A resume and cover letter are two of the most important tools in your life if you are actively seeking employment. They are the keys to finding a great job and making a good first impression. But far too often people underestimate the power that a good cover letter and curriculum vitae play in an employer's decision to hire someone for the vacant position.
Things such as stains, faded ink and rumpled paper are only the beginning of horror stores from the working world. Do not make those same mistakes with your documents. Knowing the good resume samples from the bad is the key.
A resume and cover letter are very important, and when done correctly, will likely get you the all-important interview. Done poorly, they can cost you the chance at the job. If you are unfamiliar with writing out a curriculum vitae, then there are always resume templates in Word or on the internet. The templates can show you the correct resume format and even allow you to plug in your information in the correct spots. It is that easy.
One of the biggest mistakes that occur when writing a curriculum vitae is spelling errors. Even if you are horrible at spelling, there is usually a spell-check feature on the word processing software program you are using. The truth is, with the availability of the software spell check-function, spelling mistakes are unforgivable.
Do not let simple mistakes in spelling keep you from the job of your dreams. The same thing applies to your cover letter. It should be free of spelling errors and be as grammatically correct as possible. This is not the time to try out new words. Keep it simple and tell the employer why you want the position and why you feel that you would be an asset to their company.
Another classic curriculum vitae blunder is forgetting to update your information. You want the employer to be able to contact you. An old address says that you did not check your resume before undertaking your resume distribution.
Keep your curriculum vitae updated with personal information and employment information at all times. Also, consider keeping it to one or two pages. Employers are busy, time-is-money sort of thing, so do not send a book that details your entire life.
Writing a great resume and cover letter is not impossible. You can do it and get that interview. Be honest, be prepared and always make sure to put your best foot forward.
Addressing the hiring person by name is a great way to show that you paid attention to the ad. If you are not sure who to address the cover letter to, you can always call the company to find out. Being pro-active will speak volumes to any employer.
Listed below are the 5 most common problems that job-hunters face and some tips on how to minimize their impact.
1 - Too Young - Emphasize experience and accomplishments. Personal traits via words like fast learner, aggressive, drive, eager to learn and take on new challenges and responsibilities, etc. should be used and stressed.
Unless you are a recent college grad, leave off such things as college projects when it comes to listing specific experience.
2 - Too Old - Old is a relative term. Some people think anyone over 40 is too old whereas a Billion Dollar Fortune 500 company looking for a CEO might think a 40 year old is too young.
If you are concerned about your age, you may want to leave off certain dates such as college graduation, discharge form the military, etc. and any other dates where the hiring manager can "do the math" and "back into" knowing how old you are.
If you have a 40-year career with 10 companies, it is not necessary to go back to and list your first job.
Just leave it off your resume and when you are called in for an interview and questioned about jobs not listed on your resume, just reply that you were concentrating on your most recent and relevant experience.
3 - Not Enough Experience - Try to find some previous life experience that you've gotten and apply it the job you are seeking. A functional resume would help you stress this experience versus a chronological resume.
4 - Job Hoppers - Although not as much of an issue as it used to be, people who do change jobs often still need to understand that hiring managers still will want to know why you have moved around so much.
One of the ways to minimize how often you've changed jobs is to use a functional resume. Use only years when listing dates of employment, leave off companies that you worked for less than 6-9 months.
I personally consider these types of jobs more consulting assignments.
5 - Currently Unemployed - Again, the stigma of being unemployed is not what it used to be. The only thing that would show up on your resume that would even indicate that you were unemployed is the dates you show on your last job.
In other words, if you wrote ABC Company 1/94 - 12/04 and it is June 2005. The hiring manager will obviously want to know what is going on.
In this situation, you can and should do a few things. First as already indicated, do not list the months employed when providing dates of employment.
This will help if and when you have a lapse from Company A where you worked from 1/94 - 6/98 and Company B where you started 11/98 - Present.
Simply by eliminating the months your resume shows Company A - 1994 - 1998 and Company B 1998 - Present.
When you know you may be out of work for an extended period, I would start your own consulting business and list that on your resume. Your consulting business could read something like Jones Consulting, 2004-Present.
Whether you are doing non-profit consulting while you are looking for full time employment or are working on your own special project like writing a book, having a consulting business will help show the continuity of continued employment.
If you go the consulting route, you may want to print up business cards and stationary as well as change your telephone answering machine message to reflect the fact that you have a legitimate consulting practice.
Just remember that spending some time preparing your resume up-front will minimize and sometimes eliminate the need to explain your special situation.
Both Mike Selvon & Jason Adams are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mike Selvon has sinced written about articles on various topics from Camping, Allergies and Personal Desktop. Need that perfect ? Then a whole world of information about. Mike Selvon's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.
Jason Adams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cover Letter, Computers and The Internet and Water Filters. Jason Adams is President of Street Smart Sales and Marketing and author of the highly acclaimed book The StreetSmart Job-Changing System. For more information visit