Resumes & Cover Letters for Engineers Fall 2007 Agenda Résumé Guidelines Describing Your Experience Examples Résumé Activity You Are the Recruiter Today Cover Letters Q&A 1
The Staff Lynne Beaudoin, Front Desk Coordinator evelyne.beaudoin@mcgill.ca, 514-398-8100 careers4engineers@mcgill.ca Maureen Huddleson, On-Campus recruitment Coordinator maureen.huddleson@mcgill.ca, 514-398-6884 careers4engineers@mcgill.ca Debbie Hamel, Internship Coordinator debbie.hamel@mcgill.ca, 514-398-5777 Eleanore McNaughton, Career Advisor eleanore.mcnaughton@mcgill.ca, 514-398-4368 Darlene Hnatchuk, Industry Liaison Manager Darlene.hnatchuk@mcgill.ca Nelly Vassileva, Industry Liaison Manager nelly.vassileva@mcgill.ca, 514-398-3314 Our Services Career counselling and planning Résumé and cover letter review Company presentations/info sessions/on-campus recruitment Interview preparation (incl. case & finance) Workshops/Career Fridays Weekly newsletter (jointly with Student Affairs Office) Industry Speaker Series Company Visits Career resource library and website (job database) McGill TechFair (www.mcgilltechfair.com) WWW.MECC.MCGILL.CA 2
Résumé Review Two ways to have your résumé reviewed Come during drop-in hours: 10 11 a.m. and 3 4 p.m. Drop-off your résumé at the reception for 24 hour review Résumé Guidelines 1 page, maximum 2 pages Avoid templates, be different Easy to read and personalized You have 30 sec to impress Use bolding and underlining strategically Choose categories that show your strengths Eliminate typos! Proofreading a must Highlight skills sought in the industry Must be targeted What skill am I selling with this bullet? Use action verbs launched, initiated, accomplished, achieved, verified Include measurable results and contributions What is My Brand? 3
Résumé Guidelines Suggested sections Profile/ Objective/ Highlights of Qualifications Education Work Experience Selected Projects (Design/ Consulting/ Engineering/ Research) Leadership/Extracurricular/Community Involvement Languages and Computer Skills Additional Data (Professional Affiliations, Publications, Sports and Interests) Describing Your Experience Examples of results-oriented phrases: Created and implemented highly efficient data collection method, later applied to other projects Successfully recruited prospective customers, increasing client base by 50% Honed multitasking and organizational skills through creation and design of three advertising campaigns, simultaneously 4
Example Before Summer Intern, XYZ Co. Summer 2007 Created PowerPoint presentations Updated database and spreadsheet Managed accounts Attended client meeting Example - After Marketing Intern, Company XYZ Summer 2006 Created PowerPoint presentations used to report client results Perfected Excel skills, updating databases and spreadsheets and designing tables and graphs Managed tasks and priorities efficiently working on 5 different accounts for direct marketing campaigns Attended client meetings and developed presentation and client relation skills 5
Résumé Tips for Graduates Start with Profile/Interests section Include all career-related internships Include all your projects/relevant coursework/freelance consulting Relevant courses in Education section Always highlight skills learned, results achieved relevant to the industry Results show motivation and drive to achieve Cover Letter Tips Always address it to a specific person, have the full contact information Tailor the letter to the position: RELEVANT skills and experience Up to 1 page long, 4-5 paragraphs, clear and concise No grammatical, punctuation or spelling mistakes, particularly if one of the skills you are selling is attention to detail No personal information (age, marital status, gender, religion, ethnicity) End on a pro-active note 6
Cover Letter Format Date Contact person Title Employer's Address Dear last name: Header Can use same header as your résumé Establish purpose of your letter, attract attention, and arouse interest 1 st paragraph - introduction (2-4 sentences) 2 nd / 3 rd / 4 th paragraph - body 5 th paragraph - closing (4 sentences maximum) Indicate how your skills, acquired through academic, work and extracurricular experiences, match the employer's needs Very truly yours/sincerely, Your signature Your name, typed How aggressive do you want to be? E-mail Cover Letter Etiquette Important to include and make sure it is same quality as paper format Limit to 2-3 short paragraphs Include how you heard about the job opening, why you are right for the job, and how they can reach you Remember to attach your résumé (test how it opens by sending to a friend first) BCC yourself or print a copy so you can keep track 7
Job Posting Reference Number: 30611M07S-EM2 Job Type: Summer Post Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 EMPLOYER: McGill University - Mechanical Engineering Department INDUSTRY SECTOR: Educational Services TYPE OF BUSINESS: Universities POSITION(S) AVAILABLE: Summer Student Programmer JOB DESCRIPTION(S): A tumbling mill simulator has been developed by the Comminution Dynamics Lab. The simulator uses the Ageia Physics Processing Unit (PhysX) to accelerate the computations. The Comminutiion Dynamics Lab is looking for a student to further develop the simulation. Responsibilities: 1. Streamlining the code 2. Improving the initialization code 3. Improving the code structure 4. Improving the rendering engine 5. Adding requested features to the simulation LOCATION(S): Montreal, Québec, Canada Job Posting (cont.) QUALIFICATION(S) REQ'D: Electrical/Mechanical/Computer or Software engineering student having the: 1. Knowledge of C/C++ 2. Familiarity with the Windows Visual Studio 3. Experience with the Ageia PhysX SDK is preferred but not essential 4. Ability to work independently and to learn quickly and is organized and detail oriented. COMPANY LITERATURE: www.mcgill.ca/mecheng HOW TO APPLY: Your cover letter, resume and unofficial transcripts downloaded from Minerva should be combined as ONE file attachment prepared with MS Word and sent to info.mecc@mcgill.ca. Your cover letter may be addressed to Peter Radziszewski. You must include the Company Name, your student ID # and your MECC User Name in the subject line of your email. Please include your name, degree and department in the text of your email. DEADLINE DATE: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 START DATE: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 8
Cover letter with resume - 1 April 18th, 2007 Prof. Peter Radziszewski McGill University Faculty of Engineering Dear Mr. Radziszewski, Having learned through the McGill that your department is looking for a Summer Student Programmer, I would like to express my interest in this position. As a dynamic individual who thrives on new challenges, I believe that I would be an asset to your Department and am therefore enclosing my CV for your perusal. I am a third year Software Engineering student at McGill University and my interest in this position has been stimulated through courses I have taken in software and game design. I have considerable experience in Java, C, and C++ and my academic training has provided the necessary skills to work with high level languages and object oriented designs. My education has also exposed me to extensive programming assignments and projects, wherein I could work individually or as part of a team. I am a self-motivated individual who can work well with people, grasp and expand on new ideas, work through difficult projects, and achieve objectives. I would be able to start work on an immediate basis until the Fall term commences. I look forward to speaking with you in the near future. Sincerely, Daniel Wang Sample resume John Doe 3450 University Street Montréal, Québec H3A 2G7 514-398-8100 careers4engineers@mcgill.ca EDUCATION: Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) February 2006 16-Month Engineering Internship Program McGill University, Montreal, Canada GPA: 3.3/4.0 AWARDS: Mary H. Beatty Bursary Fund, McGill University 1st Place, ChemE-Car Competition, Queen s University 9
Resume (cont.) EXPERIENCE: Chemical Engineering Internship, May 2003 August 2004 E.I Dupont Fuel Cell Division, Kingston» Carried out various tests and analyses to improve performance of fuel cells» Extensive research on the use of carbon nanotubes as filler for polymer-composite bipolar platecarried out Patent searches to avoid re-inventing the wheel» Presented results to managers and proposed changes to improve plate composition. Information Clerk May 2002 January 2006 McGill, Montreal» Providing information to students and employers about career centre services» Updating the engineering job listing service on the web using customized ACCESS database» Giving short talks to student groups to publicize the Internship Program» Working part time while enrolled in full time studies Manager May 2002 April 2003 McGill EUS General Store, Montreal» Prepared financial propositions to save resources and increase profit for the store» Supervised employees and ensured the efficient operation of the store» Took inventory and prepared monthly reports on profits/losses» Planned and executed advertising campaigns Sample resume (cont.) PROJECTS: Design of a Thermo-Mechanical Pulping Plant January 2005 December 2005 Project Definition Study on a modern TMP Plant including an economic analysis Process Simulation (HYSYS), Heat & Mass Balances and Pump sizing Equipment Selection, Process flow sheets, PIDS and elevation drawings Degradation of Phenol in Wastewater January 2003 April 2003 Designed and executed experiments to optimize a process of producing ozone from waste water and using it to degrade the phenol contained in the water RELEVANT COURSES: Electrochemical Engineering Chemical Process Control Heat and Mass Transfer Chemical Reaction Engineering Polymer Engineering Fluid Mechanics SIMULATION SOFTWARE: HYSYS, WinGEMS COMPUTER SKILLS: AutoCAD, Minitab, Windows XP, EXCEL, Word, ACCESS, FORTRAN and C LANGUAGES: Fluent in English; intermediate knowledge of French 10
Resume (cont.) EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: 1st Place in ChemE-Car Competition, Queen s University Designed and built a mini-car powered by fuel cells which competed against other cars powered by different types of fuels Competition Details: http://appsci.queensu.ca/news/2003-2004/chemecar/ V.P. Social, National Society of Black Engineers, McGill University Chapter Coordination of activities to improve social aspect of the McGill Chapter Establishing and building relationships with other Chapters International Student Buddy Program, McGill University Volunteering to help new students ease their transition to McGill University Senator, National Society of Black Engineers, McGill University Chapter Represented the McGill Chapter at the National Conference, voting for the best interests of the Chapter and keeping members up to date on events EUS Theatre Committee, McGill University Acted in the 1st play by the Engineering Undergraduate Society Math and Chemistry Tutor Tutored high school and CEGEP students INTERESTS: Basketball, Alternative Energy, Reading, Hockey and Theatre References available upon request Resources Find resume samples at www.caps.mcgill.ca - in career tools & information - in Job Search Handbook pdf Quintessential Careers - Tutorials http://www.quintcareers.com/cover_letter_tutor ial.html http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_tutorial/ 11
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