Experience Communication, 2e (Child)
Chapter 15 Using Communication Skills as You Enter the Workplace
1) People in hiring positions prefer hiring people with communication skills training.
2) Potential employers appreciate résumés in which you place yourself at the center—for example,
by beginning many sentences with the personal pronoun “I.”
3) It is traditional to use clauses rather than full sentences in a résumé.
4) Basic information that should be included on the résumé includes your contact information,
education, marital status, and parental status.
5) One way to organize your credentials on the résumé is to list them in chronological order.
6) You need not include your educational credentials on your résumé; most employers are not
interested in facts about your schooling.
7) The purpose of the cover letter is to show the relationship between your experiences and the
requirements of the job.
8) Just like a public speech, the cover letter serves a number of functions: gaining the reader’s
attention, arousing his or her interest, demonstrating desire for the position, and suggesting the
next steps or action you would like to see.
9) You have been contacted by a potential employer who wants to schedule a phone interview with
you. If you were a serious candidate, the employer would have asked for a face-to-face interview.
10) You may go through a series of interviews before you are offered a position or told that you are
no longer being considered.
11) A person’s first opportunity to show employers their communication skills will usually be done
A) face-to-face.
B) in writing.
C) over the telephone.
D) in a presentation.
12) An undergraduate degree in communication
A) is generally considered to be the highest paying degree available.
B) is near the bottom of degrees sought after by employers.
C) creates few job opportunities unless it is followed by a graduate degree.
D) is one of the top five degrees sought by employers.
13) When employers were recently asked about skills they were looking for in new employees,
A) written and verbal communication skills were both near the top of the list.
B) verbal communication skills ranked much higher than written communication skills.
C) communication skills of all types ranked lower than information processing skills.
D) written communication skills were not listed because most written tasks have become
automated.
14) When looking for job candidates, employers express the most interest in those with strong
A) information-processing skills.
B) decision-making skills.
C) teamwork skills.
D) verbal communication skills.
15) Ian creates a résumé that is structured around all of the duties he has performed in the past.
Ian’s résumé organization is
A) chronological.
B) functional.
C) narrational.
D) spatial.
16) Andre wants to create a fantastic résumé. Which of the following phrases would be the best
one for him to use to describe his last job task?
A) received a promotion
B) was put in charge of the group
C) headed a team
D) given responsibility
17) Good tips for job seekers include all of the following EXCEPT
A) improving the quality of your résumé by consulting websites like those from Boston College
and Purdue University.
B) finding an online résumé that is close enough to yours to use in job applications.
C) visiting your school’s career center.
D) asking friends and colleagues to review your résumé.
18) Which of the following is NOT a good recommendation about the use of language on your
résumé?
A) Use informal language so you don’t sound pretentious.
B) Use action verbs like planned, supervised, and conducted.
C) Use present-tense action verbs for current employment.
D) Avoid complete sentences starting with “I.”
19) Which item below would NOT be good advice for you as you prepare a résumé?
A) Keep in mind the prominent functions of the job for which you are applying.
B) Quantify information—for example, by saying “supervised nine employees on the night shift.”
C) List every job you have had so employers do not see suspicious gaps.
D) Keep your résumé to one page unless you have more than seven years of experience.
20) Approximately how many people in the United States have earned a bachelor’s degree?
A) Almost all
B) A little more than 30%
C) More than half
D) Less than 1%
21) Which of the following is BAD advice for preparing your résumé?
A) Include the previous jobs that are most closely related to the one for which you are applying.
B) Use key words from the job description in case the employer is using electronic databases to
sort applications.
C) Carefully proof for errors because sloppiness can be grounds for elimination.
D) If necessary, exaggerate your position descriptions to make them align more closely with skills
needed for the new position.
22) A résumé that is organized according to your experiences and skills rather than the places
where you worked is called a(n) ________ résumé.
A) functional
B) chronological
C) experiential
D) serial
23) The top attribute employers look for on a résumé is
A) computer skills.
B) verbal communication skills.
C) leadership skills.
D) teamwork skills.
24) Experience and accomplishments should be mentioned in the section of a cover letter intended
to achieve the reader’s
A) interest.
B) attention.
C) desire.
D) action.
25) Which item below is NOT one of the recommendations for how to write a cover letter?
A) Achieve the reader’s attention, interest, desire, and action.
B) Repeat the information you have listed in the résumé.
C) State basic facts—for example, the position you seek, how you heard about it, and your general
qualifications.
D) Describe your major experiences and strengths as they relate to the job.
26) Which item below about cover letters is FALSE?
A) Human resources divisions, personnel departments, and selection committees often reject
applicants who have typos or grammatical errors in their letters.
B) A poor cover letter can prove to be a block to advancement in the employment process.
C) Human resources divisions, personnel departments, and selection committees rarely read cover
letters because employers place the most emphasis on your performance in an interview.
D) Your cover letter needs to demonstrate competence and desire for the job very concisely.
27) During a job interview,
A) thanking the interviewer is seen as “kissing up.”
B) it is important to remain expressionless.
C) bodily movements should be avoided.
D) it is important to make eye contact with the interviewer.
28) Which of the following is true about dressing for an interview?
A) Try to match the style of dress of the interviewer.
B) It is best to err on the side of dressing a bit too casual for the job.
C) Dress formality does not matter for a video interview.
D) Both men and women should wear more jewelry than usual.
29) Which item below is NOT good advice about interviewing?
A) On a phone interview keep track when the selection committee members say their names so you
can try to identify them by voice and name.
B) On a video interview be sure to wear appropriate clothing and position yourself so the selection
committee has a clear view of you.
C) Learn as much as you can about the company and the job before the interview.
D) Do your video interview in your own room so the selection committee can see your pictures and
posters and get a real sense of who you are.
30) Good tips for interview preparation include all of the following EXCEPT
A) thinking of something specific you like or admire about the company.
B) being ready to describe a situation or experience that demonstrates skills relevant to the
position.
C) thinking of a brief story about your work history or your life that reveals what kind of a worker
or a person you are.
D) preparing yourself to reveal personal information about your family.
31) Which item below would be a good story to include in an experience inventory?
A) My most significant accomplishment was when my employer needed five temporary workers
fast, and I found such good helpers that most of them still work for the company today.
B) My real objective in life is to travel. I consider work as a means to that end. During college, I
traveled to almost every state and every national park in the United States.
C) Supervising the evening shift is perfect for me because I’m not a morning person. In fact, I don’t
usually get up until noon on most days.
D) You asked what I would spend my first check on, and the answer is that I would pay off my car
loan and get a new sound system for my apartment.
32) Which item below is NOT a guideline for answering behavioral-based interview questions?
A) Be concise: get to the point of your story quickly so you can explain what it means.
B) Select examples that highlight important information about you—for example, your ability to
solve problems in the workplace.
C) Explain the moral or lesson learned from your experience—for example, “By finding that
information for the company, I learned how important thorough research can be.”
D) Make yourself the hero of the story—for example, “If I had not stepped in, the company would
have lost customers and possibly gone bankrupt.”
33) Shianne practices telling a couple of stories from her work history that relate to the position she
is seeking and shows what kind of person and worker she is. This is her
A) experience inventory.
B) job description.
C) behavioral-based question.
D) professional network.
34) What is the most significant DOWNSIDE of using social media?
A) Professional networks can connect you with a very large number of other professionals.
B) Human resources professionals can use social networking sites to explore the personal lives of
applicants.
C) A large number of prospective employers have access to your credentials.
D) You may get unsolicited feedback from other professionals.
35) Internships offer many benefits. Which of the following is NOT typically one of them?
A) recommendations from professionals in your field
B) a welcome source of income for struggling students
C) professional job experience
D) an opportunity to see which aspects of your field you prefer
36) Which item below is NOT a good suggestion for an informational interview?
A) Come prepared with 5 to 10 questions as your guide.
B) Prepare by learning as much as you can about the person you are going to interview.
C) Use the company website and other sources to learn as much as you can about the company.
D) Be prepared to criticize at least one aspect of the company’s policies or practices.
37) The weak ties who may be most helpful in your first job searches include
A) co-workers, previous internship partners, neighbors, and general acquaintances.
B) close friends and family.
C) former employers, former supervisors, and former bosses.
D) the CEO, the CFO, and the human resources director.
38) Harvey just completed a job interview that he feels went very well. Which of the following
actions should he avoid taking?
A) sending the interviewer a thank-you card in the mail
B) asking to add the interviewer to his professional network
C) posting on social media that he has the job
D) jotting down a few notes about the interview