Chapter 10. Writing Job-Application Materials © 2013 by Bedford/St. Martin's 1

• 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 reasonsto write your own résumé:

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• generous margins

• clear type

• balanced appearance

• clear organization

An attractive résuméhas four characteristics:

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

• It must be free of errors.

• It must be honest.

The résumé must meet three standards:

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A chronological résumé has six elements:

• identifying information

• objectives or summary of qualifications

• education

• employment history

• interests and activities

• references

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• 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 suggestionswhen drafting a statement of objectives:

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Include these five elementsin the education section:

• the degree

• the institution

• the location of the institution

• the date of graduation

• information about other schools you attended

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Follow these four guidelineswhen elaborating on your education:

• List your grade-point average.

• Compile a list of courses.

• Describe a special accomplishment.

• List honors and awards you received.

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Present these detailsabout your employment history:

• skills

• equipment

• money

• documents

• personnel

• clients

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• 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 aboutyour interests and activities:

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Some résuméscontain additional information:

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

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• 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 can take four forms:

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• Use ASCII text only.

• Left-align the information.

• Send yourself a test version of the résumé.

Follow these three guidelineswhen preparing a plain-text résumé:

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• 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 guidelineswhen preparing a scannable résumé:

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Follow two principles whendrafting a job-application letter:

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

• Development. Develop those points into paragraphs emphasizing results.

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• 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 paragraphhas four functions:

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• a reference to your résumé

• a polite but confident request for an interview

• your phone number and e-mail address

The concluding paragraphincludes three elements:

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• letter of appreciation after an interview

• letter accepting a job offer

• letter rejecting a job offer

• letter acknowledging a rejection

These four letters or e-mails are sent, as applicable, after the interview: