Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

Business Communication at Work

Chapter 17

Conducting the Job Search

Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill PP17-1

A Self-Appraisal Inventory

z What can I do? z What do I want to do? z What do I do best?

Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

z Interests, talents, and aptitudes z Skills and abilities z Experience

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Items for Self-Appraisal Inventory

Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

z Education z Career goal z Position wanted

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(continued) Items for Self-Appraisal Inventory

Parts of a Résumé

z Heading y first and last name y address y telephone (including

area code ) y fax y email address

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Parts of a Résumé

z Profile Summary z Education z Experience z Skills and Abilities z Awards z Professional Associations z References (professionals or personals)

8/2/2015 Profa. M. L. Moctezuma 6

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Advantages of a Chronological Résumé

z Appeals to more traditional interviewers. z May be best in very conservative fields,

such as law and academia. z Emphasizes a steady employment record

and career growth. z Is easiest to write–employment dates are

usually listed first, from present to past.

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Disadvantages of a Chronological Résumé

z Difficult to highlight what you did best. z May be an inappropriate style when

making a career change. z Can reveal obvious employment gaps. z May put undesired emphasis on job areas

that would preferably be minimized.

Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

Advantages of a Functional or Skills Résumé

z Emphasizes selected skill areas which are marketable or in demand, rather than emphasizing the “when and where” of companies worked.

z De-emphasizes a “spotty” employment record.

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(continued) Advantages of a Functional or Skills Résumé

z Emphasizes professional growth. z Plays down positions not related to current

career goals. z Organizes information by descending

order of importance.

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Disadvantages of a Functional or Skills Résumé

z Omits work history, which can make employers suspicious.

z Does not provide a means to highlight “prestigious” companies or organizations.

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Advantages of a Combination Résumé

z Combines the concise, targeted approach of the functional résumé with the logical progression of the chronological résumé.

z Emphasizes the applicant’s relevant skills and abilities in relation to the job objective.

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(continued) Advantages of a Combination Résumé

z Is an appropriate style when making a career change.

z De-emphasizes gaps in employment.

Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

Disadvantages of a Combination Résumé

z May result in lengthy résumé. z Presents a challenge in determining how

to organize the information.

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Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

Résumé Don’ts

z The word “résumé” at the top of the résumé

z The word “I” z Sentences

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Do not use the following on a résumé:

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(continued) Résumé Don’ts

Do not provide the following on a résumé: z Salary information z Reasons for leaving jobs z A “Personal” section with references to

age, gender, religion, race, height, weight, health condition, and marital status

z References

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Usefulness of the Employment Application

The prospective employer can determine: z How well you can follow written directions. z How accurately you can complete a task. z How well you handle details. z Whether your work habits are neat or

careless.

Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

Information Categories on Employment Applications

z Personal—your name, mailing address, and telephone number during business hours

z Education—levels of education completed and the names and addresses of the schools attended

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Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

(continued) Information Categories on Employment Applications

z Experience—places and dates of previous employment; a category for volunteer experience now appears on many applications

z References—names, titles, company names, addresses, and telephone numbers

PP17-9b

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Résumé Evaluation Checklist

Check for misspellings. z Perform a spell check. z Carefully proofread every word. z Ask a friend or relative to proofread your

résumé.

Business Communication at Work © 1999 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

(continued) Résumé Evaluation Checklist

Check for punctuation errors. z Be consistent in your use

of punctuation. z Check ends of lines of text.

PP17-10b

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(continued) Résumé Evaluation Checklist

Check for grammatical mistakes. z Use the present tense to describe duties

you currently perform and the past tense for duties you performed in the past.

z Be consistent in your use of date formats (i.e., 5/12/15 or May 12, 2015).

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(continued) Résumé Evaluation Checklist

Check for grammatical mistakes. z Check abbreviations of state names. All

state abbreviations are two letters with no periods.

Oklahoma OK Puerto Rico PR New Mexico NM