MODULE 4

LESSON 2
COMMUNICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT
Lesson 2.1 – Writing Resumes
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. identify your key selling points through a Personal SWOT Analysis;

2. analyze the different parts of a resume and their corresponding

functions; and

3. write a clear, informative, and organized resume customized to

one's qualifications and target position.
 CORE VALUES

 Responsibility and accountability in communication

 Communication as a strong foundation of human relationship

 Building a peaceful humanity through established systems of

communication

 Respect for human dignity

 Advertisement selling a
product…. YOU!

 Specifically your skills,

experiences, and attributes.

 First meeting between you and

the employer.
Overall it’s your FIRST
STEP towards
employment.
How long do you think an
employer looks at each
resume?
• The average employer looks at a resume
between 10-15 seconds. This is the time
they decide to either KEEP IT or TOSS IT.
 OBJECTIVE

• To provide the skills and tools for creating

and preparing your own resume.
 Why do you need a resume?

 A marketing tool
 To obtain an interview, not a job
 Requirement of many organizations
DOES YOUR RESUME PASS THE TEST?
 Resume- hidden messages

Resume You

Neat  Neat
Well-organized  Well-organized
Error free  Attention to detail
Professional appearance  Careful & Competent
SECTIONS OF A RESUME
 The Header
 What should be included?
 Name
 Permanent and present address
 E-mail address
 Telephone number

 Where should contact information go?

 Top of the page
The Header
 Objective Statement
Purpose
 Communicate the type of position you are interested in

Examples
 Management trainee position with a specialty retailer.

 Technical sales with an energy related industry in the Southwest.

 Long range goals of regional sales management.

 To obtain a position as field service representative with XYZ Software

Corporation.
Objective Statement
 Education

 Date or expected date of graduation

Graduation Date: May 2014
Expected Graduation Date: May 2015
 GPA
Major or overall at least 3.0
Round down to the nearest tenth
3.0 not 3.062
 GPA: 1.0, Summa Cum Laude
 If over a 2.5 do not add
Education
 Activities
• Everything you’re involved in -- clubs, sports,
programs, activities like band, art, drama, journalism
in school and out of school. You can put them in
order of significance or most recent.

• Underneath each activity, write at least one brief

description tells what you did. Start with a strong
action verb and follow it with specifics.
Activities
 Volunteer (Community) Experience

 Include events you have participated either in or

out of school. Describe what you did. Start with
strong verbs. Be as specific as you can.
Volunteer (Community) Experience
 Experience
 Use the term "experience"
What is considered experience?
Full and part-time jobs
Self-employment
Volunteer work
Practicum, field, and cooperative education
Information to include
Job Title
Dates of employment
Company name
City & State
 Experience

Work Experience:
Don't forget non-traditional work, such as
babysitting or helping out with the family business.
For each item, include the job title, name of
organization, location, dates, and description of
responsibilities.
Experience
 Listing Responsibilities
 Use bullet points
 Start of each line with an action verb
 Present tense if currently employed
 Past tense if no longer employed
 Vary your choice of verbs
 Tailor skills and experiences to the position for
which you are applying
 Be concise while providing enough detail
 Achievements & Awards

 Don’t limit yourself here.

 This can be a laundry list or a detailed description.
 Order by date
Reverse chronological
 Rank order by importance to the career objective
 Do not say Member of …
 Emphasize your leadership roles
 Spell out the organization’s name:
Do not use abbreviations or acronyms
 Resume Dos

 Use action verbs

 Use short, concise sentences
 Use #, %, Php amounts
 Keep resume easy to read
 Keep resume about one page
 Resume Don’ts

 Do not use the pronouns such as I, me, my, etc.

 Do not include references
 Do not clutter your resume with nonessential
information
 Do not make any misrepresentations
 Do not include personal information
 LESSON 2.2
• WRITING THE
PERFECT COVER
LETTER
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. understand the purpose of a cover letter and identify its essential

parts;

2. evaluate authentic cover letter samples using a rubric in order to elicit

the features of a quality and poor cover letters; and

3. prepare a customized cover letter that is matched to the job posting

and to your resume.
 CORE VALUES

 Responsibility and accountability in communication

 Communication as a strong foundation of human relationship

 Building a peaceful humanity through established systems of

communication

 Respect for human dignity

WRITINGYOUR
COVERLETTER
WRITING YOUR
COV PRESENTATION
ERLETTERWRIT OVERVIEW
INGYOUR
COVERLETTER
WRITIN
GYOUR WRITING THE PERFECT
COVERLETTER COVER LETTER
WRI
TINGYOUR • What is a cover letter?
• What is the purpose of
COVERLET cover letters?
TER • Business formatting
WRITINGYOUR • Paragraph by paragraph
COVERLETTER • Things to keep in mind
WRITINGYOUR
COVERLETTER
 WHAT IS A
COVER LETTER?
A COMPLEMENT TO YOUR RESUME

• Cover letters are a narrative complement t o

your resume.
• A brief one page document that helps expand on
the experiences you showcased in your resume.
• Highlights your motivations in applying
for the position and why you want to work
with this specific organization.
• Showcases your personality and values.
 PURPOSE OF A
COVER LETTER
Cover letters should highlight your academic,
professional, and personal qualifications for the
position to which you are applying.

It should not be a restatement of your resume. Instead

you should select certain experiences to highlight to
the employer. You might weave experiences together,
telling how one experience led to another. You might
tell a story from one or two experiences that bring
depth and detail not covered in your resume.
 PURPOSE OF A COVER
LETTER
A compelling cover letter answers "Why you?" and "Why them?"
- Why you: Focus their attention on your most relevant and compelling
qualifications. What value will you bring to the organization? (Not
what you want or what you can gain.)
- Why them: Be sure to include a sentence to a full paragraph on why
you want to work with this particular organization. Talk about them.
Be sure to match your tone to the organization, i.e. corporate banking
tends to be more formal than marketing or nursing. (Don’t confuse
formal with professional. All letters should be written with a
professional voice and focus. Do not use slang, abbreviations, or a
casual tone.)

Cover letters that are just about you are dry and expected. To catch their
attention, MAKE A CONNECTION.
 WHY MAKING A CONNECTION MATTERS
As individuals, when first meeting someone, we tend like people who are similar to us in
some way.
A study published in Journal of Social and Personal Relationships showed these three reasons why similarity might
increase liking:
Consensual validation: Meeting people who share our attitudes makes us feel more confident in our own attitudes
about the world. If you love jazz music, meeting a fellow jazz-lover shows you that loving jazz is OK, and maybe
even a virtue.  
Cognitive evaluation: This explanation focuses on how we form impressions of other people by generalizing from
the information we have. So we learn that a person has something in common with us, and that makes us feel
positively about that person, because we feel positively about ourselves. We then assume that the other person, like
us, has other positive characteristics.
Certainty of being liked: We assume that someone who has a lot in common with us is more likely to like us. And
in turn, we are more likely to like people if we think they like us.

Companies “like” people who can connect with their mission, culture, and employees.
 3 WAYS TO MAKE
A CONNECTION
A)Share a story that shows you connect with
their brand or their culture
B) Tell them how you came to learn that they
were special amongst their competitors
C) Demonstrate why you value them and the
work they do
WHAT MAKES
UP A COVER
LETTER?
 Your Name
TRADITIONAL BUSINESS FORMATTING Your Address

Today’s Date

Their Name
Their Title
Their Organization
Their Address

Greeting,

Introduction Paragraph

Body Paragraph(s)

Closing Paragraph

Salutation,

Your Name
HEADER AND GREETING
PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH

OPENING ACADEMIC BODY CONCLUSION AND

PARAGRAPH INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH FORMAL CLOSING
(Used if you are
applying for something Connect your skills,
State the position to related to your major)
Reaffirm your
which you're characteristics, qualifications and interest
applying, where you experiences, and in the position and
found it/heard about State the college you qualifications to the company. Be sure to
it, name drop if you are attending, your position and company as include your contact
have a direct degree, relevant classes a whole. information. Could offer
connection, and close you’ve completed, and to follow up with the
Highlights what
with a ‘hook’. other relevant academic employer. End the letter
interests you in working
information. formally.
with this particular
organization.
 SIGNATURE
Salutation,

Your Name Typed

 THINGS TO REMEMER
TOPICS STYLE FONT

Why you? Should be narrative in Use same font as

Why them? style. Match tone of resume for consistency
organization and always across your documents
Highlight your be professional.
experiences to
showcase you as the CUSTOMIZE
LENGTH
best candidate and
emphasize your No longer than 1 page and Tailor and customize
interest in their around 3-5 paragraphs. your cover letter to
organization. each position.
 CONCLUSION
•WHY IT •KEY
MATTERS ELEMENTS
A narrative Adds depth to your
complement to your resume resume and always ties back
and enhance your to the position for which you
qualifications to employers. are applying.

•HAVE A •BE SPECIFIC

GOAL IN Highlight specific examples
of relevant academic, professional,
MIND or personal experiences.

Make sure to address the

two main questions of "Why me?"
and "Why them?"
 Lesson 2.3
Building Interview
Skills
LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. familiarize yourself to the different types of interview questions;

2. use the STAR approach in responding to interview questions; and

3. respond successfully to interview questions in a job mock interview.

CORE VALUES

 Responsibility and accountability in communication

 Communication as a strong foundation of human relationship

 Building a peaceful humanity through established systems of

communication

 Respect for human dignity

 Key to a good interview

• The key to a good interview will always lie in your ability to avoid
common hiring mistakes and assess potential talent in the interview
process.

• But keep in mind that more new hires fail due to personality-culture
mismatch than technical skills mismatch, so keep a keen eye out for
compatible styles  in terms of communication, pace, constructive
criticism, and work hour commitments in candidates’ responses.
 Assess the Candidate’s Desire Factor

• Did the candidate research your company, its achievements, competitors,

and challenges prior to an interview. Still, some will go out of their way to
articulate their understanding of who you are and why they’re so excited
about joining your firm. Try questions like these to isolate those who are
hungriest for the opportunity that you offer: 
• Why would you want to work here, and what do you know about our
organization?
• What makes us stand out in your mind from our competitors?
• How would this role with our company provide a link to your future career
progression?
 Behavioral Interviews
• A behavioral question (behavior-based interview questions) is a question
that aims at learning about your past “behaviors” in specific work
situations.  
• How you have “behaved” in certain situations in the past will give them
clues on how you’ll behave in those same situations when working for them
in the future.

Tell me about a time…..

Situation
Behavior
Outcome
Common Behavior Based Question Categories

 Teamwork oriented
 Problem solving
 Initiative/Leadership
 Interpersonal Skills
 Challenge/stress/pressure
 Behavioral Interview Questions

• “Describe a Situation Where You Disagreed With a Supervisor.”

• “Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work.”
• “Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem.”
• “Describe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was implemented
primarily because of your efforts.”
• “Do you feel you work well under pressure? If so, describe a time when you
have done so…”
• “Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.”
• “Tell me about a time where you had to delegate tasks during a project”
• “Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.”
• “Tell me about a time when you missed an obvious solution to a problem.”
• “Tell me about your proudest professional accomplishment.”
 INTERVIEWING QUESTIONS GUIDELINES

Ca te g o ry Unla wful La wful

Ag e
Arre st/ Co nvic tio n Re c o rd
Ma rita l Sta tus
Se x
Se xua l Orie nta tio n
Use o f la wful p ro d uc ts
 Ho w o ld a re yo u ?  O n th e a p p lic a tio n , if th e y d id n o t c o m p le te ,
 Wh a t is yo u r d a te o f b irth ? yo u c a n a sk th e m if th e y a re 18 ye a rs o f a g e o r
 Ma y I se e yo u r b irth c e rtific a te o r b a p tism a l o ld e r?
re c o rd s?
 Ha ve yo u e ve r b e e n a rre ste d ?  If th e a p p lic a n t d id n o t c h e c k o r c o m p le te o n
th e a p p lic a tio n th e c rim in a l re c o rd p o rtio n , yo u
m a y a sk if th e y h a ve e ve r b e e n c o n vic te d o f a
c rim e .
 If so , w h e n , w h e re a n d w h a t w a s th e n a tu re o f
th e c rim e – h a ve th e m c o m p le te
 Are th e re a n y fe lo n y c h a rg e s p e n d in g a g a in st
yo u ?
 Are yo u m a rrie d , se p a ra te d , d ivo rc e d ,  Do yo u h a ve a n y c o m m itm e n ts th a t m ig h t
w id o w e d o r sin g le ? h in d e r yo ur a tte n d a n c e a t w o rk?
 Ha ve yo u e ve r b e e n m a rrie d , se p a ra te d ,  Are yo u a va ila b le to w o rk th e d a y (o r n ig h t)
d ivo rc e d ? sh ift?
 Wh a t is yo u r sp o u se s n a m e a n d w h a t d o e s h e
d o?
 Do yo u h a ve c h ild re n ?
 Are yo u m a le o r fe m a le ?  No n e
 Are yo u p re g n a n t?
 Are yo u p la n n in g o n h a vin g c h ild re n o r m o re
c h ild re n ?
 Do yo u u se b irth c o n tro l?
 Wh a t is yo u r se xu a l p re fe re n c e ?  No n e
 Are yo u h o m o se xu a l, tra n sse xu a l, le sb ia n o r
b ise xu a l?
 Are yo u g a y?
 Do yo u sm o ke ?  Q u o te C o m p a n ie s p o lic y o n “sm o ke -fre e a n d
 Do yo u u se to b a c c o p ro d u c ts? d ru g -fre e e n viro n m e n t o n ly”
 Do yo u d rin k?
 INTERVIEWING QUESTIONS GUIDELINES

Ca te g o ry Unla wful La wful

Ra c e
Re lig io n
Pe rso na l Ap p e a ra nc e
Na tio na l Orig in/ Anc e stry
Citize nship
Fina nc ia l Info rm a tio n
 Wh a t is yo u r ra c e ?  No n e
 Are yo u Afric a n -Am e ric a n , C a u c a sia n , Na tive
Am e ric a n , Asia n ?
 Wh a t ra c e a re yo u r p a re n ts? C h ild re n ?
Sp o u se ?
 Wh a t re lig io n a re yo u?  No n e
 Do yo u g o to c h u rc h ?
 Fo r w h a t re lig io u s h o lid a ys w ill yo u b e
u n a va ila b le to w o rk?
 Do e s yo ur re lig io n p re ve n t yo u fro m w o rkin g
w e e ke n d s o r h o lid a ys?
 Wh o is yo u r p a sto r?
 Ho w ta ll a re yo u ?  Q u o te th e “Dre ss C o d e ” p o lic y if th e re is o n e
 Ho w m u c h d o yo u w e ig h ?
 Wh a t c o lo r is yo u r h a ir?
 Do yo u h a ve a n y ta tto o s?
 Wh e re w e re yo u b o rn ?  No n e
 Ma y I se e yo u r b irth c e rtific a te ?
 Wh e re w e re yo u r p a re n ts/ g ra n d p a re n ts b o rn ?
 Wh a t is yo u r first la n g u a g e ?
 Wh a t la n g u a g e d o yo u sp e a k a t h o m e ?
 Are yo u a n a tura lize d o r n a tive -b o rn c itize n ?  Are yo u a U.S. c itize n ?
 Wh e n d id yo u b e c o m e a c itize n ?  Are yo u le g a lly p e rm itte d to w o rk in th e U.S.
 Are yo u r p a re n ts c itize n s?
 Do yo u in te n d in b e c o m in g a n Am e ric a n
C itize n ?
 Ha ve yo u e ve r d e c la re d b a n kru p tc y?  No n e
 Ha s yo u r p a y e ve r b e e n g a rn ish e d ?
 Are yo u o b lig a te d to p a y c h ild su p p o rt?
 Are yo u re c e ivin g p ub lic a ssista n c e ?
 Do yo u re n t o r o w n yo u r h o m e ?
 Do yo u o w n a c a r?
 • Successful job interviews rely heavily in your ability to
effectively present your success stories. One approach to
telling success stories is the STAR method (Situation-Tasks-
Actions-Results).
Interview Question: How well do you work in teams?
STAR Description Sample Interview Response
Situation Describe a specific I personally enjoy working in teams. Back in
situation that you were college, we had a number of tasks that required
in or the task that you collaboration among us, students. One of which was
needed to accomplish our thesis, a final requirement for our graduation.
Tasks What was the goal that you I was identified as the leader of the group. At first, everything was going
were working on? according to our work schedule until one of our groupmates started not to
come to our work meetings. She told me that she was unavailable because
she was a working student. My other groupmates were dissatisfied with her
explanation that they were convincing me to drop her from the group.

Actions Describe the actions that Instead of telling the teacher about it, I decided to meet up with my
you took that led to the “working student” classmate. I asked first the difficulties that she has in
outcome relation to our tasks. I also presented to her the problems that we have
encountered and will still encounter if she continues not to do her assigned
tasks.

Result Describe the outcome of By the end of our meet-up, we agreed on a common schedule that will allow
your actions. Highlight your her to meet us. I have also re-assigned her certain tasks that require
role in the outcome independent work so that she will not need take time out of her work. I
learned from that experience the importance of dialogue to make a team
work effectively. When I took the time to reach out to my classmate, I think
I did not only help her but I also made our team work as a team and
eventually win the Best Thesis award.
Interviewing Tips for the Interviewer

• Have your list of questions prepared

• Use those behavioral questions
• Review the candidates Resume/credentials
• Extend professional courtesies, ex water..
• Watch those nonverbal signals
• Keep polite and professional
• Follow up
Questions to Avoid
Building Rapport
Choose who you
would like to offer!

• Evaluate specific evidence which the candidate

shared, be sure you are not bringing in any
biases
• Gage there behavioral traits and skills
• Avoid the charisma trap
• High value on attitude, work ethic and
motivation
• Learn from your personal past hiring processes
 Why the Right Hire is Important

Replacement of an employee
can range from two to seven times his/her salary