I’ve officially decided that the worst thing about graduating from college is the job search that immediately follows it, or immediately precedes it (because if you’re smart, you start before you actually finish classes). This is especially tough right now, because we’re competing with people who’ve recently been laid off in the tough economy.
I know from personal experience that the number of job seekers is up: my mother works in a copy shop, and she reports that they are printing and faxing an abnormally high number of résumés right now. Good news for the copy shop; bad news for me and the millions of other people graduating into this job climate.
And let’s face it, writing a résumé and cover letter are right up there in terms of the most confusing and stressful tasks. And not all of us have the interview skills of Will Smith, who seems to ace every interview by walking in and solving a Rubik’s Cube (he did this both in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Pursuit of Happyness!). Do we even know where to start?
The Basics
I got a crash course in résumé writing in 10th grade, which gave me the crappy skeleton-version of a résumé that landed me my first college job. I look back at that piece of paper now and recoil in horror. 12 point Times New Roman font? What monster is this? My résumé has come a long way since then.
Here are some resources that will ensure your first résumé is nowhere near as bad and ugly as mine was:
What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers
Interestingly enough, this book doesn’t cover how to write a résumé, but it was one of the most useful tools I’ve used in the last year to do so. The one short chapter on résumés that’s in this book was way more helpful than my high school English teacher. But the real gems of this book? It’s hands-down the best guide on job-hunting that I’ve ever seen, and the information on how to survive the interview process is gold.
Rockport Institute: How To Write a Masterpiece of a Resume
There are a lot of web resources that claim to help you with the nitty-gritty of writing and formatting a résumé, but all the ones I’ve seen pale in comparison to this six-part guide. I used this website to rewrite my train-wreck résumé, and I refer back to it every time I want to add or update my résumé. It’s simply awesome.
Cover Letter Guide by Susan Ireland
Just when you thought you were all done with your résumé, you have to write a cover letter to go with it! Thank goodness for Susan Ireland and her free cover letter guide! Another resource that I turn to, time and time again.
Advanced Job Search Hacks
Maybe you fall into my category: you’ve got a résumé and this isn’t your first time writing a cover letter, but you know things could use some sprucing up. You’re looking for the edge: those little tweaks that will put your application on the top of the pile.
Squakfox’s How to Write a Resume (that gets job interviews) series
She’s worked both sides of the résumé game, and can tell you why yours sucks.
Advice from Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar
I’ve been reading Trent’s site for over two years now, and he never fails to deliver great content on a variety of money topics. So it’s not surprising that he has some great posts on résumés and job hunting:
How to Construct a Killer Resume, From Start to Finish
Ten Tips For Writing a Resume That Will Get The Right Kind Of Attention
17 Essential Tips For Getting That Dream Job
Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist
I don’t agree with everything she has to say, but her blog is definitely worth exploring, especially while you’re on the prowl for a job. Try poking through the articles by category, such as the Resume category, the Finding a career category and obviously, the Job hunt category.
Are there even more résumé, cover letter, and job searching resources out there? Of course. And if I know the awesome people who comment on this site, they’ll leave a few suggestions. But try not to get too caught up in reading about job searches instead of actually searching. It’s easy to lose a day (or a week) of your time reading more than you need to instead of taking action.
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23 responses to “How to Write a Resume, Cover Letter, and Find a Job” 
Did you know that if you linked to the book on Amazon with you affiliate code you can make money if someone buys one of your books?
Great post though! I stumbled it.
Thanks,
Nate
@Nate: I’m glad you liked the article. All of the Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which is why I only link to books that I have read personally and recommend. Of course, I would like to also point out that nearly every book I recommend is available in the library! I definitely suggest that people look there for any book, first, especially if you’re only planning to read it once. In this case, though, with What Color is Your Parachute?, it might be worth it to seek out your own copy. It’s definitely a good book to keep as a reference, and the new editions are different enough every year that it’s worth getting the new one, and your library may not have the new edition yet. But always check first! There’s no harm in getting a book from the library, deciding you love it, and then going and buying it after you’ve returned it to the library.
[...] than you] shares some awesome resources off and online on how to write a resume, cover letter, and find a job. You know you [...]
Thanks so much! I need to write a C.V. and Letter of Intent for grad school, and these links will definately help me.
Not a bad set of links; I’ll have to see what new information I can glean from those sources. Especially as I am one of those people who have been recently been laid off in this tough economy, and thus need to compete with all you young whippersnappers! (I’m kidding. Mostly…)
@Roger: It’s ok, you used the word “whippersnappers” and are therefore an awesome aged person, in my book. Just today I was saying that I can’t wait to get old enough to use “whippersnappers” myself (seriously, I did say that today).
Also, as long as you aren’t looking for work in my field, I won’t hate you
[...] senior? Looking for a summer job? This may [...]
In all honesty I’ve never had to write a cover letter for any of my jobs and a few months ago I wrote my first resume up and I know 100% it is pure crap, but I still got the job! I’ll have to check out some of the links you have provided here so when I decided to change careers again (not any time soon mind you) that i’ll be better prepared for it!
I haven’t ever had to write a cover letter either (like the above), so this is good stuff. Eventually I will. Thanks for the information.
I found you via Wisebread’s Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs. Congrats on making the list!
A very nice guide there.
In school, they have started writing CVs and covering letters, so alot of people will already have experience for this. Which is pretty good in this economic crisis!
Alas, I am all of 26 years old, so there’s really no excuse for using terms like ‘whippersnapper’, seeing as I’m a whippersnapper myself (At least, I like to believe I still am…)
Ah! I just redid my resume a couple days ago. And now I’m going to look over Squakfox’s series and see if my new one sucks, too. I am pretty exicted about this being the first resume where I had enough work experience that I didn’t need to pad with volunteer/clubs in order to fill a single page.
I think this website has some useful information. I like to look at examples for formatting and it has a good variety.
And I guess I am going to have to read that parachute book, because it was randomly mentioned in two completely-unrelated-to-jobs-and-education fiction books that I’ve read in the past couples weeks and now it’s being mentioned here. Fine, fine. I’ll take it as a sign and I will go to the library.
And also, reading Squakfox’s entries…
Your resume highlights your accomplishments, not job duties or descriptions. Write your resume to emphasize what you did well, not what your duties entailed.
I don’t really understand this advice! Another “how to write a resume” article I read says something similar…that you should list your accomplishments and not your job duties…but I’m good at ALL of my job, otherwise I wouldn’t have it and by listing what it is I did, the potential employer will know I have experience doing what they also want me to do.
@Brista: Thanks for the link to the site with example resumes and cover letters! Sometimes it’s a big help just to be able to see other resumes in action.
As for Squawkfox’s advice, the idea is that a resume is not a job application. It’s a sales document, where you are trying to sell yourself to a company. You don’t need to list every duty you performed, you need to make the person reading it think you are awesome. You don’t just want to show the employer that you’ve done filing before (for example), you want to show them that you’re an awesome filer that can save or earn them money. That’s why “Developed new filing system that saved $1,000 in administrative costs” is vastly better on your resume than “Filed paperwork.” You want to use numbers and show accomplishments. Which isn’t always easy to do, especially for new grads who might only have menial or clerical jobs to list. Sometimes you have to dig really deep to find those sorts of things to put on there.
[...] at Poorer Than You gave us a crash course on Resumes, Cover Letters, and Job Searches. Very timely advice for [...]
For most careers a one page resume SIMPLY DOES NOT cut the mustard. You CANNOT tell your story in one page
I need to write every thing in one page only
do you have any recommendations for resume writing experts? I’ve found that I suck at it and my associates don’t seem much better..
Thanks for the freash ideas and the links. With the job situation like it is these days we so often get the same old advice and worn out ideas. Thanks again.
Larry
I am going to have to read that parachute book, because it was randomly mentioned in two completely-unrelated-to-jobs-and-education fiction books that I’ve read in the past couples weeks and now it’s being mentioned here. Fine, fine. I’ll take it as a sign and I will go to the library.
As a former recruiter, I’d like to add to personalize each resume for the job that you are applying for. Find out as much information as you can about the job, then personlize your resume to reflect that job. For example, if the job is for a programmer that leads a team of 6 on a customer’s project. Then you should try to find experiences in your past where you have done the same and indicate that in the resume. When HR reads the resume, they are looking for people that have similar accomplishments to what the job entails.
Your advice about action words is also very important. Most people copy responsibilities that were listed in their original job announcement. For example, “Responsible for creating marketing plans for new products” should be changed to “Created marketing plans for 4 products during 2008″.
When I had to write my first cover letter and resume, I had no idea how to write. I just searched the internet and found a tool, with the help of which I anyhow completed those two things. But, with time I came to know how important these two things are in getting you a better job. The writing style must be very unique.
When I was a first time job seaker, I had problems with writing my resume and cover letter, but after a while I got experienced. I did have a lot of help from templates I found, and tips from people that were jobhunting themselves.
I have never used a cover letter before. Maybe I should start and that would help me get the interviews that I am lacking.
I have been sending resumes for years now and I think most resumes dont even get looked at the HR person is just so busy that I think most of them get thrown away or misplaced but a resume and cover letter is just a waste sometimes because people dont tell the truth alot of times and the only way an employer can really get the feel for you is to talk to you or you were refered by a friend who knows the boss Ive been thinking the cover letters and resumes are obsolete because there alot of unemployment going around.