COMM 202:

Career Fundamentals

All Tutorials
with Carly Sangha
 Our Agenda for Today

1. Resume and Cover Letter Activity

2. Action Items
Course Timeline
Week 10 Week 11 Week 12
• TUTORIAL: Resume & • LECTURE: Interview Skills • TUTORIAL: Employment
Cover Letter Part 2 and Panel Interviews

• WHAT’S DUE: Company • WHAT’S DUE: Resume • WHAT’S DUE:

Research Assignment and Cover Letter Mar 29 Informational Interview
Mar 22 @11:59PM @ 11:59PM Part 2 Apr 5 @11:59
PM
• Mock Interviews (per
time slot)

3
A Word of Caution

• We will be VERY strict when marking

Resumes and Cover Letters

• Every spelling/grammar/consistency mistake

counts

• More than 3 errors cumulatively on both

Resume and Cover Letter = 40% off
Let’s Evaluate a Resume!
Watch Out for These Errors

Spelling & Grammar Incorrect Information Improper Formatting

Incorrect order of
Missing Information Inconsistency
Information
Resume
 Resume Formatting

• Titles formatted the same

• Spacing is consistent
• Margins are reasonable (≥1.5cm)
• Phrases either ALL end in period or not
• Dates
• Usually right-aligned
• All have month and year, or just year
• All months are abbreviated to same # of letters
• Uses hyphens (–) OR dashes (-)
• Font:
• Smallest size is 10
• Generally no more than two types of font
• Numbers under 10 spelled out (i.e. two vs. 2)
• Bullets: same size/style, aligned
• One page
 Resume Formatting

• Titles formatted the same

• Spacing is consistent
• Margins are reasonable (≥1.5cm)
• Phrases either ALL end in period or not
• Dates
• Usually right-aligned
• All have month and year, or just year
• All months are abbreviated to same # of letters
• Uses hyphens (–) OR dashes (-)
• Font:
• Smallest size is 10
• Generally no more than two types of font
• Numbers under 10 spelled out (i.e. two vs. 2)
• Bullets: same size/style, aligned
• One page
Header
HEADER

• Name is preferred name with (given name) in brackets

• Phone and email address are included
• LinkedIn URL is personalized
Header
HEADER

• Name is preferred name with (given name) in brackets

• Phone and email address are included
• LinkedIn URL is personalized
General

GENERAL

• No personal pronouns (I, we, he, she)

• Reasonable amount of white space – is
it easy to read?
• Experiences listed in reverse
chronological order by start date
• Spelling and grammar
General

GENERAL

• No personal pronouns (I, we, he, she)

• Reasonable amount of white space – is
it easy to read?
• Experiences listed in reverse
chronological order by start date
• Spelling and grammar
Optional: Key Competencies / Profile
Optional: Key Competencies / Profile

Does not seem tailored to any specific job or interest in industry/profession

• No more than 5 lines for key competencies (4 for profile)

• Can include languages
• Does it clearly and convincingly summarize strengths/experiences/skills?
• Does it match the job posting (multiple references)?
• Does it provide a clear, convincing link to the rest of the resume (i.e. is there PROOF elsewhere in
the document?)
• OPTIONAL** - depends on the industry you are applying to, include if need a way to fill up your
resume (i.e. Not enough experience but can’t have too much white space on resume)
Education
Education

• Bachelor of Commerce not BCOMM or B.Comm

• UBC Sauder School of Business not Sauder School of Business
• Start with the degree
• List expected date of completion (either as “Completion: …” or “Expected Completion: ...”)
• No laundry lists of courses: only specific, relevant courses (full course name written out)
• GPA – score/%/letter grade, indicating the school scale
• Key/relevant projects and awards: write in accomplishment statement form

Do not include high school education!

Experience
Experience

• Reverse chronological order by start date

• Written in third person
• Eliminate filler words
• You can include explanation sentences of companies / experiences if necessary
• Keep it to one sentence (2 lines is best)
• Elements of RATS statements should be apparent (but not necessarily in RATS order)

• Are experiences achievement based?

• Do numbers clearly quantify achievements where appropriate?
• Do statements have Accomplishment, Proof, Transferrable skills, and Scope of Action?
• Are statements led with strong result verbs? Are the verbs being used varied across bullet points?
• Does language indicate familiarity with industry/company? Does it match the job description?
Experience
Interests
Interests

• Do the interests show personality? Are they specific? Are they relevant to the job (not always necessary)?

• Do they differentiate the candidate? Are they memorable?

• Be fun! And appropriate

*NOTE for the candidate: Be able to speak about these interests extensively!
Cover Letter
Cover Letter Formatting
• Left aligned (NOT justified)
• No indents on paragraphs
• 2-3 relevant skills + stories highlighted
• Consistent font size (minimum size 10
and should match with resume font
size)
• Appropriate font
• Margin sizes
• Spacing between paragraphs
• Appropriate balance of content and
white space
• One page

**Headers of cover letter and resume

must match, it’s all about branding**
Addressing the Cover Letter
Addressing the Cover Letter
Date

Contact Name (if known)

Title
Company Name
Address 1
City, Province Postal Code

Re: Position Title (and reference number

if given)

Dear [First name Last name],

or Dear Hiring Manager/Committee, or
Dear Mr./Ms./Mx. Last Name,

[Opening Paragraph]
Signing Off
Signing Off

Sincerely, / Regards, / Best,

(Written signature if you want)

Your name
BCom Candidate 20XX
UBC Sauder School of Business

* Enclosed: physical copy Enclosed or Attached*: Resume

* Attached: electronic copy
Opening
Opening Stronger Hook

• How is the hook?

STRONG WANT, BUT NO CAN OR FIT
• Interest/passion for the position?
• Skills/experience matching the job posting?
• Is primary or secondary research integrated
• Name drop? (when applicable)
• Branding: CAN-WANT-FIT
Body Paragraphs
Body Paragraphs

• First paragraph: laundry list of experiences with no

• Skills to match the position? real significance
• STARL format? • Second paragraph: laundry list of skills with no
• Are there examples – specific & concise? explanation
• NO STAR STORIES
• Transferrable skills?
• NO DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EXPERIENCES
• Do results show strengths or success? • NO RESULTS
Closing Paragraph
Closing Paragraph

• Are skills reiterated?

• Skills are not reiterated
• Is sincere interest expressed? • Wordy and not concise
• Graciously thanks employer for consideration • Tie back to opening?
• Call to action (aka request for a meeting)
• Tie back to hook/intro, wrap it up in a nice bow
• Do not include your contact information – that can
already be found in the header
 Upcoming
UpcomingAction
ActionItems
Items

1. Resume and Cover Letter Office Hours: March 23 – 27th

http://calendly.com/comm202/resume-cover-letter-office-hours

2. Company Research Assignment: March 22nd at 11:59PM

3. Resume and Cover Letter: March 29th at 11:59pm

4. Informational Interview Part 2: April 5th at 11:59PM

5. Next week is LECTURE

 Questions?

Have a great day!