MOD 1: Chapter 16 Employment Communications

What is an informational interview?

An interview where you seek career advice by talking with a successful professional

How should you view volunteering?

As a way to grow your network, help your community, and a way to improve at small talk.

Identifying your career goals can

Assist you in framing your resume and cover letter to project your career hopes. help you evaluate how well your abilities and attributes prepare you for your desired career demonstrate to employers that you are serious in your interest in a position

Which of the following is a common mistake in creating a LinkedIn profile?

Avoiding the summary space.

How can joining clubs help your career?

By teaching you marketable skills. By helping you form relationships with other future professionals

career summaries and objective statements on resumes differ in which of the following ways?

Career summaries are focused on the job seeker's accomplishments, and objective statements are focused on the the job seeker's goals

Which of the following is true of errors on résumés?

Careless mistakes and typos often lead to immediate rejection.

Which statement about making connections on LinkedIn is true?

Connect strategically with professionals and peers who share your professional interests.

Which of the following should you do to show that you are the best candidate for a job?

Demonstrate that you meet the employer's needs

Which of the following are benefits of using LinkedIn in your job search?

It helps connect you with hiring managers who are looking for people with your abilities and attributes. It provides further support for your résumé. It provides additional background information to job interviewers.

Which of the following are true of a good résumé?

It must help employers rapidly understand how the candidate will deliver value to them. It should catch the attention of hiring managers with a good design. It should present the candidate's main credentials within 15 to 30 seconds.

What should you do when conducting an informational interview?

Keep the interview short, ideally between 20 and 30 minutes. Prepare thoughtful questions before the meeting. Before the meeting, learn as much as possible about the interviewee.

What is the main difference between a LinkedIn profile and a résumé?

LinkedIn profiles contain additional information and more details than résumés.

Which of the following are best practices for creating your résumé?

Make sure that the content is balanced across the page. Plan and fine-tune the message before selecting a layout. Use a layout with white space to avoid a cluttered look.

Which statement best describes networking?

Networking involves actively pursuing professional relationships to reach shared career, company and professional development goals.

What are guidelines you should follow when creating a list of references?

Seek advice from your references about how to handle the job application process. Ask people for permission before using them as references.

In her cover letter, Cassie wrote, "I am interested in a position in the New York City office." Though Cassie was highly qualified, she did not hear back from the company. Based on this information, what is the most likely reason for this?

She did not clearly specify the position she was applying for.

Which of the following are true about listing accomplishments and contributions on résumés?

The order in which accomplishments are listed shows how they are prioritized. The most important contributions should be placed first. Hiring managers often read only the first couple of pieces of supporting evidence

Which of the following statements are true of functional résumés?

They are used both by people with little experience and by professionals with extensive experience. They draw special attention to your key skills.

Which of the following are true concerning cover letters?

They describe your qualifications for a position. They describe your interest in a position. They should be uniquely tailored to each specific position.

Which of the following are true of cover letters?

They help shape how the employer interprets your résumé. They should generally be three to five paragraphs long. Employers like shorter letters because they have many applications to review.

Which of the following are reasons why clichés should be avoided on résumés?

They may make you appear to be naïve or unsophisticated. They do not focus on your specific accomplishments. They may show you have unrealistic views about your own abilities.

Which of the following are reasons why you should thank your references?

They may want to know how your job search went. It is the professional and polite thing to do. You may need them to act as references again in the future.

Which of the following statements are true of chronological résumés?

They present information grouped by work and education over time. They are the most common and preferred format for young professionals. They are the most preferred layout for hiring managers.

What statement about cover letters is true?

They should be error free.

Which of the following statements about reference lists is true?

They will need to be provided as part of most job applications.

Which statement about campus speeches and other professional development events is true?

To benefit from these networking opportunities, you should show interest in the trainers, speakers, and other attendees

Like other types of business communication, preparing for the job application process requires you to analyze your audience

True

What are rules for describing your accomplishments and experiences on a resume?

Use strategically selected action verbs. Avoid verbs that undersell your attributes and abilities.

What are two reasons why you should join clubs and professional interest groups?

You are likely to learn skills that will make you more marketable. You will likely make friendships that will last for years and result in job leads.

Which of the following should you keep in mind as you construct a reference list?

You should provide a brief description of your relationship to each reference. You should check the job announcement to see how many references are required. It should be formatted in a manner compatible with your résumé. It should provide current contact information.

Which of the following statements about identifying career interests, abilities, and attributes are true?

You should try to imagine what you would like to be doing in five or ten years. A good strategy is to complete a self-inventory. You should allow enough time to be able to soul-search and research careers

What is one benefit of volunteering for a community organization?

You will join and interact with a whole new network of people

What two things are likely to happen when you attend campus speeches and professional development events?

You will learn a lot. You will meet new people

A self-inventory to help you choose a career should include which of the following?

Your areas of interest, career goals, your strongest professional abilities

Which statement about job fairs and career networking events is true?

Your school's career office will have information on job fairs and networking events on campus.

The skills you use to complete your work are known as

abilities

Which of the following should be included on a résumé or cover letter?

abilities that can help an employer

Identifying your career goals

allows you to recognize that you need improvement in certain areas

A cover letter written to a company with no open positions is known as

an unsolicited cover letter.

How do the most effective networkers view networking?

as relational

A job candidate's personality traits are known as

attributes

When including personal details in your résumé or cover letter, you should

avoid revealing anything that is not strictly relevant. tell a story of how your key abilities and attributes will help the company. include only interests that accentuate your abilities and attributes.

When you craft a cover letter, you should

be concise and focused.

On a résumé, your most important contributions should

be listed first

Your cover letter should

be three to five paragraphs in length.

The education section of a resume

can include a short list of related coursework

Which of the following statements are true of the career summary or objective section of a resume?

career summaries typically are 10 or fewer sentences in length Job objectives are typically one or two sentences in length

Methods of analyzing the needs of potential employers include

carefully reading and analyzing the wording of a job position announcement spending time researching the challenges and strategic goals of the company

Tips for writing an effective cover letter include

carefully reading the job announcement to help you prioritize your selling points. making sure to demonstrate that you are responsive to the needs of the company. using the Internet to research the company and the type of job.

Abilities and attributes that establish credibility in the job application process fall into which three of the following categories?

character, caring, competence

The last step in the résumé process is

choosing a layout.

In a résumé, quantifying accomplishments

clarifies your accomplishments and gives them specificity. can show the significance of your work. should be done whenever possible.

successfully searching for a job

commonly takes months

Which of the following should you do to better understand an employer's needs?

contact a company representative if such a contact is made available analyze the job posting thoroughly identify the abilities and attributes in the job posting

The name block of a resume

contact information

A cover letter should

demonstrate that you have researched the position.

When citing your accomplishments in a résumé, you should

describe how your contributions impacted the bottom line.

Tips for effectively developing a reference list include

developing relationships with potential references over time.

When using action verbs on a résumé, it is important to remember that

different action verbs are better suited to different career fields.

When building endorsements on LinkedIn, it is important to focus on

displaying only ones that are accurate. ensuring they are relevant to your key messages. personalize your requests for connections.

The first step in creating a resume is to

evaluate your career ambitions and qualifications

The most common form of networking in the job search is

friends, family, and colleagues

You can review résumés and cover letters by

getting the opinions of people in the career center. rereading them to make sure they accurately highlight your abilities and attributes. asking a professor to look them over for you.

In order to make a long list of items more readable, you should

group them and label each group.

When you organize long lists of items on a résumé into groups, you

help recruiters quickly grasp your abilities. demonstrate understanding of related skill sets. help prevent employers from glossing over your information.

The main purpose of using bold, italics, spacing, and other features in a résumé is to

help recruiters understand your abilities and attributes in less than 30 seconds.

A good resume should

highlight your relevant abilities and attributes

Which of the following might you include on your LinkedIn profile but exclude from your résumé?

hobbies and personal interests

To show employers that you meet their needs, you should conduct a thorough job search and

identify the positions that are most compatible with your skills and abilities

In human resources, "chemistry"

is an intangible result of an applicant's mix of attributes helps an employer decide if an applicant would fit well within an organization

Preparing for the job application process

is similar to preparing for other forms of business communication.

Which of the following is true of the work experience section of a resume?

it lists accomplishments and responsibilities from prior jobs

Which of the following specifically demonstrates caring?

maintaining effective workplace relationship

Writing an unsolicited cover letter

may require more research about the company than a solicited cover letter.

While reviewing résumés, potential employers

may skim and toss the document if errors are found. are generally unforgiving of mistakes. judge an applicant's character when they see contradictory information.

Getting the tone right in a cover letter

means avoiding overly complex language. requires confidence without coming across as arrogant. is one of the hardest tasks in the process.

When compiling a reference list, you should

not use your current supervisor as a reference if you think your supervisor will be unhappy to find you are looking for work elsewhere. use your current supervisor as a reference if that person encourages you to move on and seek opportunity.

A cover letter

often forms the first impression with a hiring manager.

A good reference would be a

professor you have had for several classes relating to your field.

Which of the following represent traditional forms of networking?

relatives, colleagues, friends

An unsolicited cover letter

requires several modifications from a standard solicited cover letter. opens immediately with a proposition about how you can add value to a company. often summarizes abilities and attributes with a bulleted list.

Once you have written your cover letter, you should

review it carefully before sending it along

In the sections for additional information on a resume, you should include

school clubs

Buzzwords and jargon on résumés

should be avoided because they fail to highlight your abilities and attributes.

The tone of a cover letter

should be enthusiastic.

The primary purpose of a cover letter is to

show how you meet the employer's needs.

hiring managers typically

skim through a resume on the first pass

When drafting a cover letter, you should

sort out attributes that define you as a professional clarify your short-term professional goals identify the skills you have developed

Seeking helpful advice during a job search includes

talking to experts at a university career center. getting involved with professional organizations in your field. searching websites that feature job listings

The additional information section of a résumé might include

technology skills. language abilities. professional and student affiliations.

When your job search is over, you should ______ your references.

thank

resumes typically include which of the following major sections

the name block, education, experience

References may be one of the most important factors in hiring decisions.

true

you should identify the position you are applying for in your cover letter

true

Which of the following is most effective in helping recruiters understand your primary abilities and attributes?

using white space to highlight information

The work experience section of a resume

usually lists positions in chronological order should include unpaid internships in the field

The applicant's "chemistry"

weighs heavily on the decision to hire an applicant

specific information to provide in the education section of a resume includes

well-recognized academic awards or honors a list of class projects or service learning projects the applicant's GPA if it is 3.5 or above

Most resumes typically begin with

your name and contact information