ENGLISH FOR

PROFESSIONAL
COMMUNICATION
LEARNING UNIT 3 (Week 3 & 4)
MARKETING YOURSELF TO
PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYERS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this unit, students should
be able to:
1. use the simple past tense and
adjectives
2. use specific words and phrases
to write a resume
3. write a resume
4. ask and answer questions on ones
resume
 Whats a Resume?
A formal summary of a persons
academic and work background (if
any)
The first contact the potential
employer has with YOU, the
applicant
Have you heard of the expression
first impression matters?
 Why a Resume?
A resume is the first contact a
potential employer has with you. It
has your photo, your credentials,
your career objective

How you project yourself should be

reflected in that clean, error-free and
professional-looking resume
So how does a Resume look
like?
It should be clear, clean, neat, error-
free and appealing
Arrange the content in this order:
1. according to level of
importance and relevance the
most recent and most important points
SHOULD be highlighted first
2. according to the most related
facts (to that particular post you are
applying for)
 Fonts
Most commonly used font type:
Times New Roman or Georgia
Tahoma, Arial or Verdana

Size:
10-12 points for the body
12-14 points for the heading
Bullets and Columns
Are acceptable but they need to be
presented in a professional way
neat and tidy.

Remember, a resume should be

professional looking and written in a
standard and consistent format.
Indented or justified
Texts must be on
the left
Avoid justifying
 Checklist

Turn to page 14
 The Format
1. Name, address, other contact information
2. Objective (in a sentence what you can
contribute/do for your employer
3. Highest level of education
4. Work experience
5. Leadership activities/societies
6. Honours/awards
7. Skills
8. Personal qualities
9. References
SEE SAMPLE RESUME 1 ON PAGE 15
1. The Career Objective
Must be convincing
Must be able to inform the employer
about 1. what you can do
2. the scope of your expertise
3. how you can contribute and
benefit the organisation
 The career objective
can
(1) begin with an infinitive to go
back to Sample Resume 1

O To build a career in IT with a major

computer manufacturer that allows
personal growth and provides
opportunities to experience new
challenges
 Guide to writing a convincing
career objective statement
To my in Commu wit a that prov chall opp
appl know nic- h majo ides engi opor
y ledg ation r TV ng tunit
e and stati ies
Marketi on for
ng care
er
adva
nce
men
t
and
pers
nal
gro
wth
Writing the career objective
statement goal
Try coming up with one career
objective relevant to your field

To apply
To seek
To build
To develop
(you may refer to Activity 1 on page
20)
 The career objective
can
(2) begin with a noun

Writing your career objective with a

noun highlights your skills or
experiences to match the job
requirements

TURN TO PAGE 18 AND 19 FOR

MORE SAMPLES AND COMPLETE
EXERCISE 2
 2. Educational
Background
Provide your educational background
immediately after your Career
This includes
Objective

Degree
Area of specialisation
Expected date of graduation
For this course we will use the
Double Column
 Single column or Double
Column?
For EPC we shall use the Double
Column
1. divide the page into 2 parts
2. Write your educational background
on the left followed by the year
obtained on the right
3. Follow through with the rest of the
information which follows such as
work experience, and societies and
activities
Turn to page 20

Now draft your

educational
information
 3. Work Experience
You may include any information related
to past work experiences, no matter
how small or trivial it may seem to you
Internships, industrial training, part-time
or volunteer work should be included
Do not forget to list down the specific
tasks you did and also skills you
acquired
Work Experience-cont.
Follow the two-column format and include the :

1. month and year - Write in a descending order

2. specific name of the position you held, the

name of the company/ organisation and

3. location/place

Turn to page 23 for examples

 LANGUAGE FOCUS

Turn to page 24 for a list

of vivid and meaningful
verbs to use when
describing your past
working experiences
4a. Leadership in Societies/
Clubs/Activities
Participations in the universitys
clubs/societies or activities should also be
given focus

Turn to page 26 and complete Exercise 7

Analyse how possible posts held at the

university are written. Some of you might
have been/are holding similar post(s)
 4b. Other Activities
Any other involvement in extra
curricular activities or even
assignment requirements are also
worth mentioning/listing in your
Resume
Turn to page 27 for a list of possible
responsibilities and/activities
What other verbs can you add to the
list?
5. Essential Skills for Work-
place Communication
Use of verb, noun phrase or adjectives in
highlighting your

Communication Skills
People-related Skills
Field- Specific Skills
IT Literacy Skills

Turn to page 28-29. highlight the verb,

noun phrase and adjectives
 Go to page 30-31
Be consistent

Lets try to do
Exercise 9
 6. Personal Qualities

How important is it to highlight

personal qualities?

What are your positive traits which

you should highlight in your resume?
Jot them down.

Go through the note on page 33

 7. References
Who? Why

1. Your lecturer

2. Your internship
(Industrial Training/LI)
supervisor

* Do not forget to ask for

permission/inform them that
youre putting their names as
your referees
 Turn to page 35

Work with a partner to continue with

drafting your resume.

Go through Steps 1-7 with your

partner(s)

Refer to Resumes 1, 2 and 3 as

samples/guides.