Career Management and Resume Writing

By Steven Chong (IN Transition Pte Ltd). schong@INTransition.sg

Career Management

Job hunting process

1. Discovering yourself
2. Finding a right job
3. Applying for the job
4. Acing the selection process
5. Excelling on the job

Basic needs

• Power (authority, achievement)
  【managers, researchers, consultant, etc.】
• Fun (variety, lively)
• Love & belonging (cooperation, understanding) -> networking
  【teachers】
• Freedom (independence, risk)
  【consultant, entrepreneurs】
• Survival (stability, security)

Tips

• Networking is important.
• Practice networking, interview, etc.
• Talk with international friends

You

• task
• people
• place(geographical / convenience / ambience / industry)
• value
• obstacles(age)

Resume Writing

Steps: requirement -> research -> job -> company

Resume Formet

• Address include: name, headphone(voice mail), email; do not include: address, photo
• Education add abbr. for university name; add GPA of it is decent; add expected graduation year
• Work experience avoid to use responsible, help, assist, try,general verbs; use lead, manage, test, evaluate, etc. (use shift + F7 -> Thesaurus to get synonyms)
• others keep the format consistent; font: Times New Roman(12 pt)/Aria(11pt)/Goramond(12pt); file format: docx > PDF; file name: include applicant name and date; hardcopy: sign; print: 80 gram paper, single sided, B/W;

Cover Letter

• exactly one page, 3-4 paragraphs;
• left alignment
• add add photo to top right
• address of the receiver: Dear Ms. Tan/ Dear Ms. Tan Tong Tong/Dear Senior HR Manager/Dear Hiring Manager
• include when and where to find the job to void unsolicited letter
• when sent in email, combine the cover letter and Resume into one file
• Use control + shift + [space]/[hyphen] to make people name or organization name appears in the same line