Cover letter writing is almost as important a skill for a job seeker to learn as resume writing. The cover letter accompanies the resume at all times as the primary support document. Whether you use traditional mail, email, faxing, or another type of electronic submission, this should always be sent with the resume. There are, of course, other tools you'll use when job seeking. Your cover letter and resume come first of course, followed by follow-up letters, thank-you letters for after the interview, reference sheets, salary histories, and job acceptance letters. If you have good cover letter writing skills, and good resume writing skills, the other written tools should be a snap to compose.
Your goal in this is to get the attention of the hiring manager, just as it is with resume writing. The method and format are a little different however. Your resume will cover all, or most of your professional career, and will be from one to two pages. Your cover letter will be a very brief page serving as an introduction to the resume. Cover letter writing style must be direct, to the point, and able to grab the attention of the reader quickly, with a goal of making the reader want to read the attached resume.
Many people, when engaged in this type of writing, have a tendency to say too much. Good cover letter writing is short and punchy, and will take two or three key points from the resume and emphasize them. The old adage ?tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them? holds true in both resume writing and cover letter writing.
As an example, let's assume that you are a materials handling manager for a defense contractor, seeking another position. In your line of work the buzz words are MRP, lean manufacturing, ISO 9000, and cost savings. Your writing efforts should reflect these buzz words to show your value to your current employer and any future employers. Your resume will go into more detail about how you accomplished these goals. The cover letter will simply point out to the hiring manager that you accomplished them. An example of this would be two bulleted paragraphs in the body of the letter that say?.
? Experienced in quality assurance and quality control, MRP, ISO 9000, QS 9000, and Lean Manufacturing.
? Demonstrated results in saving significant money for employers through cost savings, inventory level reductions, and on-time supplier delivery.
The hiring manager, according to many surveys, devotes only about fifteen seconds to each resume and cover letter he or she reviews. With that in mind your writing skills need to be top notch to get this person to look at your resume. Your resume writing skills need to be just as good to get the reader to want to grant you an interview. In turn, your interviewing skills need to be excellent to get the hiring manager to offer you the position. This long, and hopefully positive chain of events begins with good cover letter writing skills and ends with job satisfaction and a nice paycheck.
Resume And Cover Letter
Self-Marketing and Self Promotion Self-marketing and self-promotion makes all the difference when you're looking for a job. When you are trying to sell yourself and impress a prospective employer, the first and most important tool you should use to your advantage is your resume and cover letter. Never make the mistake of using another person's resume to make yours. The other person may not have the skills you have, or may not want to highlight certain aspects. By doing so you are only going to harm yourself and your prospects. You have to make the most of your resume and covering letter, and use it to highlight what you can offer to the company that your competitors cannot. This is what makes you ready to face the panel and sell your talents to get the best deal possible. Sell like a Salesperson After you have finished playing the role of employer and understood what an employer needs, next play a hardcore salesperson. This is when you really start self-marketing and self-promotion.
Think like an Employer To know what the perfect resume and cover letter should be like, it would be best to behave like an employer. This is more like role-playing, where you play the role of the employer and ask questions about the resume. This will give you an insight into what to expect at the interview. You get a chance to prepare yourself on the key qualities n employer looks for in an employee; qualities like a degree from a good school or university, good organizational skills to use in the work place, relevant experience in a particular industry and good writing skills. Go through a few resumes online, select the ones you most like and study them. Do not copy them exactly, but study them and then frame your resume to reflect the best of those resumes; it really does help to enact an almost real job hunt situation.
This is what makes you ready to face the panel and sell your talents to get the best deal possible. Sell like a Salesperson After you have finished playing the role of employer and understood what an employer needs, next play a hardcore salesperson. This is when you really start self-marketing and self-promotion. Most people call it bragging, but you shouldn't be scared by the prospect of self-marketing. It is very important that you do so, because this will help create a niche for yourself in the work place. Marketing is evident in every sphere of life. Study a few of the marketing concepts that are around you and think about which appeal to you and why and use these to sell your skills to the employer. The purpose of self-marketing is to capture attention, hold on it and convince the person that you are what the company needs. Do not copy them exactly, but study them and then frame your resume to reflect the best of those resumes; it really does help to enact an almost real job hunt situation.
Both Heather Eagar & Sushil Kumar 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.
Heather Eagar has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cover Letter, Interview Questions and Careers and Job Hunting. Are you guilty of sabotaging your own job search along with the opportunity to earn more money? Heather Eagar, a former professional resume writer and creator of ResumeLines.com, provides reviews of the top. Heather Eagar's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
Sushil Kumar has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Desktop, Skin Care and Home Based Business. Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips & hints, Points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques & insights pertaining to Google Adsense, Do please browse for more information at our website :-. Sushil Kumar's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
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