Frequently Asked Questions
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Why should I book an appointment with an employment counsellor at Kootenay Career Development Services?
- You receive one to one employment counselling tailored to your unique employment needs.
- Employment counsellors know and understand the local, regional and provincial job market
- Employment counsellors can connect you directly with government sponsored training funding, small business funding and wage subsidy programs
- They are trained career practioners and provide professional resume writing, cover letter and interview skills service
- Employment counsellors are supportive and non-judgmental and understand the stresses involved in being unemployed or under-employed.
Resume FAQ Page
What is the difference between a chronological resume and a functional resume?
There are three main resume formats – chronological, functional and a combination of both. Each is defined by the way it organizes your experience. Choose the one that shows your experience to its best advantage.
Chronological Resume Format
This resume type is the most common. It organizes your experience around the jobs you have held. This format is an excellent choice for people with steady work histories or previous jobs that relate closely to their career objective.
To create a chronological resume, list each position you have held, starting with the most recent and working backward. For each position, give the title of your job, name of the organization you worked for, and years you worked there. Next, relate the duties and accomplishments of that job. When describing your jobs, use action statements, not sentences. Instead of writing "I managed a fundraising campaign," write, "Managed a fundraising campaign." Use strong verbs to begin each statement.
Be specific, but not overly detailed, in describing what you did. Employers say three to five statements are usually sufficient for each job. And no job should have more than four consecutive lines of information under it; large blocks of text are difficult to read.
Your most important positions should occupy the most space on your resume. If you've had jobs that do not relate to the position you want, consider dividing your experience into two categories: Relevant experience and other experience. Describe the relevant jobs thoroughly, and briefly mention the others. If you have had many jobs, you probably do not need to mention the oldest or least important ones. Just be careful not to create damaging gaps in your work history.
You can make an appointment with an employment counsellor at KCDS to assist you in developing your resume.
Functional Resume Format
Because the chronological format emphasizes dates and job titles, it is often a poor format for career changers, people with inconsistent work histories, or new entrants to the work force. For these applicants, the functional resume is a better choice.
The functional resume organizes your experience around skills rather than job titles. "I often recommend the functional format to students who have not had positions that relate directly to the job they want," says Patricia Rawson, an employment strategist at Kootenay Career Development Society. "By organizing their experiences around skills, they can connect less relevant jobs to the career qualifications they need. For instance, a job waiting tables can be combined with other examples to show organizational or customer service skills."
To create a functional resume, identify three or four skills required for your target job. For each skill, identify three to five concrete examples to demonstrate that ability. Again, use action statements -- not complete sentences -- when writing your list.Arrange your skill headings in order of importance. If you have a specific job posting, match the arrangement of your headings to that of its listed requirements. The closer the match between your skill headings and the reviewer's expectations, the more qualified you seem.
The last part of the functional resume is a brief work history. Write only job titles, company names, and employment years. If you have gaps in your work history, you could use the cover letter to explain them, or you could fill them by adding volunteer work, community activities, or family responsibilities to your job list. Pauline Daniel, an employment coach at Kootenay Career Development Society can guide you through highlighting your most relevant skills when developing your functional resume. She says “people are always impressed with the number and quality of skills we uncover during our coaching sessions”.
Combination Resume Format
This format combines the best of the chronological format with the best of the functional format. Combination resumes are as varied as the histories they summarize. One variation begins with a chronological format but then subdivides each job description into skill categories. Another variation uses a functional format but, for each example of a skill, identifies the organization where the example occurred. “Writing a combination resume can be challenging” says Rose Stapenhurst, career facilitator at Kootenay Career Development Society, “I enjoy supporting individuals to develop resumes that present their unique skills and abilities”.
Cover Letter FAQ’s
Why is a cover letter necessary?
A cover letter should always accompany your resume. Few employers will seriously consider a resume without a letter. A cover letter tells the employer exactly what kind of job you want to do and tailors your qualifications to that job.
What are the biggest mistakes cover-letter writers make?
- Addressing the letter to "Dear Personnel Director," "To Whom It May Concern," "Dear Sir or Madam" (or worse, "Dear Sirs") instead of a named individual. "To Whom It May Concern" shows the employer that you were not concerned enough to find out the name of the person with the hiring power.
- Telling the employer what the company can do for you instead of what you can do for the company. This mistake is particularly common among new college graduates and other inexperienced job-seekers.
- Leaving the ball in the employer's court. Too many cover letters end with a line like this: "If you are interested in my qualifications, please call me." Proactive cover letters, in which the job-seeker requests an interview and promises to follow up with a phone call, are far more effective.
Which kind of cover letter will work best for me?
- The invited cover letter is a response to a want ad and can be tailored to the job requirements listed in the ad. This kind of cover letter is effective for the 20 percent of jobs that are publicly advertised.
- The uninvited cover letter is usually part of a mass mailing and requires the job-seeker to do some homework to find out about each prospective recipient company. The uninvited letter is the best way to tap the "hidden" job market, where 80 percent of the jobs lurk.
- The referral cover letter, which uses name-dropping to get the employer's attention, is another excellent way to tap the hidden job market. When a mutual acquaintance provides you with a job lead, you can use his or her name to your advantage in a cover letter: "Joseph Burns suggested I contact you about the opening you have in your organization
Can't I just mass-produce the same letter to all the companies for which I'm interested in working?
Never -- unless you use word-processing equipment that enables you to personalize each letter and include at least one paragraph specifically revealing your knowledge about each company and how you can meet its needs. Nothing turns off an employer faster than getting a letter that looks like the same one everyone else is getting. Why bother to do a cover letter if you don't tailor it to the company and position you want?
What's the most important thing to include in the body of the cover letter?
Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). An advertising term, the USP is the one thing that makes you better qualified to do the job than anyone else. The USP should answer the question: "Why should I hire this person?"
What other approaches make a cover letter dynamic?
Some effective tricks:
- You can visually call attention to your qualifications by underlining them, boldfacing them, or indenting them in a list with bullets.
- You can quantify to tell the employer how many employees you supervised, how many customers you handled, how much money you saved the company, and by what percentage you increased sales or profits.
- You can demonstrate your creativity and potential for innovation by revealing one or two ideas for how you would improve the employer's operation or bottom line.
Should I include references in my cover letter?
Unless an ad specifically requests references, they belong in the interview phase of the job search. Most companies won't check references until they become seriously interested in hiring a candidate. However, if you think that including references will get you an interview, include them, but on a seperate page.
How long should the cover letter be?
Only in the rarest of circumstances should your letter be longer than a page, and considerably less than a page is best. About four paragraphs should do the trick. The first should grab attention, tell why you're writing, and reveal what you want to do for the company. The second should introduce your Unique Selling Proposition. The third should further amplify your qualifications (without rehashing your resume). The last paragraph should ask for an interview, tell how you plan to follow up, and thank the employer for considering you. Answering an ad may require another paragraph or two to tailor your qualifications to the job requirements.
What's the best way to make sure my cover letter is well-written and on target?
If your time frame will allow it, put your cover letter down, and then pick it up a day or two later as though you were the prospective employer. Does it grab and hold your attention? Is it concise? Is it free of typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors? Is it interesting? If you were the employer, would you know what this job-seeker wants to do and why he or she is the best person to do it? Would you invite this job-seeker for an interview?
Interview FAQ’s Page
What are the questions employers generally ask in an interview?
Most questions you will be asked in interviews can be anticipated. That means that you can develop effective answers and practice your responses before you are sitting face-to-face with a prospective employer! This list of frequently asked interview questions is a good way to prepare.
1. Can you tell me about yourself?
2. What are your greatest strengths?
3. What are your greatest weaknesses?
4. Why are you interested in this particular area of work?
5. Why should we hire you?
6. What interests you about our company, agency, business?
7. Why did you leave your last job?
8. What did you like about your last job?
9. What were your major contributions to your last job?
10. How do you handle pressure/stress?
11. Give concrete examples of how you work in a team environment.
12 . What are your short-term goals?
13. What are your long-term goals?
14. What do you know about the position you are applying for?
15. What kind of contribution can you make to our company/agency?
16. Are you creative? Analytical? Give an example.
17 What interests you most about this job?
18. What interests you least about this job?
19. What is your response to criticism?
20. What are the three greatest accomplishments in your career?
21. Describe a time when you demonstrated _____________________. (A particular ability or skill)
Should I send a thank-you letter after an interview with an employer?
Given the fact that almost all job-hunting books advise sending a thank-you note after an interview, it is surprising how few job-seekers do so. A thank-you letter probably will not make the difference between getting the job and not getting the job, but if the employer is weighing two equally qualified candidates, the one who sends a thank-you note just might have the edge over the one who doesn't. It's common courtesy to thank the employer for taking time to interview you. The thank-you letter also enables you to amplify the positive aspects of your interview and, perhaps correct any negative aspects.
Employer Information FAQ’s Page
Why should I advertise a job on the Kootenay Career Development Society web site?
- Your job posting will reach a large group of Nelson & area job seekers.
- Job seekers can see your posting 24 hours a day from any computer.
- When accessing the internet, all computers in the Resource Centre are one click away from your job posting.
How much will it cost to post a job on the KCDS web site?
It won’t cost you anything. The service is FREE!
Can I advertise a job and keep my business name and location confidential?
Yes. You can post the job description and have the option of keeping your employer name and location confidential.
Do I have to manage the employer web page?
No the web site administrator at Kootenay Career Development Society will manage the web page. You will need to complete the Employer Log in and Employer Profile. You can update, change or remove your posting from the web page anytime providing you have internet access.
