Cleveland State UniversityEEC 414/503, ESC 720

Writing in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Lecture 12 – Job ApplicationsDan 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. Looking for a Job2. Resumes3. Cover Letters4. 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. Looking for a Job2. Resumes3. Cover Letters4. 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

8

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

9

Good Resume• White space• Various fonts,

but not too many• Indentation• Career goal• Skills list• Contact information• Reverse chronological

order

10

Bad page break in the middle of a paragraph

The last paragraph may be too long

11

Good page break between paragraphs

Also note the use of a footer for a multiple-page resume. The footer includes the date.

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 environment12

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

PIC16F877-20/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. Looking for a Job2. Resumes3. Cover Letters4. 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, 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 Markela. Introductory paragraphb. Education paragraphc. Past performance paragraphd. 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 paragraphLast 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 paragraphI 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 paragraphLast 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 paragraphThe 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 Simon216-687-5407d.j.simon@csuohio.edu

31

4. Job Applications

1. Looking for a Job2. Resumes3. Cover Letters4. 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

McMurrey (Chapter 10)• Pocket Book of Technical Writing, by Leo Finkelstein

(Chapter 19)• “The perfect job candidate,” www.careercornerstone.org

36