The Job Search: What You Need to Know

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The Job Search What You Need to Know

• Resumes. Cover Letters, Interviews

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Presentation outline

• Where to search for jobs
• Building an effective resume
• Putting together a cover letter
• Interviewing tips

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The kind of job you want

• Soul searching self-tests, talking to
  friends/family, USD Career Development Center
• Check out the sources want ads, agencies, web,
  targeted mailings, in-person visits/networking,
  CDC on-campus interviews and resume referral

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What is a resume?

• Marketing tool summarizing your skills,
  accomplishments, experiences and education
• Its purpose is to secure an interview

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Building an effective resume

• Self-assessment
• Explore careers that require skills and
  qualifications that interest you

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Writing the resume

• Sell yourself
• Use action language
• Be consistent
• DONT INCORRECTLY SPELL ANYTHING

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Parts of resumes

• Objective or summary
• Education
• Experience or work history
• Skills or honors

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The objective

• Top of the resume
• Informs employers you are moving in a certain
  direction
• Relates your skills and education to an
  employers needs
• FOCUS again, should be on an employers needs

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Objective/summary example

• Bachelor of Arts in English
• Teaching and training experience in diverse
  settings, including business
• Strong writing skills, having published more than
  20 articles/research pieces.

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Education

• Especially important if you have limited work
  experience -- should be at the top of the resume
  under objective or summary
• Include your degrees, major, institution, date of
  graduation, minor, GPA if higher than 3.0
• Can include relevant coursework

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Work experience

• Include volunteer jobs, internships and
  practicums
• Focus on skills people, data, things
• List work in reverse chronological order
• Include title of position, name of organization,
  location, dates worked and work responsibilities

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Skills or honors

• Useful for information that doesnt fit into any
  other category interests, college activities,
  scholarships, etc.
• Include information that will benefit an employer

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References

• Pick references who can speak positively about
  your skills or accomplishments
• Ask them first before using them
• Dont include on the resume itself use a
  separate sheet
• Dont send unless an employer asks

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Kinds of resumes

• Chronological
• Functional or skills-based
• Combination resume
• Examples.

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Other information

• Do include your e-mail address, if it is not a
  business e-mail
• No more than 2 pages
• Scannable resumes
• focus on nouns in your objective or summary
• keep fonts simple or it wont scan

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CDC web wizard

• Address www.usd.edu/cdc
• Select student
• Can use this format to help you build your resume
• Added plus part of registration process for CDC

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A word on portfolios

• An expanded resume
• Contains samples of your work that relate to a
  job
• Could contain term papers, projects for class
• Flyers, brochures, published writing, art,
  internship site work, etc.

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Cover letters

• Letter of application
• Letter of inquiry

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Cover letter format

• 1st paragraph -- why youre applying and for what
  position arouse interest
• 2nd paragraph -- create desire describe your
  skills that match the job
• 3rd/last paragraph -- pave the way for an
  interview

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Final look-through

• Welcome to have CDC staff critique your resume
• Take advantage of our other services

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Interviewing

• Two-way street
• A structured meeting between you and an employer
• You sell yourself

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7 interview phases

• Before you go in research
• Opening moves a good impression
• The interview itself
• Closing the interview
• Follow up say thanks
• Negotiate
• Decide

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Know what you want

• To evaluate a company
• Convince an employer you are the best-qualified
• To show how you can benefit a company

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Interview questions

• Traditional education, work experience and goals
• Behavioral focus on your actions and behaviors
  in a certain setting
• Unethical

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How to answer toughies

• Understand what is really being asked
• Answer the question briefly
• Address the real concern by presenting your
  related skills

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For more information

• Contact the Career Development Center in the Burr
  House, 677-5307.
• Many books and magazine articles are available
  with interviewing tips.
• Talk to your professors for information about
  jobs in your chosen field.

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CongratulationsCertificate of Completion

• You have completed the on-line Interview Skills
  Workshop.
• Print this page from your browser and attach it
  to your Web Registration Packet.