Posted by Sylvia Meyer on August 10, 2010
Whenever you are in the process of applying for a job, you should always make sure that your resume has been well written and is complete with a good cover letter. You should have this done in a way that grabs the attention of the bosses trying to get you to join their firm. Write them with enthusiasm.
Do not mistake your resume for a biography. Be concise while conveying your message. Time is of the essence.
The whole idea of a cover letter is to indicate the job you are applying and in the process, to represent why you are the right candidate to fit into the slot available.
Why would you want to have a cover letter you may ask. Well, a resume is normally full of chronological events and landmark achievements you have made. These are not enough to point to the kind of personality behind the achievements. There needs to be something that will inform the recruitment officers about you. A cover letter should act as an informer to sell your good sides.
The documents should at all costs attract attention. You should not be just another job applicant. If your resume and cover letter looks to similar to the next job applicant, you will be at a disadvantage.
You should plan and write your cover letter knowing that it is good enough to get you hired. It will serve like an advertisement that will get you noticed by the employer.
One thing to note about cover letters is that you should crosscheck them for any grammatical errors. Make sure that the thoughts belong there.
You should read the letter over, many times to screen for errors you may not have seen at first. You should verify that the flow of ideas is smooth and makes sense.
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Posted by Amit Puri on May 28, 2010
The resume examples/writing/critique booth operated by Sandbox Advisors during the current JobsDB Career Fair, was a huge success. Over the 3 days we reviewed more than 300 resumes and helped job hunters enhance the quality of their resumes and cover letters.
As is often the case, most of the resumes we reviewed had similar and really primary mistakes. For the advantage of those that were not able to attend the career fair here is a abstract of the commonest errors we noticed and a few quick tips about how one can overcome them:
Poor design and structure: Having a resume which appears good at first glance and is effectively structured/formatted can make an enormous difference. We shared a number of examples to illustrate how to prepare a nicely designed resume, during the course of the event. If you are interested in receiving these, you can subscribe to our newsletter and/or send us an email requesting for them.
Too much content: Many resumes we reviewed were extraordinarily long, often over 15 pages! Whereas there isn’t a hard and fast rule, for majority of individuals I’d suggest a 2-3 page resume. This keeps things to the point, while permitting for enough room to communicate enough particulars about your background. Do not forget that this is just a guideline and your case may warrant some deviation. For instance, as a recent graduate you may have enough materials for only one page and in case you are a very senior professional then you would possibly want 4-5 pages.
Wasting ‘prime resume real-estate’: The initial portion of your resume is very important, since that’s what the recruiter sees first. Therefore you’ll want to make fast impact in that section. Some methods to do this are by using sections such as a headline, career summary, key expertise, accomplishments. Don’t waste this area by letting your personal particulars (name, address, date of birth, contact information, etc.) cover majority of the first page of your resume
An excessive amount of focus on job obligations: When describing past work experience, there’s a tendency to provide particulars just for job duties/responsibilities. This is not the best strategy, since many individuals would have related jobs/duties and that makes it hard for a recruiter to determine who to choose for the interview. It’s good to write much more about your achievements i.e. how well you carried out your responsibilities. Tell recruiters of all the great things did at work and how vital they were
Use of general resumes: Different jobs require different knowledge, skills and abilities to perform well. Hence when applying to jobs that are very different in nature, you want to use different resumes as well. The respective resume must showcase only those abilities, etc. that are wanted for the job you might be applying to. You don’t need a distinct resume for every job you apply to but can use 2-3 resumes for groups of jobs which are comparable in nature
Amit Puri has over ten years of career advisory & business management expertise. He heads Sandbox Advisors a career, job search, recruitment & HR consulting firm in Singapore.Visit their site (Career & Job Search Insights for Singapore), for research, recommendations and videos, on resume formats, job interview preparation, job search, career planning & more.
Posted by Shanen Smith on October 6, 2009
by Shanen Smith
If you wouldn’t go to an interview with bad breath and body odor, then going in with a bad resume is also out of the question. The current economic situation is probably causing you enough trouble as it is. Knowing how to write a resume effectively is critical. It’s going to take a lot more than simply listing past jobs.
Capturing the interest of employers by demonstrating progress in your career and displaying that progress attractively is the key to the treasure chest of success. Highlighting relevant and specific achievements that match the job you are seeking is another key. Arriving at a new destination in your career won’t be possible if you don’t change your course. Changing your course means changing your resume.
Want to grab your potential employer’s attention? Following these guidlines will yield results:
1) Don’t use a bland list of responsiblities and tired job descriptions. It’s great to be responsible for things and we all should be. But let’s swallow a dose of reality. Having responsibilities does not mean you excel at carrying them out. Get focused on highlighting your achievements rather than just highlighting what you were supposed to do.
2) Should they even hire you in the first place? Don’t know? They may not know either. In fact, you could be buying a one-way ticket to the rubbish heap by having an unclear purpose. Be sure to clarify your objectives and desired career goals. Your target position and career focus should be laser sharp and crystal clear. Make certain that it matches what the recruiter is searching for and use facts to support that match. He shouldn’t have to guess why you’re qualified.
3) Make it neat and tidy. An unattractive, messy resume is one that begs to be cast to the side. Make good use of white space. A wordy and confusing document probably won’t get read. Fill your resume with substance to help underscore why you should be hired and get your resume straight to the eyes of decision makers. Providing details is vital, but just be sure leave out irrelevant and dated information that could hurt your sales pitch.
Confused about just how to write a powerful, interest-generating resume? Utlizing the services of a knowledgeable and intuitive resume writer is a sure way to get a resume with impact. When you consider that only 2% of resumes have what it takes to get the offer, a professional resume writer will be worth the investment to help you reach new horizons in your career.
About the Author:
Want to find out more about
how to write a resume that gets serious results? Then visit Shanen Smith’s site on how to choose the best
resume writing service for your needs and get a critique of your current resume (with personalized feedback from a professional), free of charge.
Posted by Cynthia Penfold on September 15, 2009
Those who are unemployed as well as those who have a job right now should make efforts to keep their cover letters samples updated. We suggest this because you can not always know when you will need to have a cover letter ready to apply for a particular job.
You might miss out on a great opportunity if you do not have one of these samples handy but there is no harm in having one ready when you do not need it. Take the time to make sure your cover letter is up to date as often as necessary. Depending on the type of work you do and your current employment status you may not need to updated your cover letter more often than yearly. Those who are unemployed as well as those who are not happy with their current jobs may want to do this considerably more often.
Job seekers trying to climb the corporate ladder have to be especially careful about this. They should not be fooled into thinking there is no need to update the cover letter if they have not been promoted or changed companies. This is a very common mistake. Just because you have not changed jobs or companies does not mean your responsibilities have not changed.
You will never be caught unprepared if you update your cover letters samples regularly. Whenever you update your cover letter make sure it lets the employer know what job you want.
If you are using the same cover letter from when you acquired your current job, you have some work to do. Sure this cover letter was good enough to help you land your current job. However, if you want to move up, this will not do. You really do need to ensure the fact are current and valid. Any employer worth their salt will be checking every fact you state!
Cynthia Penfold reveals secrets for cover letters samples at her How To Make A Resume Blog
