You, On Paper

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I'm dedicating this part of my blog to information you need for your résumé, what to have ready for your application (different from résumé), cover letters, references, thank-you letters, job acceptance letters, thanking references, and assembling a portfolio. This is Step One in the Employment section of my blog.

Note that this content is fluid, as I research to add new, improve existing, and remove outdated information. Because of this, if you reference my blog, please be sure to include the update date in your source. If your document is important, it's recommended to print out the blog as it is at the moment you access it, and keep in handy in case it is needed for your sources.

You, On Paper:

1. Cover letter
   Your cover letter should be no more than three paragraphs long (SMOC): be clear, concise, and to the point! According to SMOC, your cover letter should start by expressing your interest in the position, mentioning how you found the job, and then continue to show why you are a good candidate. It should not copy any part of our résumé but, instead, catch and hold the attention of the reader.
   
   Always make sure you find out the name of the person to address the cover letter to. If the listing doesn't state a proper contact name, it's your job to find out! Call the company and ask the receptionist. If there's no phone number listed, Google the company. Keep looking until you find the right contact info. Including the name helps you in two ways: first, your cover letter will be more likely to catch the attention of the reviewer and actually be read and second, you will have demonstrated that you make the extra effort to do things right.
   
   According to SMOC, your cover letter structure should be:
1. 1st paragraph: express interest in the position and where you found out about it.
2. 2nd paragraph: highlight skills and/or education and why you are a good candidate
3. 3rd paragraph: Affirm interest and request interview.


2. Résumés
1. Paper Résumé:


2. Electronic Résumé:
   Before I talk about specifics, with any electronic résumé that you intend to post on the internet, rather than just attaching to an email, be sure to remove your street address and phone number before posting. All professional job sites have methods to allow proper employers to contact you; if you leave your email, phone, and/or street address on a publicly displayed résumé, the main result will be a flood of telemarketers and spam emails.


1. Standard Word Format:


2. ASCII format:According to ETRC, every résumé should have two versions of the electronic copy. When you submit your nicely looking Word résumé (which should be saved in a format compatible with earlier versions), include a copy saved in ASCII format.
   
   Take your Word résumé and save a copy in ASCII by selecting File -- Save As -- Other Formats -- Plain Text. I like to add the word ASCII at the end of the file name for clarity. Then you will need to close and reopen the file to edit (open in Word by right-clicking on the file and choosing Word, or by opening Word first and then selecting the file to open).
   
   Some of the formatting will get scrambled, so you'll need to clean up the file. Remove any weird spacing and symbols. Where bullets normally would be, replace with an asterisk (*). Job titles, which had been in bold text, should change to all capital letters. Your margins should all be set to 1", except the right margin, which should be 2.8" (ETRC). At the end of each line do a manual line break. This is easy: just hit Enter at the end of the line. Before you do this, make sure you've cleaned up any other little formatting errors and changed the job titles to all-caps; otherwise, the line will break at the wrong point. The following aspects of your résumé should be in all-caps when in ASCII format: YOUR NAME, SUMMARY, the QUALIFICATIONS header, the EXPERIENCE header, each previous EMPLOYER, and your previous JOB TITLES.
   
   Review the final copy for errors, then print it out. Look over the print out: sometimes with ASCII, there will be errors that are obvious on a printed copy but difficult to see or invisible on electronic format. For example: I found I needed to hit Enter at the very top and leave a blank line, otherwise my first line would be right up against the name of my file, which always prints on an ASCII file printout.
   
   You may wonder why you would ever use the ASCII version for a printed résumé, but some scanners recognize them better, so I always send both versions, paperclipped together. Usually, however, you will attach it, along with the cover letter and Word formatted résumé, to an email, or you will copy-paste your ASCII version into a box on the annoying online submission forms, which often don't allow you to attach a well-formatted file.
3. References


4. Portfolio


5. Thank-you letters
   A thank-you letter should always be sent after each and every interview. This serves you by showing you are polite, that you truly are interested in the job, and that you always make the extra effort. Moreover, you can use the letter to, briefly, self-advertise. Also, be sure to include, on the final line, your intention to follow up on the interview, and reiterated gratitude for their time and consideration.
   
   The best way to self-advertise is to mention how a skill of yours would be useful to a topic discussed during the interview (one more reason to always take notes during the interview). According to Paul Falcone, the thank-you letter can be a great opportunity to recover if there was a point during the interview when the interviewer found something to make them uncertain about your skills.
   
   For example, during one interview, there was mention of children's programs I'd be helping with. I mentioned I had experience with children, but I hadn't included that experience on my résumé because the job listing hadn't included that requirement and because my related experience was all informal -- volunteering with my church (and, unless your job is with a religious entity, church service shouldn't be included on your résumé, even in the volunteer section). So in my thank-you letter, I mentioned that I had recently volunteered with an autistic child and a child with ADHD, and how rewarding I found the experience of working with children.
   
   Another example, according to Falcone, would be if you were slightly lacking in one of the skills needed for the job: you could mention that you're enrolled in a class to learn that skill. Never try to avoid the topic when you're sure something is making the employer hesitate. If you don't ease their worries, they will assume the worst.
   
   According to SMOC, thank-you letters can be email, typed and mailed, or even handwritten. Email is best if you send it the same day! No matter what format the letter, it should be sent as early as possible, and no more than two days after the interview. Also, include another copy of your résumé.


6. Acceptance letter


7. Thank you letters to references

Last updated: 21 Feb. 2012

References

• ETRC. 10 Nov. 2011. Electronic Résumé Workshop. Presented at ETRC One-Stop Career Center, 201 Boston Post Road West, Suite 200, Marlborough, MA 01752.
• Falcone, Paul. When Writing Thank-Yous, It Pays to Be Self-Serving. National Business Employment Weekly.
• SMOC. 14 Dec. 2011. Cover and Thank You Letters. Speech presented at SMOC, 300 Howard Street, Framingham, MA 01702.