Resumes and Cover Letters…
…that get you noticed!
Computer Science March 2012
Erica Anderton
Marketing Yourself
Conduct market research
to understand buyers’
needs
Buyers
Compare products to
identify what best
meets their needs
Sellers
Understand
strengths of
product to
promote it
effectively
Products
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Getting an Employer’s Attention
How will your
application stand out
from the others?
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Resumes ‘Rights’
Short phrases in bullet point form
Clear headings & categories
Relevant, detailed information
Addressed to the employer’s needs
Descriptive language - active verbs
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Descriptive / Active Language
I assisted with running an expo for school leavers
Coordinated bookings and payments for 70 booths at
a school leaver expo
I was part of an organising committee for a careers
event
Liaised with employers to secure 5 guest speakers
from different industries
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Resume ‘Wrongs’
Graphics and borders
Irregular fonts and cluttered layouts
Irrelevant personal details
Too long or too short
Generic resumes (non-targeted)
Spelling mistakes
Claims not backed up
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SKILLS
& COMPETENCIES
UNSUBSTANTIATED
CLAIMS
• Well developed interpersonal skills
• Excellent team player
• Organisational and time management skills
• Ability to problem solve and show initiative
• Self motivated and adaptable
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Example Skill Statements
• Contributed ideas and took minutes in committee meetings
• Prepared a mail merge letter for 100 employers requesting
sponsorship for a fundraising dinner. Secured sponsorship of
$1500
• Developed resources and session plan for Year 12 School
Science tutoring
• Competent user of MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint - used
throughout tertiary studies for class presentations,
assignments and group project work
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Building Evidence of Skills
Tasks
Value
Relevance
What did I do?
What did I achieve?
What skills do I have?
Organised a
managed the budget
careers forum
liaised with employers
for engineering
when I was the to secure 3 guest
2011 UEC Vice- speakers
President
organised venue and
catering
Organisational
Liaising/Interpersonal
Decision making
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CV - Sample Sections
Personal Details
Christine (+Family Name)
24 Baker Street, Shenton Park WA 6008
(08) 9437 8564
0407 225 991
[email protected]
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Education
Tertiary
2009 - current
University of Western Australia
Bachelor of Computer Science
Majoring in Web Technologies and Systems
• Distinction level average
• Awarded Woolston Scholarship for highest overall mark in
first year
Secondary
(Only include if recent and with significant achievements)
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Employment
Aug 2009 – Sep 2010
Western Software Services, Perth
Support Officer
Responsibilities:
• Researched software and hardware products
• Tested new software before installation
• Installed software and hardware systems
• Developed and wrote training protocols for new staff
• Updated recording system with support issues
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Discipline Related Employment
Aug 2009 – Sep 2010
Western Software Services, Perth
Support Officer
• Researched software and hardware products
• Tested new software before installation
• Installed software and hardware systems
• Updated recording system with support issues
Other Employment
Mar 2010 – current
Shenton Park IGA Supermarket
Sales Assistant
• Balanced the cash register at end of service
• Trained new staff and organised part-time staff rosters
• Resolved difficult customer queries
• Provided timely and efficient service in short staffed pressure
situations
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Computer Skills
Programming - Java, UML, C++ (Advanced)
Data base - Oracle 9i (Intermediate)
Website Development – Dreamweaver, Flash (Advanced)
MS Office – Word, Excel, Access (Advanced)
Communication Skills
Oral presentations of reports and university projects
Successful Liaison with 10 business groups to secure event
sponsorship of over $10,000.00
Languages
Indonesian - fluent speech and written
Japanese – conversational
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Professional Memberships
APESMA – Student Member
Australian Computer Society - Member
Extra Curricula Activities
2010 Inspire Student Mentor - visiting rural and
remote schools to speak to Year 12 students about
university study and life
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Interests & Hobbies
Employers like to see
that you are a team
player and that you have
interests outside of Uni!
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Referees
•
•
•
•
•
•
Full Name
Position
Organisation
Contact telephone
Mobile
Email
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Cover Letter Essentials
Opening statement
Current position
Evidence of suitability
Tailor your LETTER
for each
application
you submit
Motivation
Conclusion
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Opening Statements
“I am writing to you as I am interested in a career in
Software Engineering with your company”
“I recently attended a Careers Talk given by Mr
Smith your Software Manager and was particularly
interested in……..”
“My research of the Games Development sector
has led me to approach your organisation with a
view to being considered for Contract Project work.”
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Current Position
“As a graduating student in Computer Science,
I am interested in developing a career in the
production field …”
“Currently I am in my final year of a Bachelor of
Computer Science Degree at the University of
Western Australia, majoring in Software
Management and Systems…”
“My current work as …”
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Evidence of Your Suitability
“Through my part time employment I have
developed skills in …..
• Communicating with customers to identify
needs and make suitable recommendations
of purchases
• Researching, implementing and analysing
software test results
• Ability and discipline to work alone or in a
team
• Report writing and business
communications”
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Evidence of Your Suitability
“As the UWA Student representative for the Young
Computer Society Committee UWA, my
responsibilities included:
• arranging committee meetings and taking
minutes
• booking venues and organising catering
• organising industry guest speakers”
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Motivation
“ I would welcome the opportunity to work
and acquire first-hand experience with a
company at the leading edge of games
development.”
“ Working for Parker Solutions would be very
appealing as I would love to contribute to the
pioneering research and development you
do regarding medical diagnostic equipment.”
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Conclusion
“Please find enclosed a copy of my resume. I am
available to discuss this application at your
convenience.”
“Thank you for your time and consideration.”
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Proofread & Review
FEATURE FILMS ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF
SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE
EXPERIENCE OF YEARS
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Addressing Selection Criteria
The
position
requires
the
ability
to
demonstrate a sound level of competency in
the following areas:
Achievement of Outcomes
The proven ability to prioritise, monitor and co-ordinate
personal (and team) workload(s), and problem solve with
minimal supervision (or independently) to achieve results.
Communication Skills
Demonstrated communication skills (both written and
verbal) and interpersonal skills including the ability to build
and maintain positive relationships and resolve conflict
with stakeholders (at all levels).
Underline key words
and think of where,
when and how you’ve
demonstrated them
Research Skills
The ability to collect, analyse and present information in
order to solve problems.
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Common Selection Criteria
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively
• Good organisational and administrative skills
• Proven ability to work as part of a team
• Analytical, conceptual & problem solving skills
• High level interpersonal skills
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Creating a Statement
Factual
statement
I am an enthusiastic team worker. Whilst participating on joint
projects at university within my Computer Science degree, I
tended to initiate and encourage others to develop strategies
and time-lines for completing projects. Within group tutorials I
researched our topics before class and actively participated in
group activities and discussions. My involvement at this level
resulted in our team projects being well prepared, presented
on-time, and achieving excellent grades. My lively
participation in tutorial groups has been favourably
acknowledged in feedback from the program co-ordinator.
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Writing up
S
T
Situations or experiences where you have demonstrated
your skills & qualities
Tasks you have undertaken that may relate in some way
to the tasks involved in the job you are applying for
A
Specific examples that reflect the way in which you Act or
behave in certain situations
R
Results or outcomes of your actions that show their
effectiveness and quality
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Example #1
Communication Skills – written and oral
I possess well developed oral and written communication
skills which I have utilised throughout my working career.
At XYZ Corporation I was required to liaise regularly with
people at all levels and prepare written documents. I
enjoy writing and have received good feedback about my
writing style.
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Example #2
Demonstrated ability to work well in a team
During my past two professional positions I worked as a part
of close, interdependent, multi-discipline teams. During this
time I developed important skills in teamwork including:
• the ability to help the team come to a workable decision and implement
strategies to achieve decisions, demonstrated by my facilitation of a recent
research planning day, resulting in a thorough, innovative team planning
report
• how to communicate openly and productively, specifically the ability to
communicate opposing ideas in a respectful and thought-provoking manner
• flexibility in undertaking tasks when other members had a heavier workload
by volunteering to take on some of their data entry and administrative tasks
so that the overall flow of work could be maintained
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Helpful Hints
• Facts not beliefs
• Don’t write a thesis!
• Relevant, concrete examples
• Link to the duties/tasks of the position
• Don’t just list experiences
• Focus on actions & outcomes
• Proof read
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Useful Resources
UWA CareerHub – look at the ‘Useful links’ and the
‘Career & Job Resources’ sections
Application review service (4 working day
turnaround)
Resume, letter, selection criteria & application
guides (Reid Library – details on our website)
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Beating the Competition
Ensure your documents are:
Well laid out
Relevant to employer’s needs
Expressed well
Interesting to read
Correct in spelling & grammar
Individual & original
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Career advice
Resume reviews
Job search workshops
Career mentoring
Graduate & vacation jobs
Employer events
Casual and part time jobs
UWA CareerHub
(jobs, web links, resources, events)
www.careers.uwa.edu.au
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