Deck 13: Proposals, Business Plans, and Formal Business Reports

Question 1

Some job candidates think that applying for unsolicited jobs can be more fruitful than applying for advertised positions. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of letters that "prospect" for jobs.

Answer 1

Unsolicited jobs have the advantage of reduced competition. Most people apply for advertised positions, but hardly any candidates will write to businesses where no job exists. This helps the firm in readily getting a candidate as soon as any position appears and also increases the chances of the applicant to become the only readily available candidate for the post. Letters that "prospect" for jobs also suffer from disadvantages of unavailability of the job and risk the possibility of alienating the recruiter.

Question 2

Describe a summary of qualifications, and explain why it is increasingly popular on résumés. (Obj. 4)

Answer 2

A summary of qualifications segment lists the most impressive qualifications and accomplishments in one brief bulleted list.
On several occasions it may be the only section to which an employer will pay attention to. Therefore it needs to be impressive and convincing. Personal characteristics of the applicant could be mentioned in this section that may help him/her to win an interview.
It is increasingly popular on resumes for the following reasons:
1) Bulleted points easily attract the eyes of the recruiters.
2) It highlights the most important points.
3) A well-written summary attracts the viewer to read more.

Question 3

Your Task. Prepare four worksheets that inventory your qualifications in these areas: employment; education; capabilities and skills; and awards, honors, and activities. Use active verbs when appropriate and specific nouns that describe job titles and skills.
a. Employment. Begin with your most recent job or internship. For each position list the following information: employer; job title; dates of employment; and three to five duties, activities, or accomplishments. Emphasize activities related to your job goal. Strive to quantify your achievements.
b. Education. List degrees, certificates, and training accomplishments. Include courses, seminars, and skills that are relevant to your job goal. Calculate your grade point average in your major.
c. Capabilities and skills. List all capabilities and skills that qualify you for the job you seek. Use words and phrases such as skilled, competent, trained, experienced , and ability to. Be sure to include nouns that describe keywords relevant to your career field. Also list five or more qualities or interpersonal skills necessary for success in your field. Write action statements demonstrating that you possess some of these qualities. Empty assurances aren't good enough; try to show evidence ( Developed teamwork skills by working with a committee of eight to produce a... ).
d. Awards, honors, and activities. Explain any awards that the reader might misunderstand. List campus, community, and professional activities that suggest you are a well-rounded individual or possess traits relevant to your target job.

Answer 3

Employment:
Byword Editorial Consultants
2002-2005 (3 years)
Editing/Quality Control/ Project Management:
• Administered editorial support to authors of medical/scientific journals and books
• Designed, developed, and conceptualized scientific/medical books and journals
• Designed, developed, and conceptualized scientific/medical books and journals
• Have worked with the NGO called Hriday-Shan, and the title was "Report on Tobacco Control in India"
• Worked with National Center for Health and Macroeconomics (NCMH) on the project "Burden of Diseases in developing countries"
• Created, improved, and edited various contents (documents/reports) for Unicef, WHO, Population Foundation of India (PFI), and Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA)
• Mentored new hires and provided training
• Delegated duties to team members and directed them to improve complete productivity and efficiency
Star of the Month NIIT Limited July 2009
I have received the Star of Month in NIIT Limited in July 2009.
Certificate of Merit ICSE "Certificate of Merit for being the outstanding performer and among successful candidates in English"
Scholarship Directorate of Education (NCT) Delhi I have received scholarship under the supervision of National Scholarship Scheme.
Additional Honors Awards - Have received the Certificate of Merit for extraordinary performance and for being among the effective candidates in English
- Star of the Month, July 2009, NIIT Ltd.
- Recipient of Scholarship under the National Scholarship Scheme
Education St. Mary's PGDJ, Mass Communication Activities and Societies:-For the In-house Magazine "Alpha" have been Student Editor and contributed articles regularly for Alpha.
Pune University MSc, Biotechnology Interests Areas: Genetics and Biochemistry

Question 4

Take a minute to conduct a Google search on your name. What comes up? Are you proud of what you see? If you want to change that information-and especially if you are in the job market-think about creating a career e-portfolio. Building such a portfolio has many benefits. It can give you an important digital tool to connect with a large audience. It can also help you expand your technology skills, confirm your strengths, recognize areas in need of improvement, and establish goals for improvement. Many students are creating e-portfolios with the help of their schools.
Your Task No. 1. Before attempting to build your own career e-portfolio, take a look at those of other students. Use the Google search term student career e-portfolio to see lots of samples. Your instructor may assign you individually or as a team to visit specific digital portfolio sites and summarize your findings in a memo or a brief oral presentation. You could focus on the composition of the site, page layout, links provided, software tools used, colors selected, or types of documents included.
Your Task No. 2. Next, examine websites that provide tutorials and tips on how to build career e-portfolios. One of the best sites can be found by searching for career e-portfolios San Jose State University. Your instructor may have you individually or as team write a memo summarizing tips on how to create an e-portfolio and choose the types of documents to include. Alternatively, your instructor may ask you to actually create a career e-portfolio.

Question 5

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of unconventional job applications that use "gimmicks" or a video résumé to get noticed.

Question 6

Has searching for a job online replaced traditional job-search methods?

Question 7

Many people know amazingly little about the work done in various occupations and the training requirements.
Your Task. Use the online Occupational Outlook Handbook at http://www.bls.gov/ooh, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to learn more about an occupation of your choice. This is the nation's premier source for career information. The career profiles featured here cover hundreds of occupations and describe what people in these occupations do, the work environment, how to get these jobs, salaries, and more. You can browse categories including highest paying, fastest growing, and most new jobs.
Find the description of a position for which you could apply in two to five years. Learn about what workers do on the job, working conditions, training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects. Print the pages from the Occupational Outlook Handbook that describe employment in the area in which you are interested. If your instructor directs, attach these copies to the cover letter you will write in Activity 13.9.

Question 8

The latest rage in résumés is infographics. However, are they appropriate for every field?
Your Task. Using your favorite browser, locate 10 to 15 infographic résumés. Select your favorite top three. Analyze them for readability, formatting, and color. How many use time lines? What other similarities do you see? What career fields do they represent? Do you find any in your career field? In terms of your career field, what are the pros and cons of creating an infographic résumé? Do you think an infographic résumé would improve your chances of securing an interview? In an e-mail to your instructor, summarize your findings and answer these questions.

Question 9

Ethical Issue: Job candidate Karen accepts a position with Company A. One week later she receives a better offer from Company B. She wants very much to accept it. What should she do?

Question 10

What changes must be made ¡n a typical résumé to make it effective for computer scanning?

Question 11

Where are the jobs? Even though you may not be in the market at the moment, become familiar with the kinds of available positions because job awareness should be an important part of your education.
Your Task. Clip or print a job advertisement or announcement from (a) the classified section of a newspaper, (b) a job board on the Web, (c) a company website, or (d) a professional association listing. Select an advertisement or announcement describing the kind of employment you are seeking now or plan to seek when you graduate. Save this advertisement or announcement to attach to the résumé you will write in Activity 13.8.

Question 12

E-Portfolios: Job Hunting in the Twenty-First Century
In high-tech fields digital portfolios have been steadily gaining in popularity and now seem to be going mainstream as universities are providing space for student job seekers to profile their qualifications in e-portfolios online. Although it is unlikely that digital portfolios will become widely used very soon, you would do well to learn about them by viewing many samples-good and bad.
Your Task. Conduct a Google search using the search term student e-portfolios or student digital portfolios. You will see long lists of hits, some of which will be actual digital document samples on the Web or instructions for creating an e-portfolio. Your instructor may assign individual students or teams to visit specific digital portfolio sites and ask them to summarize their findings in a memo or in a brief oral presentation. If this is your task, you could focus on the composition of the site, page layout, links provided, colors used, types of documents included, and so forth. A fine site to start from that offers many useful links is maintained by the Center for Excellence in Teaching (CET) at the University of Southern California, Visit http://www.usc.edu and type student e-portfolios to search the USC Web pages. Click the link to the CET site.
Alternatively, single groups or the whole class could study sites that provide how-to instructions and combine the advice of the best among them to create practical tips for making a digital portfolio. This option would lend itself to team writing, for example, with the help of a wiki.

Question 13

What is a customized résumé and why should you have one? (Obj. 4)

Question 14

When you send a cover letter within an e-mail message, what changes should you make to the formal of the letter?

Question 15

Learn about the procedure for posting résumés at job boards on the Web.
Your Task. Prepare a list of three websites where you could post your résumé. In a class discussion or in an e-mail to your instructor, describe the procedure involved in posting a résumé and the advantages for each site.

Question 16

What is an e-portfolio, and what are its advantages?

Question 17

How do chronological and functional résumés differ, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? (Obj

Question 18

Revising Janet's Résumé
One effective way to improve your writing skills is to critique and edit the résumé of someone else.
Your Task. Analyze the following poorly organized résumé. List its weaknesses, Your instructor may ask you to revise sections of this résumé before showing you an improved version. OBJECTIVE
I would love to find a first job in the "real world" with a big accounting company that will help me get ahead in the accounting field
SKILLS
Word processing, Internet browsers (Explorer and Google), Powerpoint, Excel, type 30 wpm, databases, spreadsheets; great composure in stressful situations; 3 years as leader and supervisor and 4 years in customer service
EDUCATION
Austin Community College Lamar Center, San Marcos, Texas. AA degree Fall 2007
Now I am pursuing a BA in Accounting at TSU-San Marcos, majoring in Accounting; my minor is Marketing. Expected degree date is June 2009; I recieved a Certificate of Completion in Entry Level Accounting in June 2007
I went to Scranton High School, Scranton, PA. I graduated in June 2004.
Highlights:
• Named Line Manager of the Month at Home Depot. 09/2004 and 08/2003
• Obtained a Certificate in Entry Level Accounting, June 2005
• Chair of Accounting Society, Spring and fall 2007
• Dean's Honor List, Fall 2008
• Financial advisor training completed through Primerica (May 2008)
• Webmaster for M.E.Ch.A., Spring 2009
Part-Time Employment
Financial Consultant, 2008 to present
I worked only part-time (January 2008-present) for Primerica Financial Services, San Marcos, TX to assist clients in obtaining a mortgage or consolidating a current mortgage loan and also to advise clients in assessing their need for life insurance.
Home Depot, Kyle, TX. As line manager, from September 2004-March 2008, I supervised 50 cashiers and front-end associates. I helped to write schedules, disciplinary action notices, and performance appraisals. I also kept track of change drawer and money exchanges; occasionally was manager on duty for entire store.
Penn Foster Career School-Scranton, PA where I taught flower design, I supervised 15 florists, made floral arrangements, sent them to customers, and restocked flowers.
List at least six weaknesses in this résumé.

Question 19

Your Task. Using the data you developed in Activity 13.4, write your résumé. Aim it at the full-time job, part-time position, or internship that you located in Activity 13.6. Attach the job listing to your résumé. Also prepare a list of references. Revise your résumé until it is perfect.

Question 20

The following résumé has errors ¡n capitalization, number usage, punctuation, spelling, proofreading, and other problems. You may either (a) use standard proofreading marks (see Appendix B) to correct the errors here or (b) download the document from www.meguffey.com and revise at your computer. Study the guidelines in the Grammar/Mechanics Handbook to sharpen your skills. Summary of qualifications
• Over two years experience in Office Administration interacting with customers
• Ability to keyboard (fifty-five wpm) and proficient with 10-key calculator
• Proficient with MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and the internet. Enjoy working with colleagues' and customers'
Experience
Office Assistant (part time)) Western mineral resources, Tucson, Arizona June 2009 to present
• Gather and distribute data for minerals related reports
• Keyboard and format Letters, Memos and Reports in MS Word
• Respond to inquirys from the public, industry and government agencys
Assistant Manger, Southwest Housewares, Tucson, Arizona July 2008 to May 2009
• Managed store in mangers absence.
• Ordered merchandise and supervised 2 employees; earned rapid promotion
• Assisted manger in opening and closing registers; balanced daily reciepts
Education
Mesa community college, Mesa, Arizona
Major: organizational leadership
Aa degree expected June 2010. GPA in major: 3.7 (4.0 = A)

Question 21

What is an ATS, and how does it affect the way you prepare a résumé? (Obj. 5)

Question 22

Number Style
Review Sections 4.01-4.13 in the Grammar/Mechanics Handbook. Then study each of the following pairs. Assume that these expressions appear ¡n the context of letters, reports, or memos. Write a or b in the space provided to indicate the preferred number style and record the number of the G/M principle illustrated. When you finish, compare your response with those at the end of the book. If your responses differ, study carefully the principles in parentheses.

Question 23

Your Task. Using the job listing you found for Activity 13.6, write a cover message introducing your résumé. Decide whether it should be a letter or an e-mail. Again, revise until it is perfect.

Question 24

How has the Internet changed job searching for individuals and recruiters? Has the change had a positive or a negative effect?

Question 25

How can you maximize the keyword hits in your résumé? What three categories are most important? (Obj. 5)

Question 26

Revising Janet's Cover Letter
The following cover letter accompanies Janet Garza's résumé (Activity 13.1).
Your Task. Analyze each section of the following cover letter written by Janet and list its weaknesses. Your instructor may ask you to revise this letter before showing you an improved version.
To Whom It May Concern:
I saw your internship position yesterday and would like to apply right away. It would be so exciting to work for your esteemed firm! An internship would really give me much needed real-world experience and help my career.
I have all the qualifications you require in your ad and more. I am a junior at Texas State University-San Marcos and an Accounting major (with a minor in Finance). Accounting and Finance are my passion and I want to become a CPA and a financial advisor. I have taken Intermediate I and Il and now work as a financial advisor with Primerica Financial Services in San Marcos. I should also tell you that I was at Home Depot for four years. I learned a lot, but my heart is in accounting and finance.
I am a team player, a born leader, motivated, reliable, and I show excellent composure in stressful situation, for example, when customers complain. I put myself through school and always carry at least 15 units while working part time.
You will probably agree that I am a good candidate for your internship position, which should start July 1. I feel that my motivation, passion, and strong people skills will serve your company well.
Best regards,
List at least six weaknesses in the cover letter.

Question 27

LinkedIn is the acknowledged No. 1 site for job seekers and recruiters. It's free and easy to join. Even if you are not in the job market yet, becoming familiar with LinkedIn can open your eyes to the kinds of information that employers seek and also give you practice in filling in templates such as those that applicant tracking systems employ.
Your Task. To become familiar with LinkedIn, set up an account and complete a profile. This consists of a template with categories to fill in. The easiest way to begin is to view a LinkedIn video taking you through the steps of creating a profile. Search for LinkedIn Profile Checklist. It discusses how to fill in information in categories such as the following:
• Photo. Your photo doesn't have to be fancy. Just take a cell phone shot in front of a plain background. Wear a nice shirt and smile.
• Headline. Use a tagline to summarize your professional goals.
• Summary. Explain what motivates you, what you are skilled at, and where you want to go in the future.
• Experience. List the jobs you have held and be sure to enter the information precisely in the template categories. You can even include photos and videos of your work.
You can fill in other categories such as Organizations, Honors, Publications, and so forth. After completing a profile, discuss your LinkedIn experience with classmates. If you already have an account set up, discuss how it operates and your opinion of its worth. How can LinkedIn help students now and in the future?

Question 28

How is a résumé different from a company employment application?

Question 29

What are the three parts of a cover message, and does each part contain? (Obj. 6)

Question 30

Your Task. In an e-mail or a memo addressed to your instructor, answer the questions in the section "Beginning Your Job Search With Self-Analysis" on page 427. Draw a conclusion from your answers. What kind of career, company, position, and location seem to fit your self-analysis?

Question 31

Twitter résumés are a new twist on job hunting. While most job seekers struggle to contain their credentials on one page, others are tweeting their credentials in 140 characters or fewer! Here is an example from TheLadders.com:
Are you scratching your head? Let's translate: (a) RT stands for retweet, allowing your Twitter followers to repeat this message to their followers. (b) The hashtag (#) always means subject; prefacing your name, it makes you easy to find. (c) The uppercase abbreviations indicate the job title, here Lead Senior Quality Assurance Engineer. (d) The first link is a "tiny URL," a short, memorable Web address or alias provided free by TinyURL.com and other URL-shrinking services. The first short link reveals the job seeker's Talent Evolution profile page; the second directs viewers to a job seeker profile created on TweetMyJobs.com. (e) The hashtags indicate the search terms used as seen here: name, quality assurance jobs in California, and the broad term résumé. When doing research from within Twitter, use the @ symbol with a specific Twitter user name or the # symbol for a subject search.
Your Task. As a team or individually, search the Web for tweet résumé. Pick one of the sites offering to tweet your résumé for you- for example, TweetMyJobs.com or Tweet My Résumé. Describe to your peers the job-search process via Twitter presented on that website. Some services are free, whereas others come with charges. If you select a commercial service, critically evaluate its sales pitch and its claims. Is it worthwhile to spend money on this service? Do clients find jobs? How does the service try to demonstrate that? As a group or individually, share the results with the class.