Deck 1: The Career Portfolio: The Résumé, Cover Letter, and Elevator Pitch

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true of a knowledge-based economy?

A) It depends on high skill levels.
B) It depends on knowledge and information.
C) It relies on the exchange of intellectual capital.
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What is the purpose of a cover letter?

A) To summarize a candidate's résumé
B) To show the recruiter that the candidate has put a lot of effort into the job application process
C) To demonstrate the candidate's fit with the job, organization, and industry
D) To serve as a substitute for the résumé

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following Education sections of a résumé is the most effective?

A) Education
University of Saskatchewan, Edwards School of Business $~~~~$ Candidate 2018
Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing
Marketing GPA: 3.5/4, CGPA: 3.2
Dean's honors list
Dr) Ogilvy's Communications Award $~~~~$ April 2015
B) Education
University of Saskatchewan, Edwards School of Business $~~~~$ Candidate 2018
I am a marketing major with a marketing GPA of 3.5, and a CGPA of 3.4. I am currently on the Dean's honors list, and last year I received Dr. Ogilvy's Communication Award.
C) Education
University of Saskatchewan, Edwards School of Business $~~~~$ Candidate 2018
Enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration program
Have a GPA of 3.5 in marketing and a CGPA of 3.2
Am on the Dean's honors list
Received Dr. Ogilvy's communication award $~~~~$ April 2015
D) Education
I am currently enrolled in the Business Administration Program at Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan, where I am expecting to graduate in 2018. I'm majoring in marketing; my marketing GPA is 3.5 and my CGPA is 3.2. I am on the Dean's honors list, and in 2015 I received Dr. Ogilvy's communication award.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Rachel, a first-year student at the John Molson School of Business, wants to apply for a Corporate Communication internship at Dior's head office in New York. Rachel has never completed a job application and is not sure how to start the job application process. What would you advise her to start with?

A) Write a chronological résumé, including any summer or part-time jobs that she has held.
B) Evaluate her skills, and research the position, organization, and industry.
C) Fill out an online résumé template.
D) Ask a friend to write the résumé for her.

Question 5

Which of the following work experience sections best describes Brian's PR summer internship responsibilities?

A) Assist in customer service
Complete accurate time sheets
Participate in creative brainstorms
B) Customer service experience
Time sheet completion
Participating in creative brainstorms
C) Customer service
Time sheet completion
Brainstorms participation
D) I participated in brainstorming, successfully serviced clients, and helped with the completion of time sheets.

Question 6

Your friend, Alma, who is taking a Business Communications class, advises you to prepare an elevator pitch before you go to the campus job fair. What is an elevator pitch?

A) A personal statement that briefly introduces you and the value you bring to a specific organization
B) A brief summary of your résumé
C) A generic statement that describes your capabilities
D) A generic statement that describes your achievements

Question 7

What does a successful elevator pitch describe?

A) All of your current and past jobs
B) Who you are, what you can do, what value you bring to an organization, and how you can be contacted
C) All of your transferable skills
D) All of your professional experience

Question 8

What is the purpose of an elevator pitch?

A) To land you a job offer
B) To educate you about a company you are interested in working for
C) To provide you with an opportunity to practice for an interview
D) To generate interest and encourage further contact

Question 9

Cole was the captain of his school's football team, volunteered at the local food bank every winter, and held various summer jobs on his family's farm. Which type of résumé should Cole use to apply for a marketing internship?

A) Infographic résumé
B) Functional résumé
C) Chronological résumé
D) A combination résumé

Question 10

What is parallelism?

A) The use of similar grammatical structures to express similar ideas
B) A formatting technique in which the headings of a résumé are vertically aligned
C) A format used for cover letters
D) A writing style in which information is presented in parallel tables

Question 11

How many pages should finance résumés be limited to?

A) Three
B) One
C) Two
D) Four

Question 12

What is the alignment of cover letters written in block format?

A) All elements are aligned to the right
B) All elements are aligned to the left
C) All elements are fully justified
D) All elements are aligned either to the right or the left, or centered; it depends on the writer's preference

Question 13

Which of the following closing paragraphs is the most effective for a cover letter?

A) I look forward to further discussing with you how I may contribute to your company's marketing department. To arrange an interview, you can contact me at [phone] or by email at [e-mail].
B) I believe I will be an excellent addition to your team. To arrange an interview you can contact me at [phone] or by email at [e-mail].
C) I hope you believe my qualifications meet the job requirements. If I am the right candidate for the job, please contact me at [phone] or by email at [e-mail].
D) Below you can find my contact information. Thank you for your time.

Question 14

For whom is a functional résumé not the most effective?

A) Job seekers who have limited formal work experience
B) Job seekers who are looking for a career change
C) Job seekers who have a long, steady work history in the field they are applying to
D) Job seekers who have gaps in their career histories

Question 15

In you textbook, what does the acronym SCOPE stand for?

A) Script, Content, Opportunity, Purpose, and Element
B) Share, Communicate, Organize, Propose, and Edit
C) Sketch, Clarify, Order, Project, and Edit
D) Strategy, Content, Outcome, Presentation, and Ethics

Question 16

How does identifying your transferable skills help you craft your résumé?

A) It helps you focus your résumé on your needs and career goals.
B) It helps you identify your strengths but does not help you with crafting your résumé.
C) It ensures that you don't forget to include any of your skills on your résumé.
D) It helps you focus your résumé on the employer's needs and on job requirements.

Question 17

What does a chronological résumé focus on?

A) The candidate's employment history and formal education
B) The candidate's fit with the culture of the organization
C) The skills and competencies the candidate brings to the organization
D) The candidate's volunteer and extra-curricular activities

Question 18

What does a functional résumé focus on?

A) The candidate's employment history
B) The candidate's formal education
C) The skills and competencies the candidate brings to the organization
D) Explaining a candidate's goals

Question 19

Which of the following headings should you include in any résumé, regardless of the type of résumé you have chosen?

A) Work and Volunteer Experience, Education, References
B) Education, Work and Volunteer Experience, Name and Contact Information
C) Work and Volunteer Experience, Career Objective, Interests
D) Work and Volunteer Experience, Education, Career Objective

Question 20

What do you do in the closing paragraph of your cover letter?

A) Call for action.
B) Recap all your skills.
C) Ask for a job offer.
D) Thank the reader for the time he or she took to read your application.

Question 21

All résumés should have a Career Objective section.

Question 22

The function of a cover letter is to summarize your résumé.

Question 23

You should pad your résumé to grab the employer's attention.

Question 24

In block letter formats, paragraphs are separated by a 1.5 line space.

Question 25

A résumé is a one size fits all, while a cover letter has to be tailored for every job application.

Question 26

Recruiters always read résumés thoroughly.

Question 27

The purpose of an elevator pitch is to encourage further contact and perhaps land you an interview.

Question 28

An effective cove letter links your qualifications to the job and shows your fit with the organization and the industry.

Question 29

The reader of your résumé will focus on your choice of verbs because verbs describe your actions and tell your story.

Question 30

Effective résumés use parallel structures to express similar ideas.

Question 31

Why are communication skills critical for success in knowledge-based economies?

Question 32

Describe the job search process.

Question 33

Which job seekers are functional résumés most suited for? Why?

Question 34

What is the function of a cover letter?

Question 35

Kyla, your roommate, is writing a cover letter for a Public Relations position at APPFORMS. Knowing that you are taking a Business Communications class, Kyla asks for your advice on what to include in the opening paragraph of the cover letter. Briefly explain to Kyla the function of an opening paragraph.

Question 36

Which job seekers are chronological résumés best suited for? Why?

Question 37

Sven, a first-year student at your university is writing his first résumé and wants your advice on whether to include a Career Objective section or not. Drawing on your knowledge from the textbook, what advice would you give Sven? Why?

Question 38

You are preparing an elevator pitch for your first networking event. Based on what you have learned, what does an effective elevator pitch communicate about you?

Question 39

Samar, a fourth-year university student, suggests that you use parallelism to list the job responsibilities on your résumé. What is parallelism?