Skills Building Exercises
1. Criticize the following excerpts from résumés. (They are not from the same résumé.) (LO4)
a. Work Experience
2011–2014 Employed as sales rep for Lloyd-Shanks
Tool Company
2012–2013 Office manager, Drago Plumbing Supply, Toronto
2013–2014 Matson’s Super Stores. I worked part time as sales clerk while attending
college.
b. References
Mr. Carl T. Whitesides
Sunrise Insurance, Inc.
317 Forrest Lane
Dover, DE 19901-6452
Patricia Cullen
Cullen and Cullen Realtors
2001 Bowman Dr.
Wilmington, DE 19804
Rev. Troy A. Graham
Asbury Methodist Church
Hyattsville, MD 20783
D. W. Boozer
Boozer Industries
Baltimore, MD 21202
c. Qualifications
• Know how to motivate a sales force. I have done it.
• Experienced in screening applicants and selecting salespeople.
• Know the pharmaceutical business from 11 years of experience.
• Knowledgeable about realistic quota setting and incentives.
• Proven leadership ability.
d. Education
2012 Graduated from Tippen H.S. (I was in top 10 percent of class.)
2012 BS from Bradley University with major in marketing
2012 to present Enrolled part time in MBA program at present the University
of Phoenix
2. Criticize these sentences from cover messages: (LO5)
Beginning Sentences
a. Please consider this my application for any position for which my training and
experience qualify me.
b. Mr. Jerry Bono of your staff has told me about a vacancy in your loan department
for which I would like to apply.
c. I am that accountant you described in your advertisement in today’s Times-Record.
d. I want to work for you!
a) A traditional type of beginning—routine—but it’s too general and doesn’t aim for
a particular type of work.
b) Use of an employee’s name can be an attention getter.
Sentences Presenting Selling Points
a. From 2010–2014 I attended Bradley University where I took courses leading to a BS
degree with a major in finance.
b. I am highly skilled in trading corporate bonds as a result of three years spent in the
New York office of Collins, Bragg, and Weaver.
c. For three years (2011–2014) I was in the loan department at Bank One.
d. My two strongest qualifications for this job are my personality and gift of
conversation.
a) The statement is too general. What courses were taken, and how do they qualify
the writer for the job?
b) This statement is a good instance of the reader backing up a claim (“highly
skilled”) with supporting evidence of where and how he/she became skilled. The
Sentences from Action Endings
a. I will call you on the 12th to arrange an interview.
b. If my qualifications meet your requirements, it would be greatly appreciated if you
would schedule an interview for me.
c. Please call to set up an interview. Do it now—while it is on your mind.
a) This statement is presumptuous and high pressure; it shows aggressiveness. This
statement may be appropriate where aggressiveness is valued.