Posted: March 20th, 2017

Week 7 – Discussion Board – Resume & Cover Letter

Reflecting on what you learned during Weeks 1 and 7, you will be constructing a cover letter and resume for submission. Assignment procedures are listed below.  

Visit the LinkedIn job posting site and select a job posting of your interest. 
Compose a persuasive, thoughtful one-page cover letter targeted to the job posting you selected. It is recommended that your cover letter highlight a few relevant elements from your resume and should be in the business format as outlined in your text. 
Create a one to two-page resume appropriate for the job you selected. When creating this resume, think of its appearance and job information included. Determine whether the document you have created represents you at your best. Be sure to leverage proper resume formatting. 
Use a career planning process that leverages a self-assessment, personal development activities, and a career portfolio as a guide to formulate your resume. Be sure to highlight transferable skills. Feel free to leverage the provided Resume Worksheet as a guide to gather and organize resume content. As a reminder, strong actions verbs should be utilized but use caution as to not overuse.  *Note: DO NOT use the resume templates found in Microsoft Word. Some of these templates use bad design principles.
Once complete, your job posting with LinkedIn screenshot, cover letter and resume should be combined into one Word document and submitted in .doc or .docx format. This is not a standard practice but is being formatted this way for the sole purpose of this class.  
Create a discussion board thread and load your document for peer review. 
Conduct a peer review of the cover letter and resume for two peers. All feedback should be submitted directlyin the discussion board and not submitted in Word format as an attachment. Be sure to cite recommendations provided.

Consider the following when conducting your review: 
The Cover Letter:

Check the Heading, Inside Address, and Salutation of the letter—are the writer’s name (optional) and address, date, and addressee listed correctly?  Is the salutation formatted correctly?
Does the letter show that the writer is familiar with the company?
Does the letter discuss specific characteristics and qualifications of the applicant?   If so, does the letter discuss the ways those qualifications would benefit the company or exemplify traits this company desires?  If not, explain how this could be done more effectively.
Does the final paragraph (probably paragraph three or four) close courteously?  Does it suggest what the reader should do? Does it thank the reader?  If not, make suggestions for how these things could be done effectively.
List the three best qualities of the draft. Next, provide three suggestions for revision.

The Résumé: 

Suggest any ways the visual layout of the document could be improved.
Career Objectives: Is the objective too specific? Too general? What changes would you suggest?
Work Experience: Does this section include – all jobs and duties that relate; or all jobs and duties? Are the descriptions of job duties clear and accessible (format)? Should any one of the jobs listed be emphasized or downplayed? Is the verb structure parallel? Strong verbs and adjectives? Suggestions?
Skills: Do the skills listed seem applicable to the position? Can you suggest other skills which might be included?
Read the résumé carefully looking for any grammatical errors.
Read the résumé carefully, marking any syntax or wording errors—are all terms that should be spelled out actually spelled out?  Is jargon used correctly?
List the three best qualities of the draft. Next, provide three suggestions for revision.

Resources:
Resume Tips and Suggestions

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