Marketing Managers Need Cover Letters, too?

Marketing Managers Need Cover Letters, too?

Well, yes. If they want to get jobs, that is.

A cover letter takes the best of your qualifications and characteristics and makes them exciting and enticing to prospective employers. It’s a carefully crafted letter that leads the employer to the resume to see why you are the best candidate for the job.

Competition for Marketing Managers is keen. You have to stand out from the crowd in a positive, exciting way to ensure you are the one employers are determined to hire.

How do you accomplish this?

If you have already written your resume, the words you need are basically prepared for you. It’s much easier to pull from the resume and reflect on your character when you have put the time in to document your professional personal history.

The cover letter builds on the resume and leads the employer toward it. Its goal is to get the employer excited about the resume. The cover letter is a sales tool, just like the resume is. Sell yourself in a compelling and exciting way. Inject energy and let your best qualities reach the employer through carefully written examples and anecdotes. Don’t just state what you are capable of, show the employer with vibrant language that attracts and invites the employer to want to know more.

Let your personality show, but remain professional.

Are there a lot of Marketing Manager positions available? Yes, there are probably a lot of positions you COULD get, but do you want just ANY old job? Or, do you want a job where you will have opportunities to succeed, make more money and send your career to new heights?

You have to be your very best to get the great jobs. 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?

Start with your own “marketing materials”. Your cover letter and your resume are your sales resources. Make them work for you.

The cover letter is the first thing an employer sees. Make sure it is impeccable. Proofread it just as meticulously as you did the resume. No mistakes. Not one.

State clearly what position you are seeking and tailor the cover letter, just as you did with the resume, to the specific position and employer.

Mass marketing general resumes and cover letters to a host of employers is a thing of the past. Targeting a resume and cover letter is essential in today’s competitive environment if you are to be successful.

Look at it this way: Your competition is doing it. If you don’t do it, too, who do you think is going to get the job interview and the job offer?

“Employment of advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012, spurred by intense domestic and global competition in products and services offered to consumers.” (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Finding the perfect job in a great company will always take some work, but the rewards will be worthwhile if you take the time to work through the job search process right.

A good cover letter alone isn’t likely to persuade an employer to grant you an interview, 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 Marketing Manager position you apply for.

Best of luck!

Written by Carla Vaughan-Bosteder Best-Interview-Strategies.com

Basic Principles of Resume Writing

Basic Principles of Resume Writing

Keep it brief!
Your resume is an overview of your qualifications - not your life story. It is a "preview of coming attractions" which creates the desire to see the rest of the show. One to two pages is the standard for a resume read by the human eye, and up to three pages for a scannable resume. If your resume is more than one page, the first page must capture the reader's attention. If it fails to do so, the remaining pages will not be read.

Focus
Don't try to be everything to everyone. Target your job search and your resume to your specific occupational goals.

Multiple Resumes?
Generally, you should concentrate first on one well-written resume that targets your immediate job search. Make sure this resume represents you well to a wide range of employers and is suitable for scanning. If you have more than one objective, additional resumes may be required. For example, if you are planning to pursue two distinct occupations such as realtor and bookkeeper, you would need two resumes. If you only use the targeted resume approach, you would also write a unique resume to each employer.

Visual Impact
A piece of sales literature has only about two seconds to attract the reader's attention. Similarly, the resume must attract the employer even before it is read. Many advertising techniques apply, including the use of white space, bullets, indentation and varied type style. Professional printing produces high quality, but can be expensive. Laser quality printing is an excellent alternative. Never handwrite your resume! Make sure there are no typographical, grammatical, or spelling errors. Ask someone to proof read your resume to help eliminate errors.

Insure Integrity
Your resume is specifically designed to paint the best picture possible of you. Place the emphasis on the positive, not the negative. It should be an honest statement of your best qualities. Your resume should hold up under scrutiny. Facts and numbers must be believable. The content of the resume should be in harmony. Dates should be consistent while experience and related activities should support your qualifications.

Scannable Resumes
Many employers and employment agencies are using resume scanning systems to screen resumes, a trend that will increase in the future. When writing any resume consider its scannability. Generally, there is little difference between a good scannable resume and one that is effective for the human eye. Since, ultimately, all resumes will be looked at by a person, your resume must work for both.

Overqualified?
If you consistently hear that you are overqualified or are concerned that you will be perceived as such, then you have not effectively targeted your resume. When writing your resume, target it to the level of employment and to the occupation or employer. If you are pursuing more than one distinct level of employment, then consider a separate resume for each. Present the information that you believe is important. You don't have to tell everything. As an example, if you have an advanced degree in a field unrelated to your goal, leave it off.

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An Outstanding Cover Letter

There is nothing that can compare to an outstanding cover letter. If you want to get an employer's attention, you will need cover letter that demands their attention.

The cover letter is the first thing that an employer is going to read. It is the precursor to the resume. If the cover letter doesn’t command the attention of the reader right away, then you only have the resume left to do so. Sure, the resume will outline your educational and experiential background, but it doesn't afford the flexibility of a cover letter.

An outstanding cover letter gives you an opportunity to tailor your credentials in a way that the resume does not. You are able to explain situations so that the employer understands why, for instance, you have a 2 year gap in your employment dates. You can expound on a specific skill set. You can outline a situation that shows the employer how accomplished you are. There is so much more that an outstanding cover letter can do.

Do not underestimate the importance of an outstanding cover letter.

Remember that a cover letter is short and to the point. If at all possible, keep the cover letter to one page. Keep it professional, but be sure to sell yourself, too.

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.

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.

Once you think you have everything the way you want it in your cover letter, proofread it. You can say everything an employer wants to hear, but if your cover letter is loaded with spelling and grammar errors, you will not get anywhere. Making sure your cover letter is error-free is definitely one step in the right direction.

An outstanding cover letter requires some time and thought up front, but if it correctly guides the employer to your resume and the employer likes what is there, you stand a great chance of receiving a phone call for an interview.

Brought to you by: Professional-Resume-Example.com

Have a great day!

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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An Interview Tidbit

When interviewing, it is important to reflect your responsibilities in ways that allow the employer to create a mental picture about what you are capable of doing.

This is done by telling stories, or anecdotes. Stories show the employer what you are capable of doing rather than just telling them.

Look at this situation:
The interviewer asks the same question of candidates #1, #2 and #3: "Have you ever been in a situation when you have had to soothe an employee who felt as though he’d been treated unjustly by a co-worker?"


Candidate #1 responds: "Well, I remember doing that once, but it was a nightmare."

Candidate #2 responds: "Yes, I listened considerately until he finished venting."

Candidate #3 responds: "Yes, I have been in that situation before. In fact, not long ago, a co-worker in an office next to mine was angry that her boss was asking her to stay late 3 days in a row. I asked her to come to my office for some coffee and we worked out a way for the two of us to share the work load so that we both could get home at a decent hour."

For more information, click on this link: Interview Anecdotes

Career Planning

Career Planning for College Students and Recent Graduates

How would you like to achieve more success at work in a faster amount of time than anyone with whom you graduate?

It's really quite simple. Have a plan. Have a career plan.

So many people approach the job search as a "somebody take me please" endeavor as opposed to charting out the steps to take, focus on the employers where you want to work and setting goals and deadlines for career achievements.

Most people just happen along with no focus, goals or deadlines at all. Life just happens. Jobs just happen.

The reason for making decisions today about where you want to be tomorrow is so that you have the ability to actually get there.

If you don't know exactly where you want to be, you will be wandering aimlessly from position to position hoping that somehow it will all work out. Unfortunately, that isn’t how it works.

When you left for college, you probably spent a lot of time figuring out where you wanted to go, applied to the school(s), then when you were accepted, you formulated a plan to enroll in classes, find a place to live and budget your finances so that you could afford to eat and buy necessities.

If you applied that same amount of time and effort into setting out a career plan and the goals involved in achieving professional success, you would be much more successful and you’d blow past the competition easily. No one in your graduating class at college would even come close to achieving what you would achieve.

The great news is that Career Planning isn't some magical experience. It's not hard at all. Just give yourself a little time and ask yourself a few questions and you'll be on the right track. As you have more time in the months and years to come, revisit your Career Plan and determine if it still makes sense for you or if you need to tweak it.

You are the only one who can create your destiny. You choose.
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Take the time NOW to set the course for your future.

If you take the time to set your career goals, you will be ahead of 90% of the rest of the people out there who don’t bother to plan ahead. You will be more successful than your peers in the same field because you know where you are going and how you intend to get there. You will make more money and you will be much happier. Why? Because you didn't wait for destiny to step in. You took control of your life and made things happen.

Be In Demand With These Ten Traits

Do you want to be in demand?

Employers are always looking for certain things in job candidates. If you can master these ten skills, you will be ahead of your competitors in the job market and you will stand a much better chance of getting a great job.

Be In Demand With These Ten Traits

1. Budget management - Effective budget management means taking steps to ensure that a manageable and controllable budget is in place and that procedures are defined to eliminate cash crunch situations from developing.

2. Speaking – Being able to work with someone one on one as well as conduct effective meetings is vital in today's business environment. Can you communicate ideas, persuade clients or business partners, motivate and inspire employees and explain complex issues? If so, you will be in demand by employers.

3. Writing – Writing involves clearly identifying ideas and relating them to others in a way that allows for few or no misconceptions. All business communication must be professional, concise and easy to understand. Where communication is concerned, more is better than less.

4. Public Relations – It is important to be able to handle yourself well in any given situation, but especially when you represent the organization for which you work. Being prepared is crucial to success in public relations.

5. Organization/Prioritization – Are you good at keeping tabs on your job responsibilities and monitoring your progress to ensure that deadlines are met and tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.

6. Initiative – If it needs to be done, either do it or get someone who is responsible for that item to get it done. The worst thing an employer can hear is "It's not my job." Show the employer that you are a "go getter".

7. Interviewing – Not all interviews take place in the Human Resources department. Each department in which there is a vacancy will likely have one or two people taking time to determine the most qualified person for the job. If you can interview someone well, you will be in demand

8. Negotiating – Getting the best deal for the company is something in which employers are always interested. Everything is about the bottom line. Is there a way to cut costs by negotiating better contracts? If you can show an employer that you can successfully negotiate good deals, you will be the favored candidate.

9. Teaching Others – Teaching is an essential element of leadership. If you can convey directions or instructions in a way that allows others to implement ideas and/or designs, you will find yourself in demand by employers.

10. Energy – If you are always willing to give an extra effort to everything you do, it will become readily apparent to everyone. Getting to work before your co-workers and staying a little later makes huge difference in how you are viewed, especially if you are known to demonstrate good use of your time.

Now that you know which skills matter most to employers, you have an idea of what you should focus on to ensure you are successful in your career.

There are also professional traits that will help you in your job search. Take a look at this article: Personal and Professional Traits

Where are the Jobs?

Who are the employment providers?
Or "Where are the jobs?"
There are a limited number of places in which to look for employment. They are varied in size and scope. Considering all of the different kinds of jobs that exist in the world, this seems like a small list. Don't you agree?

Look below for a list of potential employers.

Government agencies (including federal, state, local and military)
Large corporations
Non-profit organizations
Small-business owners
Farms/Agriculture
Universities/Colleges
Work from home businesses
National Parks
Private K-12 schools
Web-based businesses*

How do employment-seekers find the employment-providers?
There are many, many ways to locate open positions.

Job Banks
Job Clearinghouses
Professional Associations
Networking
State Agencies
Headhunters
Temp Agencies
College Placement Offices
Career Fairs
Private Employment Agencies
Classified Ads
Contacting the employer directly
Web Sites

How are you going to find your next job?

Here are some articles that may provide some insight:

Networking

Apply for Federal Jobs

Classified Ads

The Hotel Industry

The Hidden Job Market

Best of Luck in your Job Search!

My Old Press Release

I thought it might be interesting to post my first and only press release. My resume site has come a long way since then. :)
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Rockwall, TX (PRWEB) March 24, 2006 -- Resume-writing just became easier with the launch of Professional-Resume-Example.com - a site dedicated to helping others in the job-search process. "This site offers so much more than traditional resume sites", says owner, Carla Vaughan. "The vision has always been to provide relevant information on a vast array of topics that job seekers are
searching for," she added.

What visitors to the site will find is pertinent career-related information in an easy-to-understand tone and style. The navigation is designed to provide the easiest access to the information users need most. If someone is searching for cover letter information, then there is a clearly labeled tab to take the visitor to that page. If the quest is for a resume outline, then there is a tab identifying that as well. Simple navigation and helpful links at the bottom of each page provide the ease of use and clarity that many sites find difficult to achieve.

According to the Department of Labor in its most recent Employment Situation Summary report, the job market increased by 243,000 jobs just in February, 2006. The job candidates who received offers for those jobs are the ones who had the best presentation of their credentials and who were the most prepared for interviews.

In the past, job candidates had to wade through a barrage of information. Now, there is one resource with everything necessary (from filling out federal government job applications to networking their way to a new job) to create professional resume materials. Now, there is one resource where the focus is on achieving success by finding a great job.

Professional-Resume-Example.com offers everything from a detailed explanation of each section of the resume to examples of resumes in each of the 3 most common resume formats. It is unique in its approach to providing the information in the way that job candidates are searching for it. Much time and effort has been made to determine the exact features that job seekers are looking for and offering substantial information in the form of articles, links and/or web pages that speak to those needs.

Career planning, resume tips, cover letter guidelines, job-search articles and a variety of related information all come together in one place - Professional-Resume-Example.com

The job search just became easier.

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Carla Vaughan is the owner of Professional-Resume-Example.com, a web site devoted to assisting candidates in the job-search process. She holds a B.S. in Business from Southern Illinois University and has authored several books.