Level 2 Experience
Experience expands upon theArgo2Pro: Career Readiness Program, touches on how to identify and showcase your transferable skills and how to validate your experiences by earning digital badges, discusses ways to gain experience through high-impact practices and experiential learning opportunities, provides you with an overview of Resumes and Cover Letters (including examples), and includes a checklist to help you keep track of the steps you have taken.
Download Career Development Guide 2: Experience
Table of Contents
You’re Here Now...But Where Will You Go?
WELCOME TO THE SECOND STEP OF YOUR CAREER DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY!
The Office of Career Development and Community Engagement (CDCE) invites you to dive into the Career Development Guide; a three-part collection of booklets developed to help you prepare for your career. Each guide contains content specific to a particular level of career readiness skill development. The three levels are Explore, Experience, and Excel; each of which incorporates a collection of information, resources, and tools, that are designed to assist you in the job search and in accomplishing your career goals, as you prepare for life after college.
Level 2 of the Career Development Guide: Experience expands upon the Argo2Pro: Career Readiness Program, touches on how to identify and showcase your transferable skills and how to validate your experiences by earning digital badges, discusses ways to gain experience through high-impact practices and experiential learning opportunities, provides you with an overview of Resumes and Cover Letters (including examples), and includes a checklist to help you keep track of the steps you have taken to “experience” each of the Argo2Pro: Career Readiness Skills.
Please note that the information contained within these pages is not only for second or third-year students. Although some of the content may touch on themes more relevant to those populations, these guides are designed to be used by anyone seeking guidance for any of the topics covered within. Most importantly, do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions about this content or need further career/job search guidance. These guides provide a lot of valuable information, but we always recommend meeting with a Career Coach.
We look forward to working with you!
The CDCE Team
Argo2Pro: Career Readiness Program
WHAT IS THE ARGO2PRO: CAREER READINESS PROGRAM?
The Argo2Pro: Career Readiness Program highlights eight skills identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) as essential to professional success, regardless of industry. The program is structured into three levels to help you prepare the fundamental skills needed to enhance your employability while completing your academics.
As you progress through each of the three levels, Explore, Experience and Excel, you will be able to:
- Explore: Identify your strengths and areas for improvement for each skill.
- Experience: Identify and track experiences that will help you to develop each skill.
- Excel: Take steps towards your professional future by earning badges as you achieve each skill that validates your experiences.
To get started with your career readiness journey, visit uwf.edu/argo2pro to complete a Skills Confidence Assessment, build an Individualized Career Plan, and learn more about the Argo2Pro: Career Readiness Program.
LEVEL 2: EXPERIENCE
The Experience level of Argo2Pro features resources that will help you deepen your knowledge and become more aware of your interests as you gain experience applying skills to various situations.
Topics discussed at this level include:
- Developing the skills that employers are looking for in a candidate.
- Learning how to obtain experience through an internship, co-op, or other high-impact practice.
- Validating your experience by earning digital badges.
- Constructing your job applications materials to showcase your skills.
Transferable Skills
As introduced in Level 1 Explore, we identified the eight most important transferable skills employers look for in a candidate. You develop and practice these skills every day, but knowing how to identify them can be difficult at first. Let’s review these transferable skills in the list below.
- From the list of career readiness skills above, which do you excel in?
- How can you develop the skills you aren’t as confident in?
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Communicate Your Value With Transferable Skills
You have likely used more transferable skills than you realize, even if you have not gained experience in your field yet. Use the drop boxes below to inventory your skills and brainstorm how you could highlight them on your resume and cover letter.
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Practice: Take Stock Of Your Transferable Skills
This activity will help you to identify which skills and examples you can highlight on your resume and cover letter depending on what is listed in the job description.
Download Take Stock of Your Transferable Skills
- Review the tables of transferable skills and note all the skills that you have.
- On the same table, note 10 skills you enjoy using the most.
- Note your top 10 skills.
- Note your preferred skill; write down how you have used that skill in a job, class, internship, or other activity.
Digital Badges
VALIDATE YOUR SKILLS BY EARNING DIGITAL BADGES
One of the best ways to validate your experiences and showcase your skills to future employers is by earning digital badges. As you progress through your academic journey, you can earn these badges and display them in various ways to help you stand out to employers as a competitive candidate.
Visit uwf.edu/argo2pro to learn more about how to earn badges.
Experiential Learning
Experiential learning means gaining active, hands-on experience in the real world as a part of your academic field of study and career development.
Through experiential learning, you can...
- Obtain career-related experience.
- Explore career interests and refine your future career goals.
- Network with professionals in your field and identify potential references.
- Develop your transferable skills.
PRACTICE: REFLECTING WITH EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Reflection is an important part of experiential learning that allows you to glean meaning from an experience. Because many experiential learning opportunities relate back to your classes and academics, it is good to consider how class concepts and theories may relate to your hands-on experience.
Below, you can download a worksheet designed to help you reflect on your experiential learning opportunity. Reflection can come before, during, and after the opportunity. Before the experience, think about the organization’s mission and how you plan to contribute to it. After the experience, ask questions to address what you learned, how it applied to your intended career, and what you can do with your acquired knowledge and skills in the future.
Download Practice: Reflecting with Experimental Learning
In this practice, write your responses to the following questions.
- What have I learned in my classes that I want to experience in a workplace setting?
- What do I want to gain by the end of this experience?
- What have I learned from my experience that gives me a competitive edge in the future?
Internships and Co-ops
What is an Internship?
Usually sought by students in their junior or senior years, an internship is a professional learning experience that offers insightful work related to a student’s field of study or career interest.
Characteristics of an Internship:
- One-semester experience that may or may not be for academic credit.
- Could be either paid or unpaid.
If you are looking for an internship to count for academic credit, speak with your advisor to determine eligibility.
Parker Dewey: Project-based Micro-Internships for UWF Students
Offering short-term, project-based professional experiences, Parker Dewey connects students and recent graduates looking to gain experience with companies offering paid professional assignments. These Micro-Internships are a great way for students to expand their resumes in a way that fits their schedule.
Parkey Dewey is an excellent opportunity for you if you are looking to:
- Use your free time to take on professional projects, that can prepare you for your career, while taking classes.
- Explore relevant career opportunities while getting paid and gaining experience
Learn more and apply today at info.parkerdewey.com/uwf.
What is a Cooperative Education Program (CO-OPS)?
A co-op is a planned, paid, multi-semester opportunity where an organization employs
students to receive work experience that directly correlates to the student’s academic field.
Characteristics of a Co-op:
- Multi-semester experiences
- Always for course credit
- Always paid
- Students may experience two forms of Co-ops: parallel or alternating
- Parallel Co-op: student works and goes to school at least three semesters in a row
- Alternating Co-op: student alternates between workplace and school by semester
High-Impact Practices (HIP)
GAINING EXPERIENCE THROUGH HIGH-IMPACT PRACTICES
Students who participate in High-Impact Practices (HIPs) and experiential learning are better equipped to face the challenges and demands of a 21st-century global society. HIPs are experiences that help you enhance your employability by gaining insight outside of the classroom and building workforce-ready skills. Whether it’s a semester-long internship, research with a faculty member, a collaborative project, or joining a Study Abroad program, a HIP experience on your resume will give you a competitive edge in the job market.
Do you still have questions, need guidance, or want to learn how HIPS can benefit your career preparation? Schedule a HIP appointment with a Career Coach through Handshake.
Resume
The Argo2Pro: Skills Assessment can help you identify which skills to highlight and which to still improve on your resume and cover letter.
Tip: Downloadable examples of resumes and cover letters can be found below.
Resume Formats
Header
Include important contact information, namely phone number, email address, and your address. If you are not comfortable using your full address, using the city and state where you currently live is acceptable as well. Links to access your completed LinkedIn profile or professional website/portfolio can also be in the header if you have them.
Objective
Objective statements are usually optional and should only be included if the application does not require a cover letter. You should include the position title, the name of the organization you are applying to and a few skills you would like to highlight.
Body
Here are some examples of possible resume headings to include:
- Education
- Related Coursework
- Honors and Achievements
- Experience
- Volunteer Experience
- Skills
- Language Skills
- Professional Affiliations
As you gain experience and develop your skills, it is important to learn how to show off your skills to employers by building a resume. Let’s start by reviewing the basics of resume writing.
RESUME BASICS
Your resume is a professional representation of who you are and what you can bring to the position. Use your resume to highlight your skills, accomplishments, and experience.
The first step is choosing your resume format. You can choose a chronological, functional, or hybrid format. Each format emphasizes a different side of your unique qualifications, be it experience, skills, or a bit of both. See page 14 for descriptions of each format and pages 20-29 for examples.
After you decide on a format, reflect on what you have accomplished in and out of the classroom. Approach this from the employer’s perspective, and think about the skills they seek in a candidate. Make a connection by showcasing experience related to the position you are applying for.
A functional (or skills-based) resume organizes information into functional groupings of skills or accomplishments.
Key characteristics include:
- Emphasizes skills, de-emphasize job history.
- Presents skills and experiences grouped by specific functions (i.e., writing, research, communication, leadership, graphic design, etc.).
- Used by career changers and those wanting to summarize, not reiterate, the same experiences.
A chronological resume organizes information by jobs and/or experiences in reverse chronological order with the most recent experience listed first.
Key characteristics include:
- Emphasizes employment history.
- Lists positions and employers in reverse chronological order.
- Describes activities and accomplishments in each job.
- Used by people changing jobs or advancing within a career field.
A hybrid resume is a combination of the chronological and functional formats. This type can be used to highlight skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for and provide the chronological work history.
Key characteristics include:
- Emphasized both skills and work/experiential learning background, employing relevant aspects of each to promote experience related to opportunity sought.
- Utilizes best practices for both functional and chronological resumes.
- Includes supplemental experience or additional employment sections as experience allows.
- Used by individuals who have some—but not extensive—experience in the field/industry they hope to enter.
A federal resume uses the same information from other resume formats but goes into more depth about your skills, past duties and accomplishments. Visit gogovernment.org to see more in-depth instructions on how to create a federal resume.
Private industry key characteristics:
- 1-2 pages.
- No salaries or supervisors listed.
- Fewer details in descriptions.
- Creative, graphic, and functional resumes are acceptable.
- Keywords are desirable.
Federal government key characteristics:
- 3-5 pages.
- Salaries and supervisor names included.
- More details for work descriptions to demonstrate your qualifications for a job.
- Chronological, traditional formats are acceptable.
- Keywords are needed.
Best Practices for Your Resume
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Tailor your resume to each position for which you apply.
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Use bulleted lists to describe activities and offer examples of experiences that convey your skills.
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Begin bullet points with power verbs (Attained, Demonstrated, Earned, Exceeded, etc.).
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Answer the journalistic questions of who, what, when, where, why and how.
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Quantify results and use numbers whenever possible.
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Avoid personal pronouns (I, we, my, etc.).
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Use bold text to emphasize information such as headers but avoid italics and underlining.
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Write your resume yourself. Do not use a generator, online format, or have someone else write it for you.
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Keep your resume concise (1-2 pages) and maintain consistency across sections (formatting, spacing, font, dates, titles, etc.), as employers typically scan it as they evaluate your application.
Power Verbs by Subject
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Curriculum Vitae
Curriculum Vitae Basics
A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is used in academic circles and medical careers as a replacement for a resume and is far more comprehensive. A CV elaborates on education to a greater degree than a resume and is expected to include a comprehensive listing of professional history, including every term of relevant employment, academic credential, publication, contribution or significant achievement. In certain professions, it may even include samples of the person’s work and be several pages in length. One of the most important things to remember when working on your CV is that there is not one standard format. There are different emphases in each discipline, and a good CV emphasizes the points that are considered to be most important in your discipline and conforms to standard conventions within your discipline.
- Name and contact information
- Education
- Dissertation title or topic
- Fellowships/awards/honors
- Research experience
- Teaching experience
- Other relevant experience
- Presentations*/conferences
- Publications*
*Consult your field’s publication style guide for the recommended approach to citing these works.
- Certification(s)
- Professional associations
- Leadership and service
- Community involvement
- Research Interests
- Special training
- Languages (include level or proficiency)
- References
You want to avoid listing your references on your resume. Instead, state “References are available upon request” at the bottom of your resume and create a separate reference sheet as detailed.
Reference Sheets
The purpose of a reference sheet is to list people that a potential employer can call to receive an honest recommendation of you as an applicant. Examples: Past employers, professors and advisors all make for excellent references.
Best Practices on Reference Sheets
- Ensure you have permission from all your references to include them in an application.
- Give them a copy of the job description and resume you apply for so they are prepared for any questions they may be asked.
- Unless otherwise requested, do not include friends or family members as references.
Cover Letter
A well-written cover letter should complement your resume and will help paint a more complete picture of who you are as a person and candidate. Each cover letter should be specific to the position for which you are applying; therefore, one cover letter does not apply to all circumstances. When writing a cover letter, make sure you write it from the employer’s perspective (e.g., what unique contributions are you going to bring to the job/ company?). Try to keep your letter to one page and include at least three paragraphs.
- Distinguish yourself by addressing your cover letter to a specific individual, if possible. Call or visit the company to get the appropriate person’s name and title.
- Do not just reiterate your resume; make sure you touch upon aspects of your character and personality.
- If you heard about the position through networking, make sure you state that early in your letter.
- Show that you have done your research by mentioning what interests you most about the position/company.
- Use the same high-quality paper for your resume, cover letter, and reference sheet.
- If you are emailing your resume to an employer, use a shortened version of the text of your cover letter in the body of the email. It must be effective and concise.
Types of Cover Letters
You are applying for a job posted for open recruitment. In this case, you can use the job description to help draw a connection between what the company is looking for and your unique skills and experiences.
In this case, there is not an open position, but you are interested in working for a specific company. You will need to highlight your unique contributions. In your concluding paragraph, be sure to make mention of the next step and be prepared to follow up on your own.
Your main objective is to identify a specific connection between you and the reader. Make sure to mention this connection early on in the cover letter. The rest of the letter should be written as a prospecting letter.
Career Readiness Checklist: Experience
You can download the checklist below to keep track of your experiences as you explore your knowledge and skills on career readiness!
Download Career Readiness Checklist Experience
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Critical Thinking
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Leadership
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Communication
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Professionalism
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Teamwork • Join extracurricular activities on campus that emphasizes teamwork. |
Career and Self Development
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Technology
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Global Learning
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Have You Used AI In Career Planning?
AI has incredible potential to assist and amplify students’ efforts to secure jobs and internships, but it also carries risks if not applied carefully. We have created an AI Career Toolkit to empower students with knowledge so they can interact with AI systems in an ethical, safe and beneficial way in support of their career goals.
Visit our AI Career Toolkit.
For questions, please contact our office at career@uwf.edu or 850.474.2254.
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