Cleveland State University EEC 414 503 ESC 720 Writing

Cleveland State University EEC 414/503, ESC 720 Writing in Electrical and Computer Engineering Lecture 12 – Job Applications Dan Simon

The Perfect Job Candidate National Association of Colleges and Employers (2009) • Good GPA • Good communication skills • Strong work ethic • Ability to work with a team • Initiative • Leadership experience • Relevant work experience 2

Job Applications 1. 2. 3. 4. Looking for a Job Resumes Cover Letters Interviews 3

1. Looking for a job • Career Services Center • Professional recruiter • Want ads (magazines, IEEE Spectrum, newspapers) • Company web site • Personal contacts (networking) • Conferences 4

Job Applications 1. 2. 3. 4. Looking for a Job Resumes Cover Letters Interviews 5

2. Resumes • Keep it short: less is more – One page if no work experience – Two pages if lots of work experience – There are exceptions, depending on the job • Recruiters might take only a few seconds to scan your resume! • Your resume can direct readers to your web page for more details about your background 6

2. Resumes • Visual appeal is extremely important – At least one-inch margins – High-quality printer – Clean and clear organization (white space) – Carefully placed page breaks (if any) • Be honest, but not exhaustive (e. g. , GPA) • Reverse chronological order • No typographical or grammatical errors! 7

Bad Resume • Not enough white space • Same font throughout • No indentation • Career goal not listed • Skills not listed • Not enough contact info 8

Good Resume • White space • Various fonts, but not too many • Indentation • Career goal • Skills list • Contact information • Reverse chronological order 9

Bad page break in the middle of a paragraph The last paragraph may be too long 10

Good page break between paragraphs Also note the use of a footer for a multiplepage resume. The footer includes the date. 11

2. Resumes Career Goals • Emphasize what you can do for the employer, not what the employer can do for you – Seeking position with flexible hours where I can use my creative circuit design skills – Seeking challenging circuit design position with future management opportunities – Seeking position where I can use circuit design skills to solve challenging analog problems – Seeking position where I can solve challenging analog problems in a team environment 12

2. Resumes • Include key-words that can be scanned – Power electronics, FPGA, PSpice, MATLAB, embedded systems, … • Avoid abbreviations and undefined acronyms – Cleveland State University, not CSU – Define acronyms 13

2. Resumes • No personal information (hobbies, age, marital status, salary, etc. ) – however, some outside activities may be relevant – Volunteer fire fighter – Volunteer work as reporter for campus newspaper – Vice President of student branch of IEEE 14

2. Resumes • Do not provide reference information – Employers will ask you for references if needed • If you do provide reference information: – Get reference’s permission first – Ask those who know your work best, and will give you the best reference – Give the opportunity to gracefully decline 15

2. Resumes • Use general writing skills – for example, write in the active voice, not in the passive voice – Participated in $9 million FPGA network. Project was completed on time and under budget. – Responsible for $9 million FPGA network. Completed project on time and under budget. • Note that resumes may be written using incomplete sentences, as above – but be consistent 16

2. Resumes • Be specific, but not too specific – Designed pneumatic controller using a Microchip PIC 16 F 877 -20/P with the CCS C compiler – Wrote C-based pneumatic controller using a Microchip microcontroller – Developed ADRC controller for SMPS under unbalanced operating conditions – Developed nonlinear controller for power converter 17

2. Resumes • Certain skills are especially valuable to employers, and are worth emphasizing – Communication skills – Management – Teaching and training – Teamwork • Make sure when emailing resumes that the format is readable (avoid MS Word, make sure fonts are embedded in PDF) 18

Job Applications 1. 2. 3. 4. Looking for a Job Resumes Cover Letters Interviews 19

3. Cover Letters • Include a one-page letter with your resume • Each cover letter must be specific – No mass mailings – Not “To Whom it May Concern” – Address your letter to a specific person – make a phone call or send an email to get info if necessary – Emphasize past performance and specific results – No typographicical errors, or, grammatical errors, or sppelling errors! 20

3. Cover Letters • Now is the time to “drop names” – Your colleague, Dr. Smith, encouraged me to send you my resume. – My experience as Albert Einstein’s lab assistant has prepared me for a productive career in flux capacitor design. – I look forward to using the technical writing skills that I gained under Dr. Simon’s teaching. 21

3. Cover Letters • Balance confidence with willingness to help – As Dr. Einstein’s lab assistant, I single-handedly revolutionized the field of physics. – I will do anything to help your company! Please, please hire me! – Dr. Einstein gave me a lot of freedom in his lab, and acknowledged my contributions in several of his publications. 22

3. Cover Letters • Four-paragraph example from Markel a. b. c. d. Introductory paragraph Education paragraph Past performance paragraph Concluding paragraph • See Chapter 15 in Markel for examples 23

3. Cover Letters 3(a) Introductory paragraph – What position are you interested in? – How did you hear about the job or company? – Lead in to the “education” and “past performance” paragraphs 24

3. Cover Letters 3(a) Introductory paragraph Last February I spoke with one of your recruiters, Bill Wilkins, at a career fair at Cleveland State University. He mentioned that you will be hiring several entry-level electrical engineers this summer in your Time Machine Division. I will be graduating with an MSEE degree this May, and am interested in a position where I can use my skills in flux capacitor design. 25

3. Cover Letters 3(b) Education paragraph – What aspect of your education qualifies you for this job? – What skills and knowledge did you acquire? – What extracurricular activities are related to this job? – Don’t list course numbers! List course names! 26

3. Cover Letters 3(b) Education paragraph I presently have a 3. 99 GPA at Cleveland State University. My thesis topic is related to the application of biogeography-based optimization to flux capacitor design. While at CSU, I published 19 journal papers, 12 books, and received 16 patents. I also took a technical writing course from world-renowned writing expert Dan Simon. 27

3. Cover Letters 3(c) Past performance paragraph – What specific things did you accomplish? – How did your previous employment prepare you for this job? 28

3. Cover Letters 3(c) Past performance paragraph Last summer I interned at NASA, where I developed a new astronaut training program. The program that I developed is saving NASA $17 million annually. I also managed the Flux Capacitor Lab at CSU. In this position I was responsible for web site maintenance and for ensuring that the lab passed monthly safety inspections. As a volunteer for the IEEE, I organized a student conference that was attended by over 500 engineering students. 29

3. Cover Letters 3(d) Concluding paragraph – Mention your enclosed/attached resume – Polite request for an interview • Be confident and persistent, but not pushy – Contact information 30

3. Cover Letters 3(d) Concluding paragraph The enclosed resume provides more details about my training and experience. I would appreciate an opportunity to meet with you and discuss how my skills can help your company. Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Dan Simon 216 -687 -5407 d. j. simon@csuohio. edu 31

4. Job Applications 1. 2. 3. 4. Looking for a Job Resumes Cover Letters Interviews 32

4. Job Interviews • Your cover letter and resume will never get you a job, no matter how good they are • It is the interview that gets you the job 33

4. Job Interviews • Study and prepare ahead of time – What are common interview questions? – What can you learn about the company? – What questions can you ask the interviewer? • • Arrive on time, but not too early Err on the side of over-dressing Think about body language A job interview is not the right time for humor 34

4. Job Interviews • Don’t worry about a follow-up letter unless you have not heard from the interviewer for two weeks or more – Remind them about the interview you had – Resend your resume – Restate your availability • If you decide not to accept an offer, or withdraw your candidacy, write a specific and polite letter – don’t burn any bridges 35

Acknowledgments • Technical Communication, by Mike Markel (Chapter 15) • A Guide to Writing as an Engineer, by David Beer and David Mc. Murrey (Chapter 10) • Pocket Book of Technical Writing, by Leo Finkelstein (Chapter 19) • “The perfect job candidate, ” www. careercornerstone. org 36