Career Services at ASU.

Identify your skills Prioritize your skills Resumes that get results Effective Employment Letters Portfolio Power Interviewing Additional resources

 

 

Content - writing basics
Guidelines
Formats
Headings
Technology and scanning
Additional resources

Up
Next
Down:

The Career Express - Spring 2005 articles

Students:  Did you get a job offer?  Please tell us!

Employers:  Report job offers to ASU students here!

For the ASU community:  
stay current on career events 
and activities - view the Career Events calendar

To research these topics
further, try the ASU Hayden Library's ReferenceUSA

To print this page, 
first set your browser
text size to smallest.

STEPS to Successful Career Planning

 

The STEPS model -  Implementation

How to market yourself

Resume and cover letter writing basics

 

Writing guidelines

Content is more important than format.  "Fancy" resumes and paper don't carry more weight and often don't fax or copy well.

Employers would like to know if you are financing all or part of your education.

Choosing the best words for your resume and cover letter will be critical to your success at getting interviews.

Choose action verbs to begin each statement describing your work experience, such as initiated, coordinated, presented, wrote, organized, planned, etc. 

Consider using "STAR" statements in your resume and cover letter.  This involves describing the

Situation (the name of the project)
Task (your role)
Action (what you did)
Result (how did it turn out).

Using STAR examples helps ensure complete information in the example.

When possible, quantify examples with numbers such as volumes, dollars saved, percent increased.

Resumes and cover letters should be in a one-page format and tailored to the organization to which you are applying.

Misspellings on a resume and cover letter are a major pet peeve of employers.

Be prepared! Have extra copies of your resume and cover letter with you at all times.

Be able to elaborate on information in your resume and cover letter. Talk about your impact at previous organizations.

The content of a resume and cover letter must be relevant to the job being sought.  The language it contains should match the language used by the organization.

Your resume and cover letter should demonstrate that you are an individual who is achievement-oriented, well-prepared, organized, and someone who presents work that is error-free.

Stationery should be of high quality paper, with matching envelopes, using understated color such as white, ivory or light gray.

Copies should be of laser printer quality and never smeared or lighter than the original.

Look at how much white space (empty space) there is on your resume and cover letter.  There should be adequate margins all around and never crowd information onto the page.