COMM 202 Tutorial 5Resume & CL Peer Review

T23 & T30

Agenda

1. Course timeline2. TA feedback3. Resume & CL peer review4. Action items

Course timeline

Week 7 Week 8 Week 9

• Tutorial: resume and cover letter peer review

• Resume and CL draft due

• Reading week!• But you should

work on your resume and CL

• Resume and CL due Tuesday, March 7 @ 2pm via Turnitin

• LECTURE: LinkedIn and networking

Please give me some feedback!

What should I STOP / CONTINUE / START ?

Resume & CL Peer Review

Instructions

1. Write your table number on ALL documents – make sure your documents are attached

2. Put all documents in a pile in the middle of the table3. Trade4. Get out your marking utensils!

Formatting & Consistency

CL formatting

• Left aligned (NOT justified)• No indents on paragraphs • Bullet points vs. paragraphs • 2-3 relevant skills• Consistent font size (minimum size 10)• Appropriate font• Margin sizes• Spacing between paragraphs• White space• One page

Resume formatting

• Titles formatted the same• Spacing is consistent• Margins are reasonable (≥1.5cm)• Phrases either ALL end in period or not• Dates

• Usually right-aligned• All have month and year, or just year• All months are abbreviated to same # of letters• Uses hyphens (–) OR dashes (-)

• Font:• Size is 10• Generally no more than two types of font

• Numbers under 10 spelled out (i.e. two vs. 2)• Bullets: same size/style, aligned• One to two pages

Are the Resume and CL consistent?

Header? Margins? Font?

Addressing the cover letter

Date

Contact Name Title Company Address 1 City, Province Postal Code

Re: Position Title (reference number if given)

Dear [First name Last name], or Dear Hiring Manager/Committee,

Addressing examples

Unknown person Specific personUse sex and marital status only if known

Ending formatting

Sincerely, / Regards, / Best,

(Written signature if you want)

Your nameBCom Candidate 20XXSauder School of Business

Enclosed or Attached*: Resume

* Enclosed: physical copy* Attached: electronic copy

OpeningTrade documents!

Opening

• Expresses very keen genuine interest and/or passion for position

• Makes a clear expression of the skills/experience matching the job description

• Integrates genuine and unique primary or secondary research indicating interest in firm

• Name drop (when applicable)• HOOK

Opening - BRANDING

• Provides strong, insightful research that demonstrates knowledge and interest in the industry or organization

• Clearly illustrates how the candidate will “fit” into the industry or organization

I want to belong to Devon Canada because its mantra “be a good neighbor” aligns with my goal of building relationships to enrich the area where I work and live. This desire, along with the skills I have gained from my previous work experiences in the Calgary energy industry, will allow me to make valuable contributions to Devon Canada’s initiatives.

Skills MatchingTrade documents!

Skills Matching

• Describes specific skills that are clearly matched to the job description, referencing specific examples that leverage experiences and qualifications

• Experiences highlighted are specific and concise linking past experiences through transferable skills

• Results show success or strength in past experiences• STARL format – emphasizes actions and creating links where applicable• Emphasizing individual action in team experiences

* SHOW me, don’t TELL me * What’s the LINK?

Skills Matching - LINK

I spent this past summer at Total E&P Canada, where I compiled and calculated information for numerous government payment and application documents. I had to prioritize my tasks and organize my progress as I updated versions of multiple documents, and was constantly in correspondence with external auditors and other departments. At Devon Canada, the accounting department faces numerous deadlines and supports a variety of different parties. My ability to efficiently manage multiple projects will be vital to my success.

ClosingTrade documents!

Closing

• Very clear reference to specific skills• Interest and request for meeting aka “call to action”• Graciously thanks the employer for their consideration• Ties back to hook/intro• Demonstrates branding

ResumesMove documents to the next table!

Header and general

• Name is preferred name with (given name) in brackets

• Phone and address are included• LinkedIn URL is personalized

• No personal pronouns (I, we, he, she)

• Reasonable amount of white space – is it easy to read?

• Experiences listed in reverse chronological order by start date

Profile

• No more then 5 lines for key competencies (4 for profile)

• Can include languages

• Does it clearly and convincingly summarize strengths/experiences/skills?

• Does it match the job posting (multiple references)?

• Does it provide a clear, convincing link to the rest of the resume (i.e. is there PROOF elsewhere in the document?)

Profile examples

Education

• Does it clearly summarize education experiences (i.e. including academic projects / relevant courses / grades / awards)?

• Is there any ambiguity with respect to the info provided?• Does it match the job description?

Education

• Bachelor of Commerce not BCOMM or B.Comm• Start with the degree• List expected date of completion (either as “Completion: …” or “Expected

Completion: ...”)• No laundry lists of courses: only specific, relevant courses• GPA – score/%/letter grade, indicating the school scale• Key/relevant projects and awards: write in accomplishment statement form

Accomplishment Statements [RATS format]

Trade documents!

Work experience

Are experiences achievement based?

Do numbers clearly quantify achievements where appropriate?

Do statements have Accomplishment, Proof, Transferrable skills, and Scope of Action?

Are the result verbs varied and strong?

Does language indicate familiarity with industry/company? Does it match the job description?

Examples…

Removed ambiguity from taxation budget by correctly coding over 250 invoices, through the research of taxation legislation and analysis of archived invoices for the cost control department’s budget report

Qualitative:

Reduced stress among new BCom students by providing academic support and mentorship, through the creation of individualized exam preparation schedules during one-on-one coaching sessions.

Quantitative:

Doubled previous year’s number of appointments with new BCom students by creating individualized exam preparation schedules and building authentic, trust-based relationships during one-on-one coaching sessions

Work experience

• Reverse chronological order by start date• You can include explanation sentences of companies/experiences if

necessary • Eliminate filler words• Written in third person• Keep it to one sentence (2 lines is best)• The elements of the RATS statement should be apparent (but not

necessarily in RATS order)

Interests

Trade documents!

Interests

• Do the interests show personality? Are they specific? Are they relevant to the job (not always necessary)?

• Do they differentiate the candidate? Are they memorable?

• Be fun! And appropriate

*NOTE for the candidate: Be able to speak about these interests extensively!

Overall Branding

• Personal qualifications are well tailored to requirements of job (clear 60-70% match)

• Multiple words from job description are included in resume (5+)

• Interests section show personality and relevant specific interests

• There is strong evidence of CAN-WANT-FIT match made

Marking

“What’s this 40% deduction thing?”

• Critical errors = -2 marks• Minor errors = -1 mark

Max deduction = -20%

What counts as an error?

How to get an A

1. Ask friends for feedback

2. Sign up for office hours

3. Work through it 20 minutes every day

Action items

• Sign up for office hours• Work on your resume & CL over break• Networking event: Thursday, March 9 from 6-8pm• Career Peer Advising and BCC Coaching appointments on COOL

(also over reading week)• LinkedIn profile due

* LECTURE after reading week

Questions?READING BREAK next week!