Getting Started With Your Résumés and Cover Letters

Professional writing is a style of written communication used in a workplace environment that allows professionals (e.g. businesspeople, professors, doctors, lawyers, etc.) to make informed decisions.

Professional writing typically has a formal tone and differs from written text that is considered literary or artistic, which generally seeks to entertain and/or convey a philosophical truth.

Professional Writing is designed to provide adult learners with the basic skills they need to write effective documents in the workplace. In this course, you will learn how to analyze your audience so that you can write prose that is both clear and persuasive.

You will practice writing common business documents, such as emails, memos, proposals, and presentations. You will also learn how to effectively edit these documents for maximum impact.

A resume is a short document used to summarize a job seeker’s experience and qualifications for a prospective employer. A resume includes the job seeker’s contact information, work experience, education, and relevant skills in support of a job application.

Your resume is arguably the most critical part of the modern job application process. Writing the best resume possible is more important than ever now that online job postings routinely attract hundreds if not thousands of applicants.

A well-organized, tailored resume will increase your chances of landing an interview while a poorly written resume could get lost in the sea of applicants.

A cover letter is a one-page document that, along with your resume, is sent with your job application. A cover letter is your chance to tell a potential employer why you’re the perfect person for the position and how your skills and expertise can add value to the company.

The letter should be professional but personable, and serve as a sort of introduction. A lot of job seekers today wonder if a cover letter is still appropriate to send with your resume—and the answer is yes!

Even if an employer doesn’t ask for a cover letter, it couldn’t hurt to send one. In fact, it can help you get someone’s attention in a different way, and it can be a great way to display your enthusiasm for the job and company.

Upon successful completion of this Course, you will be able to:

• Identify the most common forms of professional writing e.g. Resume and Cover letters;
• Describe the common attributes of Resume and Cover letters;
• Develop a main point that will motivate your reader; and
• Explain how to create a document outline that supports your main point, and perform this task.

Course Curriculum