1. Building Careers and Writing Résumés
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
Describe the approach most employers take to finding potential new employees
Discuss how to choose the appropriate résumé organization and list the advantages and disadvantages of the three common options
Explain the importance of networking in your career search
Describe the problem of résumé fraud
List the major sections of a traditional résumé
Identify six different formats in which you can produce a résumé
Describe what you should do to adapt your résumé to a scannable format
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2. Securing Employment in Today’s Job Market
Understanding the
Employer’s Approach
Organizing
Your Approach
To keep up with the demand for good employees—and the flood of résumés coming in from all over the Internet—many companies now use some form of automation to find the best candidates and shepherd them through the selection process.
Understanding how employers approach the hiring process is just one many insights and skills you’ll need to conduct a successful job search. After you’ve armed yourself with knowledge of today’s workplace and your potential role in it, it’s time to launch an efficient, productive process to find that ideal position.
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3. Business Communication Today, 9e
The Employment Search
Build
Toward Career
Prepare
Résumé
for Interview
Understand
Interview Process
Take the
Interview
Follow Up
and Accept
Offer 1 2 3
Even armed with knowledge about today’s workplace and what you can do to adapt to it, you still need to learn about the process of seeking employment. As the slide above shows, the process of searching for employment has six steps:
1. Building toward a career.
2. Preparing a résumé.
3. Understanding the interview process.
4. Preparing for an interview.
5. Taking an interview.
6. Following up and accepting an offer.
The first two tasks are discussed in this chapter and the Prologue; the rest are discussed in Chapter 19. The more you know about this process, the more successful you’ll be in your job search. Plus, it’s important to keep in mind that employers and job candidates approach the process differently. 4 5 6
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4. Employers’ Approach to Recruiting Process
Most
Preferred
Least
Preferred
Look Inside
the Company
Networking
and Personal
References
Employment
Agency or
Search Firm
Unsolicited
Résumés
Résumés
Via Advertising
When searching for the job you want, you can save considerable time and effort by understanding how employers approach the recruiting process.
Generally, employers prefer to look for candidates within their organizations. When hiring outside the company, they rely heavily on referrals from people they know and trust.
Employers also recruit candidates through employment agencies, state employment services, temporary staffing services, and the employment bureaus operated by some trade associations.
Many employers accept unsolicited résumés. In addition, employers send representatives to college campuses to interview students for job openings.
Employers also post jobs through classified and display ads in newspapers, trade magazines, campus publications. Some use nontraditional recruiting media, such as radio and television.
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5. Organizing Your Approach
Track Business News
Monitor Financial News
Research Specific Firms
Build a Network
Seek Career Counseling
The employment process can consume many hours of your time over weeks or months, so organize your efforts in a logical, careful manner to save time and maximize your chances. Begin by finding out where the job opportunities are, which industries are strong, which parts of the country are booming, and which specific job categories offer the best prospects for the future. From there you can investigate individual organizations, doing your best to learn as much about them as possible.
Thanks to the Internet, staying on top of business news is easy today. In fact, your biggest challenge will be selecting new material from the many available sources. Start by examining “big picture” topics—trends, issues, industry-wide challenges, and careers—before delving into specific companies that look attractive.
Chapter 11 discusses how to find information on individual industries and companies, and it provides a list of helpful research resources. Review those sources, as well as professional journals and websites in the fields that interest you. Once you’ve identified a promising industry and career field, consult directories of employers at your college library, at your career center, or on the web and compile a list of specific organizations that appeal to you.
Networking is the process of making informal connections with a broad sphere of mutually beneficial business contacts. According to one recent survey, networking is the most common way that employees find jobs. To find helpful networks, both the in-person and online variety, read news sites, blogs, and other online sources. Participate in student business organizations. Visit trade shows that cater to an industry you’re interested in. Don’t overlook volunteering in social, civic, and religious organizations.
College placement offices offer individual counseling, credential services, job fairs, on-campus interviews, and job listings. You can also find job counseling online.
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6. Résumé Writing Process
Planning
Writing
Completing
Analyze Situation
Gather Information
Select Medium
Get Organized
Revise
Produce
Proofread
Distribute
Adapt to
the Audience
Compose
the Message
To distinguish yourself from all the other people looking for work, you need to start with a well-written résumé. Some job searchers are intimidated by the prospect of writing a résumé, but your résumé is really just another specialized business message. Follow the three-step writing process, and it’ll be easier than you thought:
Planning business messages. To plan any message, first analyze the situation by defining your purpose and developing a profile of your audience. With that in mind, you can gather information that will meet your audience’s needs. Next, select the right medium (oral, written, or electronic) to deliver your message. With those three factors in place, you’re ready to organize the information by defining your main idea, limiting your scope, selecting an approach, and outlining your content.
Writing business messages. Once you’ve planned your message, adapt to your audience with sensitivity, relationship skills, and style. Then you’re ready to compose your message by choosing strong words, creating effective sentences, and developing coherent paragraphs.
Completing business messages. After writing your first draft, revise your message to make sure it is clear, concise, and correct. Next produce your message, giving it an attractive, professional appearance. Proofread the final product for typos, spelling errors, and other mechanical problems. Finally, distribute your message using the best combination of personal and technological tools.
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7. Business Communication Today, 9e
Planning Your Résumé
Analyze Audience/Purpose
Gather Information
Choose the Best Medium
Build on Your Strengths
A résumé is a structured, written summary of a person’s education, employment background, and job qualifications.
Before you begin writing a résumé, make sure you understand its true function—as an advertisement intended to stimulate an employer’s interest in meeting you and learning more about you
A successful résumé inspires a prospective employer to invite you to interview with the company. Thus, your purpose in writing your résumé is to create interest—not to tell readers every little detail.
Gather all the pertinent personal history you can think of, including all the specific dates, duties, and accomplishments of any previous jobs you’ve held. Itemize your educational experience, including degrees, skills certificates, academic awards, and scholarships. Also, gather any relevant information about personal endeavors such as offices held in nonprofit organizations or speeches given.
Your job search might involve various media formats, including an uploaded Word document, a plain text document that you paste into an online form, or a multimedia résumé available online or on CD-ROM. Your choice of medium involves the requirements of your target employers and the attributes you’re trying to promote.
Although you may want to include a little information in all categories, you’ll naturally want to emphasize the information that does the best job of aligning your career objectives with the needs of your target employers—and that highlights your strengths without misrepresenting the facts.
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8. Business Communication Today, 9e
What Employers Seek
Signs of
Progress
Standards of
Excellence
Flexibility
Communication
Skills
Results
Orientation
Workplace
Achievements
Versatility
The most successful résumés convey seven qualities that employers seek: they demonstrate that you (1) think in terms of results, (2) know how to get things done, (3) are well rounded, (4) show signs of career progress and professional development, (5) have personal standards of excellence, (6) are flexible and willing to try new things, and (7) communicate effectively. Organizing your résumé is a question of portraying these seven attributes in the strongest possible light.
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9. “Red Flags” for Employers
Frequent Job Changes
Gaps in Work History
Level of Experience
While you’re pondering your strengths, you also need to consider any perceived weaknesses you may have. Do you have something in your history that might trigger an employer’s red flag? Here are some common problems and quick suggestions for overcoming them.
Frequent job changes. Group all contract and temporary jobs under one heading if they’re similar.
Gaps in work history. Mention relevant experience and education gained during time gaps, such as volunteer or community work. If gaps are due to personal problems such as drug, alcohol abuse, or mental illness, offer honest but general explanations about your absences.
Inexperience. Do volunteer work. List relevant course work and internships. Offer hiring incentives such as “willing to work nights and weekends.”
Over qualification. Tone down your résumé, focusing exclusively on pertinent experience and skills.
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10. “Red Flags” for Employers
Long-Term w/One Firm
For-Cause Termination
Criminal Record
Long-term employment with one company. Itemize each position held at the firm to show “interior mobility” and increased responsibilities.
Job termination for cause. Be honest with interviewers. Show that you’re hard-working employee. Counter their concerns with recommendations and examples of completed projects.
Criminal record. Consider sending out a “broadcast letter” about your skills and experience, rather than a résumé and cover letter. Prepare answers to questions that interviewers will probably pose.
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11. Organizing Your Résumé
Work History
Educational Level
Skills and
Accomplishments
Chronological
Combination
Functional
Make your résumé chronological, functional, or a combination of the two. The "right" choice depends on your background and your goals.
In a chronological résumé, the "Work Experience" section dominates and is placed in the most prominent slot. This approach is the most common way to organize a résumé. It has three advantages: (1) employers are familiar with it, (2) it highlights growth and career progression, and (3) it highlights continuity and stability. The chronological approach is especially appropriate if you have a strong employment history and are aiming for a job that builds on your current career path.
A functional résumé emphasizes skills and accomplishments, identifying employers and academic experience in subordinate sections. This pattern stresses individual areas of competence, so it's useful for people who are just entering the job market, want to redirect their careers, or have little continuous career-related experience. The functional approach also has three advantages: (1) without having to read through job descriptions, employers can see what you can do for them, (2) you can emphasize earlier job experience, and (3) you can de-emphasize any lack of career progress or lengthy unemployment.
A combination résumé includes the best of the chronological and functional approaches. Nevertheless, it is not commonly used for two reasons: it tends to be longer, and it can be repetitious if you have to list your accomplishments and skills in both the functional section and the chronological job descriptions.
Personal
Background
Personal
Objectives
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12. Business Communication Today, 9e
Writing Your Résumé
Take Your Time
Review Good Models
Minimize Frustration
Respect Your Résumé
Follow the three-step process and help ensure success by remembering four things:
First, treat your résumé with the respect it deserves. Until you're able to meet with employers in person, your résumé is all they have of you. Until that first personal contact occurs, you are your résumé, and a single mistake or oversight can cost you interview opportunities.
Second, give yourself plenty of time. Don't put off preparing your résumé until the last second and then try to write it in one sitting. Let this special document stew and try out different ideas and phrases until you hit on the right combination.
Third, learn from good models. You can find thousands of sample résumés online at college websites and job sites such as Monster.com.
Fourth, don't get frustrated by the conflicting advice you'll read about résumés; they are more art than science. Consider the alternatives and choose the approach that makes the most sense to you, given everything you know about successful business communication.
If you feel uncomfortable writing about yourself, you're not alone. Many people, even accomplished writers, find it difficult to write their own résumés.
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13. Business Communication Today, 9e
Keep the Résumé Honest
Workplace References
Background Checks
Credit Histories
At some point in the writing process, you're sure to run into the question of honesty. Somehow, the idea that "everybody lies on their résumés" has crept into popular consciousness, and dishonesty in the job search process has reached epidemic proportions. As many as half of the résumés now sent to employers contain false information.
Applicants with integrity know they don't need to stoop to lying to compete in the job market. If you are tempted to stretch the truth, bear in mind that professional recruiters have seen every trick in the book, and employers who are fed up with the dishonesty are getting more aggressive at uncovering the truth. Roughly eighty percent now contact references and conduct criminal background checks, and many do credit checks when the job involves financial responsibility. And even if you get past these filters with fraudulent information, you'll probably be exposed on the job when you can't live up to your own résumé. Such fabrications have been known to catch up to people many years into their careers, with embarrassing consequences.
To maintain a high standard of honesty in your résumé, subject any questionable entries to two simple tests: First, if something is not true, don't include it—don't try to rationalize it, excuse it, or make it sound better than it is; simply leave it out. A second and more subtle test, helpful for those borderline issues, is asking whether you'd be comfortable sharing a particular piece of information face to face.
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14. Adapting to the Audience
Consider the employer’s perspective
Build on past accomplishments
Stress your future potential
Translate skills and experience
Clarify educational achievements
Your résumé needs to make a positive impression in a matter of seconds, so be sure to adopt a “you” attitude and think about your résumé from the employer’s perspective.
No matter which format you use or what information you include, the single most important concept to keep in mind as you write is to translate your past accomplishments into perceived future potential. In other words, employers are certainly interested in what you've done in the past, but they're more interested in what you can do for them in the future.
Keep in mind that you may need to "translate" your skills and experiences into the terminology of the hiring organization. Similarly, educational achievements in other countries might not align with the standard U.S. definitions of high schools, community colleges, technical and trade schools, and universities.
Regardless of your background, it’s up to you to combine your experiences into a straightforward message that communicates what you can do for your potential employer.
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Composing Your Résumé
Name and
Address
Career Objective
or Summary
Employment
History
Activities and
Achievements
Academic
Credentials
Relevant
Personal Data
The first thing an employer needs to know is who you are and where you can be reached: your name, address, phone number, and address.
Some experts argue that your objective is obvious from your qualifications. Others say that employers will categorize you anyway, so you should make sure they attach the right label. Instead of stating an objective, you could summarize your qualifications and highlight your strongest points.
If you're still in school, education is probably your strongest selling point. Present your educational background in depth, choosing facts that support your "theme." The education section also includes off-campus training sponsored by business or government. Education is usually given less emphasis in a résumé after you've worked in your chosen field for a year or more.
The work experience section focuses on your overall theme. Tailor your description to highlight the relationship between your previous responsibilities and your target field. When describing your work experience, list your jobs in chronological order, with the current or last one first.
Describe any volunteer activities that demonstrate your abilities. List projects that require leadership, organization, teamwork, and cooperation.
Experts advise you to leave personal interests off your résumé—unless including them enhances the employer’s understanding of why you would be the best candidate for the job.
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16. Completing Your Résumé
Revising
Producing
Proofreading
The last step in the three-step writing process is no less important than the other two. As with any other business message, you need to revise your résumé, produce it in an appropriate form, and proofread it for any errors. For résumés, you’ll also be concerned with submitting electronic versions and building online versions.
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17. Common Résumé Problems
Wrong length
Hard to read
Wordy
Too slick
Poorly reproduced
Amateurish
Boastful
Generic
Gimmicky
Carelessly written
Ask professional recruiters to list the most common mistakes they see on résumés, and you’ll hear the same things over and over again. Keep your résumé out of the recycling bin by avoiding these flaws:
Too long. The résumé is not concise, relevant, and to the point.
Too short or sketchy. The résumé does not give enough information for a proper evaluation of the applicant.
Hard to read. The résumé lacks enough white space and devices such as indentions and boldfacing to make the reader’s job easier.
Wordy. Descriptions are verbose, using numerous words describing simple concepts.
Too slick. The résumé appears to have been written by someone other than the applicant, which raises the question of whether the qualifications have been exaggerated.
Amateurish. The résumé includes the wrong information or presents it awkwardly, which indicates that the applicant has little understanding of the business world or of a particular industry.
Poorly produced. The print is faint and difficult to read or the paper is cheap and inappropriate.
Misspelled and ungrammatical throughout. The document contains spelling and grammar mistakes that indicate the candidate lacks both communication skills and attention to quality.
Boastful. The overconfident tone makes the reader wonder whether the applicant’s self-evaluation is realistic.
Generic. Customize your résumé to fit specific industries, companies, and positions.
Gimmicky. The words, structure, decoration, or material used in the résumé depart so far from the usual as to make the résumé ineffective.
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18. Business Communication Today, 9e
Producing Your Résumé
Printed
Traditional Résumé
Printed
Scannable Résumé
Electronic
Plain-Text File
MS Word File
Depending on the companies you apply to, you might want to produce your résumé in as many as six forms (all are explained in the following sections):
Printed traditional résumé
Printed scannable résumé
Electronic plain text file
Microsoft Word file
HTML format
PDF file
HTML Format
Electronic PDF File
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19. Printing Traditional Résumés
High-Quality
Paper
Professional
Image
The traditional paper résumé still has a place in this world of electronic job searches, if only to have a few ready whenever one of your networking contacts asks for a copy. Paper falls into three general categories: basic, low-cost paper used for photocopying and printing (avoid this paper; it makes your résumé look cheap); pre-designed papers with borders and backgrounds (avoid these; they make your résumé look gimmicky); and heavier, higher-quality papers designed specifically for résumés and other important documents. Choose a white or slightly off-white paper from this third category; these papers are more expensive, but you don’t need much, and it’s a worthwhile investment.
Make sure the printer you use is well-maintained with adequate toner or ink. Don’t tolerate any streaks, stray lines, or poor print quality.
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20. Printing Scannable Résumés
Use Sans-Serif Fonts
Avoid Columns
Separate Phone and
Identify All Pages
Separate All Characters
Avoid Special Characters
Use Plain White Paper
Use a Keyword Summary
To cope with the flood of unsolicited paper résumés in recent years, many companies now optically scan incoming paper résumés into a database. To create a scannable résumé, follow these guidelines:
Use a clean, common sans serif font such as Optima or Arial, and size it between 10 and 14 points.
Make sure that characters do not touch one another, including the slash (/).
Don’t use side-by-side columns (the OCR software reads one line all the way across the page).
Don’t use ampersands (&), percent signs (%), foreign-language characters (such as é and ö), or bullet symbols (use a dash—not a lower-case ‘o’—in place of a bullet symbol).
Put each phone number and address on its own line.
Print on white, plain paper (speckles and other background coloration can confuse the OCR software).
If your scannable résumé runs more than one page, make sure your name appears on every subsequent page (in case the pages become separated). An important feature of a scannable résumé is the keyword summary. This is a list of 20 to 30 words and phrases that define your skills, experience, education, professional affiliations, and so on. Employers generally search for nouns, so make your keywords nouns as well. Use abbreviations sparingly and only when they are well-known and unambiguous, such as MBA. Place this list right after your name and address.
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21. Digital Résumé Formats Business Communication Today, 9e
Plain-Text File
MS Word File
HTML Version
PDF Format
An increasingly common way to get your information into an employer’s database is by entering a plain text version (sometimes referred to as an ASCII text version) of your résumé into an online form. This approach has the same goal as a scannable résumé, but it’s faster, easier, and less prone to errors than the scanning process. If you have the option of mailing a scannable résumé or submitting plain text online, go with plain text.
In some cases, an employer or job-posting website will let you upload a Microsoft Word file directly. This method of transferring information preserves the design and layout of your traditional printed résumé and saves you the trouble of creating a plain text version. Before you submit a Word file to anyone, make sure your system is free from viruses.
You can probably find several uses for an HTML version of your résumé, including sending it as a fully formatted message, posting it on your personal webpage, and including it in your e-portfolio.
A safe and simple electronic alternative for your résumé is PDF format. PDF files are viewable on virtually any computer, and recipients generally aren’t reluctant to view them (unlike Word files).
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22. Proofreading Your Résumé
Headings and lists
Grammar and punctuation
Spelling and word choice
Paper and digital formats
Employers view your résumé as a concrete example of how you will prepare material on the job. It doesn't need to be good or pretty good; it needs to be perfect. Job seekers have committed every error from forgetting to put their own names on their résumés to misspelling "Education.“ Not only is your résumé one of the most important documents you'll ever write, it's also one of the shortest, so there's every reason to make it perfect. Check all headings and lists for clarity and parallelism, and be sure that your grammar, spelling, and punctuation are correct. Ask at least three or four other people to read it, too. As the creator of the material, you could stare at a mistake for weeks and not see it.
You also need to make sure your résumé works in every format you create, so double- and triple-check your scannable and plain-text résumés closely. Once your résumé is complete, update it continuously.
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23. Distributing Your Résumé
Postal
Mail
Fax
Machine
If an employer gives you an option of submitting a scannable résumé by mail, by fax, or by , choose . puts your résumé directly into the employer’s database, bypassing the scanning process. If you fax your scannable résumé, set your machine to “fine” mode (to ensure a high-quality printout on the receiving end). If you’re mailing your résumé, you may want to send both a well-designed traditional résumé and a scannable one.
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24. Distributing Your Résumé
Online
Submission
Personal
Websites
Job Site or
Index Service
The details of submitting résumés online vary from site to site, so be sure to read the instructions thoroughly. If you’re posting your scannable résumé to an employer’s online résumé builder, copy and paste the appropriate sections from your electronic file directly into the employer’s form.
If you wish to post your résumé on your website, you’ll need to find some way of providing potential employers with your URL
Make sure you explore all your online options. Websites such as Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and Yahoo! Hotjobs have rapidly become a major force in recruiting. Don’t forget to check specialty sites as well, such as those maintained by professional societies in your fields of interest.
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