Resumes & Cover Letters

Resumes and cover letters are essential components in the job search process and need to showcase your relevant skill sets and experiences.  The information will help you put together an impactful resume and cover letter that will help you get noticed by employers.  Current graduate business students, review the GBCS Career Resources Canvas for a resume/cover letter presentation and samples.  

 

An icon that showcase 3 resumes that are in black and white

Resumes

An employer takes anywhere from 6 to 30 seconds to review your resume, so you need to make sure your resume is easy to scan and highlights your skills and accomplishments that are relevant to the position. Every resume you send to an employer needs to be customized for the position you are applying to. Below is information that will help ensure your resume makes a great first impression to receive an interview. 

 

The way you format your resume is extremely important as a lot of companies utilize an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to sort through all of the resumes they receive.

Font

Use easy to read fonts like Arial, Calibri, Garamond and Times New Roman. 

Font Size

Your font size should be anywhere from 10pt-12pt depending on the specific font utilized. Headers (e.g. Education, Professional Experience, Skills) should be 12pt and the body 10pt-11pt. 

Margins 

Margins should be between .5-1” all the way around.

Pages

Your resume should be 1 page, unless you have over 10 years of experience then you can utilize 2 pages maximum.

Your resume content allows you to showcase your experience and transferrable skills to an employer, encouraging them to bring you in for an interview.

Bullet Points

Always utilize bullet point statements on your resume. You want to start your bullet point statements with action verbs such as analyze facilitate and manage. Do not utilize “I” statements anywhere on your resume. 

Bullet Points Content

Create bullet point statements that highlight your transferrable skills and experiences to the positions you are applying to. Customization is key when creating your resume for a particular position. You want to add details to your bullet point statements including numbers, programs, populations, and more so the employer has a clear picture of your past experience. 

Bullet Points Formula

A bullet point formula to utilize is start with an action verb (create, design, analyze) then say what you did and how or why you did it. The bullet point formula gives the employer a clear overview of your accomplishment. 

  • Facilitate tracking and measurement of effectiveness of marketing strategies through assessment initiative including customer input survey analysis of 450+ users.

Current graduate business students, for sample resumes for every program please go to GBCS Career Resources Canvas on your Single Sign On.  Then go to the Resume & Cover Letter Module and click on Sample Resumes.  

COVER LETTERS

Cover letters are your introduction to the employer and allows you to go more in depth than your resume on specific skill sets and experiences you want the employer to know about. The cover letter must be customized to the position you are applying to and showcase that you have done your research about the company. The job description will provide insight on what you should be highlighting in your cover letter. 

 

Utilize the below template as a guide for creating your customized cover letter for each company. 

Introduction

  • Why are you writing?
  • What are your qualifications for the position?
  • Why are you interested in the position or organization?
    • This is a great opportunity to showcase you have done your research about company.

Middle (1-3 paragraphs)

  • Highlight a skill or experience that is highlighted in the job description.
  • Give an example of the skill or experience from your previous work, academic or volunteer experience.
  • Connect how the skill or experience will help the employer.
    • Be sure to refer back to the job description to create a connection.

Closing

  • Thank the organization for their time and consideration
  • Request a further action indicating you would like to meet with the organization to further discuss your skills and experiences. 
  • Provide your contact information such as phone and email

Like your resume, your cover letter should follow certain guidelines to increase readability and flow. 

Formatting
Your cover letter should be no more than 1 page and be sure to utilize the header from your resume (e.g. name, address, email) for your cover letter to create consistency amongst the documents.

Content
Pay attention to spelling and grammar and do not start every sentence with “I.”  You want to read your cover letter out loud before submitting it

Current graduate business students, for sample cover letters for every program please go to GBCS Career Resources Canvas on your Single Sign On.  Then go to the Resume & Cover Letter Module and click on Sample Cover Letters.  

Graduate Business Resume Book

Want to bypass the application process and have employers view your resume? Submit your resume to the Resume Book and Graduate Business Career Services (GBCS) will showcase your resume to employers that are hiring for graduate business jobs and internships. 

  • Instructions: Provides a step by step process for submitting to the Resume Book
  • Guidelines: Showcases information to create your resume for the Resume Book