{"id":177,"date":"2025-01-29T15:17:47","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T20:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/?page_id=177"},"modified":"2025-05-30T13:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T17:15:14","slug":"resume-cover-letter-cv-guides","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/","title":{"rendered":"Resume, Cover Letter and CV Guides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n            <div class=\"cu-textmedia flex flex-col lg:flex-row mx-auto gap-6 md:gap-10 my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 max-w-5xl\">\n        <div class=\"justify-start cu-textmedia-content cu-prose-first-last\" style=\"flex: 0 0 100%;\">\n            <header class=\"font-light prose-xl cu-pageheader md:prose-2xl cu-component-updated cu-prose-first-last\">\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold !mt-2 mb-4 md:mb-6 relative after:absolute after:h-px after:bottom-0 after:bg-cu-red after:left-px text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] pb-5 after:w-10 text-cu-black-700 not-prose\">\n                        Resume, Cover Letter and CV Guides\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                                \n                            <\/header>\n\n                    <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"building-your-resume-cover-letter-or-cv\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Building your Resume, Cover Letter or CV?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A polished and targeted&nbsp;resume and cover letter are essential to your job search. We&nbsp;can help you develop well-crafted documents&nbsp;that can create&nbsp;a great first impression and increase your chances of landing an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n    <div class=\"grid gap-6 mx-auto my-6 cu-column md:gap-10 md:grid-cols-2 md:my-10 first:mt-0\">\n        \n<div class=\"cu-column-content\">\n    \n\n<p>Check out the following resources below to get started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/#quick-tips\">Quick Tips<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/#resumes\">Resumes<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/#cover-letters\">Cover Letters<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/#academic-cvs\">Academic CVs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/#in-person-review-services\">In-Person Review Services<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/#ats\">Learn about how Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) affects online applications and how to make your resume\/cover letter ATS compatible<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/#AI\">Resumes, Cover Letters, and AI<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"cu-column-content\">\n    \n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"99\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/02\/resume-tips-2-240x99-1.jpg\" alt=\"image of laptop\" class=\"wp-image-365\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"quick-tips\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Quick Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you&#8217;re creating your resume and cover letter, you&#8217;ll want to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Highlight your skills, as employers look for transferable skills relevant for the job<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Phrase your bullet points using action-based&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/sar-statements\/\">SAR statements<\/a>&nbsp;to highlight your skills, experience and accomplishments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/action-verbs-by-skill-set\/\">Action Verbs<\/a>&nbsp;which relate to the skills set you are hoping to display<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Always&nbsp;tailor your resume and cover letter for each&nbsp;position<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proofread your documents to ensure they are free of spelling and grammatical errors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visit&nbsp;the Career Services office in 401 Tory for a review!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"resumes\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Resumes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Compare the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/types-of-resumes\/\">3 Types of Resumes<\/a>&nbsp;to help you decide which template works best for you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/Chronological_Resume_Template_Final1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chronological Resume<\/a>&nbsp;emphasizes your work history and professional achievements over time in increasingly expert positions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/Skills-Based_Resume_Template.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Skills-based Resume<\/a>&nbsp;emphasizes your skills and education as they relate to the position you are applying for.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/Combined_Resume_Template.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Combined Resume<\/a>&nbsp;emphasizes your work experience as well as&nbsp;skills, accomplishments and achievements gained in other areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"cover-letters\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cover Letters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/Cover_Letter_Template_Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cover Letter Template<\/a>&nbsp;to build a targeted and polished cover letter for each position you apply to.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Review&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/students-alumni\/resumes-cv-cover-letters\/tips-on-cover-letters\/\">Tips on Cover Letters<\/a>&nbsp;to make your cover letter stand out!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"academic-cvs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Academic CVs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unsure whether to use a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/resume-or-cv\/\">Resume or CV<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-content\/uploads\/Resume-or-CV.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">?<\/a>&nbsp;Find out here!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Review our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/05\/CV-Template_AR-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CV Template<\/a>&nbsp;and get Tips on Writing a CV to help you format and&nbsp;write your CV for academic or research positions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"in-person-review-services\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">In-person Review Services<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mysuccess.carleton.ca\/register\/students\/virtualappntguide.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Book an appointment online<\/a>\u00a0for Resume, CV, and Cover Letter reviews which includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reviewing resume and cover letter for structure and organization \u2013 bring in a hard or digital copy!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing&nbsp;feedback regarding written content, including&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/sar-statements\/\">SAR statements<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Supporting your efforts to&nbsp;tailor your resume to specific job requirements \u2013 bring in a job posting with your resume!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n    <div class=\"grid gap-6 mx-auto my-6 cu-column md:gap-10 md:grid-cols-2 md:my-10 first:mt-0\">\n        \n<div class=\"cu-column-content\">\n    \n\n<p><strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\">Visit Career Services in 401 Tory!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For in-person support, visit the Career Centre in 401 Tory Building Monday to Friday, from 1p.m. to 4p.m&nbsp; (last check in at 3:30 p.m.). To book an appointment, either virtual or in-person, please contact us via email (<a href=\"mailto:career@carleton.ca\">career@carleton.ca<\/a>), phone (613-520-6611), or live chat.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"cu-column-content\">\n    \n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/02\/Career-Services-practicum-240x180-1.png\" alt=\"two people meeting at a table\" class=\"wp-image-368\" style=\"width:300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ats\">Applicant Tracking Software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/resume-cover-letter-cv-guides\/applicant-tracking-software-ats\/\">ATS (Applicant Tracking Software)<\/a>&nbsp;is a software application extensively used by recruiters and HR professionals to screen and organize candidate profiles during the hiring cycle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From a job seeker\u2019s perspective, an ATS is a tool that screens candidate resumes for specific keywords, experience, background, or training when they apply for a job posting. This, along with candidate contact information, resume, and cover letter, is uploaded to a database. HR personnel then use this candidate file to screen candidates, contact them, schedule interviews and eventually hire them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"resumes-cover-letters-and-ai\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Resumes, Cover Letters and AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You may be turning to ChatGPT for career document writing assistance because writing a resume and cover letter can be time consuming, especially when you\u2019re adjusting each document to each job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While ChatGPT is a helpful tool to write career documents, you should not submit them without revision or personalization. Here are a few prompts that may assist with creating your tailored application documents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u201c<\/em>Highlight the top 10 keywords in this job description: [Insert Job Description]\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cName five transferable skills that are relevant for the [industry name].\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cIdentify three job titles similar to [position title].\u201d<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You must review your output to check for mistakes and ensure your tone and delivery are what you were looking for. Make sure to always&nbsp;<strong>tailor ChatGPT outputs<\/strong>&nbsp;to ensure your resume or cover letter is in your own voice, avoids obvious conflicting or gibberish information, or concerns of plagiarism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are using ChatGPT to assist with any of your writing, make sure to use it alongside AI detection tools, such as ZeroGPT. You can also review&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/library.carleton.ca\/guides\/help\/citing-your-sources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Carleton\u2019s citation information<\/a>&nbsp;if you are considering using ChatGPT for coursework, or learn more about&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/job-search\/job-search-and-networking\/#using-ai-for-your-job-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI and your Job Search<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Building your Resume, Cover Letter or CV? A polished and targeted&nbsp;resume and cover letter are essential to your job search. We&nbsp;can help you develop well-crafted documents&nbsp;that can create&nbsp;a great first impression and increase your chances of landing an interview. Quick Tips When you&#8217;re creating your resume and cover letter, you&#8217;ll want to: Resumes Cover Letters [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":0,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cu_dining_location_slug":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_page_type":[14],"class_list":["post-177","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","cu_page_type-general"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":949,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/177\/revisions\/949"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/career\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_page_type?post=177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}