{"id":136,"date":"2019-06-07T18:10:38","date_gmt":"2019-06-07T18:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-cu-sites.pantheonsite.io\/cuwrite\/?page_id=136"},"modified":"2025-09-11T11:20:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:20:49","slug":"resumes-cover-letters","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/writing-resources\/professional-writing\/resumes-cover-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"R\u00e9sum\u00e9s and Cover Letters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When applying for an internship, summer employment, or your first position post-graduation, most employers anticipate that you will include in this process a&nbsp;<strong>cover letter<\/strong>&nbsp;as well as a professional&nbsp;<strong>r\u00e9sum\u00e9<\/strong>. Employers will often receive hundreds of applications for a single position, which means it is important that yours are both exceptionally well-written and formatted to help you stand out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our Writing Center likes to work hand-in-hand with the Career Center personnel and resources.  Here is <a href=\"https:\/\/intranet.clarkson.edu\/student-life\/career-center\/resumes-cover-letters\/\">a link to the Career Center website with samples of resumes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">C O V E R &nbsp;L E T T E R S<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A cover letter should be only one page.  <strong>It should not be a summary of the information on the resume. <\/strong> The cover letter and the resume work together.  The resume is the list of experiences and skills.  <strong>The cover letter is the place to give a sense of your priorities and talents.<\/strong>  The cover letter is where you convince the potential employer that you are the right person for the job.  It is a sales letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to cover in a cover letter<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the Intro, indicate why the readers should spend time on your letter.  In other words demonstrate that YOU have something to offer THEM.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In two brief body paragraphs, demonstrate how your experience and talents will address the job description.  Start with the key elements of the job description.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the concluding paragraph, make a call for action.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Introduction<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[1] Indicate which position you&#8217;re applying for.  [2] Give your elevator speech indicating how you are a strong candidate for that job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Commonly horrible introduction<\/em> <\/strong>&#8212; the focus is on the writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am applying for the position of xxxx.  I will receive my BS in biology in 2021.  This is my dream job!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Good Introduction<\/em><\/strong> &#8212; the focus is on the reader<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am applying for the position of xxxx. I hope that my experience with lab research,  various tools including MatLab, and an internship with your company make me a competitive candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Body Paragraphs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You have two paragraphs in which you need to demonstrate <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>how you fit the job description<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a flavor of your priority and values<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can do this with one paragraph about fit and the other about flavor.  However, a more efficient and skillful choice is to have each paragraph be about both.  You can convey flavor in HOW you write about fit.   Use<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Formal but personal \u201cvoice\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Specific, relevant details<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Active, confident tone<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Concluding Paragraph<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Make a clear ask for an interview or some type of follow-up.  Avoid sounding desperate including desperately polite or pushy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">R E S U M E S<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>&nbsp;R\u00e9sum\u00e9s Require Use of the Writing Process, Too!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Points to remember when starting the process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recruiters read many r\u00e9sum\u00e9s. Tailor the content to the position (you might need more than one rendition!).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A resume can use the same formatting as a CV (Curriculum vitae). The CV includes EVERYTHING you&#8217;ve ever done relevant to your professional life. The resume is a summary of the key experiences relevant to a particular position.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use a layout that makes the content easy to read. Better to be plain than too fancy.  For electronic scanner processing, do NOT use color, columns, tables or lines. Avoid fancy templates. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Length:  1 page for 1st and 2nd years, 2 pages for seniors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use the writing process to explore, analyze and select significant, relevant information. Visit the Writing Center and work with a tutor!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Notes from <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1EWR8oclib43l_rAaTTqhuO7BR5rCNokR\/view\">the Career Center and &#8220;Jenny Smith&#8221; example<\/a>s<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Common Types of Experiences\/Headings to Include:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Education<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 with most recent on top, include any honors, some companies want GPA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Relevant Experience<\/strong> &#8211; Items can be pulled from other categories to fill this category which is directly related to a particular application.  This could include jobs, course work, team projects in classes, volunteer work, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Publications and Presentations<\/strong>&#8211;Do not include class presentations.  Use APA or some other stylesheet, so this category would not follow the same format as the rest of the resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Leadership and Team Experience<\/strong>&#8211;This can include roles in a particular job or club or class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Other work or volunteer or international experience<\/em><\/strong>&#8211;You can have 2 or 3 separate headings or a single heading depending on how much and what kinds of experience you have.  Remember, you only include what is relevant to the particular position you&#8217;re applying for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Skills<\/strong>&#8211;Just list, without dates: computer, language, and other skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Awards<\/strong>&#8211;This can be a separate category or may be under &#8220;Education.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Editing &#8212; Common problems<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check that there is no overlap between items under particular headings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check that dates are in the same format and right justified.  Check that the most recent is at the top in each category.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Under work experience, the job title should be\u00a0on the top line and company or location on the next line.\u00a0 The job title is more important than the company.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If there are explanations of responsibilities,\u00a0make sure that throughout the document they are consistent, e.g.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>all past tense, <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>all beginning with a verb or all beginning with a noun, i.e. parallelism.\u00a0 <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Usually these are not complete sentences so the question is out about whether to use a period of not.\u00a0 The general wisdom is to use it or not consistently.\u00a0 <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These explanations should be short, but not too short.  Don&#8217;t talk about routine work, but instead highlight special responsibilities or talents or skills that will be of interest to potential employers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When applying for an internship, summer employment, or your first position post-graduation, most employers anticipate that you will include in this process a&nbsp;cover letter&nbsp;as well as a professional&nbsp;r\u00e9sum\u00e9. Employers will often receive hundreds of applications for a single position, which means it is important that yours are both exceptionally well-written and formatted to help you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":134,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/right-sidebarpage.php","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-136","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/author\/moeler\/","display_name":"moeler"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 7 years ago","modified":"Updated 12 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on June 7, 2019","modified":"Updated on September 11, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on June 7, 2019 6:10 pm","modified":"Updated on September 11, 2025 11:20 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":false,"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1229,"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/136\/revisions\/1229"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.clarkson.edu\/cuwrite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}