Resume + Cover Letter Workshop Slides for Grad Students & Postdocs (GCS)

What is a resume?

Focused summary of relevant skills, experiences for a specific role

Who is reading them?

Read by AI then people (HR, Hiring Manager/Committee, etc.)

Why?

To decide who to interview

Why quantify?

• The average recruiter spends about 7 seconds looking at a resume. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) spend way less.

• Eyes are drawn to digits, particularly if they’re highlighted by a $ or %

• Concretizes work that can otherwise feel very abstract

• Demonstrates our contributions to organizations we have worked for in the past

How to quantify?

• Elements you can quantify include:
  • Budget/Money
  • People
  • Time/Hours

• Start keeping records now!
  • Useful for resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, interviews, etc.
  • Can be as simple as a Google Doc
  • GCS Story Toolbox template

Start with a Job Description

Identify bullet points, job functions, or desired qualifications in the job description that your skills and experiences speak best to.

For example,

• Ability to effectively communicate complex information to diverse audiences

Write About Your Skills

Use the language from the job description to (re)write about your skills and experiences.

For example,

• Presented at weekly lab meetings and conferences

might become: 

• Communicated research results to diverse audiences

Show the Results

Add details to make bullet points specific, achievement-focused, and/or quantitative. See XYZ bullet points above.

For example,

• Communicated research results quarterly to diverse audiences ranging from 10-100+ people for lab meetings, conferences, and public outreach events

• Can sometimes get good (enough) results from a single prompt like “Tailor my resume to this job description”
• Multi-prompt method that has been successful for clients in the past:
  • Add job description to tool
  • Prompt 1: Identify key skills.
  • Prompt 2: Update resume with the skills you identified
  • Check accuracy and language of results, iterate if needed, and edit
• Reminder: ‘hand tailoring’ your resume for roles you are very interested in = free interview prep

• Example prompts for multi-prompt method:
  • Based on this qualitative researcher job description, create a list of skills and keywords recruiters, hiring managers, and AI screening tools would be looking for.
  • Revise this resume, emphasizing the list of skills and keywords created from the job description

Intro Paragraph

Indicate role you are applying for and how you found it

Mention any referrals

Close with ‘thesis’ sentence on what 2-3 strengths make you a strong fit

Body Paragraphs

Each paragraph should focus on one strength named in thesis sentence in intro paragraph

Use a specific example/story to describe how you developed/demonstrated success in that strength

Closing Paragraph

Thank reader for time and consideration

Summarize skill set

Express interest in speaking with reader further

• State why you are writing and the position you are applying to
• If referred, include the name of the referral
• Create thesis sentence that outlines 2-3 relevant qualifications for the role

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am very excited to apply to the Senior Writer/Editor position for the Global Social Policy Center, especially after learning
more about the role from former GSPC staffer Amy Bruno on LinkedIn. I am certain that my meticulous attention to detail
and my ability to deeply collaborate across interdisciplinary teams equip me to excel in this role

• Share detailed information about related experience and/or specialized training
• Be specific to match your skills to the employer’s needs
• Explain how you would fit into the position and the organization
• When in doubt, use the C-A-R-T framework (see below)

In my role as a Fancy Program Teaching Fellow, I worked closely with a group of
other teachers with different academic backgrounds. Through this collaboration, I
developed curricula for remote learning and web/social media content. With insight
from my colleagues in the ecological sciences, I implemented grade level-appropriate interactive activities to demonstrate the relationship between climate change, agriculture, and food inequity. Through this work, we won the Fancy
Program Innovation award. My skill in collaborating across disciplines would be
invaluable to the deeply interdisciplinary research of the Global Social Policy Center.

• Storytelling format drawn from interview preparation strategies
• For cover letters, answer each question with 1-2 sentences

• Context: What role were you in and what were you working on?
• Action: What step(s) did you take to achieve positive results?
• Result: How did you positively impact your team, org, project, or client?
• Takeaway: How is this relevant to the role you are applying to?

• Thank reader for their time and consideration
• Summarize your unique skills/strengths while avoiding redundancy
• Express your eagerness to discuss your fit
• This is (often) the last thing they will read from you: leave a confident last impression!

I appreciate your time in reviewing my application. I believe that the combination of my attention to detail and my ability to deeply collaborate across interdisciplinary teams would be ideal for this position. I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,

Jordan Bruin

Develop 5-8 CART Body Paragraphs

Review multiple, relevant job descriptions and identify common key traits.

Write a CART body paragraph demonstrating each trait.

Create a Modular Cover Letter Template

Write an introductory paragraph and closing paragraph with Job Title, Organization, Role Source, and Key Traits clearly highlighted.

“Write” a New Cover Letter

Choose 2 or 3 role-relevant body paragraphs and update fields in introductory and closing paragraphs to “write” a new cover letter for each role you apply to.