Solutions – Chapter 13 ⚫ 1
CHAPTER 13 SOLUTIONS AND DISCUSSION MATERIAL
13.1 Radical Rewrite: Rescuing a Slapdash Résumé
Weaknesses
a. Fails to present the name so that it can be easily read by a scanner.
b. Omits the area code for the telephone number.
c. Fails to provide a professional e-mail address.
d. Reveals sloppy formatting with headings that are poorly spaced and lack parallel
form.
Revision
Isabella R. Jimenez
1340 East Phillips Avenue, Apartment D
Littleton, CO 80126
Phone: (303) 455-5182 E-mail: IJimenez@gmail.com
OBJECTIVE
Position with an accounting firm where my accounting education and financial consulting experience can
help the firm achieve its goals.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• Expect BA degree with accounting major/finance minor in June 2015
• AA degree/certificate of completion in accounting
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
EDUCATION
Colorado State University, Pueblo, CO
• BA to be conferred in June 2015
• Major: Accounting; Minor: Finance
Solutions – Chapter 13 ⚫ 2
Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, CO
• AA degree, Accounting, December 2013
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
EXPERIENCE
Primerica Financial Services, Pueblo, CO
Financial Consultant, January 2014 to present
• Applied communication skills in assisting clients in obtaining mortgages, consolidating mortgage
loans, and assessing life insurance needs
• Praised by supervisor for reliability and painstaking work
Target, Littleton, CO
Line Manager, September 2008–March 2012
• Developed team and leadership skills in supervising 22 cashiers and front-end associates
Mr. K’s Floral Design of Denver
Teacher, August 2008–September 2009
• Developed leadership skills by teaching courses in flower design to classes with an average of 25
students each
• Exercised supervisory skills in overseeing five florists
• Made and delivered floral arrangements for weddings and other big events
• Maintained inventory of flowers and all necessary supplies
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
ACTIVITIES
13.2 Radical Rewrite
Inadequate Cover Letter
Weaknesses
a. Fails to use the receiver’s name in the salutation.
b. Neglects to identify the position title and specifically where the announcement appeared.
c. Fails to back up assertions with evidence of qualifications.
d. Offers little to show how her qualifications fill the internship requirements.
e. Fails to promote her experience and special skills.
Solutions – Chapter 13 ⚫ 3
Revision
1340 East Phillips Avenue, Apt. D
Littleton, CO 80126
Current date
Ms. Kara Robinson
Director, Human Resources
Felder & Associates, P.C.
835 South Prairie Avenue
Pueblo, CO 81005
Dear Ms. Robinson:
Please accept my application for the accounting internship position that I saw listed on the Felder
& Associates website on May 3.
My business course work and work experience permitted me to develop the skills and
qualifications that are listed for this position. Over 90 units of college work at Colorado State
University, including eight courses in accounting, have helped me build a firm foundation for a
career in this field. My special interest is in accounting and finance.
Sincerely,
Isabella R. Jimenez
Enclosure
Solutions – Chapter 13 ⚫ 4
Activities and Cases
13.3 Beginning Your Job Search With Self-Analysis
Although this assignment takes time, it is invaluable because it encourages the kind of introspection
necessary for making valid decisions regarding career paths. Review students’ e-mail messages or memos
and make comments on them, but don’t grade them. Helping students during the preparation stages makes
grading their résumés much easier in the long run.
13.4 Evaluating Your Qualifications
Be sure to have students prepare these worksheets. They may resist, but with your
encouragement and insistence, they should do a good job. You may wish to divide students into
13.5 Choosing a Career Path
Unless they are actively in the job market, students may appear uninterested in this activity.
However, most students know little about the kind of work done in various occupations.
13.6 Searching the Job Market
Students are to clip or print a job advertisement or announcement from (a) the classified section
of a newspaper, (b) a job board on the Web, (c) a company website, or (d) a professional
association listing. They are to select an advertisement or announcement describing the kind of
employment being sought. They should save this advertisement to submit with the résumé and
cover letter they will create in Activities 13.8 and 13.9.
13.7 Posting a Résumé on the Web
Many websites encourage the posting of résumés. In a class discussion or in team meetings, you
might wish to have students discuss those sites that seemed most promising. The primary
13.8 Writing Your Résumé
Have students submit drafts until their résumés and lists of references are perfect. You might have them
bring their completed résumés to class. In small groups have students exchange their résumés. Each
Solutions – Chapter 13 ⚫ 5
13.9 Preparing Your Cover Message
Discuss with your students whether a cover letter or e-mail is appropriate for the job of their
choice. It might be wise to start with a cover letter that they can convert to an e-mail if necessary.
Have students revise their cover messages until they are perfect. You might have them bring
their completed messages to class, along with the job posting. Have students exchange messages.
13.10 Using LinkedIn to Assist You in Your Job Search
Encouraging students to join LinkedIn is among the most important advice you can give them.
It’s never too soon for them to start building a digital presence. LinkedIn extends networking in a
way that works well for college students who might lose track of people who would be willing to
13.11 Tweeting to Find a Job
This task is designed to acquaint students with the latest trends in job-search technology and to
learn how the Twitter job search works. However, this assignment offers other possibilities. For
example, students could be asked to “decode” and analyze several Twitter résumé posts and
share them with the class individually or as a team.
13.12 Analyzing and Building Student E–Portfolios
The goal of this activity is to introduce students to e-portfolios by showing them samples. Then,
13.13 Exploring Infographic Résumés
Students should find many exciting infographic résumés in searching the Internet. They will find
similarities, especially in those that use commercial templates. Following is a brief list of the
pros and cons of infographic résumés:
Solutions – Chapter 13 ⚫ 6
Infographic Résumé Pros Infographic Résumé Cons
They are exciting, colorful, and new.
Because they are new, recruiters may not be
able to find information in familiar places.
Infographic résumés may lack readability.
Some formats show a candidate‘s experience
and career growth more clearly than traditional
résumés do.
Some formats may emphasize employment
gaps and downward career progression.
create unique branding images.
applicant’s technology skills.
databases and applicant tracking systems of
today’s employers.