Introduction Resumes, CVs and coverer letter are an opportunity for you to present your skills, experience, knowledge, and background effectively. Often the first contact with a prospective employer, a good resume or CV can help you get an interview, network with industry professionals, and highlight your qualifications. A resume is a brief summary of your qualifications, education, and experiences relevant to your job search objective. The purpose of a resume is to obtain an interview. Employers will spend less than 30 seconds reviewing your resume; therefore, the information must be conveyed in a clear, well-organized style. A CV is similar to a resume because it provides an overview of professional and educational experience. A CV (Curriculum Vitae) is a longer document that details the whole course of your career. A resume is used for job search, a CV is for academic purposes. The difference between the two primarily lies in content and purpose. A CV is more appropriate for graduate students applying for teaching and research positions.
A cover letter accompanies your resume or CV as part of most job applications. It provides the hiring manager with further detail on how your skill set aligns with the role, what you can bring to the team and why you want the position. Cover letters also allow the recruiter and hiring manager to develop a better understanding of your suitability for a position.
Writing the Resume
When writing your resume think about what you want the organization to know about you. Identify your top 2-3 skills and the experiences that demonstrate these skills.
Format Resume formatting can be somewhat flexible, but there are a few guidelines that will ensure it is easy to read. • Font: 11-12 point professional font (like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman) with no more than 2 sizes used • Margins: 0.5-1 inch margins • Length: 1 page ideal, 2 pages maximum for those with significant experience • Font Style: Use select font styles (bold, italic, all caps) to highlight important elements such as headings • Description Style: Use basic bullet points rather than paragraphs • Spacing: Use white space intentionally but don’t over do it. Single space the lines within a set of bullet points. Use 1.5 line space between items in the same section, such
1 as between 2 different jobs in your experience section. Use double line space between sections. Sections After the required sections, include any other section that would be helpful to display your skills and experiences related to the specific position. The first section on the page should be most important and final section should be least important. Within each section, items listed should start with most recent and work back in time (reverse chronological order) Required Sections • Contact Information: Place at the top of the page and include your name, email, and phone number. Optional: you can include links (portfolio site, Linkedin profile) or your address. • Education Section: Include degree title, university name and location, and month/year of graduation (or expected graduation). For most students and new graduates, this section should be first. Optional: if you choose to include relevant coursework or study abroad, add to the education section. • Experience Section: Include position title, organization name, location, and date span (with month and year). The primary experience section, the name can more specific such as Lab Experience or Professional Experience. Optional/Additional Sections • Honours/Awards • Skills • Research • Projects • Leadership Experience or Activities and Leadership • Internship Experience • Additional Experience • Volunteer Content Show Impact and Results In the information about each role, focus on the impact and results of your work rather than a description of your responsibilities and tasks. Include quantifiable information where possible. Make It Scannable and Easy To Read On average, employers spend less than 10 seconds on each resume they are screening. This means that in order to get a second (longer) look, your resume needs to be scannable with important and relevant information easy to find without fully reading it.
2 Get Proofreading Help Checking for typos and other errors. In addition to friends or family helpers, use VMock to catch spelling, spacing, and other presentation mistakes. Updating Your Resume Update your resume 2-3 times per year. Add new experiences, projects, coursework, activities, and anything else that makes sense for you. You might also use this opportunity to create more than one version of your resume, particularly if you are interested in a few different fields. One might be more focused on customer service, teamwork, and community involvement; making it your go-to resume for roles in customer support or a team-based environment. Targeting Your Resume Since your goal in applying for a position is to make the best possible impression, you need to carefully craft the message you send. This includes adjusting your resume (much as you do for a cover letter) to be as relevant as possible. For example, you might focus on operational impact on one version and customer service on another.
Writing the CVs
A CV is a scholarly representation of your education, experience, publications, research, honours and awards, and other relevant information. Professionals who are targeting academia and other research-related professions such as medicine and psychology use a CV. Format • The format is specialized and can vary by discipline. • Font: 11-12 point professional font • Margins: 0.5-1 inch margins • Length: Unlimited • Font Style: Use select font styles (bold, italic, all caps) to highlight important elements such as headings Sections The order of sections is flexible, focus on an order that makes sense for your field or the position you are applying for. Within each category, list items in reverse chronological order with the most recent at the top. Required Sections • Contact Information: Place at the top of the first page and include your name, email, phone number, and address as well as any relevant links (portfolio site, Linkedin profile). Add your name to the header of all subsequent pages.
3 • Education: For each degree, include degree title, university name and department, and month/year of graduation (or expected graduation). For each dissertation or thesis, include title, date, and advisor Additional Common Sections • Publications • Research or Fieldwork Experience • Research Interests • Teaching Experience • Honours and Awards • Presentations • Service • Languages • Professional Affiliations • Internship Experience • Technical Skills • References Content Since a CV is a comprehensive record of your academic work and achievement, it will be lengthy and grow over the course of your career. That said, you still want to communicate a clear narrative about your work, experience, and qualifications. For example, if you are applying for an instructional role a teaching experience section should be first (after education) versus a primarily research-based role where your research experience should be first.
Cover letter The cover letter is a separate document to support the résumé and CV. It’s not a place to repeat items stated in them, but to elaborate on unique qualifications that make you a strong candidate. It is the link between your résumé and what you can contribute to potential employers. The purpose of the cover letter is to introduce yourself to the employer in a way that makes a positive first impression. A cover letter should make it clear to the employer why you are interested in the position and what value you can bring to the organization. Your cover letter will demonstrate why you want to work for this employer, your understanding of their needs, and how your skills and experience would make you a good ‘fit’ for the role and organization. It communicates a specific and personalized message answering the questions: • Why are you sending this résumé? / Why are you interested in this role? • Why are you interested in the organization? • Why should the organization hire you?
4 Some Tips • Be specific. Too many cover letters contain statements that are either too general or are unlinked to the employer’s needs. Offer your reader proof, in the form of an example, of an experience or activity that allowed you to use or develop key skills.
• Support your statements: link skills with related experience. For example, “In my capacity as president of the Fine Arts Students Club, I organize special events and lectures, monthly movie nights, and singalongs, as well as a yearly bus tour to New York.”
• Use an active voice to communicate with clarity and confidence. Compare (passive): “In my position at Telus Mobility, a training manual for new staff was developed and written” with (active): “In my position at Telus Mobility, I developed and wrote a training manual for new staff.”
• Ensure there are no spelling and grammatical errors.
• Avoid starting the letter with, “To whom it may concern.” Include the hiring manager’s name whenever possible; this may be found by looking at the organization’s website or finding the hiring manager on LinkedIn or phoning the company and asking for this information. When the name of the person to whom you are sending the letter is not provided, simply write “Re” and add the position title”.
• Proofread at least three times.
• Print it out and have at least two people review format and content. • Match the header (your name and contact information) to your résumé’s to maintain a consistent, polished look.
• Be careful of your tone; strike a balance between professional, genuine excitement and humility. You don’t want to sound like you lack confidence or that you are prideful.
Cover letter Best Practice
Research Employer Position • Use LinkedIn, social media and the organization’s website to gather information for your cover letter. • Try to find the name of the person who will read the letter, which could be listed in the position description. If you can't find a name use a title (eg: Internship Coordinator, Human Resources Director, Hiring Manager) • Underline the verbs in the job posting to identify key skills needed for the position.
5 Typos, Grammar and Style • Cover letters also showcase your writing abilities, so make sure they are error-free and grammatically correct. • Avoid beginning every sentence with an “I” statement. • Use positive and confident language, but not too imposing. • Try to be concise with supporting detail • Write in the active verb voice. Font & layout • 10 to 12 point, in the same font as your resume. • One inch margins • Left justified, beginning no more than two inches from the top of the page Cover Letter as an Email • Use body of email as cover letter starting with salutation. Do not include addresses and dates.
