Hope everyone had a great week! This semester already feels like it's flying by. First off I want to thank you for sharing a little bit about yourselves. You have all chosen an awesome degree that will open many doors for you upon your graduation!
This week’s topic we are going to discuss resumes and cover letters. As most of you are probably aware of, the job market is becoming more and more competitive by the minute, which is why your resume and cover letter needs to stand out from the rest.
It’s about that time that you begin the resume process. A resume is your personal document that outlines your past & present work experience, achievements throughout your professional career, and objectives. Often times your cover letter is your chance to make a lasting impression that shows them who you are and what you can bring to their company or business. Employers will look at a hundred cover letters, so it’s important to gear your cover letter to the specific job you’re applying for, that way they know you are genuinely interested in being on their team.
Here are a few key points that should always be included in your cover letter:
1. Introduction
2. Who you are/what are your strengths & skills
3. What sparked your interest in the company & and the position your applying for
4. What you can bring to them that makes you stand out among the other applicants
5. Thank them for their time and consideration
Brainstorm and answer the following questions:
1. What are some questions you have about resumes or cover letters? If you don’t have any, what advice could you give someone who has never written a resume before?
2. What are a few things that you might include in your cover letter that would make you stand out among other applicants?
3. Have you been to UCF’s Career Service website? If so, what did you find to be the most helpful? If you haven’t, click the link below and share with us your thoughts on the site and how it might help you prepare for your job search.
It’s about that time that you begin the resume process. A resume is your personal document that outlines your past & present work experience, achievements throughout your professional career, and objectives. Often times your cover letter is your chance to make a lasting impression that shows them who you are and what you can bring to their company or business. Employers will look at a hundred cover letters, so it’s important to gear your cover letter to the specific job you’re applying for, that way they know you are genuinely interested in being on their team.
Here are a few key points that should always be included in your cover letter:
1. Introduction
2. Who you are/what are your strengths & skills
3. What sparked your interest in the company & and the position your applying for
4. What you can bring to them that makes you stand out among the other applicants
5. Thank them for their time and consideration
Brainstorm and answer the following questions:
1. What are some questions you have about resumes or cover letters? If you don’t have any, what advice could you give someone who has never written a resume before?
2. What are a few things that you might include in your cover letter that would make you stand out among other applicants?
3. Have you been to UCF’s Career Service website? If so, what did you find to be the most helpful? If you haven’t, click the link below and share with us your thoughts on the site and how it might help you prepare for your job search.
http://www.career.ucf.edu/
Hope everyone has a great weekend and we look forward to hearing your responses!
Oh, one more thing!
Here's a link to the alumni biographies that I often visit to see where the IS program has led alumni. Thought you guys might find it interesting as well! :)
http://www.is.ucf.edu/alumni.php
1. Should you change the cover letter to each job you apply to or can you just make one cover letter and turn it in with your resume?
ReplyDelete2.I think some things that you should include in a cover letter is addressed to the person or company, how you can help their company,your name,phone number, state the position you are writing about, and your qualifications for the job.
3. What I found to be the most helpful thing on the career services site is the practice interview program. I'm always nervous when I go for an interview but practicing and kind of knowing what I'm getting myself into help me relax.
Hey Whitney! I would make sure that your cover letter is specific for the job your applying for. This will only benefit you in the end because when they read it they'll know that you took the time to find out not only about the position you're applying for, but about the company itself. Most employers want to see that your genuinely interested in becoming part of their team.
DeleteI'm glad you found the career services site to be helpful! In the past i've gotten a few friends and family member together and did a practice interview. They were able to tell me if they'd hire me based on the interview and gave me constructive criticism. Interviewing can definitely be intimidating, but you can do it. :)
Whitney ,
DeleteI agree that it should be adressed to "whome it may concern" or if you know the direct person you should write it to them. I have not visited the career services website, is it helpful?
Thats a good question. I have changed my cover letter for each and every job i apply for I change the different job experience I have held that helps with getting that job.
DeleteWhitney, I agree. Also to add on to your cover letter, what I usually do is look through the website to find the values of the company and implement it within my cover letter.
ReplyDeletePractice interview seems helpful, I never thought about going before but I should make a point in going since I'm graduating this semester! Also have you had the chance to have career services look through your resume? Its a great resource and they just practically do it for you.
@Ismael Ramos- practice interviews are always good even if you have friends or family that act like the person is hiring you. And good luck in adult world when you graduate!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Delete1.) One of the best pieces of advice I have heard is to not fill your resume or cover letter with fancy words. It can come off as pretentious and take away from making you appear to be the best possible person for the job.
ReplyDelete2.) It is important to make them understand why you would be a valuable asset to their business. Let them know about you, your skills,and basically anything else that makes you stand out from the rest of the pack, and do not lie about anything!
3.) Two of the most helpful tools I have found on the career services web page are the links to the Office of Experiential Learning and KnightLink. Both are great ways to find out about opportunities for work experience whether it be a regular job, co-op, or internship. I have personally used both and highly recommend them.
Well said Robbie. First and foremost, you want to always make sure that your resume and cover letter reveal honest information about yourself. Never put anything on your resume that is not completely factual. It could be the difference between you getting the job or not getting the job.
DeleteGreat suggestions about the career services web page. They are both very useful indeed.
Have you had, or currently have, a job that you've acquired by going through career service?
Delete@Robbie-what exactly is the co-op part? Does it actually help you find a job like asap or do you have to wait?
DeleteWhitney hey Co-op does help you get jobs and intership it is a Experiental Learning center near the the Psychology Building. Good Luck
DeleteRobbie,
DeleteI have not been to the link for office of experiential learning and knight link. Is that helpful? what do they teach you?
@Whitney:
DeleteA co-op is like an internship but you get paid. You gain relevant work experience in your field and if you go over to the Office of Experiential Learning, apply, and get in they will be a lot of help in building your resume.
@Preston:
DeleteYes, I currently work in UCF Library. I found the job opportunity through the career services web page.
@Robbie:
DeleteVery Cool. I'm glad that it helped you. You must know Glen Samuels
1) What is the best way to list military experience so that it is relevant to the civilian world.
ReplyDelete2)
-Fleet Marine Force Corpsman (Combat Medic) responsible for direct health Care of over 3000 Marines while serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ordered medications under Physician's license and had direct patient care for over 9,000 patients over a course of five years.
-Responsible for Operational readiness of entire second Marine Air Wing (immunizations and other preventive measures)
-Was integral in preparing readiness drills for radiation contaminated injured persons drill viewed by Japanese Secretary of Defense and key Governmental figures prior to arrival of the USS George Washington in Yokosuka Japan.
- Emergency Medical Technician (Intermediate) x 3 years
- Basic Life Support Instructor (2 years)
- DIrectly lead between 20-35 junior personnel on a regular basis
- Tactical Combat Casualty Care Instructor (3 years)
- Responsible for over 30,000 active duty/dependent medical records including emergency treatment records, well versed in Ahlta, and SAMS automated systems. Including maintenance, updating, ICD9 coding and digital entry/retrieval.
- Experienced in field medicine in tactical environment as well as extrication of injured personnel including logistics and planning.
- Emergency Room technician x 4 years (skilled in taking patient history, suturing (over 400 operations performed) basic surgery (such as great toenail removal; over 375 operations.)
- Well versed in Microsoft Office
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support Provider (x 2 years)
There's more...Just have to think a little.
3) The web site can help me a little but I will be applying for government jobs so it will be a quite lengthy process.
Thats intense experience. I can assure you that you would stand out from the rest. How do you feel about cover letters? Wouldn't you agree that delivering them in person is much better than emailing them. Resumes and cover letters is not a good characterization of personality. You have lots to offer so to hand deliver documents is a great way for employers to get to know you before they interview you.
DeleteOkay so once again this is Wilkena. I love and hate writting a Resume because it is so hard at times. I do not want to lie about how many jobs I have had but some of my employeers are horriable. But when i do go to interviews the person interviewing me says my Resume looks awesome. But when making a Resume you should make sure it looks nice and professional. You really do not want to have spelling errors or missing dates and numbers. The potential employeer will think you are careless and will not take you seriously. I used to be a manager and I found it sad when i saw that people make careless mistakes that could have been easily fixed.
ReplyDeletesigning off Kena
I agree with you. Why do you feel like you had terrible employers?
DeleteEither way I believe its not the company that matters its the experiences you had there. I would never want to lie about my experiences and some are better than others, but whats most important is the valuable lessons you learned and how the next employer can grab ahold of that. So when writing resumes make sure you put down bullets of the concrete things you learned how to do, such as working on the register etc. Most employers like that you had basic experience so they won't have to reinvent the wheel and teach you all over again.
1. My questions are how do you know the format? What is the proper way to write a cover letter? What is a cover letter?
ReplyDelete2. Probably stuff about the Public Relations work I have done at UCF and for gradute students and for my friends wedding company.
3. No I have not. What is the career service website?
I have actually been in the professinal world so I do have a working resume. Probably the best advice I would give is to make the resume short, sweet, and to the point. the goal/objective should be no longer that one sentence and bullet point highlights of what sets you above the average joe.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that sets me apart from most people is that I have great communication and people skills. Something you can't teach, you just have it or you don't.
I have been to the UCF career center site, but I haven't spent much time on the site. I do know that it is a very powerful tool and they have a LOT of extremely valuable information that I or anyone can and should take advantage of.
Very true Shane. Working resume does need to be short and sweet, employers don't have the time to look through countless lists and bullets, thats unnecessary.
DeleteI would say that career services is a great tool, even though you have a working resume, they will help you polish it up a little bit more. I went last week and it helped me tremendously.
All you have to do is print out your resume and they just grade it for you and tell you the things you should change.
Brainstorm and answer the following questions:
ReplyDelete1. How do you know when a cover letter is necessary?
Does the Resume always have to be just one page?
2. I would include the projects and places I've worked, the accreditation it received, and the skills I aquired.
3. I really like how much information it provides and the fact that you can chat with them in real time is a Great feature!