Many colleges and universities have engineering programs. As you have learned over the course of Engineering I and II, there are many areas for employment and opportunity in engineering. You will in an upcoming assignment investigate various universities with engineering programs and how to become a student in the program.
Suggested Objective b: Examine examples of correctly formatted job applications, resumes, and job interviews in preparation of creating these materials
Why do employers use job applications? Many employers use applications as a way of standardizing the information they obtain from all job-seekers, including some things that you would not normally put onyourresumeLinks to an external site.. Your goal is to complete the application as completely and honestly as you can -- all the time remembering that the application is a key marketing tool for you in the job-hunting process. Remember that some employers will use your application as a basis for deciding whether to call you for an interview.
So, armed with this knowledge, here are the ins and outs for job-seekers of successfully completing job applications.
Arrive prepared with the information you need.Be sure to bring your resume, social security card, driver's license, etc. You probably will also need addresses and phone numbers of previous employers, as well as starting and ending salaries for each previous job. It's always better if have too much information than not enough.
Read and follow instructions carefully.Always take a few minutes to review the entire application. Some applications ask for information differently -- and all have specific spaces in which you are expected to answer questions. Think of the application as your first test in following instructions.
Complete the application as neatly as possible.Remember how important handwriting was in school? Neatness and legibility count; the application is a reflection of you. Consider typing it if you have access to a typewriter. If completing it by hand, be sure to use only a blue or black pen -- and consider using an erasable pen or taking some "white-out" to fix minor mistakes. Don't fold, bend, or otherwise mar the application.
Tailor your answers to the job you are seeking.Just as with your resume and cover letter, you want to focus your education and experience to the job at hand. Give details of skills and accomplishments, and avoid framing your experiences in terms of mere duties and responsibilities. Show why you are more qualified than other applicants for the position. Include experience from all sources, including previous jobs, school, clubs and organizations, and volunteer work. If you're having trouble identifying some of your skills, read our article abouttransferable skillsLinks to an external site..
Don't leave any blanks.One of the reasons employers have you complete an application is because they want the same information from all job applicants. However, if there are questions that do not apply to you, simply respond with "not applicable," or "n/a." Do not write "see resume" when completing the application (but you can certainly attach your resume to the application).
Don't provide any negative information.As with anyjobsearchLinks to an external site.correspondence, never offer negative information. Your goal with the application is to get an interview. Providing negative information (such as being fired from a job) just gives the employer a reason not to interview you.
Always answer questions truthfully.The fastest way for an application to hit the trash can is to have a lie on it, but that doesn't mean you need to give complete answers either. For example, many applications ask your reason for leaving your last job. If you were fired or downsized, you should try to be as positive as possible and leave longer explanations for the interview; some experts recommend writing "job ended" as the reason you left your last job.
Do not put specific salary requirements.It is way too early in the job-seeking process to allow yourself to be identified by a specific salary request. You don't want to give employers too much information too soon. In addition, employers often use this question as a screening device -- and you don't want to be eliminated from consideration based on your answer. It's best to say "open" or "negotiable." You can find lots more information about all aspects of salary and benefits by going to ourSalary Negotiation TutorialLinks to an external site..
Provide references.Employers want to see that there are people who will provide objective information about you to them. Pick your references carefully -- and make sure you ask if they are willing to be a reference for you before you list them. Where do you get references? From past employers, to teachers, to family friends. Most young job-seekers have a mix of professional and character references, while more experienced job-seekers focus on professional references who can speak of your skills and accomplishments.
Keep your application consistent with your resume.Make sure all dates, names, titles, etc., on your application coincide with the information on your resume. Don't worry if the application is based on chronological employment while you have a functionalresumeLinks to an external site.. Don't know the difference between the two types of resumes? You might want to visit one of ourResume TutorialsLinks to an external site..
Proofread your application before submitting it.Once you've completed the application, sit back and take a moment to thoroughly proofread the document, checking for all errors -- especially typos and misspellings.
One final word. Be prepared for all kinds of job applications, from simple one-page applications to multi-page applications; and some will be clean and crisp copies while others will appear to be photocopied a few too many times. Regardless, take your time and do the best you can, always keeping in the back of your mind the goal of the application -- getting you an interview.
If you have not heard from the employer within a week of submitting your application, you should follow-up with the employer. There's truth to the "squeaky wheel" cliche. Ask for an interview -- and ask to have your application kept on file.
Your resume is a marketing tool. It needs to demonstrate:
That you are employable
How you meet the job and the organisation's requirements
That you have the right qualifications and education
That you have the right experience and skills
That you have the right level of professionalism for the job
How Long Should My Resume Be?
There is no set length for a resume. A resume varies in length depending on your experience and education. If you haven't worked much before, one or two pages is best, but three pages is okay if you've got a lot of study and work behind you.
Make sure you don't pad out your resume. If your resume is only one page, as long as it's well-presented it might get better results than a two-page resume full of unnecessary information.
Generally it's always good to present the information on your resume in this order:
Contact details
Opening statement
List of key skills
List of technical/software skills
Personal attributes/career overview
Educational qualifications
Employment history/volunteering/work placements
References/referees
Not everything in this list must appear on your resume every time, and the order can change from application to application. For more information about each of these sections, check out"What Your Resume Should Include"Links to an external site., below.
The most important thing is to get the most useful information across first. For example, if your education history is not specifically related to the job, put it toward the end of your resume, behind the information thatisrelated to the job.
Do I Need to Change My Resume for Each Application?
You need to tailor your resume to every job application so that it responds to the specific requirements of the job you're applying for.
You might not need to change much, but you do need to make sure your opening statement, your key skills and your personal attributes all respond to the needs of the role, based on the job ad (if there was one) and the research you've done into the job.
You should also tailor your resume to show how your work experience specifically meets the needs of the job you're applying for.
How to Tailor Your Resume
Ways that you can tailor your resume include:
Using your opening statement to link your experience and education to the organisation and the requirements of the job
Listing your most relevant key skills first
Including examples of achievements that meet the advertised requirements of the job
Including specifically relevant key words and phrases throughout your resume (see"Keywords"Links to an external site.in "What Your Resume Should Include", below)
Make sure you include your name, email address and a contact phone number on your resume. You don't have to include your home address, although there might be some situations when doing so would be a good idea.
Don't include your contact details in the header of your resume. Recruitment software sometimes has difficulty reading information in headers or footers, so it's a good idea to avoid headers altogether.
You can put your contact details in the footer of your resume, but if you do, you must make sure they're also in the main body of the document.
Opening Statement
An opening statement is a summary of who you are, where you've studied and/or worked, and what you bring to the job. It should be about six lines long and written in first person without the personal reference (i.e., don't say "I did this" - say “Did this" instead).
Your opening statement should start with one sentence about who you are and what you bring to the job, then describe the skills and attributes you have that suit you to the job.
Your resume should include a list of between 10 and 15 skills that link your experience to the job you're applying for.
If the job you're applying for was advertised, either the ad or the position description may provide a list of skills and experiences that are essential for doing the job. It may also provide a list of "desirable" skills and experience. Your list of key skills & strengths needs to respond to all of the items on the "essential" list and as many items as possible on the "desirable" list.
When putting together this list, think of things you've done or learned to do as part of:
This is a short list of the names of software or technology you know how to use. Examples might include:
Word processing or spreadsheet software
Programming languages
Tools (e.g., cash registers, EFTPOS)
Personal Attributes
If you haven't got much work experience, a list of personal attributes can be another way to demonstrate that you're the right person for the job.
Things you could include in this section might include ways you can demonstrate that you are reliable, honest, trustworthy or quick to learn new things. Check out ourEmployability SkillsLinks to an external site. page to see a few of the things that employers are commonly looking for.
You can include between three to five personal attributes, but make sure you don't include them instead of your key skills.
Educational History
Your Educational History only needs to show your highest level of education. You don't need to include your results, unless showing them proves how well you're suited to the job.
If you can, you should also include a few bullet points listing your academic achievements (e.g., school or class captaincies, awards you've won, or groups you've been part of).
Employment History
When providing your employment history, start with the your most recent job and go backwards from there. Give the position title and the dates you worked there.
If you haven't had a job before, you can use other things to demonstrate your experience, including:
Work experience you've done through school
Work placements or internships that you've done through university or TAFE
Volunteer work you've done
For each job provide a list of the things that you achieved while in that job, and the significant contributions you made to the organization. Make sure that these achievements and contributions match the key skills and strengths listed earlier on your resume.
Your resume should list two people who can positively recommend you as an employee. Ideally your references will be people that you have worked with before. Provide their name, their position title, and a way that they can be contacted.
A testimonial is another good way to prove that your skill and experience is what the employer is looking for.
Getting a testimonial can be as easy as asking a colleague, teacher or previous employer to write a couple of sentences about you. Ideally the people you get testimonials from should also be included in your references.
You can include any testimonials you get as part of your educational history or your employment/volunteering/work placement history.
Usually it's enough to include one or two testimonials in your resume. Any more than two is probably too many.
A lot of recruitment agencies use software that scans applications for key words and phrases. Applications that don't use the right keywords tend to be automatically rejected.
Key words and phrases that this software looks for can include the names of:
Skills
Jobs
Activities
Qualifications
Software
Tools
To make sure your resume has the right key words and phrases, check out the job ad and make a list of the words and phrases it uses. If you don't have a written job ad to refer to, you can use a job search engine to find other ads for similar jobs and see what kind of keywords those ads use.
Once you have a list to work from, start adding those words and phrases to your resume. Good places to add keywords include:
Here are a few things not to include on your resume. Note that there may be circumstances when including some of the following information shows that you're a good fit for the job. If that's the case, including that information would be a good idea.
Personal Information
You don't have to provide any personal information on your resume. There's no benefit to be gained from providing information that could be used to generalize about you as a potential employee.
Your resume doesn't have to include:
Your birthdate
Your gender
Your address
Any ailments or disabilities
Your health status
A possible exception to this might be when providing this information would give your application an advantage (e.g., if the employer is looking for someone young, or a female applicant). In these situations, consider including such information if you think it would strengthen your application.
Typos or Factual Errors
Submitting a resume or cover letter with spelling mistakes will guarantee you don't get an interview. You should spell-check your resume before you send it, but you should also get someone else to read it as well and check for mistakes you might have missed.
Double-check everything that you include in your resume. If you mention the company's name, make sure you get it right. If you mention the name of places you've worked before, make sure you get that right. Mistakes on resumes are worse than typos.
Don't include images or photos on your resume. Not only are images disliked by recruiters and HR professionals, they can also create problems with recruitment software.
Content in Headers
Many resumes only feature the applicant's name and contact details in the header of the document. Some recruitment software is unable to read information in headers and footers. If you do include information in the header and footer of your resume, make sure you include it in the body of the document too.
Fancy Formatting
Stick to easy-to-read fonts and formats. This makes it easier for recruiters to review your resume. It also means any recruitment software that reviews your resume can easily read the information. Good fonts to use include:
Verdana
Arial
Century gothic
Calibri
Don't use large headers to break up the sections of your resume. Use a 10- or 11-point font for your main content and a 12- or 14-point maximum for headers.
Information in Tables
Some resume templates present information in tables to help with layout, but some recruitment software is unable to read tables. Your resume should only be formatted using line breaks and simple formatting (like setting multiple columns across the page).
PDF Versions of Your Resume
Some recruitment software can't read pdfs. Unless a job ad specifically says to provide your resume as a .pdf, you should always only submit your resume in word format (.doc or .docx).
Reviewing Your Resume
Having someone else review your resume is extremely important. Make sure you use someone who will actually tell you if they think something isn’t right. People you could ask include:
In an upcoming assignment, you will have the opportunity to learn about job applications and complete an application.
Suggested Objective d: Prepare a resume
Look at the links below. They provide basic information for creating a resume. Information to be included in a resume is given. Take notes as necessary.
Suggested Objective e: Participate in a mock job interview
Your resume can help you be noticed for a potential job. Once you have caught the employer's eye, you will likely be called for an interview. Below is information for what to expect at the interview.
InterviewingLinks to an external site.by Robert Half has detailed information with links to click for more information regarding the interview process. Take a look.
If you click theRoute 21Links to an external site.link, this website explains thoroughly what Global Awareness, Civic Literacy, and the other themes in depth. Click each individual link to learn more about the theme.
Life and Career SkillsLinks to an external site.include different areas. These areas include flexibility & adaptability, initiative & self-direction, social & cross-cultural skills, productivity & accountability, and leadership & responsibility. Individual points for the areas are provided with resource links.
Essentials Life Skills.netLinks to an external site.explains personal development. All through your life you will constantly be developing or improving yourself. You will be improving yourself not only personally but professionally. This means you will need to be a life long learner.
Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization.
That sounds simple, but diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more.
Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others. Those perceptions affect their interactions. For a wide assortment of employees to function effectively as an organization, human resource professionals need to deal effectively with issues such as
communication, adaptability and change. Diversity will increase significantly in the coming years. Successful organizations recognize the need for immediate action and are ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the workplace now.
Benefits of Workplace Diversity
An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of workplace diversity issues, develop and implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported such as:
Increased adaptability
Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from diverse backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands.
Broader service range
A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g. languages, cultural understanding) allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis.
Variety of viewpoints
A diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view provides a larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw from that pool to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively.
More effective execution
Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Company-wide strategies can then be executed; resulting in higher productivity, profit, and return on investment.
Challenges of Diversity in the Workplace
Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its challenges. Some of those challenges are:
Communication- Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale.
Resistance to change- There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The “we’ve always done it this way” mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress.
Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies- This can be the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data, they must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their particular organization.
Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace- Diversity training alone is not sufficient for your organization’s diversity management plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity that permeates every department and function of the organization.
Recommended steps that have been proven successful in world-class organizations are:
Assessment of diversity in the workplace- Top companies make assessing and evaluating their diversity process an integral part of their management system. A customizable employee satisfaction survey can accomplish this assessment for your company efficiently and conveniently. It can help your management team determine which challenges and obstacles to diversity are present in your workplace and which policies need to be added or eliminated. Reassessment can then determine the success of you diversity in the workplace plan implementation.
Development of diversity in the workplace plan- Choosing a survey provider that provides comprehensive reporting is a key decision. That report will be the beginning structure of your diversity in the workplace plan. The plan must be comprehensive, attainable and measurable. An organization must decide what changes need to be made and a timeline for that change to be attained.
Implementation of diversity in the workplace plan- The personal commitment of executive and managerial teams is a must. Leaders and managers within organizations must incorporate diversity policies into every aspect of the organization’s function and purpose. Attitudes toward diversity originate at the top and filter downward. Management cooperation and participation is required to create a culture conducive to the success of your organization’s plan.
Recommended diversity in the workplace solutions include:
Ward off change resistance with inclusion.- Involve every employee possible in formulating and executing diversity initiatives in your workplace.
Foster an attitude of openness in your organization.- Encourage employees to express their ideas and opinions and attribute a sense of equal value to all.
Promote diversity in leadership positions.- This practice provides visibility and realizes the benefits of diversity in the workplace.
Utilize diversity training.- Use it as a tool to shape your diversity policy.
Launch a customizable employee satisfaction survey that provides comprehensive reporting.- Use the results to build and implement successful diversity in the workplace policies.
As the economy becomes increasingly global, our workforce becomes increasingly diverse. Organizational success and competitiveness will depend on the ability to manage diversity in the workplace effectively. Evaluate your organization’s diversity policies and plan for the future, starting today.
