OCD Workshop Series

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OCD Workshop Series

• Preparing Your Resume and Cover Letter

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Agenda

• Role of the resume
• Timing of the resume
• Format
• Content
• Practical Exercise
• Cover Letter

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Role of the Resume
Resume
Interview
Job
Networking

• Typically used to determine whom to interview
• Expect recruiters to spend 10 to 20 seconds per
  resume
• When there is less networking, resumes become
  more important

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Role of the Resume

• Walk-thru of the process
• Companies determine candidate pool
• Presentation / office hours
• Company resume database screen
• Subsequent networking opportunities
• Students drop resume for job
• Company review resume to determine who to
  interview

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Agenda

• Role of the resume
• Timing of the resume
• Format
• Content
• Practical Exercise
• Cover Letter

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Self-Assessment (Ten Steps)

• 1. Conduct Self Assessment
• 2. Investigate Career Opportunities/Target
  Employers
• 3. Consider and Establish Contacts
• 4. Develop and Refine Career Strategy
• 5. Prepare Targeted Resumes/Effective Cover
  Letters
• 6. Strengthen Interviewing Skills
• 7. Generate Interviews
• 8. Prepare for Second Rounds
• 9. Make an Employment Decision
• 10. Negotiate the Job offer
• An effective resume must be targeted towards a
  specific function / industry.

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Timing Resume for Summer / Fall

• Determine functional Emphasis Sep / Oct
• Draft default resume on iMpact Oct
• Review with OCD Oct
• Publish default resume Nov 2nd
• Continue to update resume Ongoing
• Recruiters may view and screen default resumes
  Nov thru Jan (explain resume database vs. resume
  book)
• (Optional) Create other functional versions as
  needed
• Drop targeted resume and cover letter (attend
  Bidding Workshop to understand how) Dec / Jan

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Agenda

• Role of the resume
• Timing of the resume
• Format
• Content
• Practical Exercise
• Cover Letter

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Format

• Resumes used for on-campus recruiting must in in
  iMpact format
• Attributes for the iMpact format (database)
• Creating a resume on iMpact
• Your profile
• Turning bullets on
• Publishing the resume
• Creating the default resume other versions

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Resume Review (Format)

• Proper degree and graduation date - example
• Proper school name - example
• Proper academic emphasis (not too many) -example
• Bullet length (2-3 lines)
• Active verbs (proper tense)
• Correct spelling / grammar
• Articles pronouns (unnecessary), periods
  (Experience)
• Proper length (1 page optimal)
• Gaps in work history (minimize)
• Proper space allocation (more important
  experience more space allocated)

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Format (The Michigan / Ross School Format)

• UNIVERISTY OF MICHIGAN
• Stephen M. Ross School of Business
• Bachelor of Business Administration, May 2008
• Emphasis in Finance
• Member of Finance Club, Women in Business
• College of Literature, Science and the Arts
• Broad liberal arts curriculum with pre-business
  emphasis
• Cumulative GPA 3.7 / 4.0
• University Honors Fall 2004, Winter 2005, Winter
  2006
• Treasurer, Dance Marathon

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Agenda

• Role of the resume
• Timing of the resume
• Format
• Content
• Practical Exercise
• Cover Letter

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Content Education Section

• What recruiters are looking for in the Education
  Section (importance based on function)
• Leadership roles most important
• High grades (what GPA to include?)
• Participation in relevant activities (e.g. clubs,
  case competitions, associations)
• Scholarships and honors
• Right academic focus

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Content Experience Section

• What recruiters are looking for in the Experience
  Section
• Leadership and teamwork
• Transferable skills
• Vivid examples in ACR format
• Challenging experiences does not have to be
  work
• Cohesion and theme

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Content - Transferable Skills

• Resumes are tailored to highlight transferable
  skills applicable to the function (Marketing,
  Consulting, Investment Banking, General
  Management, Corp. Finance, etc.)

Investment Banking Delivered service in
fast-paced, demanding environment. Applied time
management skills and prioritized
responsibilities to ensure maximum customer
satisfaction.
Generic Took orders and delivered food to
customers in a timely manner.
Marketing Communicated with clients to
under-stand customer requirements. Coordinated
with service team to deliver customer
satisfaction.
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Content Transferable Skills

• Rewriting bullets with transferable skills
• Before
• Design and build responsibility of the 2002
  Dodge Ram Truck program.
• After
• Coordinated cross-functional team in the design
  and development of the 2002 Dodge Ram Truck.
  Managed 44 million in equipment and met all
  budgetary and timeline oriented milestones.

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Resume Review (Content / Experience)

• Action Context Result Format
• All bullets should be in ACR format if possible
• Changing careers require more attention to
  context in bullets
• Context should be business context (to reduce
  customer wait times) rather than technical
  context (to develop software testing model)
• Have examples ready (use handout if desired)

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Content ACR (Action)

• Use action verbs (led, managed, analyzed,
  coordinated, communicated, guided, etc.) rather
  than nouns (responsible, analysis, etc.)
• Action Verbs will signal the skills being applied
• Use correct verb tense, usually past tense
• Redesigned the packaging of a leading parcel
  delivery company resulting in 1MM annual cost
  savings and 50 reduction in air pollutants.

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Content ACR (Context)

• Provide information to describe the scope, and or
  circumstance of the action
• Being specific makes the bullet more concrete and
  easier to recall
• Redesigned the packaging of a leading parcel
  delivery company resulting in 1MM annual cost
  savings and 50 reduction in air pollutants.

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Content ACR (Result)

• Hierarchy of results
• Quantitative (saved X in scrap, increased sales
  by X, awarded X prize)
• Qualitative (presented findings to CFO, developed
  understanding of debt markets, improved workplace
  efficiency)
• Omit rather than exaggerate!
• Redesigned the packaging of a leading parcel
  delivery company resulting in 1MM annual cost
  savings and 50 reduction in air pollutants.

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Content - Cohesion / Theme

• Pick your Core 4 Skills Plus 2
• Core 4 (specific to you and your function)
• Analytical Thinking Quantitative Analysis
• Creativity/Innovation Communication
• Strategy/Planning Problem Solving
• Project Management Selling/Persuasion
• Industry Knowledge Counseling/Mentoring
• And more
• Plus 2 (general to most people)
• Leadership
• Teamwork

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Content - Additional Section

• Make Use of the Additional Section
• Avid reader of Civil War history
• Enjoy bike traveling through France Italy
• Volunteer basketball coach (2000-2001)
• Created online referral business with 500
• US Permanent Resident
• Things to consider
• Religious or political affiliation
• Language fluency
• You can use Excel? Big deal

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Potential Pitfalls

• Resume not in iMpact format
• Resume before self-assessment / unfocused
• Spelling and grammar
• Over-scrutiny of small items
• Over-reliance on the resume to get the interview
• Misrepresenting work, education, abilities

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Resume Questions?

• Technical help on iMpact Kevin Gates
  (kjgates_at_umich.edu),
• OCD Career Counseling Education
  (rosscareercenter_at_umich.edu)
• 734-764-13732
• Review resumes of previous students
• Schedule resume review sessions with counselors
  (Demo)

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Agenda

• Role of the resume
• Timing of the resume
• Format
• Content
• Practical Exercise
• Cover Letter

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Agenda

• Role of the resume
• Timing of the resume
• Format
• Content
• Practical Exercise
• Cover Letter

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Role of the Cover Letter

• You use it to indicate
• the job you are looking to fill
• why you are interested and
• why you are qualified
• High risk Low reward
• Dont get fancy
• Proof for errors
• Be careful when copying cover letters
• More important for the self-directed job search

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Structure of the Cover Letter

• First Paragraph
• Who are you
• Why are you interested in the job (research
  names)
• What are you requesting
• Second Paragraph
• Short summary of your background
• 1 to 3 point about your qualifications
• Third Paragraph
• Conclusion and next steps

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Resume Cover Letter Writing

• QUESTIONS?