Chapter 15. Preparing Job-Application Materials © 2010 by Bedford/St. Martin's1 Plan the job...

Chapter 15. Preparing Job-Application Materials © 2010 by Bedford/St. Martin's 1

• Plan the job search.

• Decide how to look for a position.

• Learn as much as you can about the organizations to which you will apply.

• Draft the résumé and application letter.

• Revise, edit, and proofread the résumé and letter.

• Prepare for job interviews.

• Write appropriate follow-up letters.

The process for preparing job-application materials includes seven steps:


In planning the job search, carry out these four tasks:

• Do a self-inventory.• Learn about the employers.• Prepare a résumé and job-application letter.• Prepare a portfolio.


• through a college or university placement office

• through a professional placement bureau

• through a published job advertisement

• through an organization's Web site

• through a job board on the Internet

• through an unsolicited letter to an organization

• through connections

There are seven ways to find a job:


• Who has access to your résumé?

• How will you know if an employer requests your résumé?

• Can your current employer see your résumé?

• Can you update your résumé at no cost?

Ask these four questions before posting to a job board:


• You know yourself better than anyone else does.

• Employment officers know the style of the local agencies.

• If you write your own résumé, you will be more likely to adapt it to different situations.

There are three reasons to write your own résumé.


• generous margins

• clear type

• a balanced appearance

• clear organization

An attractive résumé has four characteristics:


• It must provide clear, specific information, without generalizations or self-congratulation.

• It must be completely free of errors.

• It must be honest.

The résumé must meet three standards:


A chronological résumé has six elements:

• identifying information

• objectives or a summary of qualifications

• education

• employment history

• interests and activities

• references


• State only the goals or duties explicitly mentioned, or clearly implied, in the job advertisement.

• Focus on the reader’s needs, not on your goals.

• Be specific.

Follow these three suggestions when drafting a statement of objectives:


Include these five elements in the education section:

• the degree

• the institution

• the location of the institution

• the date of graduation

• information about other schools you attended


Follow these four guidelines in elaborating on your education:

• List your grade-point average.

• Compile a list of courses.

• Describe a special accomplishment.

• List honors and awards you received.


Present these details about your employment history:

• skills

• equipment

• money

• documents

• personnel

• clients


• participation in community-service organizations

• hobbies related to your career

• sports, especially those that might be socially useful in your professional career

• university-sanctioned activities

Include information about your interests and activities.


• Decide whether and how you want to present the references.

• Choose your referees carefully.

• Give the potential referee an opportunity to decline gracefully.

Follow these three suggestions in providing references:


Some résumés contain additional information:

• computer skills• military experience• language ability• willingness to relocate


A skills résumé includes seven sections:

• identifying information

• objective or summary of qualifications

• skills

• education

• employment history

• interests and activities

• references


• a formatted résumé attached to an e-mail message

• a text résumé

• a scannable résumé—one that will be scanned into an organization's database

• a Web-based résumé

Electronic résumés come in four forms:


• Use ASCII text only.

• Left-align the information.

• Send yourself a test version of the résumé.

Follow these three guidelines for preparing a text résumé:


• Use a good-quality laser printer.

• Use white paper.

• Do not fold the résumé.

• Use a simple sans-serif typeface.

• Use a single-column format.

• Use wide margins.

• Use the space bar instead of the tab key.

Follow these seven guidelines for preparing a scannable résumé


Follow two principles in drafting a job-application letter:

• Selectivity. Select two or three points of greatest interest to the potential employer.

• Development. Develop them into paragraphs emphasizing results.


• It identifies your source of information.

• It identifies the position you are interested in.

• It states that you wish to be considered for the position.

• It forecasts the rest of the letter.

The introductory paragraph has four functions:


• a reference to your résumé

• a polite but confident request for an interview

• your phone number and e-mail address

The concluding paragraph includes three elements:


• Study job interviews.

• Study the organization to which you applied.

• Think about what you can offer the organization.

• Study lists of common interview questions.

• Compile a list of questions you wish to ask.

• Rehearse the interview.

Follow these six guidelines in preparing for a job interview:


Consider these seven questions before a job interview:

• When should you arrive for the interview?• What should you wear?• How do interviewers interpret your body language?• What questions are you likely to be asked?• How long should your answers be?• How do you know when the interviewer wishes to

end the interview?• How can you get the interviewer’s contact

information to write a follow-up letter?


• the letter of appreciation after an interview

• the letter accepting a job offer

• the letter of rejection in response to a job offer

• the letter acknowledging a rejection

Write one of these four follow-up letters:

Chapter 15. Preparing Job-Application Materials © 2010 by Bedford/St. Martin's1 Plan the job...

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