Experience and Resume Building

Gain Experience, Get Involved, Be a Leader

First Year Summer Program Peer Mentors

City Tech Clubs

City Tech Student Government Association (SGA)

NYC Volunteering Opportunties

NYC Service

Hobbies and Clubs in NYC (meetup.com)

Society of Technical Communicators, New York Metro Chapter

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Resumes and Job Application Letters

1. Create a big list (work experience, responsibilities, education, awards, honors, hobbies, languages, leadership positions, professional societies, software, technical skills–use as a reference and as a way to reflect on gaps in your experience that you would like to fill)
2. Turn your big list into a LinkedIn.com Profile and network with others (build meaningful connections, not “Facebook friends”).
3. Study job ads and research the companies offering jobs. As your network grows on LinkedIn.com and IRL, you can ask others about the prospect of working at a company. Otherwise, you will need to use the databases (Lexis Nexis is a good place to start) and web and social network searches (financial websites, news websites, Twitter, etc.). This research is essential for a stronger application, and it helps you identify who you should address your letter to (if this isn’t already listed on the job ad–of course, you can call or visit the company office to inquire–be professional, introduce yourself, explain that you’re applying for x job and you’d like to find out to whom you should address your application, and look/sound the part as you’re already being evaluated/interviewed).
4. Ask yourself after your research, is this a place where I want to work? Would I be a good fit for this workplace? Consider what kind of workplace culture you would contribute to and thrive in best. Consider your career goals and how this job will help you along your path to achieving those goals.
5. Create multiple versions of your resume and customize each for specific job listings. Examples:
   1. eng1133-sample-resume-experience
   2. eng1133-sample-resume-experience-blank
   3. eng1133-sample-resume-skills
   4. eng1133-sample-resume-skills-blank
6. Write job application/cover letters for specific job listings, strongly connect your letter to your resume, and write your letter as an argument for your suitability for the job and your deserving an interview. Example:
   1. eng1133-job-application-letter
   2. eng1133-job-ad-technical-support (the letter and resumes above are responding to this ad)
7. Practice interview questions with friends and family. Write down some basic answers, but don’t recite them by heart. Think about how to connect your basic answers to some aspect of the job to which you are applying.
8. Use your City Tech email when applying for jobs as a student. It proves that you are enrolled. You can also use your City Tech email after you graduate–it’s an alumni privilege that shows that you are an alumni.
9. Keep things focused on the job ad, the company/organization (based on your research and word-of-mouth), and how you can add value to the company by joining their team.
10. Unless it’s an internship, never say that you will gain experience and learn things working there–while that should happen regardless, you want to show and explain what you can give to the company.
11. Provide concise, keyword-driven evidence in your resume and describe it in your letter and interview.
12. Don’t use generic templates for your resume and letter. Take command of how you present yourself, but adhere to KISS principles as a machine will likely be “reading” your resume before a person does and computers can get confused by watermarks, colorful designs, etc. Here are some other models for resumes and letters:
    1. Georgia Tech Sample Resume and Letter