| |
| |
|
Careers & Employment Information |
|
|
|
7 Deadly Cover Writing Sins
Don't start off your job search with one (or more) strikes against you by committing any of these common cover letter blunders. Each is easy to avoid, but they can sink your chances of an interview if you include them in your letter. 1. Sending your letter to the wrong person, location, or department. Do you really want your letter to land you a job at the company you're sending it to? Then take the time to verify that you have the proper name, title and address for the hiring manager or other decision maker who should receive it. Unless you're absolutely sure you already have the most up- to-date contact information, take a few minutes to call and ask. Otherwise you may as well not bother sending your letter - it most likely won't reach the intended recipient. And if it does, he or she won't be impressed that you didn't bother to take this simple step. 2. Irritating your potential employer with a pushy, arrogant or conceited tone to your letter. Are you truly God's gift to humanity? If not, chances are you ought to come across with a bit of humility, not braggadocio. Save the "I am too good for you not to hire me" stuff for when you're bragging to your friends about the great job you just landed. (Even they probably won't be impressed - and they already like you!) Instead, let your accomplishments and skills speak for themselves. 3. Typos, misspellings, punctuation or grammatical errors. There's no excuse for leaving any of these mistakes in a cover letter (or a resume for that matter). If such matters truly aren't your strong suite, ask a friend to look your letter over for you. Blatant errors like these are just one more reason for a hiring manager to shunt your resume and cover letter aside, never to be seen again. Why? Because they'll think you are too lazy, too uncaring or too unskilled to be a good fit at their company. 4. Writing rambling, unfocused sentences and paragraphs. Few hiring managers want to think they're reading a newly discovered missing page from James Joyce's Ulysses. Especially when all they really want to understand is why they should read the enclosed resume. Tightly written sentences and three or four short paragraphs that communicate the answer to that question will help ensure your resume gets read, not tossed. 5. Writing long letters, even if well focused and well written. Here's a good rule to live by: Don't go over one page. It's a cover letter, not your autobiography. Capture your reader's attention quickly and impress him or her with your well written main points. Then let your resume do the rest of the talking. Until the interview of course. 6. Writing a letter that is all about you, and not about what you can do for your prospective employer. Do you listen to WIFM? Sure you do. That's What's In it For Me, the little radio station in our heads that everyone listens to, including the person who receives your letter. Your potential employer wants to know what you can do for him or her, not the other way around. Make sure your letter highlights why you will be able to help their company sell more widgets, design better satellites or otherwise make its future brighter. 7. Using odd layouts, too many fonts, colors and other attention getting devices. With rare exception, attention getters like overly busy layouts, exotic multi-color designs and odd sized paper have no place in a cover letter or resume. Save it for the decorations at the next office party. Follow these common sense suggestions and you'll write a cover letter that is bound to make you stand out-and land you an interview. Copyright 2005 by Vincent Czaplyski, all rights reserved. You may republish this article in its entirety, as long as you include the complete signature file above without modification. Copywriter and consultant Vincent Czaplyski is founder of http://www.impressive-resumes.com, your online source for professionally written "industrial strength" resumes and cover letters guaranteed to land you an interview.
MORE RESOURCES:
Employment - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Marketing You and Your Career Imagine if a business invested years into the research, design, and creation of a new product, and then failed to tell anybody about it. What if the company assumed (even expected) that consumers should discover their new product, just because it was â??greatâ??? Flawed logic, right? Yet, thatâ??s how many people treat their careers! They spend years learning a trade, gaining education, and writing resumes - but do nothing to promote themselves. Common Résumé Mistakes Using a general résumé.DON'T DO IT! You cannot successfully use the same résumé to apply to several different jobs. The Background on Background Checks In one of my past lives I held a Top Secret clearance as a Civil Service employee working for the Air Force. So I am familiar with background checks. 17 Surefire Ways to Annoy Potential Employers Despite the President's encouraging words, the job market is still in sorry shape. There are more job seekers than job openings, so do NOT make things harder on yourself by doing any of the things on this list! Never, ever do these!Apply for jobs you are not qualified for. Targeting Your Resume is So Important For Your Career Targeting your portfolio, (resume and cover letter) can get you any job you desire! The purpose of targeting is so you can find your perfect match, your dream job!To target successfully, you need to calculate the position, do this and you will be sure to hit the mark.When targeting the job you wish to apply for, ask yourself,"Am I responding to this position because I really want to do this job, or am I merely responding because the position is available?" Remember, there are always vacant positions to fill, but finding an open position that you truly want to perform every day, is going to take a more committed search. Diplomats and Spies "The Baratarian pirates also offered their services. Even though an American naval force had destroyed their base on Grand Terre Island in September, the Baratarians rejected British overtures to side with them. Tips To Survive A Layoff The following eight tips will help make sure that recover from a layoff sooner than you think.#1 - DON'T PANIC: You may have lost your job but you have not lost everything. You're Ready for a Career Change - Is Your Resume? You finally did it. You made the decision to leave a career that makes you dread every Monday morning and pursue one that you feel is your true calling. 5 Things You Need To Know Before Deciding On A Certification Training The right certification trainingTrainings vary a lot when it comes to quality. It's essential to choose your certification training provider based on things such as the quality of materials, trainers' competence and skills, counseling facilities, track record etc. Waiting For the Official Job Offer At the end of the third job interview, Helene was told by the hiring manager, "Congratulations, I am going to recommend you for the position. Expect a call from HR. Hot Business Trends for 2004? And Beyond: Maybe One Will Turn Into a Creative Business Idea for You I always look forward to the December issue of Entrepreneur magazine. That's the issue that features the publisher's annual pick of hot businesses, markets, and trends for smart entrepreneurs - or those who aspire to be. Sweeping Up Worms With the opening of a new venture and numerous reporters arriving in an hour, it felt like one of those "chickens with heads off" days. We were close, but not ready. 175 Power Verbs and Phrases for Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews While you're revamping your resume or cover letter or constructing your proof-by-example stories for interviews, you'll find you need to watch your word choice. Why? Communication is powerful if the words we use to communicate are powerful. We Rejected Your Résumé Today Hi, I am Mr. Employer. The Right Way To Send Your Resume Having a great resume is the first critical step in a successful job search. Unfortunately, most people don't know the best ways to get that resume noticed. Why Culinary Education If you are thinking about a career in culinary arts then studying in a culinary school is a must. You may be a great cook but you will never become expert learning culinary arts yourself. Fun At Work Leads to More Success Common sense at work: Such qualities as loyalty, energy, intelligence and hard work are certain to be in any consensus of what it takes to build a successful career."However, there's another essential ingredient that is too often overlooked," says Ramon Greenwood, senior career counselor at www. How to Manage Your Career Like a Business Look upon yourself as a company with a product or service to sell. Understand your market and devise a dynamic marketing campaign, remembering that companies hire employees who offer them the best results and the best value for money. 2 Job-Search Success Stories Here are two success stories from my readers who found great new jobs last week. As you read each story, ask yourself, "How could I apply this to my job hunt?"1) Job-search goal cards workHere's a story sent in by Fred, from Chanhassen, Minn. Sample Resume Objectives: Good, But Summaries Are Smokin! Since college I've been told that a resume ought to have an "objective statement" at the top. Maybe you've been told the same.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
