Deck 12: The Job Search, Résumés, and Cover Letters

Question 1

According to your textbook, which strategy will Sarah probably find most effective when organizing the parts of her résumé?

A)ending her résumé with the heading "Work Experience" or "Employment History"
B)beginning her résumé with the heading "Summary of Qualifications"
C)using a maximum of six headings to organize the information in her résumé
D)including a career objective stating that she is looking for an entry-level position.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of these does your text identify as the first step that Sarah should take in the employment process?

A)Develop an effective résumé to send to prospective employers.
B)Locate job openings at desirable companies.
C)Research salary and benefits packages in the human resources field.
D)Assess her personal interests and qualifications.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which is the best closing sentence for the cover letter Sarah is writing in response to an advertised job opening?
A)I am confident I would find a position with your company rewarding.

A)m. I am looking forward to meeting you and telling you all about my skills, background, and experience.
B)If you have further questions, please feel free to call me at your convenience.
C)To add a well-trained, knowledgeable human resources administrative assistant with proven analytical and communication skills to your team, call me at [phone] to arrange an interview.
D)I would like to request an interview on Tuesday, March 11th at 10:00

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to your textbook, which information is most appropriately included in Sarah's résumé?

A)employed part time, 2002-2007, Domino's Pizza: 6785-126 Ave. Surrey, BC
B)demonstrated superior efficiency and customer service skills by winning the Domino's Pizza 2009 "Hop-to-it" award for most valuable employee
C)Canadian Social Insurance Number: 765-854-236
D)graduated from St. Benedict High School, Surrey, BC, 2007

Question 5

Which is the best opening sentence for the cover letter Sarah is writing in response to an advertised job opening?

A)I read your advertisement for a human resources administrative assistant, which appeared in the careers section of the Globe and Mail on October 19, with great interest.
B)I would be an ideal fit for the position you advertised last week.
C)Please consider me for a position in your human resources department.
D)Do you need an energetic, resourceful employee in your human resources department?

Question 6

Which description of Sarah's capabilities and skills will increase the effectiveness of her résumé?

A)dealt with clients by telephone
B)supervised employees on several different occasions
C)I am quite knowledgeable about a variety of computer software packages used in the human resources field.
D)won first prize at a national student competition for an original human resources project

Question 7

Sarah wants to use her résumé for three different purposes: she wants to be able to submit it to recruiters in printed form, she wants recruiters to be able to transfer it easily to a company's electronic résumé database, and she wants to be able to e-mail it and post it online. What will Sarah most likely have to do?

A)Save three different versions of the same résumé.
B)Write three different résumés from scratch.
C)Use the same font and formatting for all three purposes.
D)Create one version of her résumé to use for all three situations.

Question 8

Sarah is trying to decide whether to create an online e-portfolio. Which of the following cautions does your textbook offer about e-portfolios?

A)Many employers find e-portfolios tasteless and overly boastful.
B)If you don't use good judgement, your e-portfolio can be embarrassing.
C)Only candidates in a few fields, such as writers, models, artists, and graphic artists use e-portfolios.
D)E-portfolios are impractical for all but a small percentage of candidates who have the necessary knowledge, resources, and Web site space.

Question 9

According to your text, what is the most important thing Sarah can do to create a résumé that is customized to apply for a particular position?

A)Limit the length of her résumé to one page.
B)Post a copy of her résumé on line.
C)Print her résumé on high-quality bond paper using a good laser printer.
D)Emphasize skills and achievements that target a particular job and company.

Question 10

When Sarah accepts a job and begins her new career, what can she look forward to in today's workplace?

A)She will continue to use the job skills that she possesses when she is hired for the foreseeable future.
B)She will follow a clearly defined, predictable career path.
C)She may change careers three times and change jobs more than seven times in a lifetime.
D)She will be employed in a permanent position and have more job security than in the past.

Question 11

What would be the most effective statement of Sarah's career objective for her résumé?

A)to obtain an entry-level position in accounting
B)to work for a company that provides good benefits and room for advancement
C)to obtain an accounting position with responsibilities in accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll
D)to obtain a challenging position where I can use my skills and abilities and practise what I learned in my college program

Question 12

Sarah is writing the "Education" portion of her résumé. She follows the advice she remembers reading in Essentials of Business Communications, the text she used in the business communications course she took last year. Which of the following does she decide to do?

A)She includes her GPA but doesn't indicate that she calculated it using only courses in her major.
B)She lists relevant seminars and workshops as well as the colleges she attended.
C)She lists only the college where she is completing her diploma, although she took some of the courses at another college.
D)She lists all the college courses she has taken to give the employer a complete picture of her training.

Question 13

Sarah has decided to use a wide variety of electronic resources to increase her chances of finding a suitable position. According to your text, which of the following will probably be the most effective strategy?

A)She creates a LinkedIn account to make connections with potential employers and other people in her chosen career.
B)She checks the job openings listed on individual company Web sites.
C)She creates her own Web site so that employers can find her.
D)She has checked the listings on Workopolis and has signed up for its free bi-weekly newsletter offering advice to job-seekers.

Question 14

When preparing a plain-text version of her résumé that she can insert into the body of an e-mail, what is the most important thing Sarah will need to do?

A)Save her résumé as a .doc or .docx file.
B)Use a different format and font than for a scannable résumé.
C)Use the functional style for her résumé.
D)Reformat her résumé with shorter lines.

Question 15

When Sarah begins to write her résumé, she isn't sure how long it should be. How long does your textbook say a résumé should be?

A)One page is the preferred length, since recruiters most often choose to interview candidates with a one-page résumé.
B)The length of a résumé can vary from one to more than four pages, depending on such factors as the candidate's work experience, whether or not he/she is making a major career change, and whether he/she is applying for a management position.
C)Recruiters don't normally choose to interview candidates whose résumés are longer than two pages.
D)Research has shown that what recruiters claim to prefer in a résumé corresponds with the candidates they choose to interview.

Question 16

Because she has held only summer and part-time jobs, Sarah creates an effective résumé that highlights her skills and accomplishments rather than her employment history. What style does she use for her résumé?

A)Her résumé is set up in the functional style.
B)Her résumé lists her work history job by job, starting with her most recent position.
C)Her résumé describes her skills and accomplishments in detail, so it is four pages long.
D)Her résumé doesn't list her previous jobs, because they don't relate to the job she is seeking.

Question 17

How could Sarah strengthen the Work Experience section of her résumé?

A)She could describe her work experience using bulleted lists beginning with action verbs.
B)She could include full addresses for all employers she has listed in her résumé.
C)She could describe all job duties in detail for the part-time positions she held.
D)She could omit the dates of her work experience because the jobs she held were temporary and part-time.

Question 18

Sarah is wondering how to handle the list of people who have given her permission to name them as references. Which of the following would probably be her best decision?

A)She doesn't have very many references at this point, so she includes a reference that isn't totally positive.
B)She includes the line References available upon request at the end of her résumé.
C)She doesn't include a list of references in her résumé since they are not normally necessary to secure an interview.
D)She includes several personal and character references along with her professional references.

Question 19

Sarah has a friend who also received his diploma just last spring and who is also applying for a permanent job. She asks to see the résumé he has written. She notices that he hasn't included "Career Objective" as a heading. Instead, he has included a different heading near the top which, according to your text, illustrates a major change in résumés over the last decade. What heading has he likely included instead of Career Objective?

A)Cumulative GPA
B)Personal Information
C)Capabilities and Skills
D)Summary of Qualifications

Question 20

Sarah wants potential employers to be able to scan and save her résumé in an electronic format. Which of the following is her most important consideration?

A)She will need to sacrifice many of the graphic enhancements she used to make her print version attractive.
B)She should have it prepared by a professional résumé writer.
C)She should type "Scannable Résumé" on the first line, leave one blank line, and type her name on the third line.
D)To make sure her resume fits on one page, she should leave less white space than on the print version.

Question 21

Both job-seekers and employers complain about online job boards.

Question 22

It is important to provide both personal and professional references when applying for a position.

Question 23

The goal of preparing a persuasive résumé is to obtain an interview.

Question 24

You shouldn't waste your time contacting companies that have no current job listings.

Question 25

Electronic means of searching for employment have totally replaced traditional methods.

Question 26

You should limit your résumé to one page whether or not the company you are sending it to uses scanning software.

Question 27

If you aren't sure whether the recipient of your résumé uses scanning software, you should call the company to find out.

Question 28

The first reader of your résumé may be a computer.

Question 29

Experts don't always agree on the best length for a résumé.

Question 30

In the closing of a cover letter, suggest reader benefits or review your strongest points while asking for a job.

Question 31

Your résumé emphasizes what you have done; your cover letter emphasizes what you can do for the employer.

Question 32

Addressing your cover letter to the Human Resources Department or Personnel Manager will make a positive impression on an employer.

Question 33

When you are expecting a call from a prospective employer, it's important to answer your cell phone only when you are in a quiet environment.

Question 34

In the new workplace, you can expect to work for multiple employers on flexible job assignments associated with teams and projects.

Question 35

In order to be ethical, you should list every position you have held in the past on your résumé.

Question 36

If you use the chronological style for your résumé, you should emphasize the skills section more than any other and place it at the beginning of your résumé.

Question 37

Résumés using the chronological style are most appropriate for people who have changed jobs frequently or who have large gaps in their employment records.

Question 38

The increase in job listings on the Internet has made personal contacts less important.

Question 39

A summary of qualifications should include three to eight bulleted statements that prove you are the ideal candidate for the position.

Question 40

When preparing a plain-text résumé for e-mailing, you should use a shorter line length than for a printed résumé.

Question 41

You will need a(n) ________________ version of your résumé when you know a potential employer uses software to upload résumés into an electronic, searchable database.

Question 42

When preparing a plain-text résumé for e-mailing, you should align all text with the _______________ margin.

Question 43

A résumé that lists work history job by job, starting with the most recent position, has been prepared using the __________________ style.

Question 44

A smart job seeker can maximize the number of __________________ that a computer program will recognize (increase the number of "hits") by incorporating words from the advertisement or job description in a résumé.

Question 45

The _________________ of a cover letter applying for an advertised job opening should identify the position very precisely, as well as the name and date of the publication where the advertisement appeared.

Question 46

You should attempt to motivate action in the ________________ of your cover letter.

Question 47

Most employers want proof of the _________________ you have listed in your résumé.

Question 48

If you decide not to include a(n) ______________ ______________ (two words) in your résumé, you need to be sure to discuss your work-related goals in your cover letter.

Question 49

Although recruiters and applicants complain about _____________ ______________ (two words), they are useful for gathering job-search information about such things as résumés, salaries, and interview tips .

Question 50

Students who have little work experience should write a cover letter that spotlights their ______________ and how they can apply it to a specific job.