Examples of resumes and cover letters that get the job (done.)
This page reminds us what cover letters and resumes are meant to do and what they can't do.
Examples are included. The examples are on this page (for copying and pasting) and in document form to get a copy for yourself - download.
Some basic 'mythbusting' about resumes and cover letters
Resumes
A resume will not get you a job, but it should, must, be good enough to get you an interview.
A resume is just a summary of some thing about you. It never tells a reader everything about you or all the jobs you've ever done before.
'I'm working on my resume' is not a profession. If you are stuck and fed to the back teeth with your resume....GET SOME HELP. This can be from a friend or relative or from someone at an employment centre - there are many different places to get help.
Ask someone to look at it. Does it sound anything like you? Does it tell any of your story - where you've been, where you might want to go next?
Cover Letters
A cover letter is a gift wrap, a making personal, of your resume.
A cover letter is not difficult to write, does not need fancy wording, and should take no more than maybe 20 minutes to create.
It does not change the resume, it just makes your resume personal, and draws attention to the parts you want the person hiring to notice.
For every job that you might be faxing, emailing, or mailing, a resume by itself won't do the job; you need a cover letter.
Don't care if you have degree in English or think yourself a writer - get someone else to read your letter before you send it. We all make stupid misteaks, especially when you've been staring at the the d*mn thing for hours...
Don't care if you're not much with words or know nothing about computers, get someone to help with a cover letter. As you will see below, cover letters can and should be simple, and just need good plain English.
Finally if your cover letter, or one someone is writing for you, is a repeat of your resume, and says nothing about who you are writing to (the employer) then it's a rude waste of time.
read on...
A quick focussed cover letter that works
This one is in four parts.
The four parts are 'where and when', 'about them', 'about you' and 'thanks and I'll be in touch'
Where and When
Says where and when (duh!) you heard about the job.
About them
When you meet people for the first time is is polite and right to talk about them first, not you.
This section is your chance to shine - have you called the company, visited their website, called in to see them? Tell them that you have done this and what you found out. What you were impressed by, what you noticed.
About you
Says somethings about you that the employer is asking for. This section is NOT a place to repeat your resume. If you are not sure what to include, go back to the original advertisement - what do they want? Give them what they want and something more.
Thanks and I'll be touch
Says thanks for the chance to apply and lets them know when you'll be in touch (duh!).This is far better than the usual 'I look forward to hearing from you.' which is a weak way of finishing anything.
Samples
Here is a sample cover letter using the simple and effective four sections. About a third of the cover letter has to be changed each time you apply for a different job.
Yes, really - if you want the job that is...
Download a 'Word' version of this sample cover letter.
This cover letter sample has the parts that need changing each time highlighted in a colour. A summary of the four sections is included at the foot of the page.
Here is a plain, simple, clean and effective one page resume.
The dates are pulled out to the right. The order of presenting the work history is: what you did, when you did it and lastly where you did it.
Download a 'Word' version of the one page resume.
Here is a sample two page resume. Unless you are under 40, or have had only one or two jobs in your life it's fine to go to two pages.
You'll notice that the work you've done before is gathered into headings - picking the right title for these sections is important and can take awhile. Once they are the right headings your work skills will fall easily under each heading.
Again, the dates are pulled out to the right. The order of presenting the work history is: what you did, when you did it and lastly where you did it.
If where you did the work was especially important and impressive - sales assistant at Holt Renfrew - then draw attention to this in the cover letter - 'With experience that includes two years at the famously high-end Holt Renfrew........' OR '...since my work history includes five years as an operating engineer at The Hotel Vancouver....' OR '...5 years landscape and grounds maintenance experience at the famous Van Duesen gardens shows the quality of my work...'.
Download a 'Word' version of the two page resume.
Here are some further examples of cover letter and resume styles.
The style of YOUR cover letters and resumes should be like you. A chatty style with fancy fonts won't be appropriate if you are a shy or more formal person.
Download a 'Word' version of an apprentice resume.
Download a 'Word' example of a resume for a cashier position.
Download a 'Word' version of a gas station resume.
Download a 'Word' version of a cover letter for work in the trades.
Emailing your resume....the secret!
Emailing your resume... is a risky business!
Though it seems as though you are showing how cool, modern and computer savvy you are by emailing an application, it can make the opposite impression.
If you send your resume as an attachment many employers will not open it as it can contain a virus.
If you cut and paste a 'Word' document into the 'body' of the email - where you type the message, the formatting in the 'Word' document can be misread, and throw words left and right, break lines in odd places and altogether make a mess of all that careful work you did you set up your resume.
You have no way of knowing if your message will be read as plain text or rich text.
- Turn on the show/hide invisible button. That's the symbol at the top of this section which looks like a backwards 'p'.
- One by one replace every paragraph break symbol - that's the same symbol at the top of this section - with a line break using 'Shift' and 'Enter'.
- You can't remove and replace the last paragraph symbol in the document, so just leave it.
- Remove all bullets and replace with asterisks.
- Remove all centering and set everything to the left margin.
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Remove all tabs; if this means you have dates now crushed against a job - Plumber2005-2007 for example, drop the date down one line and to the left.
Plumber
2005-2007
You should now have a version of your email which will still look thought about and have some formatting - bold, larger text etc - in rich text versions of email, but will not fall apart if read in plain text.
Test it by sending it back and forward to a few different email accounts and services. Read it in both plain text and rich text.
A final email application tip.
In the 'Subject' line don't put 'Application for customer service position' or something. What do you think everyone else will put as the subject? Exactly the same.The employer will have received say 20 emails all with the same 'Subject'.
So make your name stand out from the first contact.
In the 'Subject' line put something line: 'Jane Smith - application for customer service position
