The need for a resume is a foregone conclusion – Right!? The need is not so clear for the “much-maligned” cover letter. Actually as an aside, I’m not sure that the cover letter is maligned or not, but it did seem like a cool sentence to write – syntax wise (ooh big word). The challenge […]
It’s The Top Ten List Day – Top Ten Most Wanted and Top Ten Worst Cover Letter Faux Pas
CNNMoney has an interesting article out there. They had Universum Global survey college students around the world to see where they most want to work. I’m not sure how much money CNNMoney paid Universum Global or how resources they allocated to the project, but if they’d ask me first, I could done for a couple […]
The Recap on Writing Effective Cover Letters
Okay, here’s the recap! The one and only purpose of a cover letter is to get the reader – hopefully a hiring manager – to read your resume. I say hiring manager because, believe it or not, the hiring manager and HR has definitely – different – agendas. Generally both want to make a good […]
Email Cover Letter is Different…
Just wanted to touch base on email cover letters. That would be opposed, to say, sending a cover letter via regular mail. The one thing about emails – it seems to me – is that it has made us “lazy.” Twitter, texting, etc. has contributed to sloppy writing. And that’s coming from me – the king […]
Leonardo da Vinci’s Cover Letter Works Because…
Great cover letters embody timeline principles. And Leonardo da Vinci’s cover letter really drives home that point. Quick background… Leonardo da Vinci was interesting in getting a job with Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan. Evidently besides his skills involving painting; he was also an armorer and a military gadgets inventor. So wanting work, he did what all […]
What Makes a Cover Letter Compelling?
What is it about a cover letter that makes it compelling? What is compelling and who is it compelling to? And the answer has nothing to do with how well the cover letter is written. Besides, it’s not an “A” you’re looking for – it’s a job you want. But first, let’s begin with these […]
It’s Never Too Early To Make a Bad Impression…
Just so we’re clear – I probably know less about cover letters, resumes, job hunting than your average, run of mill brown bear foraging for grub at Jellystone Park. No Yogi Bear am I. So, what’s the point? Well, I am opinionated and I like to dispense what I know – regardless of whether anyone […]
It’s Time to Use Your Cover Letter Introduction As a Marketing Tool
By Jessica Holbrook, Writing your cover letter may seem like a mundane task-something you must do to ensure you submit all documents required when applying for a job. But in reality, your cover letter is so much more than that! This document gives you the opportunity to add life to the technical nature of the […]
Instant Job Search Success – ‘Big Bang’ Theory!
By Jimmy Sweeney, If I failed to grab your attention with the title of this article you might not be reading this first sentence right now. You can call it a ‘title’ or a ‘headline’ but the secret is to ‘pack a punch’ at the top of any written communications. Done properly, this practically forces […]
Four Cover Letter Flubs to Avoid
By Caroline Levchuck, Resumes get a lot of attention during a job hunt. However, don’t forget to give your cover letter its due. After all, employers usually review a cover letter prior to looking at your resume. If your cover letter doesn’t pass muster, your resume won’t ever get any attention at all. Each time […]
Cover Letters and the Sense of Urgency Myth
By Phil Baker, You can learn and take advantage of the same principle businesses spend billions of dollars to broadcast. Many job hunters are working from a position of weakness and are therefore hesitant to create a sense of urgency in their resume cover letters. They believe they must be available at all times for […]
Cover Letters and LinkedIn
What do Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook have in common with job hunting and your resume cover letters? All three of these social networking sites can create initial contacts for getting job interviews. By using social networking job search methods you can find out about job openings before they are ever advertised or posted. Your resume […]
Cover Letters: How to Get on the Employer Wish List
by Phil Baker, How do companies come up with job qualification requirements? When you are preparing to customize your resumes and cover letters for prospective employers think about this: Someone wrote the job posting; an employee where you want to work created the job posting or description for the company. For certain jobs, there is […]
Selling versus bragging on your Cover Letter
There’s a lot of advice out there on how to write that one cover letter – you know – the one (not Neo) that will get you the coveted interview. Just slap “cover letter” into your Google search box and you’ll get back hundreds of thousands of results. Heck, do it on my little site […]
Cover Letters for Over Forty Job Seekers
by Phil Baker, Recently an associate of mine, Trent, who happens to be over forty and seeking a management position, asked me to write his resume and create cover letters. He expected he would have younger competition and initially wanted to play down his work history in order to conceal his age. Because he had […]
