Introduction.

 
     This part of the book will discuss how to write a simple resume and cover letter.  Although there are many good books dealing with this topic, I thought it necessary to make a few comments. 
 
     Resumes and cover-letters are your main means of advertizing yourself to the outside work-world.  A resume is a summary of who you are, where you have studied, and what job-experience you have gained.  A cover-letter is in introductory letter to a prospective employer, that highlights certain parts of your resume.  Although in P.R. China, most job-seekers submit a resume alone, in the USA, the job-applicant is expected to produce both documents. 
 
     General ideas, concerning resumes and cover-letters. 
 
     You should have printed resumes and cover-letters ready in your folder, ready for instant use.  You never know when some opportunity will come past you!  (Although you may never meet the manager of your dreams, it is possible that an interview situation will suddenly appear.  What will you do, if the manager asks you, “I would like to see your resume?”) You should therefore have your resume and cover-letter already printed out, and stored in a folder, along with some envelopes.  Moreover, you should have your resume and cover-letter stored in the “storage space” of your Internet account, so you can advertize yourself to anyone on-line within minutes. 
 
     Thee are many, many good books out in the marketplace, which tell you how to write an effective resume or cover-letter.  These books also give many clear examples for you to follow.  Use the ones that you feel are suitable for you.  There is also an ongoing dialog among the Internet users about which resumes and cover-letters are “best”, or in favor, so consider what other college graduates and job-seekers are saying.  What is written here is only meant to supplement these other sources. 
 
     The best source about job-hunting, career, resumes and cover-letters is a book by Richard Bolles, called “What Colour Is Your Parachute?”.  If you can find this book, buy it, and profit from it for the rest of your working life.  (This book should be translated into Chinese, if possible.)  Bolles covers many ideas, but here are a few.  (a) Many people are just trying to find “a job”, like all the others; instead, why not try another approach?  Find out who you are, what you like, where you want to go, what is your unique purpose and contribution to life, and find a company that has unmet needs that only you have perceived, and are interviewing for.  Building a career, based upon your interests and abilities, rather than just being “another interviewee”, brings you into a whole different relationship with the companies you visit.  (b) Bolles also talks about “informational interviews”, in which you interview mangers or Human Resource personnel to learn about the company, rather than trying to get them to just give you a job.  In the process, you learn about the “industry field” you are trying to enter, and you leave behind an impression, which, if successful, will cause the company to call you back for a real interview (if they need someone), and there will few or no other, competing candidates running against you.  This is the real beauty of this system.  There are many other ideas in this book.  I recommend it completely.  (Many ideas I have written about in this book, and the other book, “Where There Is No Lao Wai” come indirectly from Bolles.) 
 
     Throughout your life, your resume and cover-letter may change shape several times.  This is normal, and desirable.  As you go through life, and various jobs, ask yourself, “Am I looking for what I want, or am I trying to become what they want?”  I feel that one’s resume or cover-letter should be a genuine reflection of what one is, and what one wants to become.  As Bolles says, you have a working career of about 40 years, so why not spend all that time doing things you want to do, rather an being someone else’s tool, doing something you hate?  You may answer, “Oh!  You are so unrealistic!”, but I ask that question again....