |
Executive summary | -Provides condensed information of the report's content
-Stands on its own, reader should not refer to report
-Includes conclusion and recommendations
-FOR reader, not TO reader |
Report: Introduction | -Enable reader to make sense of report
-Establishes the scope and nature of research. How conducted?, boundaries?
-Provides guidance to reader |
Talking headings | -Highlight main detail and important points
-Gives heading actual information
-Information pops up/ straightforward |
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