The client was working for a large government body and had over 15 years of experience in various public-facing roles. Her interests lay with developing a career as a Community Corrections Officer. To apply for the role, the client was required to provide a cover letter outlining how she meets the requirements and capabilities of the role as specified in the role description, as well as a three-page resume.
To put together this application, I engaged the client in a discussion, ensuring she had relevant examples and experience for each point. I ensured she provided me with a clear Situation, Task, Action and Result for each example to enable me to put together the responses using the STAR model. The points we were required to address were:
- Demonstrated skills in conducting background enquiries, analysing information including assessment of risks, related needs and the capacity to draw relevant conclusions in the development of case plans and reports
- Understanding of the criminal justice system and outcome-focused case planning and case management skills
- Experience in promoting, influencing, negotiating and monitoring appropriate behaviour and knowledge of or experience in group work facilitation
Although she had some relevant experience, I really had to draw out from her how her work experience could be transferable and relevant to the above points. As she had a long employment history, I was also faced with the challenge of capturing and presenting her resume within three pages only.
To achieve this, I used short, concise paragraphs and ensured I captured only relevant responsibilities and achievements to produce an eye-catching resume and succinct cover letter.