Cover Letter Tips That Touch More Than Just The Tip Of The Employment Iceberg
In a job application, a cover letter can show your prospective employer all these and more. Sadly, today’s job applicants, although more competitive, also tend to be lazier than usual. They will look for generic cover letters online, change a few facts, print it out, and send it to only one employer. They will address the letter to no one in particular, and will usually stick to the safe, “Dear Sir or Madame,” or worse, “To whom it may concern.” Lastly, the applicant will wait for a reply, often for weeks on end, before repeating the cycle.
This self-defeating cycle is something that you want to avoid if you are applying for a job. Your goal is not simply to get the application over with: you should shine and stand out above all the other job applicants, and you should get a job interview, at the very least. A few cover letter tips should get you going, so follow these cover letter tips and you just might find yourself getting the job that you want.
First, do as much research as you can about the company. Sure, they have a job opening that you think you will excel at, but are the company’s goals also your own? Is the company’s mission and vision in line with your own mission and vision? How well do you know the company? Have you visited its website? Who is your employer?
You will need to take note of all these facts before you even craft your letter. Moreover, address your letter to the person who will hire you, not to anyone in particular. Remember, the more personalized your letter is, the easier it will be for you to get a job. However, do not go overboard on being personal: you also want to look professional, not sensational, childish, or hyperactive. As long as your values, goals, vision, and mission are aligned with those of the company, then you can be sure that you have one foot into their doors already.
Next, make your letter brief. Usually, a single page of about four short paragraphs of text will do the trick. Employers have little time to browse through piles and piles of letters all saying the same thing. You need to stand out, so say as much in as few words as possible. Your goal is to take the employer’s attention within the first few lines of your letter, and to make the employer read all about you and want to hire you – or, at the very least, call you in for an interview.
State specifically that you are available for an interview, then provide all your contact details. Make sure that your email address is up and running, and that you will be available to answer all telephone calls. Send the letter according to the information provided in the job opening, and wait patiently – for about two weeks.
If you have not heard from the company, send a fresh cover letter and another resume, and indicate that you are making a follow up. This might increase your chances of getting an interview, or even getting the job, if the employer sees how persistent you can be. If this doesn’t work out, keep applying, and never say die! If you work hard enough, you will get the job that you want in no time.
By: Mario Churchill
About the Author:
Tips on Creating a Successful Resume
Choose the Type of Resume: Reverse Chronological, Functional or Combination
The reverse-chronological resume is the most popular resume. It lists all of your accomplishments, education, and experience in reverse-chronological order, beginning with the most recent and working back from there. Choose this resume when you have consistent employment – no job gaps.
The functional resume showcases skills, they will be the bulk of your resume, followed by employment and education. For example, if you are applying for a position as a journalist, you list the your skills for that position in a special section with subheadings that might include: “Editing” “Investigative Reporting”, “Research”, etc.. Use this resume when your job history is less than stellar and/or you’re seeking a career in a new field.
The combination resume is one that, obviously, combines the features of both reverse-chronological and functional resumes. Within the combination resume, you showcase your skills, as you would in a functional resume, but you also include your prior work history to show that you have no gaps in employment. The combination resumes are good not only for targeted job searches, but also for cross-career moves such as a marketing manager applying to become a marketing professor.
Appropriate Page Length
A resume is as long as it needs to be provided it contains only relevant information for the new job search. Most resumes are one to two pages in length. Don’t try to cram all of your information into a one-page resume to reach an arbitrary page length. If the resume doesn’t look good, it won’t be read.
Tailor Your Resume to the Position
Never send a cookie-cutter, generic resume to numerous employers. Many employers see this as lazy, and figure if you did not put much effort into getting the job, you won’t put much effort into performing the job either.
Never use an objective. An objective is telling the hiring manager what you want. Hiring managers don’t care what you want. They need to know what you can bring to their company. Therefore always use an opening summary called a Qualifications Summary. In it, list a recent, relevant, and quantified accomplishment that will prove to the hiring manager that you’re the correct candidate for the position.
Proofread and Proofread Again
Of course we all know that spelling or grammar mistakes on a resume are an instant turn-off. However, one thing you may overlook is proofreading your names and dates. Be sure everything is reverse-chronological, with no overlap in dates.
With these tips in mind, you can create a resume that makes a good impression and stands out from the competition, leading to an interview with the prospective employer, and then, hopefully, a long and fulfilling career.
By: ResumeEdge
About the Author:
ResumeEdge is a leader in resume editing and writing services. For more information, visit ResumeEdge online.
7 Resume Tips For ESL Job Seekers
Tip 1: Use design that demands attention
Employers don’t have time to read through each of your job descriptions to know if you have the skills they need. The design of your resume must do it for them. Your resume should be concise, well-organised and relevant. It should emphasise the most important and relevant points about your experience, skills and education.
Tip 2: Use ‘power words’
To control the image that an employer has of you, use power words that match the position you want. Certain words are used frequently by recruiters in their job descriptions. You should study recruiters’ advertisements and job descriptions and use these words in your resume and covering letter.
The most powerful words are verbs. And the most powerful verbs are action verbs (describing dynamic activity, as opposed to state).
If, for example, you are applying for a management post, you should use as many management skills power words as possible – and use them in the active form, not passive.
Here are some teaching skills power words:
* advise
* clarify
* coach
* elicit
* enable
* encourage
* explain
* facilitate
* guide
* inform
* instruct
* persuade
* stimulate
* train
Tip 3: A number is worth 1,000 words
People react to numbers! Numbers are alive and powerful. They create vivid images in our minds. General statements are easy to ignore. Be specific and use numbers when describing your duties and achievements.
Don’t talk about ‘managing a major turnover’. Talk about ‘managing a $27,000,000 turnover’. Don’t talk about ‘extensive teaching experience’. Talk about ‘7,000 teaching hours’. Better still, talk about ‘7,300 teaching hours’ – the more precise a figure, the more real it becomes.
Tip 4: Put important information first
List important information at the beginning of your job descriptions. Put statements in your resume in order of importance, impressiveness and relevance to the job you want. A powerful statement with numbers and power words influences every statement that follows.
Tip 5: Sell benefits, not skills
Holiday companies don’t sell holidays. They sell relaxation, adventure, sun, sea and sand (the benefits of a holiday). You should not sell your skills (many other people have the same skills). You should sell the benefits of your skills. When you write your skills and past duties, be careful to explain their benefits to the employer.
Tip 6: Solve your employer’s (hidden) needs
Employers want people who can solve problems, not create them! Your resume and cover letter should show how you can solve the employer’s problems and needs. And in addition to the skills or needs shown in a job advertisement, an employer may have other needs. You should identify these additional needs and show how you can satisfy them too. But concentrate first on the needs listed in the job advertisement. Your additional solutions should come later, after you already have the employer’s attention.
Tip 7: Target the job
You will have more success if you adjust your resume and cover letter for the specific skills an employer is seeking. This means that you would write one resume for one particular job and a different, modified, resume for another job. You ‘re-package’ yourself. In that way, an employer will see immediately that you correspond to the job description. It is not dishonest to ‘re-package’ yourself. You are simply presenting yourself and your skills in the best light for a particular employer. This will help you to get more interviews and allow you to apply for a wider range of jobs.
By: Josef Essberger
About the Author:
Josef Essberger formerly taught English as a foreign language in Asia and Europe. He is founder of http://EnglishClub.com, a site for ESL learners and teachers, and http://TEFL.net, a site dedicated to ESL teachers. Looking for an ESL teaching job? Learn more at http://www.tefl.net/esl-jobs/.
7 Tips To Recruiting A Downline In Direct Sales
TIP #1: GET PERSONAL Your downline wants to know who they are working so hard for. Send a monthly newsletter will sales tips, monthly numbers, top salesperson, etc. Offer a free forum or chat group to your team so everyone can share ideas and offer support to one another.
TIP #2: BE AVAILABLE Schedule time to speak with your sales team often. Constant contact will show them that you care. This gives your team a chance to share their concerns, thoughts and ideas with you. It also allows them the opportunity to ask questions.
TIP #3: HOLD A CONTEST Offer prizes or free services to new recruits. Offer special discounts or coupons to the team member who recruits the most new partners.
TIP #4: WRITE ARTICLES Article marketing provides an avenue for free web site traffic. Write five articles, linking to a web site where your products are sold, then submit them to various free article directories.
TIP #5: EDUCATE YOUR TEAM Provide your current sales team with powerful information about your business and products. By educating your sales team, you will create an aura of excitement. This excitement pushes your team to recruit their acquaintances into this wonderful opportunity for self-based employment.
TIP #6: LOSE YOUR MIND Sometimes the silliest ideas are the ones that often get noticed in sales. If you’ve been playing it safe, get crazy with promoting your business. Print fliers, bookmarks, calling cards, booklets, etc. Go door-to-door and promote your business and sales opportunity. Focus only on promoting awareness of your business instead of sales.
TIP #7: DON’T STOP It has been said many times that for every 9 “no’s” you get, you’ll get one “yes.” Don’t stop promoting recruits, regardless of how many “no’s” you’ve had this far. Eventually someone will say, “Yes!” Sometimes the squeakiest wheel is the one that gets oiled!
By: Stefanie Fauquet
About the Author:
Free Resume Writing Tips
You must give possible future employers an idea of how you are going to work for them. Including ones job objectively is something that people frequently forget to include in their resume. By not including your job objective, you show no direction in where you would like to go which leaves employers not too interested in you.
There are two different types of resumes. The first is the chronological format and is most preferred by employers. This is perfect if you don’t really plan on changing fields. The other one is called the functional format. This is the resume that you would choose if you were changing fields and you have certain skills that are transferable to different jobs.
If you simply do not have any kind of experience then the best thing to do is go out and volunteer. If you volunteer you will gain experience and will also have something to include on your resume. One excellent thing to do on your resume is try to impress the employer. Do this by stating certain problems that happened at previous work places, the action you took to solve it and how what you did was beneficial for the company.
People love to include hobbies and interests on their resumes however you should not really include them unless they are relevant to the job that you are trying to apply for. For example do not list that you like to read as one of your hobbies if applying for a construction job you would state that if you were trying to work in a library. One last thing to remember is, do not fold your resume along text line because the ink could flake.
By: Munya Chinongoza
About the Author:
If you are looking for more FREE free resume writing tips, please visit our website: http://www.weyd.net/Resume_Secrets
Employment Opportunities For High School And College Job Seekers… 6 Hot Tips!
So employment opportunities require you to master a few basic communication skills.
First, you have to look employable. If this is your first job, you have to make absolutely everything work to your advantage. Since you don’t have a work history or at best a thin resume, much more credibility will be placed on how you come across when you meet with a decision-maker. There, it’s up to you to represent yourself assertively and with enthusiasm.
Here are 6 tips that can move you toward success with your employment opportunities:
1. Get your ducks in a row. Write down the specific talents and capabilities your bring to the table. For example any work experience including volunteer work, school and church projects, family projects, athletic prowess . . . anything that demonstrates that you have contributed to helping another organization or individual. Be sure to include any work for neighbors including raking leaves, baby-sitting, shoveling snow, etc.
2. Write a script that details how you’ll present yourself to a prospective employer. Remember, first impressions count BIG! If you stumble around and can’t look an interviewer in the eye, you just lost. You must be prepared to speak with authority.
3. Practice what to say with friends. Let them ask you tough questions so you can learn to respond intelligently without getting rattled.
4. When you’ve done all your prep work, then you can write a resume recapping what you’ve done in the first three steps. It has to be brief and to the point (maximum one page.) Remember–your resume won’t get you a job. Only a face-to-face meeting results in serious consideration.
5. Dress appropriate to the position and according to company standards. Be polite. Have an opening comment to make so you can be the first to speak. Prepare in advance some intelligent questions to ask.
6. Be open to employment options. For example, an internship, starting out part-time, offering to work free for a week, a probation period, etc. Incidentally, the holiday season is a great time to get your foot in the door with retail businesses. Very often part-time holiday employment turns into full-time after the holidays.
Employment opportunities at the high school and college level can be exciting and enriching experiences. They can seriously prepare you for a lifetime of satisfying and lucrative work.
By: PAUL BOWLEY
About the Author:
Paul Bowley manages EEI, the world-class pioneer in alternative job search techniques and innovative e-business strategies . . . since 1985. Check out THE WORLD’S FASTEST JOB SEARCH PLAN! And grab our stunning FREE REPORT! http://www.fastest-job-search.com





