Chapter 15 “Starting Your Career” is about what it says, starting your career. There are many steps you need to take when starting a career. First you need to make a resume which briefly explains why you would be a good employee for the job. After you make a strong resume you need to create an application letter to give more information if requested. Creating a professional portfolio may also be a necessary step in starting your career.
First off a resume needs to be efficient. You need to tell all useful information pertaining to work experience and accolades in the shortest amount of time possible. Most companies pre-scan resumes to find ones that have certain “key words”. Using these key words is very important because your resume may not even be read if it does not contain any of these words. If the information you want to put on your resume does not have anything to do with you and how you are as a worker it probably shouldn’t be included.
An application letter further explains who you are and gives the employer access to information about you. These letters should explain why you would be a useful asset to the company. Just make sure to look out for the common mistakes people make when creating an application letter. A couple of these mistakes are: restating information on your resume, and telling why the job is good for you instead of why you are good for the job.
Some employers ask for a professional portfolio which demonstrates your qualifications and abilities. A portfolio needs to contain things like but not limited to: your resume, examples of written work, your diploma and certifications, awards, and letters of reference. A professional portfolio is something you are not always responsible to bring to a job interview but just in case be prepared to do so.
This reading gave a lot of good advice pertaining to job searching and even increasing your odds of getting the job you want. It contained a lot of information I previously did not think about when trying to get a job. The main point they tried to get across was to be prepared and confident in what you are doing and it will help increase your chances. The reading also tied into our last reading because when preparing all of these documents you need to keep in mind who may be reading them and tailor your writing to meet their needs.
This reading defiantly
This reading defiantly revisited the subject of know your reader and keeping in mind the kinds of things that they will be looking for. A person that is trying to land a professional position should present themselves in there resume as nothing less. During an interview if an IT professional was asked to trouble shoot a problem and did not show their understanding of the issue at hand by the vocabulary they used do you think that they would get the job? This reading discussed the importance of what a resume needs to reflect to the reader and that it should be written for the position that is being sought after.