Cover Letter Tips

Why are cover letters so important? They provide the prospective employer with a brief review of your skills and abilities – but they are less formal than a resume. In fact, they may point to things that are in your resume or they may highlight qualities you posses that the resume just isn't able to convey.

The best news is that writing one it isn't that hard.

So, how do you write a great cover letter?

The cover letter builds on the resume and leads the employer toward it. Its goal is to get the employer excited about the resume. It is a sales tool, just like the resume is. Sell yourself in a compelling and exciting way. You know how to sell, so put it to good use by highlighting your accomplishments. The employer will naturally want to know more about what you have to offer.

Map out the information you want to place in each section, then go back through and fine tune it. Don't try to write brilliantly from the salutation to the signature in the first draft. Revise it each time you go through it.

What skills and abilities do you have that you can offer the employer – and – how can you do so in a way that makes the employer pick up the phone and call you for an interview? Oh, and that brings up the point that you need to make sure all of your contact information is included in the cover letter as well as on the resume. You never know when someone is going to lose one of those precious pieces of paper.

An outstanding cover letter is also tailored to the employer's needs. If the ad you read states that the employer is looking for someone with three years of managerial experience, then you need to include something in your cover letter that states you have managerial experience. If you do not have that much experience, show the employer how much you have learned and how quickly you learned it. Let the employer know that you are determined to be successful. This is especially important if you are still in school or have recently graduated from school.

A cover letter isn't likely to persuade an employer to grant you an interview on its own, but it is part of the whole package that WILL encourage an employer to want to get to know you better. Make it an exciting and enjoyable read and you will find yourself being offered the next Sales position for which you apply.

Read more about cover letters here: Cover Letters

Does the Employer Know What You Are Capable Of Achieving?

When you write your resume and cover letter – and even during an interview – expressing your achievements is extremely important. The employer needs to know that you handled more than a variety of responsibilities. Don't be shy here. This helps the employer not only see what you have accomplished in the past, but also what you are willing to do to get a job done.

Why do employers place such an emphasis on accomplishments? Think of it this way: Many people can perform tasks. How many of them look for improve their own work environment? How many attempt to help their boss succeed? The person who goes above and beyond the "call of duty" is the one that employers are especially looking for. Communicating your accomplishments to an employer goes beyond simply stating what skills you have.

It shows the employer HOW WELL you utilize the skills and abilities you have.

For instance, let's pretend that you are an automotive mechanic. You diagnose and repair engines using computer diagnostics. But say you also focus extra time and energy on mastering the ability to repair ingnition problems. You may have even won an award at your last job for doing just that. The employer wants to know what you have done that goes above and beyond what is normally expected of you.

When you can do this, you have an edge over other candidates.

Think about what you have achieved on your last job. Compare that to what you believe your current employer would value most. Focus on the top 3 achievements and prepare to tell a story that details these accomplishments. How did you do so well? What steps did you take? What did you have to overcome?

Being able to provide an anecdote that exemplifies your achievements will go a long way to convincing an employer that you should get the job.

Best of luck!

Learn more here: Accomplishments

Job Skills Identification

Job Skills Identification
Looking for work is selling a product. A successful job search is a sales and marketing campaign. The most effective job seekers use sales techniques in their job search to set themselves apart from the competition. The sooner you apply sales strategies to your job search the sooner you will begin to see results in your search for employment. To successfully sell a product a salesperson must first know exactly what that product can do. The same is true for your job search. Employers do not just want to know where you have been and what your job titles were. They want to know what you can do. If you were looking to purchase a product that would cost you thousands of dollars annually you too would want to know what it can do.
Consider a major purchase you made or are planning to make: a car, appliances, a computer or stereo equipment. If you are a smart consumer you will shop around. You ask questions. You want to know exactly what each product can do and what sets it apart from the competition. It is the salesperson's job to convince you that their product is the best. If they are unfamiliar with the product, or are not sold on the product themselves, there is little hope they will be able to sell you. This is why salespeople spend many hours learning their products. This is also why you need to invest time in identifying your skills.

Skills are the performance specifications of your product - you.

The average person has between 500 and 800 skills! You need to identify those skills that are the most attractive to potential employers. Many people have a hard time identifying their skills, because we often define skills too narrowly. Do not think of a skill as something that requires years of formal education and experience to develop. A skill is anything you can do right now!

Job Skills
Job skills are those skills specific to a job or occupation. A secretary, for example, might be skilled in typing, word processing, filing, answering telephones and company correspondence. An accountant might list accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, taxes, using a 10-key and computer accounting programs. A salesperson might include customer service, record keeping, order processing, inventory management, billing and product displays. Ultimately, job skills need to be stated in specific terms. For example, computer skills should be identified by the specific programs used.

Job skills are important to employers for obvious reasons. They are the specific skills employers look for in a candidate. Job skills do not always come from employment. You may have also developed job skills through education, hobbies, community activities and life experiences.

Self-Management Skills
These are skills you use day to day to get along with others or to survive. They are the skills that make you unique. Sincerity, reliability, tactfulness, patience, flexibility, timeliness, or tolerance are all examples of self-management skills. Employers look for these skills to determine how a candidate will fit into the organization. How a person will "fit in" is an important consideration for employers.

Transferable Skills
Many skills can transfer from one job or occupation to another. For most job seekers it is very unlikely they will find a job that is identical to their previous employment. Therefore, it is critical for a successful job seeker to carefully evaluate how their skills transfer into other opportunities.

Duties
Many people have trouble distinguishing between their duties and skills. Duties are the basic functions of an activity, while skills are the tools to accomplish those functions. Duties or functions are a part of any organized activity whether it is employment, volunteer work or hobbies.

A simple example is the management of a lemonade stand. The basic duties might include production, marketing, distribution and financial management. There are many skills needed to accomplish these functions, including: mixing, measuring, planning, sales, customer service, writing, cash handling, record keeping, maintenance, dependability, accuracy and motivation. This list of skills could go on and on.
Writing out the duties or functions of an activity first can be a useful way to begin identifying skills. When presenting your skills to an employer it is best to tie them to specific activities.

Accomplishments
An effective salesperson will not only describe the specifications of a product; they will promote its performance. They will also note examples of success and customer satisfaction. Your accomplishments are your record of success. Along with where and when, employers want to know how you used those skills. They want to hear how you excelled in your performance. Accomplishments can be the edge that sets you apart from the competition.

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Six Essential Elements of a Professional Resume

Six Essential Elements of a Professional Resume

Writing a resume may not be the most exciting thing you have ever been challenged to do, but it may be one of the most important. Well, it is if you are interested in finding a great job.

There are six essential elements of a professional resume that you must be aware of when drafting your personal copy. While there are a lot of things to keep in mind, these six elements are extremely important to crafting a professional resume that gets read and establishes your credentials in the eyes of a prospective employer.

Take a look at these Six Elements and see how your resume stacks up.

One
The Contact Information section will always appear at the top of your page regardless of which format you choose. It contains your name, address, phone number and email address. Be sure this information is correct or the employer will have no means to contact you.

Two
The Objective Statement is a vital part of the professional resume. It lets the employer know how you will contribute to the organization as well as the specific type of work you are interested in doing. Don’t be vague or the employer may not be able to figure out what you are after.

Three
Accomplishments are the most important things you can list on a resume. This is true regardless of how old you are or how much experience you have. The reason is that accomplishments show that you worked hard, were involved and got things done.

Four
The Education section is presented in reverse chronological order, meaning the most recent school you attended is listed first. List your GPA if it is significant. If you haven’t completed your course of study yet, list your expected date of graduation and your intended degree.

Five
Proofread everything until you are certain that your resume contains no mistakes. Also, have someone else read your resume in an effort to ensure it is error-free. Typos and grammar errors are the first things an employer looks for when weeding out the good resumes from the bad ones.

Six
Target your resume to best garner the attention of the prospective employer. According to distinctiveweb.com, "A targeted resume is used to focus your resume toward a specific career objective, performed in a specific industry, and for a specific company. The content of a targeted resume is written to highlight the skills, qualifications, and experience that match the requirements of your job target."

If you are able to incorporate these six essential elements of a professional resume into your personal resume, you stand a much better chance of getting selected for an interview. Other job candidates are doing it, so to compete for those great jobs, you have to do it, too.

Take the time to do it right. You'll reap the rewards.

Boost Your Resume And Get That Job!

Boost Your Resume And Get That Job

1. Market yourself with your objective statement. The successful use of an objective statement targets each position the candidate is seeking, while subtly selling specific skills in a way that benefits the employer. Define some of your finest qualities and present them as a means for the company to achieve greater results. This is not a statement about "What I want from the company." It's a statement about "What I have and how it will assist the organization for which I work."
2. Target the employer. Everything in your resume should be directed toward one goal: Getting a specific job at a particular company. Each one of your resumes should be uniquely targeted to an audience of ONE.
3. Define yourself in terms of skills and accomplishments. An employer wants to know what kind of person you are. Show the employer that you are a problem solver, results-oriented, loyal and determined to succeed and you will do much better at making a good impression than someone who simply states their employment history.
4. Quantify your accomplishments. What does that mean? It means that you need to create a solid picture of what you have achieved in the past. Don’t just tell the employer what you have done in the past. Show how you have been successful by concrete examples of your performance. For instance, if you are a customer service manager and you created and implemented a new workflow pattern that improved the response time to customer’s inquiries, then state the percentage of improvement in customer satisfaction something along those lines.
5. Use action verbs to boost your resume's appeal. If you want a prospective employer to take notice of your resume, you will need to use words that jump off the paper. Get the attention you deserve by presenting your skills and accomplishments in an influencial and appealing way.

If you would like more information about writing an outstanding resume, take a look at the links below:

Resume Dos and Don'ts

The Resume Checklist