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Black Collegian Career Center
The Accomplished Senior-Year Resume and Cover Letter
by Linda Bates Parker
 As an African-American college student, you may have come to college with
goals of attaining a degree and snaring an exciting and lucrative position upon
graduation. This article is written to help you look specifically at your resume
as a developing marketing tool that must be strengthened each year of college,
to help you gain the competitive edge in today’s and tomorrow's job market.
The article demonstrates three different versions of a resume applicable to
graduating seniors.
The task of writing an accomplished resume is daunting for anyone.
In today’s high speed, electronic workplace, a resume can make or break
your chances for employment in less than five seconds.
Therefore, you must learn well the strategies for developing an
accomplished, senior resume, to achieve your career goals. African-American
college students often make the mistake of hurriedly putting together a resume
only when an opportunity is looming. They fail to seek the expertise of campus
career center staffers, who constantly review and critique resumes, who
continually study resume literature, who both attend and run resume workshops,
and who receive valuable, current insights from employers on effective resumes.
According to Pat Peterson, Career
Development Services director at Temple University, “Once you are in college,
your developing resume should accompany you every step of the way.
Always be prepared. Each
year of college, you will learn about exciting internships, summer jobs and
career opportunities, and timing is key. Employers
may ask for your resume at any time and they do not have time to wait for you to
pull something together.”
Your senior-year resume must
demonstrate increased levels of sophistication in describing your educational
and work accomplishments, but should never be overstated.
Specify your job objective and be sure the contents of your resume
relates to this objective. Don’t overlook the importance of including computer skills
with your other accomplishments. Prepare
to compete with other talented students who are learning that the concise,
accomplished senior resume gets the attention and best results.
There are two standard resume formats, chronological and functional,
which are particularly well suited for college students and graduates.
This article provides an overview of these two most popular formats and
offers some current insights on developing the most effective electronic
scannable resume. For further
information on resume development, bookstores and Internet sites can be valuable
resources. Just remember, there are
no perfect resume formats. The
format that best sells your
accomplishments is the perfect one for you. Use your campus career center to
learn more about writing resumes, to learn other resume styles, and, most
importantly, to get your resume professionally critiqued before sending it
anywhere. The chronological,
functional and scannable resume formats are described below, followed by an
example of the functional.
The chronological resume is the most widely used resume.
This resume organizes your information with your most recent education
and work experience listed first. Many graduates who have little work experience
find that the chronological resume is usually the most effective.
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Format for the
Chronological Resume
Name:
Current Local Address: Street,
City, State, Zip code, (Area code) Phone Number
Permanent Address: Street,
City, State, Zip code, (Area code) Phone Number
Use only one address if the campus
and permanent address are the same.
Career Objective:
A logical and meaningful statement concisely
describing one’s immediate and possible long-range career goals. Use as
specific a title as possible.
Education:
-
If applicable or appropriate, identify your major, minor, and
formal certificate program or vocational training.
Work Experiences:
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Full-time, part-time, cooperative education experiences,
internships, practicums, professional experience, and volunteer work (if related
to the job search). Appropriate subheadings for this category include:
Professional Experience, Work Experience, Related Work Experience.
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After identifying your skills, use action words to describe your
responsibilities and accomplishments for each position. Be thorough in
descriptions, but do not overrate your responsibilities.
- List accomplishments in order of importance.
- Emphasize your achievements using titles, numbers, and names.
Titles convey responsibility; numbers and names show magnitude of achievement
adding credibility to your resume.
- Specify skills related to career objective or job target: computer
skills, special licenses, foreign language proficiencies, research discoveries
credited to you.
Optional items:
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Honors: List academic, leadership, athletic awards or
recognitions, and memberships in honorary organizations.
Extracurricular Activities & Hobbies:
-
Indicate responsibilities, positions of leadership, professional
organization, community and campus activities, elected or non-elected offices
held.
References:
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The Functional Resume
Persons with extensive, diverse work experiences or who have been out of
the job market for a number of years may find a functional resume more to their
advantage. The functional resume allows you to focus on transferable skills,
abilities and experiences that you acquired in volunteer or nontraditional
settings, but which are applicable to paid work environments.
The functional resume allows more freedom in organizing where the
information is placed. If you have
relevant work experience, placing work history before degree can emphasize
strengths to the potential employer. Categorizing
work history by skill areas (administrative, sales, communication) rather than
chronologically, may better market you to potential employers. The functional
resume can also minimize any gaps in employment or any time that you may have
stepped out of college.
Again, the point of the resume is to present the most
attractive snapshot of your experiences.
Consult
with your career center on the resume format that will best showcase your
education and experience.
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Functional Resume
Format
Name:
Current Local Address: Street,
City, State, Zip code, (Area code) Phone Number
Permanent Address: Street,
City, State, Zip code, (Area code) Phone Number
Use only one address if the campus
and permanent address are the same.
Career Objective:
A logical and meaningful statement
concisely describing one’s immediate and possible long-range career goals. Use
as specific a title as possible.
Summary of Experience/Skills:
- Use functional skills (e.g., communication, marketing, planning,
managing, computer skills, etc.) that are areas of personal strength as
subheadings.
- Use short action phrases to describe and quantify related
accomplishments and/or results.
- List subheads and accomplishments in order of importance.
- Identifying the employment or non-employment situation where
experience was gained will be listed under Work History.
Education:
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Placement will emphasize or de-emphasize education. Education
completed less than five years ago appears immediately after career objective
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Include institution granting degree(s), graduation dates, etc.
Work History:
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Brief chronology of employment history.
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Entries listed in reverse chronological order, most recent listed
first.
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List position, place of employment, city and state, dates of
employment.
Professional Affiliations:
Honors:
References:
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(Sample Functional Resume)
Kia
McKenzie
Local Address
1234
Wright Way Dr.
Cincinnati,
OH 45220
(513)
555-6472
email: McKenzki@email.uc.edu
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Permanent
Address
5678 Victory Ln.
Cincinnati, OH 45231
(513) 555-8388
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OBJECTIVE
To obtain a marketing position in radio broadcasting
that utilizes strong communication, organization and creative abilities
SUMMARY
OF SKILLS
Survey Design and Analyses
- Designed
and maintained a competitive database
- Aided
Manager in market analyses for competitive external account presentations
- Developed
new system for monitoring television, weeklies, direct mail, and radio for
new business prospects
- Analyzed
sales data and drafted new marketing strategies
Communication and Public Relations
- Communicated
with Marketing Manager and Marketing Director regarding interpretation and
monthly reporting of trend information
- Assisted
in development and distribution of product marketing flyers for promotion
and selling of textbooks
- Identified
and targeted advertising opportunities and developed marketing solutions
- Drove
e-mail based marketing campaigns, updated, and distributed campaign
templates
COMPUTER
SKILLS
- Microsoft
Office 2000
- Web
design and Internet access
EXPERIENCE
Competitive
Marketing Intern
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH
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Sept.
2002-March 2003
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Sales Intern
Johnson Products, Cincinnati, OH
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Aug.2001-Sept.
2002
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Marketing
Intern
Thomson Learning, Cincinnati, OH
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June 2001-Aug. 2001
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Student Desk
Clerk,
Siddal Residence Hall
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
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Sept. 1999-April 2001
(academic school year)
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EDUCATION
Bachelor
of Arts
Major:
Communication
University
of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH
GPA
3.3/4.0 |
expected June 2003
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HONORS
AND ACTIVITES
| ● Dean’s List
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● Cincinnatus Scholarship
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| ● Delta Sigma Theta (President, Social Chair)
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● Public Relations Ambassador
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The Scannable Resume
Over 50% of all organizations have turned to computers to help them
screen candidates. With dramatic increases in employment applicants, many
companies use resume scanning to improve efficiency and productivity in
screening candidates. Also, the World Wide Web and e-mail allow you to send your
resume to employers via computer instantly, such as, for example, you may cut
and paste your resume into your e-mail document. To effectively compete with
other job seekers, keep current on job search technology. A scannable resume
enhances your marketability and exposure. Companies using automated applicant
tracking systems rank candidates based on keyword matches. Technology’s
constant changing requires job seekers to stay current on most trends related to
scannable resumes. Always check
with the career center for the most up-to-date methods for developing scannable
resumes.
The Cover Letter
Every day, employers open hundreds of resumes and receive many more
electronically via computer. The cover letter briefly alerts the employer to
your resume’s contents. The accomplished cover letter specifically and
concisely points out the most relevant skill sets mentioned in your resume and
relates them to employers’ stated needs/qualifications for a specific
position. The cover letter also clearly articulates your strong desire to bring
your skills and abilities to this particular organization.
The personalized aspect of a cover letter is one of its major strengths,
because the resume, by its very nature, is impersonal. To create an accomplished
cover letter, always address it to a specific individual. Aids such as Standard
& Poor’s Register of Corporations,
Directors, and Executives, Dun & Bradstreet’s Million
Dollar Directory, and other sources including online employer databases
provide mailing information and mailing labels!
The ultimate question that you must answer throughout your job search is,
“What can you do for the employer?” The
cover letter highlights any skill or accomplishment that has particular meaning
to the organization, which may not have been included in your resume, thus
reinforcing your image of being knowledgeable and industry-wise. The important
closing section indicates requested follow-up or allows you to initiate further
communication and to have some control of the process.
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(Sample Cover Letter)
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Mr. John Doe
Human Services Director
Blue Chip Broadcasting dba
W I Z F –FM
1821 Summit Rd. #400
Cincinnati, OH 45237
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5678
Victory Ln.
Cincinnati, OH 45231
June 8, 2000
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Dear Human Services Director:
Recently I learned about your account executive position in
your new Lexington, Kentucky office. For
years, I have listened to WIZF-FM radio station and believe my experiences and
qualifications make me an ideal candidate for the position.
Blue Chip Broadcasting is not only a well-respected company, but also, as
your Web site says, it is the second largest African-American-owned radio
broadcasting company in the nation.
I will graduate from the University of Cincinnati with a
bachelor's degree in communications in June.
During my four years at UC, I held leadership roles while interning at
various companies, including The Cincinnati Enquirer. I learned about
successful marketing strategies and developed strong communication and
interpersonal skills, as well as, knowledge of the world of work. These are
invaluable assets for your Account Executive position.
Blue Chip Broadcasting is a nationally recognized company
looking for individuals driven to succeed.
Being one of these individuals, I would appreciate the opportunity to
discuss my qualifications with you. If
you have questions or would like to set up an interview, I can be reached at
(513) 555-6472 or by e-mail at mckenzki@email.uc.edu. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Kia McKenzie
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Linda Bates Parker is the director
of the Career Development Center, University of Cincinnati.
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