When you have completed your formal education, you will look for a job suited to your training, interests, and ambition. In most cases, you will visit a prospective employer's office and complete an application form for the position in which you are interested. The employer may then make a decision regarding your employability on the basis of the application form and a personal interview. This employment process is the simplest one and probably the one most commonly used for obtaining a first job.

　　In the job-seeking situation, there are a number of ways you may use your writing skills: to complete an application blank, prepare a resume, write an application letter, or write employment follow-up letters. To obtain your first job, you may need to complete only an employment application form. However, you may also need to prepare a letter of application and a resume. As an ambitious job-seeker, therefore, you should be able to prepare all the written material that will help you obtain the job you want.

What Abilities do You Have to Offer an Employer?

　　You will be hired because you have a skill that an employer needs. Before you start your campaign for a job, you must decide for which specific jobs you are qualified and in which jobs you are interested. On the basis of your personal and educational background, you begin by listing specific skills and knowledge that would benefit an employer. Then you decide which specific job titles need the skills and knowledge you possess.

　　Which of the positions you have listed interest you most? Which ones interest you least? Direct your job-seeking efforts to the most interesting positions for which you are qualified. Once you have assessed your skills and knowledge and determined the various jobs for which you are qualified, one of your most important decisions involves preparing your resume.

What's in a Resume?

　　Once you have decided what you have to sell an employer, you should prepare a written summary of your qualifications. This summary-called a resume-is a description of your qualifications. It usually includes a statement of your education, your employment record (experience), a list of references, and other data that will help you obtain the job you wish.

　　A resume is highly useful. You may use it to accompany a letter of application, present it to an employer at the interview, mail it to a prospective employer without a formal letter of application, or use it to assist you in filling out an employment application form.

　　Since resumes are sales instruments, they must be prepared just as carefully as sales letters. They must present the best possible impression of you. The act of preparing the resume is just as valuable as the resume itself, for it forces you to think about yourself-what you have to offer an employer and why you should be hired. Thus it becomes a self-appraisal. Everyone brings unique talents to a position, but usually only after you prepare a resume do you realize your true worth.

　　Make the Resume Attractive. Because the resume is a sales instrument, it should be as attractive as you can make it. Of course, it should be typewritten, perfectly balanced on the page, and free from errors and noticeable corrections. Resumes vary in length from one page to several pages, depending on how much you have to say about yourself. Your first resume should probably fit on one page or at the most two, but as you gather experience and obtain more education, your resumes may get longer and more detailed.

　　Make the Resume Fit the Employer's Needs. A resume is tailored carefully to meet the employer's needs for the job for which you are applying. Thus it is an individual thing. Never try to copy someone else's resume or to use the same one over and over. You must find out what the job you are seeking demands and then tailor your resume accordingly. For example, if you apply for a job where you will be required to take dictation at a high speed, you will want to emphasize your skill in shorthand. You will make absolutely sure that the employer knows you are a highly skilled shorthand writer and transcriber. On the other hand, if the secretarial job you want requires little in the way of shorthand but a good deal of talent in writing, you will mention your shorthand skill but emphasize your writing ability.

↑TOP　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(746 words)