Reading and writing

• Job application letter or cover letter

  A type of personal business correspondence which states your intention to work in a particular organization
• Job application letter

  • One-page letter attached to the resume when applying for jobs
  • Purpose is to highlight the applicant's experiences and personal qualities for him to be considered for an interview schedule, as well as with the available job position
• Resume

  A one-page summary of your skills, strengths, education, and experiences
• Resume

  A marketing document that captures your skills and capabilities that will convince future employer of your fitness for the job
• Contact Information

  • Include your name, address, contact number, and email address
  • Make sure your email address is professional
  • Refrain from using juvenile e-mail addresses
  • Do not include marital status, height, weight, religion, name of parents, and color of eyes and hair
• Name

  • Increase the font size and write it in bold face for emphasis
• Font size

  • 15 for your name, 13 for your address and contact details
• Summary of Qualifications

  • Use this when you have at least five years of professional experience
  • Highlight your experiences and accomplishments
  • Written in the third person and in active voice
• Objective Statement

  • Optional part of a resume
  • Includes job title, function, industry, and what you can offer to the company
  • Appropriate for recent graduates
• Employment History

  • Never put anything that is not a hundred percent true
  • Begin with the most recent experience
  • Include name and address of employer, inclusive dates, and brief job description
  • Do not use many adjectives and superlatives, as well as jargon
  • If responsibilities are similar, put details in the most recent one
  • Do not state past and present salary
  • Use present tense active verbs for current jobs and past tense active verbs for past jobs
• Education

  • Start with the most recent educational attainment
  • Include name and address of school, years attended or year of graduation, degree, and specialization
  • Omit high school after a year of graduating from college
  • Include GPA if at least 3.0 of 4.0 (2.0 of 1.0 in other schools)
  • List academic honors, scholarships, and extracurricular activities
• Skills

  • Show your skills through past events
  • Be clear with your strengths and communicate them well
• Transferable skills

  • Training
  • Managerial skills (motivates others to reach team goals)
  • Professional qualities (understands professional and technical aspects of work)
  • Personal qualities (adapts to changing demands and conditions)
  • Entrepreneurial qualities (understands commercial and business principles)
• Training

  1. Title of the training

  2. Organizer

  3. Date

  4. Venue
• Include only trainings that have a bearing on the job position you are applying for
• Start with the most recent training
• Organizations

  • Professional affiliations
  • Civic affiliations
• Do not include religious and political organizations unless you are applying for a job that requires such affiliation
• Organizations

  1. Name of the organization

  2. Your position

  3. Inclusive dates
• Start with the most recent affiliation
• Professional Licensure and Certification

  • Name of certification
  • Rating (optional for low ratings)
  • Date issued
  • Place of issuance
• Honors and Awards

  • Title of the award or honor
  • Inclusive date
  • Sponsor, or award giving organization
• Never list achievements that have nothing to do with work
• References

  • Name
  • Position
  • Company
  • Contact details (preferably the business contact details)
• Preferably, the list of references should not be included in the resume
• Simply state "References available upon request"
• Do not exceed to three references
• You do not have to sign your resume
• Resume format

  • Place the resume on short bond paper
  • Print the resume on one side
  • Limit the resume to one or two pages
  • Use a good printer
  • Use plain type fonts (i.e., Times New Roman)
  • Avoid using italics, underlining, lines, shadows, or graphics if the resume is to be scanned
  • Make your name the largest item on the page
  • Do not include irrelevant/extraneous information (e.g., height, weight, marital status)
  • Do not include salary or wages
• Types of Resume

  • Reverse Chronological
  • Functional
• Reverse Chronological

  Listed in reverse chronological order, which includes company and job title, dates of employment, responsibilities, and accomplishments
• Functional

  Consolidates skills and responsibilities by describing them in a general way under headings that represent different areas of expertise instead of job titles. In short, it focuses on skills and not just on job titles.
• Reverse Chronological is commonly favored by employers, as it is very straightforward
• Reverse Chronological is best for applicants with steady career progression, in business, in government, and whose employer is a respected name
• Functional resume is best for job-hoppers, career changers, new graduates, or people with minimal work experience