Practical advice for creating effective resumes, cover letters, and thank-you letters is provided in this guide for college students. Ten general characteristics of a good resume are enumerated and followed by a lengthy list of strong, action verbs to use when writing the resume. Guidelines for developing the following eight specific parts of a resume are given: job objective, education, employment experience, extracurricular activities, awards and honors, interests, and references. Seven cardinal rules of resume preparation are discussed and two pages of additional advice are given. Nine sample resumes provide an idea of what good resumes should be like. A six-page resume worksheet is included to aid in recalling and organizing the data. Guidelines and rules for writing cover letters (for resumes) and thank-you letters (as follow-up after job interviews) are provided along with examples of the following: a poor cover letter, a good cover letter, a letter requesting a job interview when a specific job is not advertised, and a thank-you letter. (EM)