Cover Letters

1
Cover Letters Resumes for Education Students

• College Union 102

2
Application Forms

• Follow all instructions!
• Write neat legibly.
• Use correct spelling, grammar, punctuation.
• Make sure all employer contact information is
  correct.

3
Cover Letters

• Purpose
• To entice an employer to read your resume
• To demonstrate that your qualifications fit the
  requirements of the position
• A marketing tool to address the needs of the
  employer
• To communicate your value to the employer
• To personalize your resume
• To demonstrate your writing abilities

4
Key Points to Remember When Writing a Cover Letter

• Address your cover letter to a specific person.
• Inform the employer of the exact job that you are
  applying for and where you found out about the
  job.
• Show the employer that you know something about
  the company and how you can contribute to the
  organization.
• Be enthusiastic in the letter.

5
Key Points to Remember When Writing a Cover Letter

• Relate your experiences to the job (this should
  be in addition to what appears on your resume).
  This is an opportunity to explain an experience
  or gaps in your resume.
• Be concise in your writing. Your writing should
  flow with no spelling, typing, or grammatical
  errors. Be sure to use the same font and in a
  type no smaller than 10pt. and no larger than
  12pt.
• Let the employer know that you will be
  following-up with the company.
• Do not send photocopies of your cover letter.
  Every letter should be an original and placed on
  the same paper as your resume.

6
Resume Facts

• A resume is a tool with one specific purpose To
  get an interview!
• A job offer attracts between 100-1000 resumes
• Most resumes only get a quick glance
• Only one interview is given for every 200
  resumes

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Contact Information

• The heading should consist of
• Your Name (bold and capitalized)
• Your address, phone number and professional
  e-mail address
• Address and phone number where you can receive
  correspondence or message
• In a transitional period?
• List a current and a permanent address

8
Career Objective

• A brief statement telling the reader what type of
  position you are seeking.
• Be specific as to the teaching level (elementary,
  middle, or secondary) and include subject area
  (Mathematics, Language Arts, etc).
• Include activities that you are qualified or
  interested in sponsoring/coaching (basketball,
  student government, etc.). School districts
  often look for candidates with several areas of
  qualifications.

9
Required job skills and experience

• Use an objective statement that includes job
  skills the employer is seeking
• Use functional skills vocabulary through out your
  resume examples organizing, teaching, problem
  solving, etc.
• Speak with someone already working in the field
  to get better insight of what the job entails
• Include relevant skills and strengths required
  for target job

10
Licensure

• This can be listed in your Career Objective.
  However, it can also be listed under your
  education heading or as a separate heading. If
  pending, list date license will be received.

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Education

• Include all colleges where you have a degree
• List name of degree, major, minors, concentration
  areas, certificates earned, dates attended, the
  institution, the city and state
• List GPA only if it is 3.0 or above
• You may also list courses relevant to the job you
  are applying for

12
Skills or Qualifications

• A brief summary of your relevant skills gained
  through work experience, course work,
  employment, internships, or leadership
  opportunities
• The skills section should highlight specific
  requirements found in the job description
• Allows employer to see your skills relevant to
  the position

13
Student Teaching, Practicum

• Include the name of schools and grade levels.
• Give descriptions of assignments, lessons taught,
  etc.

14
Experience

• This section should include the position title,
  name of employer, city and state, employment
  dates, and a brief description of job
  responsibilities
• Use action verbs to describe experiences
• Examples achieved, coordinated
• structured, trained
• List all experience, whether paid or unpaid

15
Additional Categories

• Professional Affiliations
• Honors, Awards and Activities
• Leadership Activities
• Foreign Language Fluency
• Computer Applications
• Volunteer Experiences

16
Types of Resumes

• Chronological Format
• Functional Format
• Combination Format

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When to use a Chronological Resume

• If you have a clear job target
• If you have had a continuous work history
• The next job is the logical progression in your
  career
• Time oriented and lists employment experiences in
  reverse order starting with most recent job
• Works well for prospective employees with
  continuous employment showing career progression
  in their field

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When to use a Functional Resume

• Desire to focus on transferable skills
• To downplay work gaps
• Reflect the type of work actually done
• Skills have been acquired through volunteer
  activities
• Re-entering the work force or changing careers
• New college graduate /entry level candidates
  without much work history

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When to use a Combination Resume

• If you have many jobs or experiences with the
  same work tasks or skills
• If you have been with your current employer for
  more than five years
• Emphasizes skills and competencies as well as
  dates of employment
• If you would like to combine the best elements of
  the chronological and functional formats

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Top 10 Most Common Mistakes

• Spelling Errors
• Typos
• Word Usage
• Leaving out computer skills
• Including personal statistics
• Using current employers fax and e-mail
• Including pictures
• The use of I
• Job titles with no meaning
• Overselling and exaggerating

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Remember

• Tailor your resume for the job you are applying
  for
• Use the situation and how you solved the problem
• Always include a cover letter
• Use good quality paper
• Font is important, do not use fancy script
  (Arial, Times Roman, Tahoma, Garamond)
• Proof-read

22
References

• Use only professional references
• List references on a separate page from your
  resume
• Include full name, title, address, telephone
  number and e-mail address of each reference
• Always obtain permission from individuals you
  would like to use as a reference

23
Going online

• How many of you have ever Googled someone?
• How many of you have a Facebook account?
• How many of you have a Myspace account?
• Blog?

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Where and when to post a resume online.

• Is this required by the company/organization?
• Are you comfortable with the security of the site?

25
Online Job Search

• Most individuals find jobs to apply for online,
  however, most still send to company through
  traditional post mail unless the company wants
  the resume sent online

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Upcoming Career Services Events

• February 20, 2007 100-145pm
• Interviewing Professionally, Cottonwood Room
• March 5, 2007 500-700pm
• Etiquette Dinner, Kebler Ballroom
• March 6, 2007 1000am-200pm
• Professional Career Internship Fair, Kebler
  Ballroom
• April 5 6, 2007
• Rocky Mountain Education Fair, Gym