Overview of Week Seven

Overview of This Week’s Assignments

This week we will be taking a detour to provide you some extra time to carry out your research plan and analyze the results for your Final Project Business Report. We will be discussing writing an effective résumé and cover letter for securing a job or promotion. We will also be sharing our LinkedIn profiles and connecting with one another on that platform.

Overview of This Week’s Content

A résumé and a cover letter are two essential documents to the job hunt. While neither one will necessarily get that job, you won’t even make it to the interview without them. These documents are important marketing materials for the product—you. Your résumé is an inventory of your education, work experience, job-related skills, accomplishments, volunteer history, internships, residencies, and/or more. It’s a professional autobiography in outline form to give the person who reads it a quick, general idea of who you are. With a better idea of who your are, prospective employers can see how well you might contribute to their workplace.

A cover letter is a letter of introduction, usually 3–4 paragraphs in length, that you attach to your résumé. It’s a way of introducing yourself to a potential employer and explaining why you are suited for a position. Employers may look for individualized and thoughtfully written cover letters as an initial method of screening out applicants who may who lack necessary basic skills, or who may not be sufficiently interested in the position.

Often an employer will request or require that a cover letter be included in the materials an applicant submits. There are also occasions when you might submit a cover letter uninvited: for example, if you are initiating an inquiry about possible work or asking someone to send you information or provide other assistance.