It is important to know that usually the number of Vitesse applicants exceeds several times the number of spaces in the program. To make one of our partner companies consider you worthy for a sponsorship and to invite you in for an interview, you have to use your resumé and cover letter as your best personal marketing tools.

• Developing Your Resumé
• Writing Cover Letters
• Thank You Letter

Facts:

• 63.3 percent of Vitesse applicants invited for an interview by a partner company have above average level of resumé and cover letter organization and writing style.
• 90.9 percent of Vitesse applicants invited for an interview by a partner company have shown above average level of ability to convey their motivation, soft and hard skills in their resumés and cover letters. (Source: Internal surveys of Vitesse applicants)

Developing Your resumé

A resumé is a summary of your experience and skills, and also the first impression that the potential sponsor would have from you. To show that you have the potential to be reskilled to the needs of a company, you should put a lot of work on your resumé.

Resumé Tips:

General

• Use functional resumé format. It focuses on skills and accomplishments rather than on work history and is most appropriate for people seeking a career change in a field in which they have no or limited prior work experience.
• Make sure your resumé is neat, well structured and easy to read.
• Use conservative fonts-such as Arial or Times New Roman and 10-12pt font size.
• Ensure that the most important information stands out and is positioned near the top of the page.
• Use quality paper-white is best.
• Keep it short-one page is preferable; two pages for those with extensive work experience.
• Use dynamic words-like organized, completed, and designed -to describe your skills and experience.
• Have at least two other people check it for spelling or grammatical errors.

• Keep your resumé structure limited to the following elements: contact information, career objective, skills and/or accomplishments, work experience, education, interests and a statement about references.
• Include e-mail address in your contact information -Vitesse prefers e-mail for its correspondence with candidates to the program.
• Make sure your objective is specific and concisely describes the goal you would like to achieve by applying to the program.
• Include your computer knowledge and technical skills in your relevant skills section.
• Include also skills and experiences not necessarily associated with a salary -our partner companies are interested in skills that you may have gained in a variety of settings.
• Include any significant work related achievements that you may have had in your employment history.
• Keep the education section to the facts of the degrees earned, institution and dates.
• Include your GPA, if in the top 10-20 percent -excellent marks are one of the qualifications most valued by this program.
• List courses that gave you knowledge directly relevant to the industry.
• Omit thesis or dissertation titles and fields of concentration unless specifically relevant -if your education section is too long and detailed, your focus may be seen as academia, rather than industry.
• List publications on a separate sheet of paper -publications are not appropriate for a resumé unless related.
• Limit your work experience section to organizations, locations, dates, and your position title. If you decide to use a chronological resumé format, include a short description of your duties and accomplishments.

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Writing Cover Letters

Vitesse requests that you attach a cover letter to the application as it gives your resumé a focus and accentuates relevant information. The most important thing to remember is that your cover letter serves a separate function from your resumé and should not be used to repeat details, such as work history, education, or personal objectives. The resumé is about you, your experience and your skills. The cover letter is about what you can do for a sponsor company, which may be your future employer. It will give you the chance to make a good impression by enabling the company to get a glimpse of your personality, creativity, and writing style.

Cover Letter Writing Tips

General

• Keep it short -three paragraphs on one page are usually enough.
• Use the same type of paper as your resumé.
• Structure and organize the letter so that it leaves a pleasant impression. You may use bullets and bold print to organize and highlight information, and make it easier to read. You may also use a different font to reflect your creativity and sense of style.
• Personalize your letter -a general salutation would not convey your enthusiasm.
• Be natural in your writing style. Use simple uncomplicated language and sentence structure. Avoid starting each sentence with "I". As with your resumé, use action verbs to create dynamic sentences.
• Be efficient in your choice of details; do not repeat your resumé's contents.
• Be positive about your past experience but show that you are looking forward to your new career with great anticipation.
• Be confident about your ability to accomplish the career change.
• Ask others to proofread your letter -make sure it is free from spelling and grammatical errors.
• Sign it -otherwise you may leave the impression of taking your application to the program not seriously.
• Keep a copy for your future reference.

• Keep your cover letter structure to the following elements: contact information, date, forwarding name and address, salutation, introductory, body, and conclusion paragraphs, closing and signature.
• In your first paragraph, state your interest in the program and the new career. Say how you found out about the program and why you are interested.
• In your second paragraph, tell what you have to offer the program by highlighting qualifications you think would be of greatest interest. Point out any special training or experience you have. Refer the reader to your resumé for further details. Demonstrate that you know something about the program and/or the industry.
• Conclude the letter by expressing your appreciation for the reader's time and asking him or her to contact you in your third paragraph.
• Provide a number where you can be reached.
• The closing should read "Sincerely," followed by your signature underneath, then your full name in print underneath that. Always leave enough room for your signature between the closing and your name when you print your cover letter.

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Thank You Letters

Thank you letters are customary used to reaffirm you interest in the job opening you have been interviewed for. A thank you letter is also a good way to exercise damage control after the interview. It may be a good idea to send such a letter after an interview with one of the Vitesse partner companies.

Writing Tips

General

• Keep the thank you letter short and straight to the point.
• Use the same kind of paper you used for the resumé and the cover letter.
• Send the letter as quickly as possible -preferably within 24 hours of the interview.

Specific

• Thank the interviewer for meeting with you.
• Mention things that you discussed that are of particular interest to you.
• Add something that you may not have mentioned at the interview.
• Clarify something that you wished you had not said at the interview.
• Reaffirm your interest in the program and to the company.

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