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Your resume is more than just a record of what you've done so far in your life. Your resume can also show a potential employer the skills and talents that you most enjoy using, and the kinds of work you want to do next.

There are several different approaches to writing a resume. Career Services can work with you to find the approach that best illustrates the work you've done, highlights your skills, and shows the employer how your experience and skills are a good match for the organization to which you're applying.

Career Services also has a collection of sample resumes from WWC students in a variety of majors and books containing resumes written by successful job applicants and by professional resume-writing consultants.

Your resume is a product--one or more pieces of paper that summarize what you've done, what you can do, and what you want to do. More importantly, the writing of a resume is an important process. The process of writing and revising a resume can help you to discern your gifts and talents, to focus more clearly on the kinds of work you find most rewarding, and to choose the kinds of work you want to do next. The CRC has put together a list of questions, a warm-up for your resume, to help you get started. Click here to access it (requires Adobe Reader).

Once you've completed this warm-up guide, call or drop by Career Services to make an appointment to talk with us about your resume.

Writing Professional Letters (Cover Letter)

You send a cover letter along with your resume, application, and other materials when you apply for a job.

At its simplest, a cover letter says, "I'm applying for this job, and here's my resume."

But the cover letter also offers you an opportunity to show your prospective employer who you are and what you can do for his or her organization.

Even the best resume is necessarily objective and somewhat cool in tone, since you are reporting what you have done and showing what you can do. The cover letter gives you a chance to write in a way that's more personal. Show the employer why you want to work in this field, and why you chose to apply to their particular organization. You may want to give an example of your work, tell about an event that illustrates your interest or effectiveness, share a quotation that motivates you, or mention a book that inspires you. You may want to tell a story that shows something about who you are in the context of the kind of work you are seeking.

There are no tricks or gimmicks to this. You look inside your mind, or heart, or both, and write about who you are, what you can do, and what you want to do.

You have several reasons for applying to this particular employer. Telling the employer why you're seeking work with his or her organization can help him or her to see you more clearly. If your letter could be used to apply to another organization by changing nothing more than the address, how can the employer know that you want to work for this company?

A good cover letter should convey these three things:

I know who I am, what I can do, and what I want to do.
I know who you are--I'm familiar with your organization--and what you do.
Here's why we should work together . . .

Your letter doesn't necessarily need to say these things, but it needs to convey these three ideas. There are many ways to do this, and each person finds his or her way to do it. At Career Services, we're eager to help you do this. We can show you sample cover letters and direct you to books and other resource materials. You can find one example of a cover letter here.

We suggest that you make an appointment to talk with a member of Career Services about your cover letter and resume. There's no substitute for a one-on-one consultation.

Helpful Links:

JobStar Central

Monster Career Advice

The Damn Good Resume Guide

The Writing Center at Rensselaer