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• Resume


  A summary of your background including your education, work history, and other qualifications for a job, admission to a college or university, or a scholarship grant
• Purpose of a resume

  To interest an employer or a university official enough to call you for an interview
• Types of resumes


  • Overview
  • Advantages
  • Disadvantages
  • Chronological
  • Functional
  • Combination
  • Targeted
• Chronological resume


  • Lists each job you held in order, starting with the most recent
  • Works well with several years of relevant experience
  • Highlights stable employment record
  • Employers like to see job titles, level of responsibility, and dates of your work history
  • Easy to prepare
• Functional resume


  • Best when you have too little or too much experience
  • Focuses on skills and strengths significant to employers
  • Lets you highlight particular strengths and transferable skills which may not be noticeable when outlined in chronological order
• Combination resume


  • Balances the flexibility and strength of the chronological and functional resumes
  • Indicates a strong employment record with increasing mobility
  • Shows how the skills you have used in the past apply to the job you are seeking
  • Highlights transferable skills
• Targeted resume


  • Highly focused resume intended for specific job: a "capsule" of work experience
  • Concise, direct, and easy to read
• Cover letter


  Highlights the significant points in your resume and provides real examples to support your ability to do the job
• Purpose of a cover letter

  Some employers give more emphasis on this than the CV (Curriculum Vitae) so it pays to take care of it
• Cover letter structure


  • Date and Personal information or details of the prospective employer or company
  • Paragraph 1: Give the reason why you are writing
  • Paragraph 2: Discuss or explain why you are interested in working for this company and describe how you are qualified for this position
  • Paragraph 3: Request to meet with this employer for an interview at his or her convenience
  • Complimentary closing
• Cover letter format and style

  • One letter-sized page with margins not too narrow (1 inch on all sides)
  • 12 points standard font size (Cambria)
  • Plain business English (avoid abbreviations, jargons, and slang)
  • Grammar and spelling should be accurate
  • Short concise sentences (avoid chunky paragraphs)
  • Clear structure - one main idea per paragraph
  • A positive tone (do not include your weakness)
• Business letter


  • Has a conversational but polite language and tone
  • Impressions to the readers may dictate the nature of his or her response
  • Uses a single-space in writing
  • Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation should be observed
• Parts of a business letter

  • Heading (sender's complete address and date)
  • Inside Address (complete name and address of the recipient)
  • Salutation (starts with 'Dear' and recipient's title with surname)
  • Body (prioritizes the most important information, simple and clear about purpose)
  • Closing (precedes formal identification of sender, conventional closings used)
• Block style


  • All parts of the letter are aligned with the left margin, and paragraphs are separated with a line space
• Modified Block style


  • The date and closing are indented, return address and body paragraphs are indented, no extra space between paragraphs, subject line may be included
• Writing a business letter

  1. Begins when you need to communicate an important idea or message to another person

  2. Objective may be to discuss, request, complain, apply, announce, or confirm a business-related matter

  3. Provide recipient with necessary information to act upon your request, concern, or application