Resumes and Cover Letters

A resume or CV is a summary of your educational

qualifications and work experience.

Companies usually want to see your resume when you apply

for a job.

A cover letter or covering letter is the letter that

accompanies your resume when you send it to a company.
Both of these documents are vitally important in the job
application process.
You never get a second chance to make a
first impression

When you apply for a job, most

employers want to have these two
important documents from you:

Resume or CV
Covering letter
First impressions are important.

Your resume/CV and letter are usually the

first impression that an employer has of you.
And because an employer may have hundreds
of job applications to consider, you have about
15 seconds to make sure that first impression
is a good one.
Your resume/CV's job is to get you an interview.
Your resume/CV is your visiting card, your
ambassador, your shop window. It represents you
and it has a specific purpose: to get you an
interview! To do this, it must:
• attract
• inform
• persuade
• sell
A good resume/CV is one of your most important
tools in the search for employment.
What a resume/CV is not:

A resume/CV is not a book.

A resume/CV is not an obstacle.
A resume/CV is not a tombstone.
A resume/CV is not boring or difficult to read.
A resume/CV is not your life story or autobiography.
A resume/CV is not a catalogue of your personal
opinions.
A resume/CV is not a list of problems with past
employers.
What a resume/CV is:

A resume/CV is short.
A resume/CV is seductive.
A resume/CV is an important document.
A resume/CV answers the question 'Why?'
A resume/CV is interesting and easy to read.
A resume/CV is a list of benefits for the employer.
A resume/CV is as much about the employer as
about you.
Why you need a good cover letter

Your covering letter must sell your resume/CV.

Before even looking at your resume/CV, an
employer usually reads your covering letter. If it is
badly-written, or untidy, or difficult to read, your
resume/CV will probably go into the nearest trash-
bin. If it is well-written, attractive, easy to read
and persuasive, the employer will turn to your
resume/CV. It's that simple!
Your Resume/CV

Your resume—also called CV—is a summary of your

professional or academic life until now, and it usually
concentrates on your personal details, education and work
experience.

Your resume has only one job—to get you an interview!

Your resume's job is very simple: to get you a job interview. To

do this, your resume must be:
• clear
• well-organised
• easy to read
• concise
• relevant to the job offered
Content
Your resume is the summary of your professional life. You should include
everything that is relevant to your employment or career and nothing that is
irrelevant. Exactly what you include depends partly on your type of work. There are
usually 5 general headings of information to include:
• personal details - name, address, email and telephone number (and
sometimes nationality, age/date of birth and marital status)
• objective - a headline that summarises the job opportunity you are
seeking
• work experience - your previous employment in reverse chronological
order - with most detail for your present or most recent job
• education - details of secondary and university education - including the
establishments and qualifications (but excluding any that are irrelevant to
your career)
• personal interests - demonstrating that you are a balanced, responsible
member of society with an interesting life outside work
Sometimes, you may need to give additional information for a particular job or
because you have special qualifications. Here is a
list of most of the possible headings.
Format
Word-processed or hand-written?
Your resume should be word-processed, for several reasons. Firstly, in the English-
speaking world a hand-written resume would be considered unprofessional.
Secondly, many recruitment agencies and some employers like to electronically scan
resumes (they cannot do this with hand-written resumes). Thirdly, as we shall see
later, it will be much easier for you to update and modify your resume to target it to
a specific employer.
How many pages?
Unless you are applying to be Secretary General of the United Nations, it is probably
best to limit your resume to a maximum of 2 pages. Remember, your resume is a
tool to get you an interview: it is not designed to get you the job. You can usually
put everything you need to get an interview on 1 or 2 pages. If you put more than
this, the employer has too much to read (and may throw your resume into the nearest
bin). In addition, if you put everything in the resume, you will have nothing new to
say at the interview. Be kind to employers! Leave them some questions to ask you.
What sort of typeface?

Choose an easy-to-read typeface. Typefaces are designed for

specific purposes. The standard typefaces Times New Roman or
Arial are perfect for your resume. Not too small, not too large! A
size of 12 point would be appropriate.

DO NOT USE ALL CAPITALS LIKE THIS! CAPITALS ARE

VERY DIFFICULT TO READ AND MAY BE CONSIDERED
IMPOLITE IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD. Do not
use a lot of italic like this. Italic can also be difficult and
irritating to read. Do not use a fancy typeface. It is not
appropriate for a professional document.
Cover Letter

When you send your CV to apply for a position, you should also
include a short letter. This letter is called a covering letter or (in
American English) a cover letter. A covering letter sent with a
CV/resume is also called a letter of application. Your letter of
application is a sales letter. The product it is selling is your CV.
Content
The reader of your letter may be busy and unwilling to waste time
on unnecessary details. You should therefore design your letter to be
easy to read. It should be short, concise and relevant. It should not
be too formal or complicated.
Your letter should:

1 confirm that you are applying for the position

2 say where you learned about the position
3 say why you want the position
4 say why you would be a benefit to the company
5 request an interview
Format
The layout of a modern business letter in English is very simple. Your
address is at the top, on the right or in the middle. The rest of the letter
can be in 'block' format, with each line starting on the left. Try to keep
the whole letter on one single page, with plenty of white space.
Here is the typical format for your covering letter:
 1 Your address - telephone - fax - email
Put your address + your telephone number, fax and/or email address at the top in the centre OR on the right.

Do NOT put your name here.

1 Your address
telephone
fax
email
2 Date
Do not write the date as numbers only, for two reasons:
1 It can be considered too official and therefore impolite
2 All-number dates are written differently in British English (31/12/15) and American English (12/31/15). This can lead to confusion.
3 Destination name and address
This is the name of the person to whom you are writing, his/her job title, the company name and address. This should be the same as on the envelope.
4 Reference
This is the reference number or code given by the employer in their advertisement or previous letter. You write the employer's reference in the form: 'Your ref:
01234'. If you wish to include your own reference, you write: 'My ref: 56789'.
5 Salutation (Dear...)
A letter in English always begins with 'Dear...', even if you do not know the person. There are several possibilities:
• Dear Sir
• Dear Madam
• Dear Mr Smith
• Dear Mrs Smith
• Dear Miss Smith
• Dear Ms Smith
6 Subject
The subject of your letter, which for a job application is normally the Job Title.
7 Body
The letter itself, in 3 to 6 paragraphs.
8 Ending (Yours...)
• Yours sincerely
• Yours faithfully
• Yours truly
9 Your signature
Sign in black or blue ink with a fountain pen.
10 Your name
Your first name and surname, for example:
• Mary Smith
• James Kennedy
11 (Your title)
If you are using company headed paper, write your Job Title here. If you are using personal paper, write nothing here.
12 Enclosures
Indicate that one or more documents are enclosed by writing 'Enc: 2' (for two documents, for example).
The Value of Simplicity and Clarity
If you want people to read your CV, your language must be simple and
clear:

• Use short words and short sentences.

• Do not use technical vocabulary, unless you are sure that the
reader will understand it.
• Talk about concrete facts ("I increased sales by 50%"), not
abstract ideas ("I was responsible for a considerable improvement in
our market position").
• Use verbs in the active voice ("I organised this exhibition"), not
passive voice ("This exhibition was organised by me"). Generally,
the active voice is more powerful, and easier to understand.
The Power of Action Verbs

Certain words are used frequently by recruiters in their job descriptions. You can
study recruiters' advertisements and job descriptions and try to use these words in
your CV and covering letter.

The most powerful words are verbs. And the most powerful verbs are action verbs.
(Action verbs describe dynamic activity, not state).

• verbs of action: sell, manage

• verbs of state: be, exist

So you should use plenty of action verbs matched to your skills, and use them in the
active form, not the passive form. Which of these two sentences do you think is the
more powerful?

• active form: I increased sales by a hundred percent.

• passive form: Sales were increased by a hundred percent.
 Top 10 tips
Here are 10 tips for making your CV stand out from the crowd. These tips are designed particularly for
non-native speakers of English who are wondering about CV conventions and practices in regions such as
Western Europe, North America and Australia.

1. Don’t put ‘Curriculum Vitae’, ‘CV’ or ‘Résumé’ at the top. Just your name and contact details. It’s not
usually necessary to include a photo of yourself, unless the employer has requested one. There is also no
need to mention date of birth, marital status or children.

2. Write a personal statement on who you are and what your professional objectives are. Adapt the way
that you express these to the job you are applying for. Career goals will change as your career develops, so
remember to update these over time, as well as in relation to each job that you apply for.

3. Mention your skills and abilities, but in specific ways that are relevant to the job you are applying for.
Don’t just put bland terms like ‘team player’, ‘hard-working’, ‘motivated’, ‘ability to think outside the
box’, ‘problem-solver’, ‘good communicator’ and so on. Who wouldn’t want to say that they have these
qualities? Instead, give actual examples. For instance, show how you thought outside the box in a
particular professional situation, and what the benefits/outcome were. If you can’t think of an example of a
problem you have actually solved, or a situation where communication was key, it’s probably better to
avoid mentioning that you are a ‘problem-solver’ or ‘good communicator’. (However, there may be
relevant key words in the job advertisement that are good to repeat in the CV, ones that can be picked up
by automated systems.)
4. Write about your experience, starting with your most recent job, and your
achievements, with specific examples of actual outcomes, rather than just a list of
duties. For instance, a salesperson would give figures on how much their sales
increased, a web designer on the sites they have designed, the amount of site traffic
generated, etc. Managers should be specific about the activities, projects and numbers
of people they have managed. (There is no need to mention student jobs, unless they
are directly relevant to the job you are applying for.) If there are gaps when you have
not worked, give reasons briefly.

5. List your educational qualifications (degrees, etc.) and your professional

qualifications (professional memberships and exams), starting with the most recent. Be
honest about your degree class (if there is one). As in other sections of the CV, avoid
using abbreviations that may not be generally known − give the full names of
institutions and qualifications. If your qualifications have non-English names, give
English equivalents. Any qualifications gained before A-levels, or the equivalent in
your country, are not worth mentioning.  Employers will not be fascinated by your
piano exam results when you were 12 years of age!

6. You can mention your interests, especially relevant ones, but this is not always
necessary. For example, you might be able to link the fact that you were/are captain of a
sports team to your leadership skills, but saying that you go to the cinema once a week
is of no interest. If you are applying for a job as a travel guide, talk about the areas you
know well, but a taste for travel is probably not relevant to most jobs!
7. Include a section on your language skills. Again, don’t make unrealistic claims.
Where possible include exam results to back them up. Don’t mention languages where
your level is less than intermediate.

8. Be concise− a CV should be no more than 2 pages, and preferably only 1 page.

Obviously, if you have a lot of experience, your CV will be longer than if you have
just left university. If you don’t have much experience, avoid ‘padding’ − using too
many words. Use bullet points where possible, rather than big blocks of text.

9. Keep to a simple, well-designed format. Do not use more than one typeface. There
are templates available on the internet to inspire you and to help make your CV stand
out. (In creative, design-oriented industries, you have the chance to show off your
design skills, but don’t let the design overwhelm the information!)

10. Check everything thoroughly for spelling, correct details, names and dates and so
on. Employers are not interested in people who make mistakes even before they start! 
Even if your English is very good, try to get a second opinion from a proficient
speaker of English, to check the language in your CV. (Even if the English is correct, it
may not be what is most frequently used in the context of CVs). Getting advice from
someone with knowledge of the industry in which you are applying for a job would be
even better.