Resume and Cover Letters

1. COMM 202
TUTORIAL #4 – T26 + T35
Name Tents UP! Goodbye Laptops and Phones!

2. Agenda
Question of the Day
Course Outline
Personal Branding
Resume + Hooks
Action Items

3. If you could have dinner with anyone
in the world, who would it be?

4. Course Timeline
Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
• Resume and Cover
Letters/Emails
• Skills matrix due
Feb 10th @ 11:59
pm
• Resume and Cover
Letter peer review
• Resume and Cover
Letter draft due
• Reading Week!
• Update docs with
peer review
feedback
Beginning your personal branding to your professional documents

5. What is your brand?

6. Describe these brands

7. Describe yourself
If you had 30 seconds to describe yourself – personality, interests,
skills – what would you say?
Write down 4-5 words that best describe you!

8. You shape your own brand
Permeate your brand throughout all your
documents, and remember…
It can change!

9. Resumes + Cover Letters

10. The usual application process
Cover
Email
Resume +
Cover
Letter
Interview
Dolla dolla
billz
Well that sounds do-able!

11. What’s the difference, Sarah?
Resumes
are about
YOU
CLs are
about the
EMPLOYER
CAN
WANT
FIT

12. CAN-WANT-FIT
Can you do the job? Do you have the
relevant skills and experience they’re
looking for?
Do you want the job? Are you passionate
about this job, the company, the industry?
Would you get along with the people at this
company? Does their culture suit your
personality?
CAN
WANT
FIT

13. Resumes

14. Break it down
Profile/Key Competencies
Education
Work/Volunteer Experience
Personal
Formatting
Branding

15. Formatting
Font size, font style,
spacing, bullet points,
alignment, punctuation,
date + abbreviation
format, hyphens vs.
dashes.
Pick a colour scheme
(if you don’t want
black and white) and
use white space
wisely. Be concise
with your resume
page count.
Always speak in 3rd
person and maintain
a professional tone.
No slang or personal
pronouns (he, she,
we, I, etc.).
No grammar
mistakes, typos,
spelling errors –
proofread, then
proofread again.
Be Consistent 1st Impression 3rd Person Proofread

16. Formatting
What you’ll need in a header
 Name (preferred with given name in brackets)
 Email
 Phone
 Address
 LinkedIn URL
 Social media handles (optional)

17. Profile/Key Competencies
What is it?
Summary of what to expect in
your resume in max. 4 lines.
What to Include?
 Your strengths
 Past experiences
 Interests
 Languages
 Technical skills
Key Questions
Does it match the job
posting?
Does it provide a clear,
convincing link to the rest of
the resume i.e. is there proof?

18. Profile/Key Competencies

19. Education
What is it?
Summary of your academic
journey.
What to Include?
 Degree + specialization
 Expected date of
completion
 GPA
 Relevant courses (not a
laundry list)
 Awards, scholarships
 Exchange semester
 Don’t include high school
stuff!
Key Questions
Does it match the job
posting?
Is there any ambiguity with
the info provided?

20. Education

21. Work/Volunteer Experience
What is it?
Collection of relevant experiences – the real meat and potatoes.
What to Include?
 Accomplishment statements
as bullet points
 Brief descriptions of
organization if necessary
 Reverse chronological order
by end date
 Limit to one sentence (ideal
length: 2 lines) and get rid of
filler words
Key Questions
Are they achievement based?
Do numbers quantify
achievements when
appropriate?
Does language indicate
familiarity with industry or
company?
Does it match the job
description?

22. Accomplishment Statements
SITUATION
TASK
ACTION
RESULT
LINK
RESULT
ACTION
TASK
SITUATION
Flip your STARL stories for
RATS statements!

23. Accomplishment Statements
Words are powerful – choose wisely!RESULT
ACTION
TASK
SITUATION
Increased
Attained
Exceeded
Surpassed
Decreased
Saved
Minimized
Reduced
Generated
Enhanced
Optimized
Established
Quantitative vs. qualitative results
Quant: how much?
How many?
Numbers and
percentages.
Qual: be descriptive
– positive feedback,
recognition, awards,
promotions.

24. Accomplishment Statements
• Are you using relevant skills?
• Do your actions clearly demonstrate
those relevant skills?
• Do your results match your actions?
RESULT
ACTION
TASK
SITUATION

25. Accomplishment Statements
• Paint the context (who, where, how
long).
• Describe the challenge.
• Be clear and concise with the level
of detail.
RESULT
ACTION
TASK
SITUATION

26. Accomplishment Statements
Responsible for contacting
corporate clients and organizing
a tournament.
Achieved 85% client retention
rate by establishing
relationships with key corporate
clients and providing a well
organized, personally tailored
tournament experience.
Duty-Based Statement Achievement Statement

27. Accomplishment Statements
RESULT
ACTION
TASK
SITUATION
Achieved 85% client retention rate by establishing
relationships with key corporate clients and
providing a well organized, personally tailored
tournament experience.

28. Accomplishment Statements
RESULT
ACTION
TASK
SITUATION
Achieved 85% client retention rate by establishing
relationships with key corporate clients and
providing a well organized, personally tailored
tournament experience.

29. Accomplishment Statements
RESULT
ACTION
TASK
SITUATION
Achieved 85% client retention rate by establishing
relationships with key corporate clients and
providing a well organized, personally tailored
tournament experience.

30. Interests
What is it?
A chance to showcase your
personality and stand out.
What to Include?
 Side interests + hobbies
 Cool personal experiences
 Be fun, specific, and
appropriate
Key Questions
How do you want to be
remembered?
Are you catering to your
audience?
Can you talk about each
interest at length?

31. Interests

32. Branding
Does this reflect your personal
brand?
If the employer were to describe you
based on your resume or cover letter,
would they perceive you the way you
want to be perceived?
Does this align with your
employer’s brand?
Investment banks will look for different
personal brands from advertising
agencies. Are you tailoring the best
and most applicable parts of yourself
to the company?

33. Cover Letters

34. Break it down
Opening
Closing
Skills Matching
Branding
Integration
Formatting

35. Opening
Dear Hiring Manager,
My name is Sarah Moug and I am applying for the technology
intern role.

36. Opening
Dear Hiring Manager,
My name is Sarah Moug and I am applying for the technology
intern role.

38. Opening
• Can be applied to any
company or industry
• “Dear ___, I am applying
for ____.”
• Includes a “hook”
• Genuine, personal, memorable
• Tailored to the employer
• Name drop where applicable
• Clear expression of the relevant
skills/experiences
A Bad Opening A Killer Opening

39. Opening
• Can be applied to any
company or industry
• “Dear ___, I am applying
for ____.”
• Includes a “hook”
• Genuine, personal, memorable
• Tailored to the employer
• Name drop where applicable
• Clear expression of the relevant
skills/experiences
A Bad Opening A Killer Opening
THIS IS WHERE YOU GET TO DEMONSTRATE WANT
AND FIT!!

40. Opening

41. Opening
How fast can you change four tires? One hour? Ten minutes? A few years
ago I witnessed a Formula One team do it in 2.7 seconds. They said a
perfect run would be just one second. In everything that I do I strive to reach
that one second – that perfect test score, that perfect presentation, that
perfect career. After speaking with Jake Woodson, a recent hire, Dion Chen,
and other industry professionals, I know that my personality and passion lies
in sales and trading. Through my unique athletic background and passion, I
will provide competitiveness and drive that will set a benchmark for future
interns. I cannot wait to sit on a trading floor, execute trades, and engage in
research while receiving mentorship from the most world-renowned
investment bank. A career with Goldman Sachs is my one second and this is
how I will help Goldman reach its own one second ideal.

42. Action Items
 Skills Matrix due at 11:59PM Friday February 10th!
 Bring 2 copies of resume draft, cover letter draft, and job
posting to next tutorial for peer review!
 Register for Turnitin if you haven’t already!
 Come hang out with me at office hours!
 Next week is tutorial