host posted on November 20, 2012 15:55
Book by Quentin Schultze
Review by: Rose Rezaei
Hall Director
Healthy Communities and Relationships Advisor
Carleton College
In a highly competitive employment market, recent college graduates have to compete with experienced professionals for jobs. Before a graduate can hope to secure a promising position, they have to land an interview. In Résumé 101: a student and recent-grad guide to crafting résumés and cover letters that land jobs, Quentin Schultze combines practical techniques with insider tips to help the reader frame their life experiences into transferable skills, knowledge, and traits.
The first third of the book instructs the reader on how to create a master list of life experiences to use as a foundation for all job search documents. The second third covers the process of writing and tailoring a résumé. The third section covers how to solicit references and create cover letters. Each chapter is laid out in a way that is easy for the reader to follow. It begins with a personal story, outlines major themes, highlights expert advice in the sidebars, and concludes with action items. The book also includes samples of cover letters, résumés, and worksheets in the appendix.
The main strength of the book is the tone Schultze’s uses to communicate information. Each chapter feels like an individualized advising session between the author and the reader. Schultze’s style of writing—tailored for students and recent grads—creates a sense that the résumé techniques he suggests are easy to execute. Another strength of the book is that Schultze lists examples of suggested techniques after every section to immediately illustrate the concept. The only drawback to Résumé 101 is that it seems to focus on a reader who is looking for a job in a predetermined career field. If the reader was looking for a general job and had limited work experience, this book may not be the best resource.
Overall, Résumé 101 is a practical guide for the audience it is intended for—students and recent graduates. It is a useful resource for academic advisories to refer their students to or to use as a foundation for a résumé 101 workshop. It is intended to be a workbook and should be used as such.
Resume 101: A Student and Recent-Grad Guide to Crafting Resumes and Cover Letters that Land Jobs. (2010), Quentin Schultze. Emeryville: Ten Speed (Random House), 136 pp. $12.99. ISBN # 978-1-60774-194-7