Tell me about applications, resumes and cover letters.

Resumes

Think of your resume as your “personal commercial.” Just as TV commercials inspire you to buy a product, your resume—your personal “commercial”—should inspire a potential employer to pick up the phone and call you for an interview. If you have a solid work history or skills you want employers to know about, a resume is a good way to show them off.

There are two basic resume styles. One highlights your skills while the other highlights your work history. Choose the style that displays your strengths.

Take a look at these sample resumes, then start putting together one for yourself.

Traditional Resume
Gerald Sanders 1234 Main Street Anytown, CA 54321 (555) 123-4567
Objective:	To obtain a position as a word processor with a company that encourages advancement.
Experience:	STANFORD CONSTRUCTION, Anytown, CA Word Processor Keyboarded text and created tables for marketing materials, building specifications, and business correspondence. Also used software to create marketing presentations. Work involved strict deadlines. Assisted other word processors brought in on a temporary basis. 2004 to present
	STEWART AEROSPACE, Anytown, CA Word Processor Keyboarded training manuals, technical reports, proposals, and business correspondence. 2002 to 2003
	HAROLD'S DEPARTMENT STORE, Anytown, CA Customer Service Representative Handled phone requests and complaints. Input and processed orders and store credits (2001)
Specialized Training and Courses	Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access (completed beginning and intermediate training, 2002)
Education	GED, 2000

Skills Resume
Kay Blackwood 1234 Main Street, Ourtow, MI 54321 (555) 987-6543
Objective:	To obtain an entry-level drywall and painting position with a construction company.
Skills and Qualifications	• Able to meet deadlines • Know special painting techniques • Know drywall texturing techniques • Problem solver • Attention to detail • Can work quickly • Highly organized • Have some tools
Drywall	Able to frame, hang, and finish drywall to both new construction and renovation projects.
Painting	Apprentice painter. Trained in using latex, oil-based enamel, and epoxy paints.
Achievements	Successfully completed several drywall, painting, and other construction-related training courses sponsored by the Employment Department and the Urban League. Learned some building codes. Applied skills obtained from other jobs to the construction environment.
Work History	Local Food Bank, Ourtown, MI Drywall hanger and painter Hung drywall, taped, finished, and painted walls during renovation and putting on an addition to this building. Guided volunteers who aided the project. 2004 - present
	Mildred's Restaurant, Ourtown, MI Food server Took food and drink orders in this high-volume restaurant. Had to work quickly and accurately. 2000 to 2003
Education	High school diploma from Our School, Ourtown, MI 1999

Tips for Writing Resumes
•	Prepare a fact sheet ahead of time. Your resume should list your personal information, employment history, and skills. Having a fact sheet can speed up the process of writing your resume. It serves another purpose as well. Even though a potential employer will read your resume, if you’re called in for an interview, you’ll probably have to fill out a job application. Your fact sheet will save you time and help prevent errors. And you can add other information to the fact sheet that you might need for the job application, such as references and volunteer work.
•	Keep your resume to one page. If you have a work history greater than 10 years or a lot of skills and work experience, keep your resume to two pages.
•	Be specific. If you are a “finish carpenter,” don't just write "carpenter." Write it out completely: "finish carpenter."
•	Use strong action verbs when describing your work experience. Action verbs convey a better vision of you. Following is a list of action verbs taken from the state of California Employment Development Department Web site. Action Verbs for Resumes Various Skills Achieved Arranged Built Collected Contributed Delivered Designed Dispatched Examined Improved Increased Informed Maintained Organized Performed Purchased Prepared Scheduled Supervised Trained Technical Skills Assembled Balanced Built Calculated Cut Designed Detected Developed Formed Generated Inspected Installed Maintained Molded Operated Packaged Processed Remodeled Sales Skills Accomplished Arbitrated Budgeted Computed Consulted Demonstrated Dissuaded Exceeded Forecasted Generated Increased Influenced Marketed Ordered Persuaded Produced Projected Promoted Realized Saved Sold Communication Skills Addressed Authored Clarified Created Demonstrated Drafted Presented Persuaded Proofread Reported Clerical Skills Assigned Balanced Catalogued Charted Compiled Composed Distributed Edited Followed up Identified Ordered Planned Prepared Recorded Helping Skills Assisted Attended Comforted Consoled Encouraged Facilitated Guided Helped Nursed Reassured Served Supported Tutored
•	Use a computer to write your resume. Think of how fast you form an opinion of someone you’re meeting for the first time. Some say that an opinion takes three seconds to form. In that time frame, you make up your mind if you want to get to know that person more. The same is true of your resume. Within seconds, a potential employer going through a stack of resumes can decide to pull yours out to read, or move on to the next resume. Your resume should look clean, neat, and organized. Prepare your resume on a computer. Ask a friend or mentor to either help you use a word processing program or prepare the resume for you.
•	Print it out on…what color paper? If you are an artist applying for a creative position, consider printing your resume on colored paper, say a soft pastel. For all other jobs, print your resume on white or ivory paper.
•	Have someone review your resume before sending it to in. Ideally, you’ll be able to ask someone who is experienced in resume writing to review yours. A reviewer can help you correct spelling and grammatical errors, and even suggest stating something in a way that better highlights your talents.
Source: www.worksmart.ca.gov