The two most important days of your life

are the day you are born and the day you
find out why.
Mark Twain

Survey of Finance and Careers

FIN 2164, Spring 2016
Mike Jones
540-808-8828 cell
(8a 7p, M-F & Wknds)
mrjones@vt.edu
@FIN_2164
Office Hours
2111 Pamplin Hall
Wednesdays 10:00 a.m. 10:55 a.m.
And by Appointment

 Squires Today, 1/27 from 1 6 PM

10 Points Towards Outside Speaker Credit
Dont Forget to Register w/ Your Student ID

Download the Official App

Look Sharp
Have Enough Resumes
Go!

Attendance Grade Today

Draft of Resume
Draft of Cover Letter
Outline of Elevator Speech

Syllabus

Grading
Attendance - 2 Absences
Career Services Guide
Resumes, Cover Letter & Elevator
Speech, LinkedIn
Speakers Outside of Class
Career Project
Final Exam
5

Wall St. Journal

Subscription Proof Due by Feb 2nd
Screenshot w/ Name on WSJ.com
Email Confirm
Scanned Photo of Name on Paper
Other Means

Scholar Dropbox
5% of your Final Grade

Outside Activities
Professional Organizations
Finance Club, Women in Finance

Other Organizations
Social Organizations
Clubs
Athletics

Wally Newton and I will be glad

to speak to your organization. If
your organization needs a
personal improvement or
leadership program, this could
benefit your fellow members.

Thank You Notes

Did you write a thank you note to where
you worked, interned, volunteered,
previously?
Perfect time now: T/Y really benefited
from _______________ and just wanted
to update you - Im back in school and
____________ blah blah blah.
Tailor to Your Relationship With Them

Thank You Notes

Mail - Wait a week
Email
Mention Interviewing for Internships/Jobs
Ask to use as a Reference

References - Explain 6

Writing an Effective Resume &

Cover Letter
January 26, 2015
Portions provided by Donna
Ratcliffe
Smith Career
Center
231-6241
www.career.vt.edu

Goal of an Elevator Speech

To get their
attention

Goal of writing a Cover Letter

To get them to
READ RESUME

Goal of writing a Resume

To get an
INTERVIEW!

Goal of an Interview

To get a JOB!

WHAT IS A RESUME?

An individually designed document

A sales presentation of yourself
(not a place for modesty)
A marketing tool for opening doors

Each word should be carefully chosen to introduce your skills

and experiences to potential employers

Key Advice:

Branding
Package yourself through your:
Elevator Speech
Cover Letter
Resume
Digital Media

Content of a resume

To present your academic training

To describe your experience

related and unrelated

To show involvement in activities

campus, civic, volunteer, clubs, etc.

To show awards, honors, and/or special

recognition / certifications

Heading
Name
Current & Permanent Address
Phone Number

Cell phone

E-mail Address
Professional Web Site

Career Objective - Optional

Employers may or may not look for this on a

resume!
Indicates to a prospective employer the type of
work you are pursuing.
State in terms of job title/field and special
interests.

Education

Begin with the most recent degree earned or when

expected. List additional degrees in reverse
chronological order.
Include institution name, city, state, degree level,
major(s), minor(s), and date of completion, and
GPA. Example:
B.S., Finance, May 2016
Minor, English, GPA 3.1 in Major; 2.9 Overall
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

Where do you go to school?

Problem
Virginia Polytechnical Institute
Virginia Tech University
VA Tech

Solution
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Tech

Education (continued)

Also include:
Overall GPA - YES
In - major GPA - YES
Academic awards, scholarships, scholastic
achievements
Publications
Special projects, independent studies, study abroad
An indication of the percentage of money you
contributed toward your education (if appropriate)

Related Experience
This section can include the following:
Paid experiences:
co-ops
interns or field studies
summer jobs related to objective

Unpaid experiences:

course work and projects

volunteer
extra-curricular activities
field studies

Work Experience

List in reverse chronological order, starting with

your most recent experience.

Give job title, name of employer, city & state,

dates of employment, and a brief description of
responsibilities and accomplishments.

Careful use of
action verbs and phrases.

Work Experience (continued)

Include full-time, summer, and part-time

employment. These experiences can be paid or
volunteer positions, gained through military,
internship, practicum, teaching, athletic, or Co-op
experiences.

Relevant Courses

Optional section
Can be a subheading under Education, or a
separate section.
Be selective with classes you list - - consider
upper-level courses which support your objective.
You may also want to list special electives or
minor courses.
Special Seminars

Overused Terms

A business networking site recently combed through millions of

user profiles and came up with a list of the top 10 overused
terms. These included innovative, dynamic, motivated,
extensive experience, results-oriented, proven track record,
team player, fast-paced, problem solver, and
entrepreneurial.

"The problem with using generic words and phrases in your

cover letter, profile, and rsum is that hundreds, if not
thousands, of other professionals are describing themselves the
exact same way." She suggests replacing the overused terms
with descriptions of those specific projects that you have
worked on, which resulted in concrete results.

Use and Show Your Accomplishments Next Few Slides?

Skills

May use this section to highlight specific careerrelated skills you have developed
(Examples: Computer Skills, Management Skills,
Language Skills).
Consider using a skills section if you do not have
a lot of work experience related to your career
objective.
You may choose to highlight skills you have gained
as a student, in your major or in extra-curricular
activities.
(Examples: Time Management, Leadership,
Decision-making, Organizing/Planning)

How to Quantify Accomplishments?

Resume and Cover Letter

WIIFM
Show Results or Outcomes

Scholar - How To Quantify Accomplishments.

Simple example

Sowhat are you saying?

Great Lawns, Blacksburg, VA
Self-Employed, Summers 2012-2014
Cut grass
Watered Lawns

Paint & Quantify a Clear Picture!

Great Lawns, Blacksburg, VA
Self-Employed, Summers 2011-2013
Effectively marketed business, services and self
Managed financial details and billing
using Microsoft Excel and Word
Increased client base by 70% over two year
period
Consistently maintained upkeep of over 15 lawns

Career/life questions to help people

articulate their accomplishments.

How would you like to spend the rest of your working life?
Describe the type of organization you would like to work for?
What do you do extraordinarily well?
What are your proudest accomplishments on or off the job?
What would drive you crazy on the job?
How would people who know you best describe you? Ask them.
Who is the best manager youve ever work for and what made
him or her so good?
What is the biggest obstacle, hurdle or setback youve had to
overcome in your life, and how were you changed by it?
What have you learned in life so far?

Activities/Honors

List names of organizations you belong to, and if

the type of organization is not clear from the
name, provide a brief explanation of the
organizations purpose.
Indicate any offices or leadership positions you
have held.
Describe your responsibilities, highlighting
accomplishments.
List any honors you have received.

References

6 Individuals

Choose carefully some can not be a reference

ALWAYS ask first

Provide a copy of your resume

Keep references informed

List 6 references on a separate page, with full name,

title, phone, email, street address and any other details.

Writing style

Problem

Writing in complete sentences

Writing in paragraph form
Being too formal
Being too informal
Using personal pronouns

Example

I was responsible for the professional enhancement of

new employees

Solution
Trained five new employees

Order of resume sections

Problem
Listing items as you think of them
Listing jobs by order of importance to you
instead of reverse chronological order

Solution
Have all sections in order of priority as they
support your objective. For a student like you,
most likely list education first.

Being unique

Problem
Attempting to make your resume stand out from the
rest by using artistic fonts, graphics, photo, or a very
unusual format or by using colorful paper

Solution
Make your resume stand out by the meaningful
information you include about your experience and
skills, NOT artistic fonts, graphics, photo, or a very
unusual format or by using colorful paper. Computers
scan resumes today, and all that fanciness may not scan
properly

One page vs. two pages

99% of students should have a one-page

resume

Look for places to cut information or be

more concise

Dont use a tiny font size just to fit more

information on a page (font = 11+)

Remember - your resume only gets an

initial 20 second glance!

Cover Letter
Letter of application
2. Letter of Inquiry
1.

1st Paragraph: How you heard; what you want; what is

position; who you are
2nd Paragraph: What you have to offer
Accomplishments Bullet Points
3rd Paragraph: Next step and thank you
I will call you

Resume and Letter Paper

Paper should consist of at least 50% cotton or

linen fibers.
Use a high quality photocopy machine or printer
to make copies.
Paper should be a conservative color: white, or
ivory are recommended.
Avoid dark, bright, or pastel paper; these colors
do not convey a professional appearance. And
may not copy or scan well.

Correspondence

Individualize

Edit your writing

Grammar, spelling and punctuation

Be yourself

Matching paper for Cover and Resume

Keep records of who, what, where, when,

how, why, etc. you corresponded

Resume Writing:
Important Points

Be honest
Be consistent
No typos Know tiepoes Their There
Keep your resume to 1 typed page references on
page 2
Get several opinions of others (parents & family)
about your resume-cover letter
Sequence the information from most important to
least important
Everything should support the objective
Make sure your resume is easy to visually scan

Hokies 4Hire

http://www.career.vt.edu/H4H-OCI/H4HInd
ex.html
UPLOAD your resume (ongoing yearround)
APPLY (ongoing, year-round) for jobs,
internships, and co-op positions.
Participate in the ON-CAMPUS
INTERVIEWING PROGRAM
Meet Companies Visiting Pamplin

VT CareerShift
http://www.career.vt.edu/CareerShift/Index.ht
ml
CareerShift offers the most comprehensive
online resource, designed to support the
need of job-seekers for an easy-to-use web
site to conduct and organize your job search.
Search and store jobs from all the major job
boards, company websites, newspapers and
anywhere else a job is posted on the
Internet.
Get inside contact information immediately,
including e-mail addresses, for millions of
companies, even alumni, then save and
manage your lists.

Check and re-check

Read and re-read all of your job search

correspondence to check for errors

Have faculty, your advisor, roommate, Career

Services, etc. review technical sections of your
resume or letters

Your family (parents, brothers, sisters, etc.) know

you better than anyone, and have job experience.
Discuss your resume and cover letter and
references with them.

Start NOW!

Dont wait until your senior year

The best students have already started you need to play catch-up quickly
You need practice now
Your get practice by doing, not
procrastinating or making excuses
Go to numerous job fairs.
Understand ALL Career Services resources
& USE THEM!
network. Network. NETWORK. NETWORK!

Assignment
Resume and Cover Letter Reviewed
Due Feb 9th;
Marked up Copy w/ Initials
15% of your grade
Pamplin Resume Review Clinics
Career Services
Walk-in
By Appointment 540-231-6241
www.career.vt.edu

Attendance Grade Today

Draft of Resume
Draft of Cover Letter
Outline of Elevator Speech

Survey of Finance and Careers

FIN 2164, Spring 2016
Mike Jones
540-808-8828 cell
(8a 7p, M-F & Wknds)
mrjones@vt.edu
@FIN_2164
Office Hours
2111 Pamplin Hall
Wednesdays 10:00 a.m. 10:55 a.m.
And by Appointment