Career and employment help

Resumes are a short and concise list of your employment history and work experience up to the past 10 years. It also lists any qualifications you have obtained.

What you should include on your resume:

1. Personal Details: Full name, phone number, and email address.
2. Career Objective or Summary: A brief statement outlining your skills and career ambitions (for recent graduates) or a summary of your experience and career goals (for experienced professionals).
3. Education: List your most recent education first, including qualifications, institutions, dates, special areas of study, and any awards.
4. Work Experience: List your most recent jobs first, including job titles, company names, locations, dates, responsibilities, and achievements. Include relevant internships and volunteer work.
5. Skills, Strengths, or Interests: Highlight relevant skills, strengths, interests, and professional memberships.
6. References: Provide contact details for professional references or state “references available on request.”
7. Length: Keep it to one or two pages if you have less than 10 years of experience. Senior roles may require longer resumés.
8. Design: Use clear fonts, headings, bullet points, and correct spelling and grammar.
9. What to Leave Out: Personal details like home address, religion, age, marital status, irrelevant jobs, and salary expectations.

The following resources will help you write and build your resume to submit for job applications.

• Adobe Express Resume Builder
  • Access Adobe Express with your student Single Sign On credentials to use this tool to help you build a resume.
• Microsoft Word in Microsoft 365
  • Microsoft Word features many templates to use for resumes. Log in with your Single Sign On credentials.

Creating a Resume in Microsoft Word
 

A cover letter is a one-page document sent with your resume to provide additional information about your skills and experiences. It introduces you to potential employers and explains your suitability for the desired position. Typically, it includes three to four short paragraphs where you mention the role, your interest, skills, and relevant experience you have in relation to the job you're applying for..

You can expand on information around:

1. Technical Skills: Relevant experience, qualifications, and certifications.
2. Personal Traits: Customer-oriented, attention to detail, team player.
3. Requirements: Education, work experience, qualifications, and certifications.
4. Skills and Abilities: Relevant skills, abilities, and knowledge.
5. Personal Qualities: Key personal attributes.

Tips for answering Selection Criteria:

• Examine the job description.
• Distinguish between essential and desired criteria.
• Be Specific: Clearly define what you want to measure. Avoid vague terms and use precise language.
• Provide examples using the STAR method

Addressing Selection Criteria and the STAR method