CSE - ISE 300Writing for the Job Search

Marianna Savoca

Career Centerwww.stonybrook.edu/career

Presenting Yourself Professionally• Persuasive• Concise• Action-oriented• Targeted• Flawless

Resume• NOT a LENGTHY DESCRIPTION of all

your responsibilities• It is PERSUASIVE – selling your

qualifications • Critical elements:

– Educational background– Related skills & experience

(projects) – Quantifiable accomplishments

Good resume vs. great resume

• College experiences

• Description of responsibilities

• Education / courses

• Technical skills• Class projects• Work experience• Community

service• Clubs / activities• Leadership roles

• A FOCUSED summary that outlines your qualifications for a targeted position.

• A description of your ACCOMPLISHMENTS as they relate to your objective.

• Use the STAR model – Situation / Task– Action– Result

How To Begin• THINK FIRST – “What have I

done?”• WRITE NEXT – write it all down• THINK MORE about what you’ve

done1. What have I accomplished?

2. What problems have I solved?

3. What difference did I make?

4. What measurable impact did I have?

Developing Your Draft• Use S.T.A.R. & ACTION VERBS• SITUATION /TASK: I noticed that

children’s videos were displayed on the 3rd shelf – too high for kids to see.

• ACTION: I recommended to my manager that we move those videos to a lower shelf.

• RESULT: Weekly sales of children’s videos increased by 25%

Good ExamplesWork Experience: • Sales Associate, Blockbuster Video, Port Jefferson,

NY- Increased weekly income from children’s rental videos by

25%.- Named “Associate of the Month” September 2007

Community Service: • AmeriCorps Volunteer, Tutoring Center, Brentwood,

NY- Tutored five children, ages 8-10, in reading twice weekly. - All five children increased reading level by one grade.

• What are your STARs?

More Good ExamplesSkills:• Perl/CGI, PHP, Ruby, JavaScript• AJAX, CSS, XHTML, XML, JSP• Java, C++, C, C#• Photoshop, Eclipse, Dreamweaver, MS Office

Projects: CSE 305: Principles of Database Design• Received a “A” in the course.• Designed relational database to support

online stock trading system using MySQL, JSP, and Java Servlet.

MUST HAVE• Your contact information! • Objective or summary• Education – reverse order (SBU first)• Technical Skills• Related Experience (work, internships)• Related Projects• Leadership / Activities / Volunteer

Is this a good example? OBJECTIVE: • A position with vertical growth that will allow me to

use my skills and attain financial success. EDUCATION:• Bronx High School of Science, Diploma 2006• Stonybrook University, NY 11794 – CSEACCOMPLISHMENTS:• Took part in numerous team projects.• Served as a CHOICE Peer Educator.

How about this?COLLEGE ACTIVITIES• President, Alpha Alpha Alpha 2007-2008• Program Coordinator, 2008--2009• Opening Week Chair, 2007• Student Activities Board, 2006-2008• NSBE, 2007 – present

Cover Letters…Are:• Proof of your

writing ability• Specific – to the

employer and to the position

• Concise & focused• Addressed to a

person• Your opportunity

to describe why you’re a fit for the job

Are NOT:• Always

necessary (eg. OCR does not require)

• A template to use for every employer

• A wish list of things you want in a job

• A repeat of what appears on your resume

Use Your Career Center• IT/ Engineering Drop In Hours: Monday 10:00am – 12:00pm• Resume review Drop Ins: M, T, R, F 1:00pm – 4:00pm (NOT Wed)

• Job & Internship Fair – FRIDAY OCT 8th 2010• Post your resume on ZebraNet and apply, apply! • Use other Career Center services for your job search or

graduate school application process.• http://www.stonybrook.edu/career