The Ins and Outs of Cover Letters
You might wonder if a cover letter is necessary when you submit a résumé. Unless otherwise instructed, a cover letter should accompany every résumé. A cover letter compels your reader to review your résumé.
Your résumé presents factual information about your qualifications, experience, and educational credentials. You use the résumé to present yourself as a good match for a position based on the content in a job posting. It is common for job seekers to use one résumé for several employment contacts. While this is a customary practice, a cover letter lets you personalize your résumé package for a specific job opportunity.
You no doubt have value-added skills that are above and beyond those listed as the fundamental job requirements. These skills can distinguish you from other candidates. A cover letter lets you present this information and add value to your marketability.
In creating your résumé package, your cover letter is an informative and even fun way to demonstrate that you can communicate in a clear and concise fashion. You do this with the words you use, the tone of the letter, and the visual presentation of the letter.
Although there are no set rules to creating cover letters, the following are some guidelines for introducing yourself in a letter:
Be brief – Cover letters are not essays. Use just one page to communicate who you are, what you can do for your potential employer, and why you are the best candidate for the position.
Be professional, yet personal – Avoid using the same tone and language you use in your résumé. Address your reader as if you were speaking to him or her in person. Your cover letter should compliment your résumé, not repeat it.
Tell who you are – Open the letter with a clear statement of who you are and what you do. Don’t make your reader search for that information in the body of the letter or worse have to figure it out from the content of the letter.
Maintain consistency – Use the same heading format on all documents within your résumé package (résumé, cover letter, references, follow-up letters, thank-you letters).
Highlight your value added skills – Spotlight your skills that do not appear in your résumé such as your work ethics, teamwork ability, and skills that are not listed as requirements for the job but are useful to the organization.
Explain why you want to work for the company – Do you like their product or service, their financial standing, their position in the industry, or their direction for the future? Companies like to know what captures your attention.
Proof, Proof, Proof – Make sure that your letter is clear, concise, and error free. Make a checklist that addresses grammar, punctuation, and words that are spelled correctly but out of context (form instead of from, you instead of your, etc.). Use this checklist for your own proof reading and have someone else read it if possible.
A cover letter can make the difference between getting an interview and getting passed over. Use a cover letter to help boost your chances of getting the job offer.
David Jensen holds a Master’s degree in Professional Communication. He is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW) and a Certified Employment Interview Professional (CEIP). He has successfully prepared résumés for various professions, with specialties in résumés and cover letters for graduate school admission, Information Technology, Advertising, Public Relations, and entry level positions.Request David for your ResumeEdge.com product by keying in his last name only, no caps (jensen) in the ‘request your editor’ field of the ResumeEdge.com online form.
http://www.resumeedge.com/Making it Through a Behavioral Interview
by Tina Erickson, MA, ResumeEdge.com Editor and CPRW
Employers are increasingly making use of the “Behavioral Interview”. The theory behind this type of interview is “Past performance is the best indicator of future success.”
In behavior-based interviews, you will be asked to give specific examples of a time that you demonstrated particular behaviors or skills.
You will describe in detail a particular event, project, or experience; how you dealt with the situation, and ultimately, the outcome.
A Behavioral Interview question might look something like this:
Describe a time that you had to work with someone that didn’t like you. How did you handle it?
Or
Tell me about the most difficult customer experience you had to deal with. How did you resolve the issue?
Both of these questions are trying to assess how you deal with conflict.
How to prepare for Behavioral Interview questions:
First, you will want to have an understanding of what competencies the employer is looking for, a good place to start is the job description, job posting, or a recruiter if you are working with one.
Some of the basic competencies that they may be looking for are:
► Innovation
► Delegation
► Flexibility
► Motivation
► Communication Skills
► Conflict Resolution
► Team Building
Next, you will want to spend some time thinking about how you demonstrated these competencies. For example, think about a specific situation, the action you took and finally the result. You should not only come up with stories about positive outcomes but situations that did not have a positive outcome, interviewers will want to know how you dealt with these situations as well.
Even if you aren’t facing a job interview, it is always a good idea to be prepared by keeping a list of competencies and accomplishments, if you write them down right after they happen you will be armed with detailed accounts the next time you interview.
Tina has had over 10 years of Human Resource Management experience in a Fortune 50 company where she led the National Pharmacy Recruiting Team and recruited Executive level candidates for various positions. She holds a Master of Art degree in Human Resource Management from WebsterUniversity. Request Tina for your ResumeEdge.com product by keying her last name only, no caps (erickson) in the ‘request your editor’ field of the ResumeEdge.com online form.
Marketing Yourself
by Kathryn Reid, ResumeEdge.com Editor and CPRW
Suppose you had just one chance to advertise yourself on a billboard overlooking a busy highway, and that passing motorists had only a few seconds to glance at it. It doesn’t matter what your occupation or skill set is. How would you make your advertisement meaningful and memorable?
Think of your résumé as a portable version of that billboard. The motorists whizzing by? Human resources professionals and other hiring entities. They don’t have time to read a biography of a jobseeker, and they don’t want to read your job description. (They aren’t interested in knowing that you report to work and do what an employer expects of you – the daily tasks for which you are paid.) They want to know what makes you special; how you add value; how you can make a difference in their organizations. They want to glance at your résumé and say, “Here’s someone I need to meet.”
It’s not always easy or comfortable for people to try to “sell” themselves this way. There’s a fine line between hollow bragging and effective advertising. Professional résumé writers know the difference, and ResumeEdge.com’s writers will work with you to turn a so-what list of responsibilities or accomplishments into a powerful marketing tool. Here are some real-life examples:
Before
· “Daily processing of portfolio transactions in accordance with department policies and procedures.”
After
· Provide investment managers and clients with accurate, time-sensitive portfolio information through diligent
processing, analysis, reporting and dissemination of cash and transaction data.
Before
· “Inspected, marketed and sold properties to first time homebuyers.”
After
· Created home ownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents who might otherwise be
excluded from the housing market. Provided prospective buyers with inception-through-settlement financial
consulting services and education.
Before
· “Presented PowerPoint presentations to civic, photography and hiking clubs around the country with client
endorsements.”
After
· Increased revenue and brand awareness by making sales presentations to clubs and associations countrywide,
incorporating customer testimonials about tour experiences as marketing technique.
Before
· “Organized profitable & charitable events.”
After
· Organized and ran for-profit and charity events attracting more than 45 musicians of regional, national and
international influence in the avant-garde genre, including two-time world DMC champion DJ Klever.
Ready to see yourself in a new light? Help is only a mouse click away!
Kathryn Reid is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with an undergraduate degree in English and extensive experience in commercial property/casualty insurance operations management. She has written resumes for ResumeEdge.com customers in diverse occupations: sales, science, finance, education, medicine, information technology, retail management, nonprofit, homemakers transitioning to the corporate workforce– and even a professional viola player seeking a career change! Request Kathryn for your ResumeEdge.com product by keying her last name only, no caps (reid) in the ‘request your editor’ field of the ResumeEdge.com online form. http://www.resumeedge.com/
What to Say in an Interview
by Daniel Barcus, MBA, CPRW, ResumeEdge.com Editor
There are three key steps you can take in any interview to make yourself stand out. Sticking to the point and staying focused on what you’re trying to achieve will help. Many interviewers want to appear friendly, but if you let yourself get steered into idle conversation, the interview may end before you’ve had a chance to sell yourself.
Interviews often start with a very friendly “tell me about yourself.” This is your first chance to set yourself apart from the pack of other applicants. Lead off with two or three major accomplishments, rather than the various bits of personal information most candidates will respond with. If you can do that, you’re already compelling the manager to hire you. A strong way to close that portion of the conversation is to ask “what are the most important things you need to have achieved for this job, so we can tailor our discussion to that?”
Second, after you have presented your skills and experience, it’s a good idea to check in with the manager. One way to do that is to say “There is no such thing as the perfect candidate, but suppose I’m the last interview and you have to make a decision tonight. What reservations would you have about offering me this job right now?” When you ask a question like this, you have to be quiet and wait for an answer! If the manager has a question, or says that you don’t have much experience in one area, try to address that in a positive way, either by demonstrating where you do have that experience or how your other strengths will empower you.
Last, if you want the job, ask for it. In question form. “I really like what I’ve learned about your organization and leadership. This is the job I want. May I have it?” Again, be silent after you ask the question. Most interviewers will not be prepared to make an offer on the spot, but if they’ve talked to 20 candidates that day, they will remember the one candidate who asked for the job! Please note that pleading statements like “I hope you’ll offer me this job” do not have the same effect.
If you take these three steps, you will go a long way toward standing out in an employers mind as a strong, focused and capable candidate.
Daniel Barcus has 20 years of professional experience in high technology and career coaching. He earned an MBA in Organizational Design, Entrepreneurship and Marketing from the University of Chicago, a BS in Marketing from the Miller College of Business at Ball State University, as well as CPRW certification. He has written resumes to help clients achieve their goals from entry level to executive in a wide array of industries. Request Daniel for your ResumeEdge.com product by keying his last name only, no caps (barcus) in the ‘request your editor’ field of the ResumeEdge.com online form. http://www.resumeedge.com/services/federal-resume/index.php?nav=se.fed
