Simple Tips for Effective Written Communication: Resumes, Applications, and More By Ellen Mehling, Career Development Consultant, METRO

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Stephanie L. Gross, Librarian, Electronic Reserves & Scholarly Communication | Leave a comment

Summer is here! A time for enjoying the sunshine, possibly some traveling, and, hopefully, taking it easy. In the spirit of this more relaxed season, here are some easy-to-do tips for communicating in writing.

Always customize your résumé and cover letter to the job posting. Keep the information the reader is seeking in mind and make sure that s/he finds it easily. Delete or de-emphasize information unrelated to the duties and responsibilities of the job. Your profile/summary is especially important, as it comes right after the contact information and gives you a chance to capture hiring managers’ attention so they read further.

Choose a font for your résumé and other communications with care. Typefaces can influence how what is read is perceived. There are many to choose from that are easy to read, but a good choice for a blog post might not be a good choice for your résumé and vice versa. Do a little research and get some feedback from others to make sure you are creating the right impression.

If there is a job number, make it clear. Include it (along with the job title) in the Subject line when applying via email and in a “Re:” note in bold above salutation in the cover letter. These are easy-to-do, small courtesies to the recipient/reader that show you understand how the job is referred to internally. Human resources staff may review application documents for a number of different positions each day; they will appreciate that you are specifying the position you are applying for.

Mastering the Teaching Game July 17, 2014

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Stephanie L. Gross, Librarian, Electronic Reserves & Scholarly Communication | Leave a comment

Recently, I heard Sven Groeneveld being interviewed on my car radio. He is one of the top tennis coaches of all times, having helped four players become grand slam winners, among many other achievements. The BBC reports that the coach can “see things in the other players, read a match, second guess what the game plan would be, what a certain player was doing wrong, and crucially how he could put it right.”

My knowledge of tennis is thin, so I almost switched to another station, until I realized that Groeneveld’s message was the kind of advice that I give to my young pre-service teachers at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education — only he is more articulate and confident than I am.

There are several paraphrased points that I hope will resonate with other educators as affirmations, challenges, or both. These eight ideas synthesize what four decades in classrooms have taught me are the most important principles for teachers to understand.

Telling the impact story: It’s not just in the numbers [Slideshare] by Moe Hosseini-Ara

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Stephanie L. Gross, Librarian, Electronic Reserves & Scholarly Communication | Leave a comment

YOUR INTRODUCTION, ELEVATOR SPEECH, AND ORIGIN STORY: FACE TO FACE NETWORKING TIPS

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Stephanie L. Gross, Librarian, Electronic Reserves & Scholarly Communication | Leave a comment

YOUR INTRODUCTION, ELEVATOR SPEECH, AND ORIGIN STORY: FACE TO FACE NETWORKING TIPS

by Ellen Mehling, Career Development Consultant, METRO

It is well-known that networking is vital to a successful job search and a thriving career. LinkedIn has made it easy to connect with a large number of people, but in-person interactions should not be neglected and should be conducted with thought and care. Those who have met you in person and who really know you and have worked with you in some way are going to be the most beneficial to you. These are the people who will refer, recommend, or even hire you. These first words and conversations with other professionals can make or break your opportunity for further contact.

Your Introduction

You will be remembered by the manner in which you introduce yourself, so choose those first words deliberately. Sometimes just your name, title, and workplace will suffice. And sometimes just your name and a general descriptive title (even just “librarian”) is appropriate, depending on the person or audience you are introducing yourself to.

In some cases, a few words describing what you do will be needed. If, for example, your title doesn’t make your job responsibilities clear or if there is a certain skill you want to be sure the person you are talking to knows about you, be sure to mention that too. If you are a student, give the name of the school and your degree-in-progress, with the possible addition of the kind of information work you hope to do following graduation.

It is best not to introduce yourself by saying you are unemployed or job hunting. I have heard many info pros begin their introduction with something like, “I was laid off two years ago…” We all have setbacks in our careers. By introducing yourself with a past setback you are telling other people that this one-time event, which may have occurred some time ago, has defined you in a permanent way. This encourages others to think of you as unemployed and that is not likely to lead to new opportunities. I would also avoid the phrase “in transition” as it has come to mean “long-term unemployed”.

Lead with your strengths; introduce yourself in the present tense, (“I am…” rather than “I was…”) and have some project or part-time job or volunteering or internship or blog or research or service in a professional organization that you can talk about later in the conversation. Keep your introduction to one or two sentences. After that, *listen* to the other person’s self-introduction and ask a follow-up question or two, to get things started. Read more…