How To Cover Yourself With Glory

Last time I talked about the importance of targeting your resume to a specific employer. There is another tool in your armoury that you can use to ‘hook in’ the recipient of your resume – the cover letter.

The cover letter will be read first by the potential employer so it must immediately get their attention and then encourage them to take further action in opening your attached resume. If the cover letter is not attention- grabbing then your carefully prepared resume may never be opened and read by the target reader. In effect, the cover letter is an instance of a sales letter designed to sell you and your resume to the reader.

There are two main types of cover letter – the letter of inquiry and the job application cover letter. Keep any cover letter to one page in length. Check the spelling and formatting carefully. Remember that it is the first impression of you that an employer will get. Don’t be afraid to personalise your writing style within reason. A steam of consciousness outpouring will not go down well! Now we’ll examine each type in turn.

Letter of Enquiry
A letter of enquiry should accompany any resume sent as a speculative enquiry to an employer. The first sentence should explain why you are writing. It should go on to highlight your strengths and focus on your key skills and achievements. Keep in mind the employment sector you are aiming at and list those skills and achievements particularly relevant to that sector. Write simply and clearly using no technical language that could confuse a non-technical reader.

Job Application Cover Letter
A cover letter should accompany any resume sent as a job application to an employer. The first sentence should contain the job title and the reference of the vacancy you are applying for. It should go on to highlight your strengths and focus on your skills and achievements relevant to the post applied for. Do not make any mention of the salary required or of any other company benefits. Your goal is to present to the employer what it is you can do for them. Bear in mind that non-technical HR staff may process job applications so remember to present yourself in layman’s terms.

In summary, keep your cover letters short, simple and to the point. Sell yourself to the reader. Highlight your suitability for the post. If you can pique the reader’s interest then your resume will be read in a more positive light. I’ll wrap things up now.

View my website:
www.GreatCoverLetterSample.com
for more job hunting tips and how to create great cover letters.

5 Things Not to Do If You Want To Get A Job Using The Web

Finding a job on the web is in many ways similar to finding a job from any other source e.g. newspaper ads. But there are new techniques to be learnt and many pitfalls to be avoided.
My experience has been gained the hard way - by making all the mistakes first! OK let's start out by discussing a few things you should NOT do.

Do NOT become a "web" warrior. The web is a great tool for researching opportunities and obtaining contact details, but you will not get a job by only talking to your computer. You must talk to people to continuously expand your network of contacts and to gain feedback on the progress of your job search.

Do NOT submit your CV/resume to more than 50 recruitment agencies. Try to target your submissions to local agencies and agencies with expertise in your field of interest. Check the recruiter website to gain an impression of the agency's experience and area of expertise. It is OK for your network of recruitment agencies to naturally expand as your job search progresses.

Do NOT submit your CV/resume without a covering letter. The covering letter can of course be in the form of an e-mail. Once again the contents of the letter must be targeted to your area of expertise and contain your full contact details.

Do NOT spend hours trawling through job sites looking for the "perfect" job. It is usually possible to set up daily job alerts or an RSS feed for a search query of your choice. Ensure that your search query is targeted only at relevant roles so that you are not overwhelmed by lengthy e-mails listing irrelevant job vacancies.

Do NOT set up a mailing list of likely employers. I must stress that a generic letter will not find favour with any employer. You must target each letter to a specific employer selling what you have to offer to meet their specific needs.

A "scattergun approach" will expend a lot of your energy and time with little result. Do not confuse activity with actively pursuing a goal. Next time I'll discuss how to begin your targeted job search to achieve your goal.

View my website:
www.GreatCoverLetterSample.com
for more job hunting tips and how to create great cover letters.