RESUME, COVER LETTER & LINKEDIN (I)

CAREER BUILDING COURSE

GNED2510
SCIE1100
SHSS1030
SECRET STEP ZERO:

DECODE THE JOB

DESCRIPTION (JD)
What are the Lumina colors of this job?
What are the Lumina colors of this job?
 What are the Lumina colors of this job?

Who is Our Right Fit?

Recent university graduates from any disciplines with less than 2

years’ work experience and possess the following qualities:

• Strong enthusiasm and commitment toward establishing a long-

term career in field of e-commerce industry
• With remarkable endurance and courage to face new challenges
• Smart and energetic
• Logical thinking, passionate, positive and self-motivated
• Open-minded and sound inter-personal skills
• Good team spirit and potential leadership ability
• Proficiency in verbal and written English and Chinese
• Retail is a 7x24 business; Online Retail is 7x24x60
• Hence, we do not have work-life balance here, but WE WORK
HARD AND WE PLAY HARD!
The Future is Now:
According to the HR Head of PwC Malaysia, there won’t be any JD
soon. We want to hire someone who can adapt to different work
environments and can learn fast.

All skills are trainable. We hire for attitude, and train for skills.
The Future is Now:
1. How would you prepare if there’s no more JD?
2. What else would you ‘sell’ about yourself?

(Group Discussion)
 What are the differences between a CV and a Resume?
What is a Resume?
• Resume comes from the French word, resume, meaning to sum up. This is usually crisp and
focuses on your skills.

• Resume is job oriented and highlights your skills for that particular job. This makes it easy to
scan through and get an idea of your skills.

What is a CV?
• CV comes from the Latin phrase, curriculum vitae meaning the course of life.

• CV represents a detailed chronological overview that lists out your career.

https://www.naukri.com/blog/difference-between-cv-and-resume
 What are the differences between a CV and a Resume?
FACTORS CV RESUME

Length Much longer in length 1 page preferred

Format Reverse chronological Reverse chronological
Functional
A combination of both

Contact details Multiple ways to contact you can be Mainly phone number & email is enough
mentioned

Work details Mentions detailed work experience Mentions duration, firm name, achievements
& responsibilities mainly

Skills A professional career Relevant skills

https://www.naukri.com/blog/difference-between-cv-and-resume
 Not sure which one to go with?
FACTORS CV RESUME

Length Much longer in length 1 page preferred

Format Reverse chronological Reverse chronological
Functional
Both

Contact details Multiple ways to contact you can be Mainly phone number & email is enough
mentioned

Work details Mentions detailed work experience Mentions duration, firm name, achievements
& responsibilities mainly

Skills A professional career Relevant skills

https://www.naukri.com/blog/difference-between-cv-and-resume
QUIZ
Your resume must include your personal details, education background and ?

a. hobbies

b. typing speed

c. work experience

d. referees
The term “personal details” covers details like ______

a. name, address, ust email, cell phone number

b. name, ust email, cell phone number

c. name, ust email, personal email, cell phone number (hometown & local)

d. name, ust email, cell phone number, linkedin profile link

Which period of education is normally not included in a resume?

a. tertiary

b. secondary

c. primary & elementary

“Overseas academic exchange experience” should be put under _____?

a. extra-cirricular activities

b. personal summary

c. education background

d. others
Under work experience, list all your jobs with your ____ job at the top.

a. first

b. latest

c. best
Which layout do you like best?
Apply for a job in What’s wrong?
1 page, save as “grace.siu.cv.pdf”

Use 1 font style only

Font size
Name (14)
Email, Phone number, LinkedIn link (8)
Body (11 or 12)
Header (11 or 12, bold)

In reverse chronological order

eg:
06.2019 – present
06.2017 – 05.2019
SIU,WAI-SZE GRACE
P:23585847 E:GRACE.SIU@UST.HK L:HTTPS://WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/GRACE-SIU/

Education Background

2018-Present The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Hong Kong
(expected Jun 2022) Bachelor’s Degree in xxxx, major yyy (CGA: 3.3/4.3)

Feb-May 2019 Academic Exchange to xxx University U.S.A

2012-2018 ABC High School Hong Kong

HKDSE (2014): 5** in chemistry, 5* in English, 5 in Chinese

Work Experience
Jun-Aug 2019 Intern, xxx Dept, yyy Company Korea
-sss

Feb-May 2018
Part-time Marketing Associate, yyy Company Hong Kong
-xxx
-yyy
-eee
Categorization

Education Background
Awards & Achievements
Work Experience
Industry Experience
Community Projects
Enrichment Activities
Professional Qualifications/Membership
Skills
Duration: Be consistent

Eg:
06.2019 or 6/2019 or Jun 2019

Avoid: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Other example:
04.2018 – Present Hutchison Group
08.2019 – Present Intern, AS Watsons
-XXX
-XXX
04.2018 – 07.2019 Intern, Harbour Plaza
-XXX
-XXX
Jan 2020 – Present Football Club, HKUSTSU
Describe specific details in bullets
Jan 2020 – Present Shop Assistant, UNIVERSITY Book Store

As a shop assistant, I have learnt the importance of providing great customer

service to gain maximum sales. I am responsible for organizing stocks and
ensuring the costs are controlled. Carrying out monthly stock take has
increased my awareness of being detail.
I ROAR
Impacts
Results
Outcomes
Achievements
Responsibilities
Compare these 2 subpoints

a. Developed and ran activities for museum for February and April school break
programs

b. Developed and implemented five activities for museum visitors ages 4-10 related
to new museum exhibit on the history of transportation during school break
More Examples:

Research
• Independently conducted research on latest curriculum standards and reported
findings in presentation to senior management

• Wrote five articles for monthly newsletter with 5,000 readers

Marketing / Social Media

• Increased Facebook audience by more than 2,000 “likes” by actively managing
user conversations and encouraging repeat engagement.

• Launched and built company’s first-ever Pinterest and Instagram sites.

More Examples:

Organize Activities
• Worked with a team of four, successfully collaborated with ABC NGO to develop
and run an all-day culture workshop for a group of 20 primary school students

• Received award for Outstanding Intern of the Summer from the President of the
Society

General Office Support

• Organized and recorded10 internal and external meetings within tight timeline

• Provided administrative support to a team of 6 in a detailed manner

 Example (1)
- Filing
- Typing
- Data-entry
- Organized meetings
- Drafted minutes

- Prepared minutes for over 10 internal & external meetings

- Attended to daily administration needs of 5 team members

- Created a user-friendly electronic filing system for

managing useful information
 Example (2)
- Data collection
- Workflow documentation
- Time-and-motion study
- Reviewed performance standards

- Participated in WIT (Workflow Improvement Team) and

reviewed, improved and designed curriculum and standards

- Collected and analyzed performance data in a team of 5

- Acquired and evaluated marketing / operations information by a

creative data collection system
 Example (3)
- Organized event
- Drafted invitation letter
- Handled inquiries
- Data analysis

- Assisted the marketing team to coordinate annual product

launch campaign for more than 500 guests, such as invitation
letter preparation, on-site logistics support and so on

- Handled a daily average of 40 customer inquiries from all grounds

- Analyzed and delivered marketing information in a timely manner

Which of the following is the least important to be included
in the Extra-curricular Activities section?

a. The sports teams you participated in and the

achievements of the team
b. Your roles and responsibilities in the team
c. The fishing club you participated in and the fishing skills
learnt
d. Your volunteer work and achievements
In the Work Experience section, which of the following is NOT a
good description of duties?

a. “Led in a book closing enhancement project.”

b. “Was responsible for the book closing for the company.”
c. “Developed a new book closing system.”
d. “Improved the lead time and accuracy of the book closing.”
Organize the roles according to
the Lumina colors
of the job!

In this example, you can see

Intern, Civil Engineering Group
• Blue (?)
• Blue
• Blue

Sales Representative
• Red
• Green
Example:

If I am going to apply for this job, my subpoints will

follow this color sequence on my CV:
• Red
• Red
• Green
Example:

If I am going to apply for this job, my subpoints will

follow this color sequence on my CV:
• Blue
• Green
• Blue
 Who is Our Right Fit?

Recent university graduates from any disciplines with less than 2

years’ work experience and possess the following qualities:

• Strong enthusiasm and commitment toward establishing a long-

Example: term career in field of e-commerce industry
• With remarkable endurance and courage to face new challenges
If I am going to apply for this job, my • Smart and energetic
subpoints will follow this color sequence • Logical thinking, passionate, positive and self-motivated
on my CV: • Open-minded and sound inter-personal skills
• Red • Good team spirit and potential leadership ability
• Yellow • Proficiency in verbal and written English and Chinese
• Blue or Green • Retail is a 7x24 business; Online Retail is 7x24x60
• Hence, we do not have work-life balance here, but WE WORK
HARD AND WE PLAY HARD!
Skills:
Language: Native xx, Fluent xx, Conversational xx, Basic xx
Computer: Familiar with MSOffice Applications
Don’t:

• Don’t USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and bold keywords in the content

• Avoid using several font styles and colors to catch my attention

• No need to include a picture of yourself

(unless an extremely professional one when asked by employer)

• Don’t use one CV to apply for multiple jobs (unless similar job nature)

• Don’t focus on yourself and your needs – I am only interested in

what you can do for me
Big firm

Small-medium sized firm

NGO
Optional:

Objective

Examples:
"Seeking a quality NGO internship where mentorship is at the forefront in
order to strengthen my communication skills while also serving as an asset
to clients, patients and the practice.“

"To become an integral part of NGO valuing clients and providing the
highest level of care for patients."
Objective: Management Trainee
Optional:

Personal Profile/Summary
A summary of A.S.K. (Attitude, Skills, Knowledge)

Example:

"Goal-oriented HKUST Science student with broad experiences in NGO,

marketing and FMCG industries. Fluent in English and traveled abroad
during academic exchange. Keen insight into managing client relationships.
Willing to work a flexible schedule and open to relocation.
Optional:

Personal Profile/Summary
Example:
(P.5 or 13 of STRONG) (http://www.onetonline.org)

“I am aspired to be a professional coach supporting others to live a happy

(Values Test/Lumina Spark Report)

and fulfilling life. I stand for passion, dedication, commitment, and

(selfie of your soul)

excellence. My vision is to make a difference in other’s life.”

I am aspired to be a ______ doing ________

I stand for_______
My vision is to _________
Optional:

Interests
Listing a few interests helps explain to the employer “who you are” and gives you
more of a personal feel. They show you have interests outside of your study and
may help form connections.
Absolutely No Need to put on Resume

Photo
Absolutely No Need to put on Resume, but you need to have 3 names
and their updated contact information ready:

Referees

Professor x 1
Previous supervisor (work) x 1
Project lead of your volunteer team x 1