Occupational Safety and Health Administration Logs

I'm turning 16 in January, and I'm required by my school to submit a 'serious' job application. Help?

So: a nearby medical clinic is looking for a junior secretary to work once a fortnight and public holidays, and I would like to apply for this position. Experience in the field is, obviously, not required. Could someone please help me write a cover letter? A couple of points that I would like to make: 1) I am serious about working in this field. Admin. is an integral part of the medical system; though indirectly, I would be helping people. In fact, starting July '09, I will be a student in Introduction to Medical Administration at Holmesglen TAFE (taking a night class at technical college). If offered a job at this clinic, I would be granted recognition of prior learning. 2) I study -successfully- by distance education, so I'm comfortable working independently and I have excellent time-management skills. Also, my schedule is very flexible, so I can cover for other people. 3) As my volunteering suggests, I am polite, conscientious, and socialise well with people of all ages. I can touch-type and I am familiar with Microsoft Office '03 and '07 and Apple iWork '08. Can you think of anymore points I should make? Neatly attired? Lovely phone manner? And, finally, my resume summarised: I worked for four months as a retail assistant at an up-market grocery store; I volunteer as a community visitor; I have completed an Occupational Health and Safety program developed by the State government for the purposes of work experience; I will be undertaking a course in First Aid later this month; and I have an *excellent* reference, which you may read. http://i34.tinypic.com/2v8kh78.jpg That's all, I think. Please, please, help! I have no idea where to start.

Public Comments

1. Write your resume based on your skills. Really play them up and be careful what words you use. Such as don't say "familiar" with the MS software. Use stronger words like Knowledgable or Proficient. Since you don't have a lot of experience you have to drag out those skills. Don't just say MS Office. List the applications so it looks impressive. Wow, you know all those! You need to try and think of how those skills you have were used. Were you given any special projects at school or in a club? Put those in there. I'm just giving an example: Food drive - organized and coordinated the collection of food items and money totalling $1,500 for the needy. Maybe you just did it for your class but it still shows that you are able to take a project and complete it. Think of that angle. Do that with each skill so you show all the things you can do. Just saying you're organized won't mean much. You have to show why they should think you are. Look online for free templates and choose one that fits no experience format or one that your teacher suggests. Clubs and Organizations go at the bottom and put the dates you belonged. No one really says that references are attached on the resume because that is assumed you will have them. You just have them in case they ask. For this assignment, your teacher may want you to actually have them so get letters from your teachers, librarian, pastor, etc. Put everything to do with school or learning under Education. For the cover letter, in real life what they are looking for is that you can write well. They only just scan it then go to your resume. So don't list all your skills again. That's for the resume. What you want to say is what you can do for THEM. Briefly. Don't go into a long tribute of how much you need or want the job. You can say that your skills such as blah, blah, blah will be an asset to their facility. At the very bottom of the letter, you can say that you are available for an interview at their convenience and look forward to discussing the position with them in person. But please don't use the templates online too much. The ones I have seen are pretty poor. I wouldn't use them if I was really looking for a job. I used to write resumes in college with the help of my brother, who hires more than 1,000 a year worldwide. He taught me what employers look for. But look at everything your teacher told you so that you match it. You know how teachers are! One way might be the right way but their way is going to get the grade. I think the skills you have will go great with this type of job so just be careful with your wording and use strong words. Also, put in the cover letter that you are able to work independently and with a diverse group of people. That is very important to employers. They can't stand over you all the time and you have to be able to get along with people unless you will be on an island by yourself! lol Good luck and I hope I helped get you started. If you can, start writing it, scan it and then post it again so we can take a look and correct anything or make some suggestions.