After hours of formatting, taking small breaks to check your facebook, editing, eating your cold leftover pizza…you have crafted the ideal resume!

Let’s face it, no one likes writing cover letters…at least I don’t. There is plenty of advice out there on how to write the perfect letter, what to include to secure that job, and what buzz words to hit in order to snag the interview. But I thought including a basic format right here in our own blog would at least give you guys a start in writing letters about your fantastic selves.

Happy Wednesday ThinkTalkers,

To celebrate being halfway through the week I’m going to share with you a great job hunting tip. New and different for us, right?! Okay so maybe we share a lot of job hunting tips but this one interested me in particular because I definitely didn’t think about it when I was doing my job search, and it makes complete sense!

Hey ThinkTalkers, my name is Molly and I am a senior English Major at CUA. As part of my internship for ThinkTalk, I will be blogging my epic search for a job in the D.C. area, giving you all my take on what has worked, what has failed miserably, and hopefully giving a splinter of insight to those of you who haven’t quite reached job hunting maturation yet in your young adult life.

Greetings ThinkTalkers, I know it’s been a week since I’ve written due to the “Snow-mageddon” here in the Northeast. If you’ve felt the inches, I hope you’ve been more productive with your job hunt than I was. Unfortunately I got around to completing only one job application. I’ve told myself that it’s my lack of organization that kept me from using those snow-days as application days. So, I made a list of things I can do to make my application process easier and more efficient.

First, I printed out all the job descriptions and made a folder for them. So I have a physical copy as well as an electronic copy. That way you can bring the folder to a boring class or your work-study job to make notes on. I keep an electronic copy on my USB key with my house keys so I can take advantage of any free moment at work.

Then, I made a calendar of when each application was due. On the date it was due I even wrote down what time the job description specified. Pay special attention to that because I almost missed a great opportunity for the Federal Government because I thought it was due before midnight when really the application window closed at 12:30 pm. That is a careless error that could have lost me a potential job. I suggest you email your applications a day early and assume that it should be in before 5 p.m. because that is when many businesses conclude their workday. Also, have someone read your cover letter, resume, and other application documents over for mistakes- everyone makes little ones all the time that are easy to overlook.

Next, create a spreadsheet containing your application progress information. Make a column for where you applied, the application due date, the documents you sent (cover letter, resume, writing sample, transcript, recommendation letter, etc.) if you contacted them for a follow-up, and when. This will ensure that you don’t forget to contact a recruiter or contact he or she twice by mistake.

Most importantly, make sure you read the job description or application instructions at least twice! I almost missed the recruiter's request for a transcript. Again it's a careless mistake I would have been kicking myself about for months for losing such a great opportunity. This brings me to my next tip; keep a spare transcript around just in case, especially if your school gives it to you for free! It usually takes at least one business week to receive one, so just in case you miss a request for a transcript or get contacted by an interested recruiter for one, have an unopened transcript in stock.

Finally, no matter how proactive you think you've been with the job hunt, there is always room to do more- much to my dismay. It's frustrating because it all seems endless, but I can't afford to be lazy. That's why I signed up for my university's Etiquette Dinner. Attending these events is crucial right now, because in the current job market it’s more likely that grads get hired through a contact rather than a faceless application. Still I find myself making excuses not to go because I would rather spend a free evening watching re-runs of Beverly Hills 90210 (don't hate, relate) than go smooze with alumni and professors. However, as Mary Katherine Ham the wise once said, "No one is above networking". So join me in the potentially lame "mock-tail" hours hosted by universities and snag those contacts. You never know what great people you could meet.

Next week, check out my report on CUA's Etiquette Dinner- how to dine with the finest!

"messy desk" courtesey yatoobin via Flickr Creative Commons

Welcome to the Daily Roundup. Each day at the ThinkTalk Blog we will post some links that we find informative, interesting, or just plain funny. The goal is to let you know what else is going on out there, and ultimately help you with the development of your career.

Let's talk about distraction verse enhancement in the classroom. Yesterday's New York Times reports on the cell phone Industry's pitch to put smart phones in High School classrooms.

At a conference this week in Washington called Mobile Learning 09, CTIA, a wireless industry trade group, plans to start making its case for the educational value of cellphones. It will present research — paid for by Qualcomm, a maker of chips for cellphones — that shows so-called smartphones can make students smarter.

This sounds like a noble cause. The industry argues that these phones can enhance and improve the experience of students in a number of tasks, including

recording themselves solving problems and posting the videos to a private social networking site, where classmates could watch. The study found that students with the phones performed 25 percent better on the end-of-the-year algebra exam than did students without the devices in similar classes.

Critics note that this is simply a self-serving, profit-motivated push by the industry to break into the lucrative High School market. Teenagers are particularly susceptible to brand influence and can develop long-time loyalty if reached at this impressionable stage. Another argument by critics is that these phones will serve as a distraction in and out of the classroom. Students in a classroom are a captive audience. Once you begin to add the outside influence and connectivity of the internet distraction becomes much more accessible.

This point of distraction is further highlighted by a recent piece in George Washington University's student newspaper The GW Hatchet. This piece, by staff writer Eric Thibault reports on the growing trend of professors limiting laptop use in class (hat tip to DCist for the story). The piece explains that this isn't a ban, it is simply a measure to control the interests of the students without the added distraction of Facebook, video-chatting, and email checking.

"Students pay a lot of money to attend this institution, but I'm sure it's no one's intent that people should be throwing that money way," Wirtz said. "If lectures are being compromised, it's not in anyone's best interest to use them."

What struck me most about the hatchet's piece is the tidbit from a survey by a Georgetown Law professor.

Georgetown Law professor David Cole said 80 percent of his students who were anonymously surveyed reported that they are more engaged in class discussion when they are laptop-free, 70 percent said that they liked the no-laptop policy, and 95 percent admitted that they use their laptops in class for "purposes other than taking notes."

It seems that in this instance, the students are on the side of the professors. The laptop is an added distraction and students completely understand if professors issue a limited use rule. I'd love to hear thoughts. How do you use a laptop in class? Do you feel that the use of a smart phone or computer aid adds to your educational experience or detracts from it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Welcome to the Daily Roundup. Each day at the ThinkTalk Blog we will post some links that we find informative, interesting, or just plain funny. The goal is to let you know what else is going on out there, and ultimately help you with the development of your career.

Finding a job is hard work. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be a career choice called "finding people jobs." Isn't that what recruiters, career professionals, and others in this industry do? There is an entire career field built around helping people find a career field. I think I just blew my mind.

Welcome to the Daily Roundup. Each day at the ThinkTalk Blog we will post some links that we find informative, interesting, or just plain funny. The goal is to let you know what else is going on out there, and ultimately help you with the development of your career.

Welcome to the Daily Roundup. Each day at the ThinkTalk Blog we will post some links that we find informative, interesting, or just plain funny. The goal is to let you know what else is going on out there, and ultimately help you with the development of your career.

I just have a few quick hits and links for you today. Most of you are probably stuck in your 7th hour of traffic right now anyway. If not, enjoy! On then to the links . . .