Competency Category:
Competency Series:

15.2 – Work with Clients to Write Communications

Purpose & Context

Career Development Professionals (CDPs) help clients write communications. This commonly includes a cover letter to introduce the résumé and value proposition, which may be required at multiple stages of the career development and work search process.

Effective Performance

Competent career development professionals must be able to:

  • P1. Outline various types of written communications, e.g. cover letter, informational interview request, follow-upletter, confirmation letter, reference page, online profile
  • P2. Collect information required to write communications, e.g. performance reviews, educational transcripts, job posting
  • P3. Explain how to write communications:
    • Focus on a specific target market, e.g. job, company, or industry
    • Explain reason for communication, e.g. job advertisement, referral
    • Use appropriate tone, e.g. conversational, professional
    • Write original material, e.g. do not copy directly from résumé or job posting
    • Represent facts truthfully
    • Present consistent value proposition
    • Relate skills and accomplishments to the prospective employer’s needs, e.g. job posting requirements
    • Exclude personal information, e.g. age, marital status, gender, religion, political affiliation
    • Mitigate issues related to challenges or barriers, e.g. employment gaps, short employment terms, incomplete
      education, limited experience, terminated from position, older candidate
  • P4. Give advice to client on design of communications:
    • Match design and formatting of the document with the résumé, when appropriate
    • Use font effects sparingly to make certain content stand out, e.g. underline, bold, italics
    • Structure design elements consistently, e.g. section headings, bullets, line and character spacing, margins,
      paragraph justification
  • P5. Proofread communications:
    • Use a Canadian dictionary and style guide
    • Address errors in format, content, grammar, and spelling
    • Resolve inconsistent design

Knowledge & Understanding

Competent career development professionals must know and understand:

  • K1. Client’s background, target market and submission process.

Contextual Variables

Competent career development professionals must be able to perform this competency in the following range of contexts:

Depending on the type of practice, CDPs might write communications or provide guidance to clients.

CDPs may work with a broad range of clients or a specific demographic, e.g. new immigrants, and clients may present with significant barriers and challenges requiring mitigation.

The application process differs based on sector e.g. government, private.

CDPs may refer to specialists for complex materials, e.g. marketing presentations, business proposals, business cases.

Glossary & Key References

Terms

Industry-specific terms contained in the standard defined here, where applicable.

Value Proposition: is a message that a client can use to consistently communicate his or her promise of value to potential employers. Note this term originated as a marketing strategy to sell products to buyers. In career development, the client is considered “the product” and the employer “the buyer”.

Information Sources and Resources for Consideration

Graham, Sharon. The Canadian Résumé Strategist 2020 Edition: Certified Résumé Strategist Study Guide. 7th edition. Career Professionals of Canada, Milton, Ontario, 2020.

Graham, Sharon. Best Canadian Résumés: 130+ Best Canadian-Format Résumés. 4th edition. Career Professionals of Canada, Milton, Ontario, 2020.

Context Rating Scales

Criticality

Q: What is the consequence of a professional being unable to perform this skill according to the standard?

Minimal risk: SOMEWHAT CRITICAL

Frequency

Q: How frequent and under what conditions is this skill performed?

Routinely, regular course of procedure

Level of Difficulty

Q: Under routine circumstances, how would you rate the level of difficulty in performing this skill?

Moderate difficulty or complexity

Time Required to Gain Proficiency

Q: What is the average length of time or number of repeated events that are minimally necessary for an individual to become proficient in performing the skill to the standard?

A competent career development professional requires a minimum of one year of experience with at least 40 different clients, representing a broad range of individuals.

Autonomy

Practitioners typically perform this competency without supervision, and alone.

Automation

It is somewhat likely that this competency will automate.

Requisite Work Aids, Tools, Equipment or Materials

None