11.1 Preparation

Spending adequate time preparing to write your employment materials can save you many headaches in the drafting process. This section of the chapter covers strategies that can help in your job search.

FIND A JOB

Finding a suitable job opening can be a time-consuming process. Below are a few resources:

  • Job boards: browse sites like Indeed, CareerBuilder, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn to search for jobs in your field.
  • Specialty job lists: look for lists of jobs in specific industries such as food service (Poached), nonprofits (Idealist), tech (Dice), or media (MediaBistro)
  • Company, organization and government web sites: visit the employment section on websites of companies you admire; search federal, state, county, and city websites for government job postings.
  • Your own network: talk to friends, past employers, and professors or visit LinkedIn to search for openings at companies in your network.
  • Your college: visit your college or university placement office/career center and attend job fairs hosted at your college.

Once you have found a job, print and/or save an electronic copy of the job posting or job description. You can use this document to help you tailor your application materials. Because companies often delete the job posting once they have received sufficient applicants, it is important that you save your own copy of the document.

CONDUCT A SELF-INVENTORY

As you work on your resume, you may worry that you have nothing valuable to include, or you may worry that you are bragging. One way to get over these hurdles is to allocate pre-writing time to a self-inventory. Brainstorm your skills, accomplishments and knowledge. What did you accomplish at work, school, or a volunteer position? What skills have you learned? What would you tell a friend or family member you were proud of having achieved there? Start by writing down key terms and action verbs that describe your experiences and accomplishments, and don’t worry yet about putting them into a résumé format.

find action verbs

For help brainstorming action verbs that describe your skills, browse a key term list such as the one below. First, scan the groupings of skills for key terms related to skills you have or work you have done. Then, write down 1) categories of skills you have (Communication, Creative, Leadership, Helping, Organizational) and 2) action verbs that describe skills you have or work you have done (e.g. analyzed, performed, calculated, advocated, etc.)

Communication Creative Leadership Skills Helping Organizational
Collaborated Combined Assigned Aided Arranged
Communicated Created Coordinated Arranged Categorized
Developed Developed Decided Assisted Distributed
Edited Drew Improved Contributed Organized
Incorporated Illustrated Led Cooperated  Recorded

Table adapted from Creating Resumes I by Roads to Success, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Gather dates of employment, dates of trainings, lists of activities you have been involved in, academic awards, achievements, and special projects. Job descriptions or performance reviews from previous jobs can also include key terms to include on your resume. Finally, ask former coworkers or managers about your significant workplace contributions.

brainstorm with a partner

Get a partner and a piece of paper. Take ten-minute turns speaking and scribing. The speaker describes past work history and experience, especially as it relates to the job at hand. The scribe takes notes while listening to her partner’s description, taking care to note any key terms she hears. The scribe should also ask questions that help the speaker go into detail about the experience (who, what, when, where, why?). Finally, the scribe helps identify any skills or achievements the speaker may not realize he or she has; sometimes we have a skill that we don’t recognize because we assume it is something everyone can do. Then, switch roles with your partner.

RESEARCH YOUR POTENTIAL EMPLOYER

It is important to research not just the specific job you have in mind, but the potential employer as well. The easiest way to do this is to visit the company’s website. Look for an “about us” page or a “mission statement,” and observe how the company describes its goals and values. You can also search for the company on social media sites, browse for news articles about the company or press releases written by the company, speak with friends or colleagues who work for the company, or call the company to request an informational interview.

As you conduct research, try to answer the following questions about the company or organization:

  • Whom does the company serve?
  • Who are the company’s partners or competitors?
  • What technologies would I use at the company?
  • What is the tone of the company’s materials (formal, conservative, humorous, hip, etc.)?
  • How would you describe this company’s brand?

Consider how well your values align with those of the company:

  • What do you admire about the company?
  • Where do your values and interests mesh with those of the company?
  • What makes this company a good fit for you?
  • Try to summarize your connection to the company in one sentence. Remember that your potential employer is also your audience, and adapt your tone, examples, and level of technicality accordingly.

RESEARCH THE POTENTIAL JOB

To research the job itself, take advantage of the job description you have found. The job description is your secret weapon; in this document, you are told what the employer is looking for in a candidate.

Print out the job description and annotate it; get into a conversation with it:

  • Highlight or underline any qualifications that you hold — any skills you have, technologies you’ve used, etc.
  • Make note of any past achievements that relate to any of the preferred qualifications. For example, if the job description seeks a candidate who can diagnose and solve technical problems, write down an example of a specific time in which you did so in a professional or academic setting.
  • Circle any key terms you might use in your own materials. Using the same terms as a potential employer demonstrates to that employer that you have examined the company’s needs carefully and determined that you’re a good fit for the position. And you also speak their language.
  • Note your questions, uncertainties, and any qualifications you do not have in order to decide what to highlight and what to downplay in your materials (as well as what you need to learn more about).