Instructions for Writing Your Cover Letter

Your Cover Letter must be neatly typed and should print on a standard sheet of paper. Your cover letter should contain the following information:

1. Your Address should appear first, followed by the Date listed below the address. You may employ either:

o the Indented Format, in which the address and date are indented so they end near the right-hand margin, or

o you may employ the Block Format in which both the address and the date begin at the left-hand margin. 

2. The Address of the Person and Company to which you are writing should begin at the left-hand margin. For the purpose of this assignment, you may “invent” a company or address your letter to an actual organization.

3. The Salutation occurs next. (“Dear Sir or Madam,” etc.)

4. Tell Why you are writing (to apply for a job and to request an interview) and, if you wish, tell how you heard about the company’s job vacancy.

5. Briefly state your Qualifications and why you believe that you would “fit in” at the company, and point out that your Resume is enclosed. 

6. Tell when you will call to set up an interview time. Notice that you are merely providing a time frame during which you will phone to attempt to set up an interview; you are not demanding a specific appointment time for the interview, which still must be arranged at the employer’s convenience. Stating when you will phone can make the applicant seem more assertive. (“I will be visiting in the Killeen area during the week of November 9 through 14 and will phone to arrange a convenient time for an interview.”)

7. Close with a word such as “Sincerely.” Avoid superlatives. “Very truly yours,” sounds as though it belongs in a love letter.

8. Skip four or five lines, and then type your name. 

9. In a real life situation, you would sign your name; however, for security and convenience reasons, you should NOT sign your cover letter for this assignment.

10. List Enclosure (your resume.)

Instructions for Writing Your Resume

Your resume must be neatly typed and be able to print on standard paper. Normally, your main headings (“Job Objective,” “Work Experience,” “Education,” etc.) will be emphasized in some way, such as making them bold, or a larger size or in a different font.) Entries should be attractively spaced and grouped, with paragraphs, bulleting, or some other system. Your resume should contain the following:

1. Your Name, Address, and Telephone Number (including the area code) should be at the top of the Resume. Do not type “Resume” or “Vita” at the top of your resume. In most cases, you will want to place your full legal name at the top. If you normally use your middle name instead of your first name, put your first initial, followed by the middle name written out, and then your last name. Do not include a work phone unless you do not mind being contacted at your present place of employment.

2. Skills section - this highlights the different skills you have that will benefit the organization if they hire you. Be sure to quantify how much of what you can do. Show accomplishments here. 

3. Educational and/or Work Experience should be listed next.

4.

o Educational Experience can include degrees and progress toward degrees, as well as academic honors (GPA, awards, offices, etc.) you may have received. Also, list the colleges and universities that you have attended.

o Work Experience includes telling where you worked (name of the organization), what your job title was, the time period during which you worked there, the job you performed (and how well you performed it), and how many hours you worked per week (if applicable.)

o Stress your accomplishments, such as leadership, responsibilities, promotions, etc. There are several formats for listing your work experience and educational background. The best format for you will depend on the kind of background you have and the type of job for which you are applying.

Formats one can employ when writing a resume include:

1. Chronological Resume: list your experience in reverse chronological order, beginning with your most recent experience and ranging back to your earliest. The Chronological Format is accepted almost everywhere, is easy to write, stresses that the applicant worked continuously in the same field while receiving promotions, and emphasizes the last position held (since it is listed first.) One should avoid the Chronological Format if you were unemployed for periods of time, if you held many jobs over a short period of time, or if you have talents and abilities which are not linked to particular work experience.

2. Functional Resume: list your strengths in headings (“Sales Experience,” “Computer Programming,” etc.) which emphasize your talents and abilities without linking them to particular work experience. The Functional Format is not always acceptable to prospective employers, requires careful thought in inventing headings, and hides gaps in employment history while de-emphasizing the last employer. One should avoid the Functional Format if you have a consistent work history in the same field.

3. Combination Resume: List your experience in reverse chronological order, and also list a few strengths in headings not linked to particular work experience.

4. Targeted Resume: list your qualifications for one particular job with one particular job with one particular company. The Targeted Format has the obvious advantage of being tailor-made for one particular job, but the disadvantage of not being appropriate for any other job one might seek.

5. Include personal information about yourself only if you believe that it is relevant to do so. Do NOT include negative information about yourself which might convince a prospective employer not to hire you. Hobbies and interests, provided that they are interesting, might be included. For example, hot air ballooning and mountain repelling are unusual hobbies. If you can honestly say, “excellent health,” then you may include the state of your health, but don’t include a long list of all your physical maladies and psychological problems. If your height to weight ratio is not ideal, then don’t include it on your resume. Use caution in deciding whether to include your age and birth date. Youth can mean both enthusiasm and inexperience; age can suggest both fatigue and great knowledge. If you include marital status, do not list the number of times you have been divorced, if you are cohabiting with someone, or your sexual orientation. Personal information is private and should only be included if you believe it will strengthen your application rather than be detrimental.

List the following for each reference:

• Name of the reference

• Professional Position the person holds

• Professional Relationship between you

• Address and Phone Number at which the person can be reached

• List at least three references, but no more than five references. They can be:

o Employers for whom you have worked

o Instructors whose classes you have taken

o People who know of your good character

Be sure to get permission from people you are going to use as references. In choosing your references, choose people whom you believe will give you a good reference.