Building Careers and Writing Rsums Prentice Hall 2007

Building Careers and Writing Résumés © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 1

Today’s Dynamic Workplace Career Stability Lifetime Employment Small Businesses Independent Contractors © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 2

How Employers View the Job Market Financial Trade-Offs Temporary Workers © Prentice Hall, 2007 Economic Uncertainty Independent Cheaper Contractors Labor Markets Business Communication Essentials, 3 e Global Recruiting 3

What Today’s Employers Require Flexibility Life-Long Learning Teamwork Skills Strong Work Records © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 4

What Today’s Employers Require Leadership Capabilities Diversified Skills Varied Experiences Multicultural Awareness © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 5

Adapting to the Market What You Want What You Offer Workplace Value © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 6

What Do You Want? Type of Occupation Nature of the Job Specific Compensation General Career Goals Size of Company Type of Operation Facilities Corporate Culture Location © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 7

What Can You Offer? • Personal achievements • Educational preparation • Work experience • Extracurricular activities • Personal characteristics © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 8

Increasing Your Value Employment Portfolio Interim Assignments Workplace Skills Life-Long Learning © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 9

The Employment Search 1 3 2 Build Toward Career 4 Prepare Résumé 5 Prepare for Interview © Prentice Hall, 2007 Understand Interview Process 6 Take the Interview Business Communication Essentials, 3 e Follow Up and Accept Offer 10

Employers’ Approach to Recruiting Process Most Preferred Least Preferred Networking Employment Look Inside and Personal Agency or the Company References Search Firm © Prentice Hall, 2007 Unsolicited Résumés Business Communication Essentials, 3 e Newspaper Want Ads 11

Organizing Your Approach Track Business News Monitor Specific Firms Build a Network Seek Counseling © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 12

Three-Step Writing Process Planning Analyze Situation Gather Information Select Medium Get Organized © Prentice Hall, 2007 Writing Analyze the Audience Compose the Message Business Communication Essentials, 3 e Completing Revise Produce Proofread Distribute 13

Planning Your Résumé üAnalyze Audience/Purpose üGather Information üChoose the Best Medium üOrganize Content © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 14

“Red Flags” for Employers Frequent Job Changes Gaps in Work History Level of Experience © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 15

“Red Flags” for Employers Long-Term w/One Firm For-Cause Termination Criminal Record © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 16

Organizing Your Résumé Work History Educational Level Chronological Skills and Accomplishments Combination Personal Background © Prentice Hall, 2007 Functional Personal Objectives Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 17

Writing Your Résumé Respect Your Résumé Take Your Time Review Good Models Minimize Frustration © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 18

Keep the Résumé Honest Workplace References Background Checks Credit Histories © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 19

Adapting to the Audience • Consider the employer’s perspective • Build on past accomplishments • Stress your future potential • Translate skills and experience • Clarify educational achievements © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 20

Composing Your Résumé Name and Address Career Objective or Summary Academic Credentials Employment History Activities and Achievements Relevant Personal Data © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 21

Completing Your Résumé Revising Producing Proofreading © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 22

Common Résumé Problems • Too long • Spelling • Too short • Grammar • Hard to read • Poor quality • Poorly written • Boastful • Uninformed • Gimmicky © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 23

Producing Your Résumé Printed Traditional Résumé R Printed Scannable Résumé R Electronic Plain-Text File MS Word File HTML Format Electronic PDF File © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 24

Printing a Traditional Résumé High-Quality Paper Professional Image © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 25

Printing a Scannable Résumé Use Sans-Serif Fonts Separate All Characters Avoid Columns Avoid Special Characters Separate Phone and Email Use Plain White Paper Identify All Pages Use a Keyword Summary © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 26

Digital Résumé Formats Plain-Text File MS Word File HTML Version PDF Format © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 27

Proofreading Your Résumé üHeadings and lists üGrammar and punctuation üSpelling and word choice üPaper and digital formats © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 28

Distributing Your Résumé Postal Mail © Prentice Hall, 2007 Fax Machine Business Communication Essentials, 3 e E-Mail 29

Distributing Your Résumé Online Submission © Prentice Hall, 2007 Personal Websites Business Communication Essentials, 3 e Index Service Or Job Site 30

Reviewing Key Points • Adapting to the workplace • Searching for employment • Preparing effective résumés • Preparing employment messages © Prentice Hall, 2007 Business Communication Essentials, 3 e 31