COMM 202

T20, T21 & T27Week 4: Cover Letter Peer Review

Garret LaValley

No Laptops or Cellphones, NameCards

out please!

Agenda

1. Cover Letter Peer Review

2. Resume Overview

3. Action Items

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Instructions

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1. Write your table number on ALL of your documents

2. Put your documents in a pile in the middle of your table

3. Get out your marking utensils

Each new slide section,PASS DOCUMENT TO THE RIGHT

Cover Letter

Formatting

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• Left Aligned

• No INDENTS to start paragraph

• Bullet Points VS paragraphs

• 2-3 Relevant Skills

Date

Contact NameTheir TitleCompanyAddressCity, Province Postal Code

Re: Position Title

Dear Mr. / Ms. Their Last Name OR Hiring Manager

These spaces are important!

If unknown, this can be omitted

AVOID: “To Whom it May

Concern”“Dear Sir or Madam”

Country is typically unnecessary unless applying outside of

Canada

Addressing the Cover Letter

To a specific person

To a non-specified committee/manager

Signature Formatting

These spaces are important!

Other Options:Best, Regards

Co-op Students:BCom BTM Co-op Candidate 2016

Written Signature is OPTIONAL

Attached: Resume, Transcript

Use “Enclosed: …” only if sending application by mail

Sincerely,

Full NameBcom Candidate 20XXSauder School of Business

Enclosed/Attached: Resume

Opening

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• How do you like the hook?

• Is there keen, genuine interest and/or passion for the position?

• Is there a clear expression of the skills/experience matching the

job posting?

• Is company research integrated (and indicates interest)?

• If name drop is used, was it well-integrated?

Skills Matching

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• Are there specific skills matched to the job description?

• Do they reference specific examples that leverage

experiences/qualifications?

• Are the highlighted experiences specific and concise?

• Do they indicate transferrable skills?

• Do the results show strength or success?

• Suggested minimum of 2 skills/attributes matched

Conclusion

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• Are skills reiterated in a different (not redundant!) way?

• Is sincere interest expressed?

• Is there a gracious thank you and call to action • request for meeting?

Branding

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• Is their research insightful? Have they gone the distance to show how they will “fit” into the industry or organization?

• Did they use Industry Terms?

WHO WOULD YOU HIRE?Of the applications on your table, who has…

• Who had the WOW factor?

• Did they show CAN, WANT, & FIT?

• What was GOOD about their application?

• What do they need to work on?

Resume

From this…

To this!!!

Header

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• The banner at the top of the page that contains basic information!

Profile• A brief self-intro and preview to your resume – REFER TO YOUR JOB POSTING

Education• Showcase your academic journey

• Presenting YOU throughout the document

Personal Branding

MarkingIf you have over 2 errors,

we will deduct 40%*!

TYPOS FORMATTING ERRORS

SPELLING & GRAMMAR

MISSING INFO DASHES VS. HYPHENS INCONSISTENCY

* Per document

Accomplishment Statements

• Your best self on paper.

Employers do not want to hear your stories, they want to see your accomplishments!

STAR TO RATS

Flip It

Result (Proof)

Action

Task

Situation

Result Verbs

ATTAINED EXCEEDED

ELIMINATEDINCREASED

DECREASED MAXIMIZEDMINIMIZEDREDUCED

SAVEDSURPASSEDIMPROVEDCREATED

GENERATEDENHANCEDOPTIMIZED

ESTABLISHED

**Try not to repeat words!!

ResultTwo types of results:

QUALITATIVE• Positive feedback

• Promotion/increase in responsibilities

• Implementation

• Awards • Examples?

QUANTITATIVE• How much?• How many?• Numbers• Percentages

• Examples?

Actions

Do your results match up with your actions?

Are those skills relevant to the job?

What skills did you see?

Situation & Task

• What other context is necessary to understand the

information?

Duty Based Statements

• “Assisted customers in finding styles and sizes”

• “Opened/closed the store, in charge of till and end of night deposits”

This is a job description!

Accomplishment Statements

• “Assisted customers in finding styles and sizes”

• “Opened/closed the store, in charge of till and end of night deposits”

This is how we know you’re good at it! NO DUTY-BASED STATEMENTS

Surpassed quarterly sales targets by 35% by providing friendly, personalized service, anticipating future seasonal needs, and cross-selling similar merchandise.

Assigned key holder status in just one month after demonstrating excellent attention to detail during closing processes; specifically commended for prompt and accurate deposit counts.

One more example…

Led Varsity Volleyball team to the PacWest BC Provincial Championship gold medal by exemplifying camaraderie and teamwork in both practices and high-pressure games.

One more example…

Led Varsity Volleyball team to the PacWest BC Provincial Championship gold medal by exemplifying camaraderie and teamwork in both practices and high-pressure games.

Results

ActionsTask/Situation

ACTIVITYTake one of your skills-matching paragraphs

and rewrite it as an accomplishment statement!

Key Takeaways

• No Duty Statements!

• Be Concise

• Format Consistently!

• Always Stay Relevant

• Small Details Matter!

• YOU DO YOU. (aka be yourself!)

Action Items Watch the resume e-module and review “Outline to a

Chronological Resume”

Complete your resume DRAFT for next class (bring two copies)!

Sign up for Office Hours on COOL

Have an awesome reading break!