- Introduction & Special Note
- Featured Sponsor: Monster.com
- Feature Article: A Resume That Delivers Results
- Scholarship notes
- Scholarship: Siemens Westinghouse Competition
- Scholarship: Collegiate Inventors Competition
- Scholarship: Evalee C. Schwarz Charitable Trust
- A Word from our Sponsors
- Privacy and Subscription Information
- Back Issues
- Sponsor this newsletter!
Welcome to the April 2004 issue of Financial Aid News. This month features our first in a two part series on finding a job after college (or any time, really) and how to craft a great resume.
This month, we debut our new web site, FinancialAidNews.com, where we'll centralize all our newsletters, past and present. Visit FinancialAidNews.com today to see it in action.
A special note to all our valued subscribers: The Student Loan Network is moving! Thanks to your patronage and word of mouth, we're moving offices to accommodate our growing staff. If you currently make use of any of our services, please take note of our new address!
The Student Loan Network
1250 Hancock Street, Suite 703N
Quincy, MA 02169
Enjoy this month's newsletter!
The Student Loan Network Team
This month, we feature Monster.com. If you're an employer or a prospective employee, use Monster.com to make that next great hiring choice.
For Employers |
For Job Seekers |
Featured Article: A Resume that Delivers Results
Part 1 of a 2 Part Series on Finding Jobs
As American students are well aware, one of the key talking points in this year's Presidential election is jobs, or more specifically the seeming dearth of them available to graduates. You probably don't want to wait for an election to improve the chances of finding a job after graduation, so this month's feature article is how to craft a good resume. Be sure to read our February 2004 back issue for more job hunting information.
Former R2 Services recruiter and Edvisors Network CTO Christopher Penn weighs in on how he's helped land jobs for 100% of the friends and family that have asked him for help in the last few years.
"As I said in the February newsletter, job hunting is very much a numbers game, despite what books about parachutes tell you. That said, if your resume isn't polished and top notch, it won't matter how many you send out. Here are some tips for a good resume.
First and foremost, your resume should immediately answer the question 'What's in it for me?' for every prospective employer. They should have their internal job description in one hand and your resume in the other, and if you're qualified for the job, there should be no question in their minds that you're exactly the person they need to call. How do you convey that? When I was recruiting, we made a point of emphasizing skills, experience, and accomplishments first, then education and certifications. What can you do? How well can you do it? Will you solve the problem that the employer has?
Even things that seem like modest accomplishments to you may be significant to an employer. One thing that I find helps to "sell" a resume is factual data. Instead of merely listing "Sold auto parts at store for summer work", tell me about your accomplishments in a way that's more concrete. "Sold 12% more auto parts during summer job than any other associate at store" tells me that you're an achiever, a can-do person. Even if you were just flipping burgers, were you more productive than other employees, did you help the business further its needs?
Second, create a section at the top of your resume that offers a fast, bulleted list of what you're capable of. Think of it as the teaser for the rest of the resume. It should be clean, crisp, short, and immediately understandable.
Third, as you iterate through your previous experiences, try to stick to a bulleted list, since it's faster and easier to read. Remember that hiring managers and assistants are still overwhelmed by torrents of resumes. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to glean relevant information from your resume, and that means bullet points. You'll elaborate more in your interview.
Fourth, write a sales-oriented cover letter to be dispatched with your resume. Your cover letter should be more than "Please give me a job" put in polite prose. Your cover letter is a sales tool, and as such should ask questions and provide minor "yes" response opportunities throughout. Your cover letter should be targeted to the industries you'll be applying to, and should also contribute mightily to answering the question "What's in it for me, the employer?" See our samples below.
Fifth, run a spelling checker over EVERYTHING you have created. Do this several times. Nothing turns off a prospective hiring manager faster than poor spelling. Then get some business associates to review it. Note that I didn't say friends and family! Get people in business, preferably who have had to hire people in the past, to review your documentation thus far. You want it to be seen by people who have an idea of how difficult it is to hire someone, so they can tell you what stands out - and what doesn't.
Sixth, get a web site. It doesn't matter if it's a free site or a site you pay for, though having JackKincaid.com is easier to remember for employers than home.geocities.com/jackandcoke2000/ and making things as easy as possible for a prospective employer is the name of the game. Use your personal web site to showcase what you're capable of, and to offer conclusive proof that you are perfectly literate with a computer and the Internet, necessary skills in the professional workforce for a large number of jobs. Your site should offer your resume in four formats: Microsoft Word, Plain Text, HTML, and Adobe Acrobat PDF.
Seventh, consider making business cards with your personal web site's URL and contact information on it. It's awkward to wander around life with piles of resumes in a satchel, hoping you'll come upon someone to give them to. Keep your personal hiring cards with you, and distribute them as appropriate! You never know when you'll meet someone who may be in a position to help you find a job.
Nothing teaches like example. Here are some samples of work I've done for a past client, the before and after. Note that everything is truthful and honest - I took the time to get to know them and what they'd done, and merely added hard facts to an otherwise unglamorous hiring package. There's absolutely no need to lie at all; quite the contrary - you want to make the truth about how great you are even more clear, even more obvious!
Before |
After |
| Sample Resume | Sample Resume |
| Sample Cover Letter | Sample Cover Letter |
Next month, we'll reveal the secrets of how to find a job using the Internet, and how I managed to get five of my closest friends and family great, high-paying jobs in less than four weeks. Stay tuned!"
If you know someone looking for a job, tell them about the Financial Aid Newsletter - they are not going to want to miss the May 2004 issue!
This month, we go for the big money, scholarships of high dollar awards.
As always, we remind you that this is a very, very, very small fraction of the scholarships available to students everywhere. We encourage you, if you want to get the maximum amount of free money for college, to enlist the services of our scholarship experts. We've sorted through over 2 million scholarships worth $14 billion.
Visit http://www.financialaidofficer.com/scholarship_search/
to gain access to our premium scholarship search service. For a nominal fee beginning at $29.99, you can search for scholarships that meet YOUR needs.
Scholarship: Siemens Westinghouse Competition - up to $100,000
The Siemens Westinghouse Competition is comprised of an individual competition and a team competition. The individual competition is open to high school seniors who will graduate no later than September 1, 2004. The team competition consists of two to three members from any level in high school. Individual and team entries will receive separate awards. You must submit a research project in science, mathematics, engineering, technology, or any combinations of these disciplines.
Visit http://www.siemens-foundation.org/
Scholarship: Collegiate Inventors Competition - up to $25,000
The Collegiate Inventors Competition is open to students who have been enrolled full time in a college or university over the past 12 months. You must submit an original idea, process or technology that will be judged on originality and inventiveness, as well as on its potential value to society (socially, environmentally, and economically), and on its range or scope of use. Up to four students may work together as a team. However, only one prize will be awarded per entry.
Visit http://www.invent.org/collegiate/overview.html
Scholarship: Evalee C. Schwarz Charitable Trust - up to $15,000
The Evalee C. Schwarz Charitable Trust for Education provides interest-free loans to undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate exceptional academic performance and financial need. You must be a U.S. citizen, qualify for financial need in the form of government grants and be enrolled in a school in the state in which you reside. You must also have an outstanding combination of standardized test scores (ranking in the top 10% nationally) and class to be eligible for this award. Students who are seeking a law degree are not eligible.
Visit http://www.evaleeschwarztrust.org/
And now a word from our sponsors...
Consolidate your student loans!
The clock is ticking! Every day you wait to consolidate is another day interest can build up on you. Visit http://www.studentloanconsolidator.com today to reduce your monthly payments, improve your credit, LOCK IN low fixed rates, and make your student loans more manageable.
Visit http://www.studentloanconsolidator.com today!
Get Extra Credit!
College is all about planning for the future, and nothing gets you set for the future like a good credit rating. Get a Chase Platinum Mastercard for Students at StudentPlatinum.com and get started on building your credit rating today!
Visit http://www.studentplatinum.com today!
Need more money for school?
Need a student loan but the Federal government is just not receptive to your situation? Try an alternative student loan! Visit http://www.alternativestudentloan.com today for student loans of all kinds!
Visit http://www.alternativestudentloan.com
Privacy & Subscription Information
You can always change your subscription options by visiting our subscription page, located at:
We value your privacy. We do not under any conditions sell, rent, share, or distribute your email address at any time unless you specifically request that we do so by applying for a specific product or service. Organizations and companies that wish to communicate with you must do so by sponsoring our newsletter.
Would you prefer to read Financial Aid News as an RSS feed? You can! We update the feed for each issue. You can subscribe to it using FeedReader or any RSS/XML feed reader at:
Subscribe to our podcast in 2 easy steps!
- Download iTunes and install it.
- Click here to subscribe!
If you wish to write us via postal mail, you can direct correspondence to:
The Edvisors Network, Inc.
1250 Hancock Street, Suite 703N
Quincy, MA 02169
Missed an issue? Did you remember a scholarship but can't find the back issue? You can always find back issues of the Financial Aid Newsletter at:
Want to tell a friend about the newsletter? Forward a copy to them, or have them visit:
Sponsor the Financial Aid Newsletter!
Sponsorships are limited to one per month. Your Sponsorship message in the newsletter will be delivered to more than 779454 subscribers, many of whom forward the newsletter to friends, associates and customers. If you would like us to consider you or your company for Sponsorship, please send email to: newsletter@financialaidnews.com
Share this page!
