Discussion topic for week 4: Preparing for WA5, the Resume/Cover Letter/PARC Summary
Your response to this discussion topic is due by this week Friday at midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST).
You are also asked to respond to at least one other student in the class on their response.
Your response to your fellow student is due by this week Sunday at midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST).
WRTG 393 students,
This discussion topic is designed to help prepare you for writing assignment #5, the resume, cover letter, and summary of PARC concepts.
In this discussion topic, we will listen to part of a podcast about the skill-gap in the cybersecurity market. If you are not majoring in cybersecurity, no problem. The concepts noted in this podcast will apply to your field as well.
In addition, we will examine a tutorial on writing resumes.
Both the podcast and the tutorial are included in the discussion topic questions in this thread.
The podcast, “Cyberbit Podcast Episode 1: The Unspoken Skill-Gap in the Cybersecurity Market,” features Mr. Adam Bricker, former co-founder of Carolina Cyber Center. Moderating the podcast was Mr. Sharon Rosenman, Chief Marketing Officer at Cyberbit.
The whole podcast is 58 minutes in length. It is extremely interesting, and you might want to listen to the whole podcast.
But for this discussion topic, we will focus on the segment of the podcast from the 8:45 mark to the 11:00 mark.
In this segment, Mr. Bricker outlines three main skill gaps between what industry wants to see in cybersecurity students and what students bring to hiring managers.
The following url takes you directly to that part of the podcast:
The Unspoken Skill-Gap in the Cybersecurity Market, 8:45 mark
In this segment, the third gap Mr. Bricker mentions is the need to be able to “tell your story.”
Please answer the following questions in a few sentences or more.
1. Whatever field you are in, when you apply for a job, in the resume and cover letter and in the interview, you will need to be able to “tell your story.” You need to tell the hiring team why you are qualified for the position for which you are applying and why they would specifically want you for the position.
This involves storytelling.
Telling a story involves narration. When we think of technical writing, we often don’t think of storytelling. We often think of writing instructions, procedures, specifications, etc.
What challenges do you anticipate in being able to “tell your story” in a job application process, whether it be in the resume/cover letter or in an actual interview?
____
2. Watch the following tutorial from Candid Career on writing a resume. The video is 4:40 in length.
Candid Career — How to Fill Out Common Resume Sections
After watching the video, list one tip that the video provided. Then explain the tip to your fellow classmates in a few sentences. Explain what the tip is and why it is important to follow it in writing a resume.
____
3. How can you “tell your story” in a resume? In taking the statement from Mr. Bricker and also examining the video tutorial, how might a resume allow you to tell your story to a hiring manager or hiring committee? Write a few sentences about how your story can be communicated in a resume.
SOLUTION
- Challenges in Telling Your Story During a Job Application Process
While responding to a job opening and constructing the narrative around it in the resume, the cover letter, or during an interview, one of the biggest questions is how to provide specific information combined with the account of personal experience. In such industries as cybersecurity or any other technical field, applicants mainly discuss skills, certificates, and experience. However, explaining these achievements in the simplest and most complex manner that would show how best the company can benefit from or need the achievements can be a challenge. Also, it can be difficult with some instances or soft skills to tie them with the job description in an appropriate manner. Narration in this context therefore entails an ability to show that the applicant is qualified for the position and to tell a story that the pre-selectors of possible employees will appreciate greatly. This entails a look at past experiences regarding the job and the ability to come up with key factors that relate to the activities in the job and then fit them in a style that is professional and informal.
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