Business Communication Today, 12e (Bovee/Thill)
Chapter 18 Building Careers and Writing Résumés
1) 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.
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) 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.
4) 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.
5) 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.
6) When conducting a job search, you can use the Internet to
A) look for job openings.
B) respond to job openings.
C) research various companies.
D) do all of the above.
7) 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.
8) 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.
9) 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.
10) 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) doing all of the above.
11) 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.
12) 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) none of the above.
13) 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
14) The most common way to organize a résumé is
A) chronologically.
B) functionally.
C) geographically.
D) alphabetically.
15) If you’re thinking about using a functional résumé to support your job search, remember that
many employers
A) are suspicious of them.
B) strongly prefer them to chronological résumés.
C) view them as a sign of strong communication skills.
D) don’t know what they are.
16) If you are just graduating from college and have little or no professional experience,
A) a traditional chronological résumé is your only option.
B) a functional résumé is your only option.
C) your chronological résumé should probably list educational qualifications first.
D) your résumé can be written in a casual, informal tone.
17) If you are planning a career change and want to deemphasize lengthy unemployment or lack
of career progress, the best organizational plan for your résumé would be
A) chronological.
B) functional.
C) targeted.
D) indirect.
18) A type of résumé that emphasizes a candidate’s skills and accomplishments while also
including a complete job history is termed
A) a chronological résumé.
B) a functional résumé.
C) a combination résumé.
D) an indirect résumé.
19) The best way to handle frequent job changes on a résumé is to
A) avoid any mention of a job you held for less than a year.
B) group similar jobs under a single heading.
C) provide a detailed explanation of each one.
D) do none of the above.
20) According to your textbook, the least desirable way to include keywords in your résumé is in
A) an introductory statement.
B) a stand-alone keyword summary.
C) the work history section.
D) the education section.
21) You can use a ________ to recap your career, with a focus on your increasing levels of
responsibility and performance.
A) career objective
B) qualifications summary
C) career summary
D) key activity matrix
22) When you’re preparing an introductory statement for your résumé, all of the following except
________ can be a good choice.
A) a career objective
B) a qualifications summary
C) a personal preferences statement
D) a career summary
23) Which of the following would be the best wording to use on a résumé?
A) “I was in charge of a staff of six employees.”
B) “I supervised a full staff of six employees.”
C) “Was in charge of entire departmental staff.”
D) “Supervised staff of six employees.”
24) When you’re selecting keywords to include your résumé, you should
A) never use more than three of them at one time.
B) incorporate them into your introductory statement and other sections.
C) place all of them in a keyword summary at the end of the résumé.
D) choose strong verbs and colorful adjectives.
25) If you choose not to list your GPA in the “Education” section of your résumé,
A) most employers will not consider you for an interview.
B) employers will generally respect you for being modest and not boasting about your record.
C) you should be prepared to answer questions about it during the interview.
D) you should always state it in your application letter.
26) When you describe your work experience on your résumé, you should
A) start with your most recent job and work back chronologically.
B) describe one or two jobs in detail so that employers get an idea of your work ethic.
C) list only full-time positions.
D) try to come up with fancier titles for the jobs you’ve held.
27) In describing activities and achievements on your résumé, you should
A) use mild exaggerations—everyone else does, so you’ll be at an unfair disadvantage if you
don’t.
B) limit what you include to what makes you a more attractive job candidate.
C) use significant amounts of jargon and technical terms.
D) leave out any awards you’ve won unless they are specifically relevant to your current career
objective.
28) Do not include on your résumé items that could encourage discrimination, such as
A) home address.
B) hobbies.
C) sexual orientation.
D) military service.
29) Putting “References available upon request” at the end of your résumé is
A) not necessary since the availability of references is usually assumed.
B) standard practice, and most employers will expect to see it.
C) less effective than listing the names and contact information for all references, even if the
employer has not requested them.
D) necessary only when applying for government positions.
30) Military service relevant to the position you’re seeking should be listed in the ________
section of your résumé.
A) Education
B) Work Experience
C) Education or Work Experience
D) None of the above
31) Which of the following is not a common problem that employers see in résumés?
A) They are too long.
B) They display a weak understanding of the industry.
C) They are filled with misspellings and grammatical errors.
D) They fail to catch the employer’s eye with flashy graphics.
32) An effective résumé design looks
A) cute and clever.
B) clean and professional.
C) assignable and scalable.
D) compressed and thorough.
33) Your online presence is
A) your private property.
B) a career-management tool.
C) only of interest to your friends.
D) unrelated to the job-search process.
34) Potential employers view your résumé as
A) nothing more than a routine employment-related document.
B) incidental to your workplace credibility.
C) evidence of your attention to detail and quality.
D) your opportunity to channel your creative spirit.
35) An infographic résumé uses ________ to convey a person’s career development and skill set.
A) storyboarding
B) visual metaphors
C) pull quotes and boilerplate text
D) keyword summaries
36) You should keep ________ of your résumé on hand, in case a prospective employer wants
you to send your résumé in the body of an email message.
A) an MS Word version
B) a plain-text version
C) an RTF version
D) a PDF version
37) To achieve the best physical appearance for your résumé, you should
A) have it prepared by a professional artist for esthetic appeal.
B) make subheadings easy to find and easy to read.
C) use colored paper.
D) use a variety of typefaces in various colors.
38) The most common problem with résumé design is
A) using excessive and distracting design elements.
B) settling for an old-fashioned look.
C) using the wrong type of paper.
D) failing to include at least one graphic.
39) Including a photo of yourself with your résumé
A) is a great way to personalize your application.
B) helps you stand out among other applicants.
C) will cause some employers to discard your application immediately.
D) is the best way to guard against potential discrimination.
40) Creating a plain-text file of your résumé
A) is an outdated practice.
B) allows you to include your résumé in the body of an email message, instead of as an
attachment.
C) is helpful, but very difficult to do without expensive software.
D) requires that you center all headings instead of left-justifying them.
41) Supplementing a traditional résumé with a PowerPoint presentation
A) makes you appear desperate.
B) is considered a viable choice in today’s job market.
C) is limited since it does not offer multimedia capabilities.
D) is more convenient for employers than an online résumé.
42) An online résumé
A) consists of a PDF version of a traditional chronological résumé and a cover letter.
B) lets jobseekers use multimedia to expand on the information in a basic résumé.
C) requires a paid subscription to an online hosting service.
D) will not be well received outside of technology-related fields.
43) The most common file format for uploading résumés directly to websites such as
Monster.com is
A) WordPerfect.
B) PDF.
C) Microsoft Word.
D) Microsoft Publisher.