Business Communication Today, 14e (Bovee/Thill)
Chapter 18 Building Careers and Writing Résumés
1) Which of the following career planning activities will help you define where you want to go
and how to present yourself to a targeted employer?
A) Writing the story of you
B) Getting organized
C) Crafting a personal strategy
D) Starting at least a year away from graduation
E) Creating stepping-stone opportunities
2) The best way to become a valued network member is by
A) expecting others in your network to help you.
B) emailing your résumé to everyone in your network.
C) broadcasting the contact information of everyone you meet.
D) none of the above.
3) What does “quality of hire” mean to employers?
A) The amount of risk involved in each new hire
B) The potential for long-term growth of a new hire
C) How closely a new hire meets the company’s needs
D) How many of the new hires’ skill sets can be used immediately
E) The number of new hires compared to the number of job openings
4) How can you help a potential employer see that you are a good fit for the specific needs of a
particular position?
A) Indicate the specific job you want in the application letter
B) Use an objective section on the résumé to tell the employer what you are looking for
C) Use action terms
D) Customize your résumé to the specific job opening
E) Stress grades and volunteerism instead of previous jobs
5) Many companies judge the success of their recruiting efforts by the
A) quantity of hire.
B) cost-benefit hiring ratio.
C) quality of hire.
D) social media click-through rate.
6) Which of the following should your goal be during the interview process?
A) To explain what you are looking for in an entry-level position
B) To show how classes have prepared you for a position in your field
C) To determine your value in the market
D) To explore what type of positions would be most interesting to you
E) To explain how your general potential translates to the specific needs of the position
7) Which of the following is the process of making informal connections with people who could
have beneficial business contacts?
A) Career counseling
B) Networking
C) Planning
D) Applying
E) Public relations
8) Why is it important to build networks with people who have similar professions or are
currently working at organizations you are interested in working for?
A) Current employees will always give honest opinions about the organization
B) You are more likely to get a Tweetup invitation
C) Most companies ask employees for recommendations before using other search techniques
D) You can use those connections to make even more connections through sites like LinkedIn
E) You are more likely to be recommended for an opening so those in your network can spend
more time with you
9) Which of the following can help show your problem solving and project management skills on
your résumé even when you don’t have much paid work experience?
A) Trade shows
B) Networking
C) Blogging
D) Volunteering
E) Utilizing mobile apps for the job search
10) The best time for college students to begin developing a job-search strategy is
A) about six months prior to graduation.
B) now—even if they are a year or more away from graduation.
C) no earlier than the second semester of their junior year.
D) immediately after graduation.
E) during the last semester of college
11) By definition, a résumé is a
A) personal journal about a person’s education, employment background, and job qualifications.
B) structured summary of a person’s education, employment background, and job qualifications.
C) random sample of a person’s education, employment background, and job qualifications.
D) comprehensive catalog of a person’s education, employment background, and job
qualifications.
E) description of the type of work they would like to do.
12) Using networking to make informal connections with mutually beneficial business contacts
is more important than ever because
A) having a social media profile looks good on your résumé.
B) most employers prefer to ask current employees for recommendations first.
C) the vast majority of jobs are advertised on social networking sites.
D) networking is all about finding people who can help you.
E) it allows you to build and increase your online endorsements.
13) Business-related blogs and microblogs
A) are generally not very helpful to job applicants.
B) can help you get comfortable with the jargon and buzzwords in a particular field.
C) can be useful in a job search, but only for those seeking positions in technical fields.
D) are very difficult to find online.
E) always provide accurate and up-to-the minute information about a company.
14) The best way to find job opportunities is usually
A) searching online job boards such as Monster and applying before others get the chance to see
the openings.
B) looking in the newspaper.
C) waiting to hear about them from people you know.
D) identifying companies you want to work for and focusing your efforts on them.
E) send your résumé to every company you would like to work for.
15) Applicant tracking systems help employers by
A) charting each applicant’s progress through the hiring process.
B) mapping out promising career paths for each applicant.
C) sifting through the many résumés they receive each year.
D) automatically eliminating résumés older than one year.
E) comparing one candidate to others in the system.
16) ________ is the process of making informal connections with a broad sphere of mutually
beneficial business contacts.
A) Networking
B) Canvassing
C) Interviewing
D) Surveying
E) Applying
17) Which of the following will help a candidate avoid losing an opportunity as recruiters narrow
the list of candidates they will pursue?
A) Increasing the number of network connections
B) Sending résumé to a general audience
C) Building a personal brand by continuously sending tweets to the recruiter
D) Being late for an interview only because a previous interview went longer than planned
E) Assuming that every employer will conduct an online search on candidates
18) How should a candidate use a mobile device to extend the information in a résumé?
A) To instant message a potential hiring manager
B) To enhance the personal brand on an online portfolio
C) To indicate eagerness for the job by being available at all times
D) To instantly reply to any queries about the résumé
E) To embed links in a résumé that can lead an employer to other sites
19) The résumé should be based on what a candidate is looking for, not what the employer is
looking for.
20) As part of your job search, it’s essential to stay abreast of business and financial news.
21) What is “quality of hire,” and how do companies use it?
22) How can career counseling aid your search for employment?
23) Explain why taking the initiative to find job opportunities is essential in today’s job market.
24) Explain the importance of networking as part of your career search, and describe how to go
about finding helpful networks.
25) How can a candidate use mobile technology in their job search?
26) Why is it important to customize a résumé for each job applied for?
27) What are common and simple mistakes that can result in losing an opportunity to interview
for a position?
28) Why is choosing a design strategy an essential element of producing your résumé?
29) Which of the following is the purpose of a résumé?
A) To get a job
B) To increase your network
C) To get an interview
D) To create a compelling narrative the employer will carefully read
E) To provide every positive detail to show the candidate in the best possible light
30) How can conducting research on various professions, industries, companies, and individual
managers help a candidate when creating a résumé?
A) The candidate can eliminate key ideas in the application letter
B) The candidate can use curriculum vitae instead of a résumé
C) The candidate will have a better idea of what type of personal information to include
D) The candidate will have more talking points for the interview
E) The candidate will have a better idea of the audience and their information needs
31) How should your résumé primarily be organized?
A) Based on your strengths
B) Based on your education
C) Based on your skills
D) Based on your previous experience
E) Based on your interests
32) Which résumé format is dominated by work experience, which is placed near the top of the
résumé?
A) Keyword
B) Chronological
C) Functional
D) Combination
E) Skills-based
33) Why do many employers prefer a chronological format for a résumé?
A) The résumé starts with the candidate’s strength
B) The résumé starts by clearly indicating what position is being applied for
C) The professional history is clear and easy to follow
D) Personal interests and goals are usually right up front
E) They are most effective when using keyword searches
34) The purpose of a résumé is to
A) induce the reader to hire you.
B) list all your skills and abilities.
C) get you an interview.
D) take the place of an application letter.
35) Which résumé format can help a candidate emphasize skills, capabilities, and other areas of
competence instead of job history?
A) Keyword
B) Chronological
C) Combination
D) Functional
E) Audience-centered
36) Which of the following is an advantage of using a combination format when creating a
résumé?
A) It highlights education and capabilities when there is not a strong employment history
B) It hides issues with past employment
C) It focuses on skills instead of gaps in employment
D) Employers prefer the easy-to-follow arrangement
E) The résumé will scan well when the employer wants to conduct a keyword search
37) The primary difference between a résumé and a CV is that the CV is likely to be ________
than the résumé.
A) shorter
B) less formal
C) more detailed
D) less detailed
38) How can the impact of frequent job changes be minimized on a résumé?
A) Include a “reason for leaving” statement for each job
B) Group similar jobs under a single heading
C) Extend the dates of employment on the résumé, but not the job application
D) Leave dates off the résumé entirely
E) Talk about relevant experiences gained during employment gaps
39) When employers see that a candidate has been with one employer for a long time, what else
do they expect to see on the résumé?
A) Increased responsibilities over time
B) Salary range
C) Reason for leaving
D) Projects worked on
E) Skills that only relate to the position being applied for
40) How is a CV different from a résumé?
A) CVs are shorter
B) CVs focus on job skills, not employers
C) CVs are more detailed and include personal information
D) CVs are primarily used for leadership positions
E) CVs focus on salary and promotion
41) Why are some employers suspicious of functional résumés?
A) The résumé tends to focus more on the job than on the skills
B) The résumé focuses on supporting skills claims instead of the skills
C) Employers have to spend too much time reading them to determine what a candidate can do
D) Employers want to see the names of the organization
E) The résumé can obscure a candidate’s work history
42) Starting with your initial contact and continuing throughout the interview process, you
should
A) stress how much getting the job will mean to you.
B) press for a decision because you are scheduled for other interviews.
C) let the employer determine how to use your knowledge, skills, and abilities.
D) explain how your skills and accomplishments will meet the needs of the employer.
E) be honest about the pay and benefits you expect to receive once hired.
43) The best approach to preparing a résumé is to
A) spend a lot of time creating it, and then send the same version to all prospective employers.
B) learn as much as you can about who may be reading it and be sure to meet their needs.
C) keep it general, brief, and nonspecific.
D) use two or three pages so you can include detail.
E) be as unique as possible in order to stand out from others.
44) The most common way to organize a résumé is
A) functionally.
B) retrospectively.
C) chronologically.
D) organically.