If you are looking for advice on job hunting, check out askamanager.org. The woman who runs it, Alison Green, is a former hiring manager and she is awesome. Her advice is helpful and up-to-date.

I can’t cover every possible way to create a resume and I’ve never hired anyone, so I can’t give you any insider knowledge. Instead, we’ll discuss resumes in a general sense.

A resume is a document that giver an overview of your skills, experiences, and achievements. You can list your education, your paid work, and your volunteer work. If you’ve held a leadership position in a club, received an award, or taken a relevant class, you might include that as well.

Save the document with a clear title. Include your name. Hiring managers receive a ton of documents titled “resume.” Including your name makes your file easier to find.

You don’t have to list every single job you’ve had. In fact, you should really only include the experience that’s relevant to the position. However, if you don’t have a lot of job experience, list everything, and do your best to make it relevant. That’s another use for the cover letter, as well.

Keep your job history to the last ten years.

Ideally a resume is just one page long, but two is acceptable. If your cover letter does run to two pages, include a header on the second page with your last name, the title of the document, and the page number. For example, my header would say “Luepke Resume Page 2.”

Use a professional-looking typeface such as Times New Roman or Arial, in an easy to read size. Single space the text. You don’t have to write out complete sentences. Use bullet points to divide up information; whoever looks at the resume will scan it quickly to see if you have the skills and experience needed.

At the top of the resume, write your name and contact info. Contact info generally consists of mailing address, phone number, and email.

From there, there are a number of ways to organize information. Microsoft Word has a variety of templates to choose from, and those are fine. The key is to be consistent, and make sure each entry looks the same.

As a student and new grad, start with your education. Don’t include your high school; the employer assumes you have graduated or have a GED. If you are working on a degree, include the expected graduation date. For example, you might have the heading “Education” and then “Portland State University, BA Economics, Expected June 2015.”

The next section is your job history. Start with the heading “Experience” or “Work Experience.” List the job title, company, location and the dates you worked there. The order the info is arranged in doesn’t really matter as long as it’s the same for each entry.

It’s helpful to have a master resume with every single job you’ve ever worked that you can then craft into a specific resume for each position. Likewise, make sure you have the actual address for each company. Many applications want the actual location of each company.

Under that info, use a bulleted list for your accomplishments and duties. If you won an award, created a new product, found a way to save money, include that. Include information relevant to the job listing. You don’t need to include a reason for leaving.

Arrange the entries in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent job. If you are still employed, write the start date and end with “Present.”

After that, you can include a section with a title like “Other Experience.” Here you can list volunteer experience or leadership positions in clubs. Follow the same format as your work experience.

You can also include a “skills” section that lists your skills, an “awards and honors” section that includes relevant awards and honors, and a “certificate and licenses” section that include relevant certificates and licenses.

The goal isn’t to list every single thing, only that which is relevant to the job listing. For example, if you were applying for an administrative assistant position, you might list the software you know (beyond Microsoft Office), how fast you type, or that you are bilingual.

Finally, make sure to proofread. It’s April 2014 as I write this, and we’re still at a point where there are 2-3 applicants for every one job. Hiring managers will look for any reason to narrow down an applicant pool. Don’t give them one. Look for typos and nonstandard usage. Have a friend look over it. Use Spell Check.

When emailing a resume, make sure to include a clear subject line such as “Application materials for XYZ job.” To be polite, I include a little note such as “Dear Hiring Manager, My cover letter and resume for XYZ job are attached. Thank you. Sincerely. . . .”

It does take practice to write a good resume. The two most important things to focus on are including relevant details and producing error-free work. Keep practicing.

Good luck! Words have power. Use them wisely.

Written and produced by Natasha Luepke

Music: “Eliezer’s Waltz” by Disparition 

At the most basic level, Academic Integrity means: not cheating.  Everything you turn in is your own work.  It’s okay to get help from your instructor, classmates, or other resources, but everything you turn in is your own thoughts and ideas.  If you do use someone else’s work, you say so, and give that person credit.  However, this also means that if you took the class previously, you are not re-using your own work without permission from the instructor.  Guidelines may have changed, and each instructor has different standards.

Students are usually asked to cite their work in MLA or APA format (there are other formats; for example, your class might use Chicago). MLA and APA formatting includes what papers should look like (what font to use, etc) and how to include outside information in your work.

Plagiarism literally means kidnapping — it’s stealing someone else’s work to use as your own.  This includes copying and pasting information from websites, typing it up after reading it in a book, buying a paper, or using a friend’s answers.

If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing, you might receive a lower grade or 0 for the assignment.  Depending on the program or school, charges might be filed.  Eventually, this could get you kicked out of school.

As an instructor, if I was caught plagiarizing work, I would be fired from my job.

It can be difficult to get the hang of citing and using outside sources. But practice makes perfect. Words have power. Use them wisely.

If you are looking for advice on job hunting, check out askamanager.org. The woman who runs it, Alison Green, is a former hiring manager and she is awesome. Her advice is helpful and up-to-date.

First, what is a cover letter? It’s a document that accompanies a resume and sometimes an application. It’s not always required, but unless the job listing says “only send X documents,” it can be helpful to include one. A cover letter helps to sell you, your skills, and your strengths. A resume is a skeleton and a cover letter is the flesh.

Cover letters need to be tailored to each job. One technique is to have one or two generic cover letters that you can then alter for a specific job opening. Often, it is the cover letter that will win over the hiring manager, especially if you lack experience. It’s to your benefit to make the cover letter as perfect as possible.

First, let’s talk formatting. Cover letters need to be easy to read. Use a professional-looking typeface such as Times New Roman or Arial, in an easy to read size, such as 12 or 10 point. Use 1 inch margins on all sides of the document. Single-space the text, and place a space between each paragraph. Do not indent the paragraphs.

With few exceptions, cover letters are just one page long. If you run out of room, try 10 point font and half inch margins. If your cover letter does run to two pages, include a header on the second page with your last name, the title of the document, and the page number. For example, my header would say “Luepke Cover Letter Page 2.”

Save the document with a clear title. Include your name. Hiring managers receive a ton of documents titled “cover letter.” Including your name makes your file easier to find.

If you are sending an actual letter through the mail, there is some additional info to include: addresses. Always start with the sender’s address. Start with the actual street address; don’t include your name. The first line is house number and street, and other info, such as apartment number. The next line is the city, state, and zip code. Make sure all of this info is spelled correctly.

Generally this is all flush with the left margin.

After the address, put a space, and then write the day’s date. After that, another space and then the recipient’s address. Start with the recipient’s name if you know it. If you don’t, use something generic like “Hiring Manager.” On the next line is the street address. The line after that is the city, state, and zip code. Put a space, and then the salutation.

If you are emailing your letter, you can skip the addresses and start with the salutation.

For the salutation, you can write “dear” or omit it. I like using “dear,” but that’s a personal choice. Use the recipient’s name if you have it. If you don’t have a specific name, use “hiring manager.” You can use “To Whom it May Concern,” or “Dear Sir/Madam,” but those are rather old fashioned. At the end of the salutation, use a colon, not a comma.

So my cover letter says, “Dear Hiring Manager [colon]”

From there, the cover letter follows a very basic three-part formula.

Part one is the first body paragraph. Start by saying which position you are applying for, and where you saw the job listing. For example, “I am eager to apply for the administrative assistant position listed on Craigslist.” Then give a sentence or two about why you want to apply for this position and what you bring to the role. For example, “I have worked as an administrative assistant for two years and I am eager to put my organizational skills to work for you.”

Part two of the formula is the most important part, the meat of the letter. Use the majority of the letter to show why you are the best candidate. Don’t just repeat what’s on your resume. Include specific examples of your strengths. Refer to the job listing and point out how you match the criteria. For example, if the job listing says they want someone who has superior time management skills, you could write, “One time, while working at X company, I had to use my time management skills to keep track of A, B, and C. I managed my time by doing Y.” Using the language from the job listing shows you paid attention and crafted a unique cover letter.

Resumes are short and to the point. A cover letter is a place for you to shine. Talk about your accomplishments or what you loved about previous positions. And by the way, if you don’t have much work experience, you can include relevant volunteer experience or work with extracurriculars. But if you mention, say chess club, just make sure to explain how that experience prepares you for the job you are applying for.

Use as many paragraphs as you need to while keeping the letter to one page.

The third part of the formula is the final paragraph. Use this paragraph to thank the reader and share your contact info. A common way to end is something like “Thank you for your time. You can contact me at. . . . I look forward to hearing from you soon.” Don’t say you’ll call or otherwise contact the company. Most companies these days don’t want you to do that. They will contact you if they want more information or to interview you.

Then end with “Sincerely” and your name.

Finally, make sure to proofread. It’s April 2014 as I write this, and we’re still at a point where there are 2-3 applicants for every one job. Hiring managers will look for any reason to narrow down an applicant pool. Don’t give them one. Look for typos and nonstandard usage. Have a friend look over it. Use Spell Check.

When emailing a cover letter, make sure to include a clear subject line such as “Application materials for XYZ job.” To be polite, I include a little note such as “Dear Hiring Manager, My cover letter and resume for XYZ job are attached. Thank you. Sincerely. . . .”

It does take practice to write a good cover letter. The two most important things to focus on are including relevant details and producing error-free work. Keep practicing.

Good luck! Words have power. Use them wisely.

Written and Produced by Natasha Luepke

Music: “Eliezer’s Waltz” by Disparition

First, a little history. Apostrophes are relatively new, both in English usage specifically and in European languages in general. They were introduced by a French writer in the 1500s and soon spread to English writing. Apostrophe usage did not become standardized until the 1800s, and I think you can persuasively argue that even now, apostrophe usage is not completely standard.

I’m not one of those people who claims that writing is devolving or that people are worse writers now than in the past. Writing, speaking, and words all change. But it makes me a little sad that apostrophes seem to be disappearing. They are so helpful!

The function of an apostrophe is to show that something has been left out. That something is a letter. Apostrophes are used in contractions and possessives.

A contraction is a single word formed by the shortening of two words. “I’m” is a contraction of “I am.” “Don’t” is a contraction of “do not.” The apostrophe in a contraction shows that a letter or more is missing, and helps clarify meaning. For example, an apostrophe is helpful in telling apart ill and I’ll.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an easy way for you to remember which words are contractions and where the apostrophe goes. You could memorize a chart. One trick is to type up your work in Microsoft Word or similar. It will correct or point out an error in a contraction. And when in doubt, don’t use a contraction. Write out the words.

As a side note, throughout much of the twentieth century, it was considered nonstandard to use contractions in academic and professional writing. That’s what I was taught, and many of your instructors learned that, too. That rule seems to have gone away. It’s not one I enforce in my classes. But avoiding contractions in your essays will help rather than hurt.

Contractions are also used in possessive words. Possessive words show ownership. English has changed a lot over the centuries. In its infancy, during the Old English period, speakers and writers used an –es to show ownership. An apostrophe shows that something has been taken out. So the apostrophe shows that the –e has been removed.

In Old English, I’d say “the girles dress,” and in Present Day English, the girl’s dress. Over time, the distinct –es sound disappeared, leaving the –s. The apostrophe helps to show this change in English writing.

There are two main kinds of possessives: singular possessives and plural possessives. Singular means belonging to one. So a singular possessive is something that belongs to one person (or animal or whatever).

“The girl’s dress” is singular. “My cat’s toy mouse is on the floor” is singular. For a singular possessive word, one uses an apostrophe s.

Plural means belonging to more than one. I have two cats, so I might write “I need to pick up all of my cats’ toys.” In writing, to make it clear that I mean more than one cat, I use an s apostrophe.

Singular possessive, apostrophe s. Plural possessive, s apostrophe.

There are a few exceptions. Of course, there are, right?

Possessive pronouns don’t use apostrophes. So yours, ours, and its don’t have apostrophes.

If a word already ends in an –s, you can either use an apostrophe or an apostrophe s. Either is acceptable as long as you are consistent. If I wanted to write “This is Chris’s book,” I could write “Chris’s” as “C-h-r-i-s-apostrophe” or “C-h-r-i-s-apostrophe-s.” I like the apostrophe s myself; I think it’s clearer.

Historical people like Socrates and Jesus, however, are always written with just an apostrophe, never an apostrophe s. Though if I saw that in a paper, I wouldn’t take off points or anything.

This is a situation where practice really helps. Use apostrophes in all of your writing: academic, personal, on facebook, when text messaging.

Words have power. Use them wisely.

Written and Produced by Natasha Luepke

Music by Disparition

• Use appropriate subject lines. Be concise but descriptive. “Hey, Help, Hi” are not good subject lines. “Question about assignment 3″ or “Application for X” are better, clearer subject lines.
• Edit replies. When responding to an email or online discussion, it can be helpful to include the original. However, you should remove the sections that are not relevant to your answer, just so your reader has fewer words to slog through. But include enough of the original, or summarize, to make it clear what you are responding to.
• Avoid ”I agree” and ”Me, too!” messages. You can start there, but don’t end there. (Why do you agree? What do you want to add to the discussion?)
• Send messages to the correct recipients.Don’t click “Reply All” if you need to reply to just one person. Avoid clogging up email inboxes.
• Avoid the use of all caps. It looks like you are YELLING. Use bold, italics, underline, or a different font color to emphasize your point.
• Proofread. It’s difficult to be 100% error free 100% of the time, but do take a few moments to read through your work.
• Format. Long paragraphs are difficult to read. Especially in emails, divide up your writing into short paragraphs. Use clear typefaces, fonts, and colors.
• Avoid responding when emotions are running high. If something makes you upset or angry, take some time to respond after you have cooled off. You don’t have to reply right away.

Words have power! Use them wisely.

Written and Produced by Natasha Luepke

Music: “Eliezer’s Waltz” by Disparition

Emails are such a simple thing! They’ve been around forever at this point. But it’s so easy to make a mistake, especially in a business situation.

When applying for a job, they are one’s first impression to a potential employer. Emails can play an important role with clients and potential clients.

Emails aren’t the most formal type of writing, but following a few simple guidelines can make sure you provide a professional front.

First, make sure you have a professional sounding email. Avoid using your full name if you can, but something like j_doe@gmail.com. If applying for a job, the company won’t really care if you have a gmail or Hotmail address, but they will notice it if your email is something like “sexybeast69.”

Next, make sure you have a clear subject line. “Hi” or “Question” don’t really tell the reader very much. “Question about X” or “Application for ABC Position” are much clearer and let the reader know you aren’t sending spam.

Begin your message with a salutation. A salutation is a greeting ranging from “Dear” to “Hi” to just the recipient’s name. We rarely just start talking to people without acknowledging them in some way; an email is no different.

End your message with a closing of some kind. I think “thanks” is rather all purpose. “Cheers” or “Onward” serve a similar function. “Talk to you later” is another.

If you use a signature, make sure it’s just a few lines long. Include your name and most important contact info, or follow whatever is standard for your company.

When replying to a message, it can be helpful to respond to include a few lines from the original email, otherwise, delete the rest. And please don’t click “Reply All” if you only need to reply to one person! Help cut down on inbox clutter.

Emails should be used for short messages. Break up long blocks of text and use short paragraphs. A paragraph can be just a sentence long in an email. And of course, use standard spelling and grammar. Capitalize the first word of each sentence and proper nouns. Use apostrophes and end punctuation such as periods.

Depending on the workplace, emoticons and slang might be acceptable. Get a feel for how your coworkers write, and follow their lead. Avoid emoticons and slang when sending an email to someone you don’t know, such as a hiring manager.

Avoid using cutesy fonts like Comic Sans; it looks unprofessional and can be difficult to read. Likewise, using a background color or images in your email can make the message difficult to read. Emails are meant to be short and to the point.

Most email programs have CC and BCC options. CC stands for Carbon Copy. This will send a copy of the email to another person. Use CC to send messages to someone who needs to know what is going on but doesn’t have to take action. For example, you might CC your supervisor when working on a project. BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy and means that the recipients can’t see each other’s email addresses. Helpful for privacy reasons.

This sounds like a lot of rules. Ultimately, it comes down to: “What is the easiest for my audience to read?” Words have power. Use them wisely.

Written and Produced by Natasha Luepke

Music: “Eliezer’s Waltz” by Disparition

In academic or nonfiction writing, there are three basic types of point of view: First, Second, and Third.

First person focuses on the author. First person writing uses words like I, me, my, we, our, us. First person is used in personal writing, such as journal entries or autobiographies.

Second person focuses on the audience. Second person writing uses words like “you, yours.” Second person is used in technical writing, such as given directions or instructions.

Third person focuses on the subject matter. Third person writing uses words like “one, he, she it.” Third person is used in academic writing, such as persuasive essays.

For formal assignments, your professor will most likely want you to use third person. Third person helps us as writers stay focused on the topic and makes it a little easier to avoid biases. Additionally, second person can alienate the audience.

Let’s discuss an example. Suppose you wanted to write a paper about education. It would be tempting to write “You should home school your children.” However, your audience might not have children. So they are taken out of the essay and might stop reading. Instead, you could write “Parents should home school their children.”

Often, first person can be removed from a sentence and it will still make sense. For example, one might write, “I think it’s important to recycle so that fewer wild animals die from eating garbage.” Take out the “I think” and the sentence works: “It’s important to recycle so that fewer wild animals die from eating garbage.” Alternatively, you could change it to “One should recycle” or “People should recycle.”

It takes practice to get used to writing in third person, but doing so can create clearer writing that appeals to a larger audience. There’s value in personal writing, but there’s also value in being able to distance ourselves and look at issues objectively.

I hope this helps you better understand point of view in academic writing. Remember, words have power. Use them wisely.

Written and Produced by Natasha Luepke

Music (“Eliezer’s Waltz) by Disparition 

It is tempting to use “I think/I feel/I believe” in one’s writing. Don’t do it.

Isn’t that simple? Cut “I statements” out of your writing to create clearer, less cluttered prose.

Thanks for listening!

Oh, wait, I bet you want to know why.

There are a few reasons to avoid “I statements” in your writing. In the first place, because you are writing it, your audience knows this is what you think, feel, or believe. It’s redundant to state it. Second, it adds clutter to your paper; “I statements” don’t add anything to the writing. Third, “I statements” lessen the impact of your writing. Consider the two statements: Guns should be outlawed and I think guns should be outlawed. The first one is more powerful.

Many of my students use “I statements” because they are trying to acknowledge other points of view. That’s great! That’s a good impulse to follow. But there are ways to respectfully make your point without adding “I statements.” For example, you could use a modifier like “many, some, a few.” Or use evidence to support your point. For example, you could say “Guns should be outlawed because of X, Y, and Z.” You can even acknowledge the other side: “While rifles can be useful for hunting, handguns should be outlawed because they are used to commit X number of murders every year.”

Finally, taking “I statements” out of your writing will help prepare you for writing in third person, which we’ll cover in another podcast.

Words have power. Use them wisely.

Written and Produced by Natasha Luepke

Music by Disparition 

So what is your plan for when your technology fails, dies, goes kaput? Now’s a good time to review, ask and answer these questions.

1. If you live on or near campus, is there a computer lab you can use? What are the computer lab’s hours? Can you print documents at the lab?

2. If you live on or near campus, is there a library you can use? School libraries often have computers with internet and printing capabilities.

3. Is there a public library nearby? What are its hours? Public libraries often have computers with internet and printing capabilities. However, some also have limits for how long patrons can use those computers.

4. Is your work backed up somewhere? I always email important work to myself. That way, I can access it from any computer with Internet. I don’t have to worry about having a thumb drive or a disc. Gmail has a large storage capacity.

5. Do you know anyone else with technology you could use?  My household has 5 other computers in it (my husband is a programmer) so if my laptop dies, I have other ones I can use. And since my important work has been emailed, I don’t have to worry about getting something off of a dead machine. I also have friends who would let me use their computers, at least for a little bit.

6. Is there a Kinko’s/FedEx or internet cafe nearby? They also have computers that the public can use, though for a fee.

7. If you have a laptop or smartphone, where can you access internet? If there is something wrong with my internet, here are some places I can go: the local grocery store (the Safeway and Whole Foods here both have free WiFi), Starbucks, McDonald’s, Barnes and Noble, Panera Bread, Shari’s (a local restaurant chain), McMenamin’s (another restaurant chain), Kinko’s/FedEx.

I sincerely hope you never have to make use of your back up plan. But technology fails, so be prepared. Words have power, use them wisely.

Written and Produced by Natasha Luepke