Resume Tips, Interview Tips, Preparation

What is a cover letter? How to write a cover letter ?

2010-03-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

The cover letter is a document of equal importance to the resume.

The resume cover letter is the first impression the selector will have of the candidate and its negative or positive impact is going to influence his or her further reading (or not ) the CV or resume.

A Cover Letter must be very professional, well written, without misspellings. The content directly explains the candidate meets the requirements for the position, emphasizing and directing the attention of the selector towards the abilities, skills and knowledge the candidate has proved, with concrete examples based on previous experience or non-work experience (if you have never worked or have been outside the job market for a while).

Why is the resume cover letter useful?

- Cover letter highlights the difference with the rest of candidates.

- Cover letter has to convince the selector to invite you to an interview.

- Cover letter shows your motivation.

- Cover letter reflects your skills for written communication.

How to write a cover letter ?

- Paragraph 1: present and explain the aim of the cover letter.

- Paragraph 2: why you are interested in the company that you are writing to, in this very industry and in this particular position.

- Paragraph 3: what you contribute (achievements, experience); abilities and capacities that you will use to carry the position’s functions.

The order of paragraphs two and three can vary based on how you want to write the cover letter.

- Paragraph 4: invitation to the interview. Be creative when finishing the letter; do not use the expression "I wait for your call". Mention that you can call to arrange an appointment or meeting, not an interview.

- Warm goodbye, full name and sign the letter.

Remember to make your cover letter eye-catching; you want the reader to be taken in, read on to your CV and give you an interview. You want to distinguish yourself from the rest! Bearing this in mind, think about your main strength for the post and highlight it from the beginning – don’t let your potential employer read through lots of irrelevant data and miss the good part! Your main strength will be something that isn’t in the requirements for the job – all the other candidates will have these so think outside the box, what else can you bring to the table? Maybe you have worked for a competitor and so can educate your (potential!) new company about the competition they face. Or maybe you have language skills and so can bring in business from abroad.

Some Tips for writing an effective cover letter.

1. Be brief and to the point.

Most of the time a cover letter for a job application only has to state that you are applying for a position and that the application and supporting materials are enclosed. That's it.

2. Make no mistake about it.

The most important caveat in a cover letter? Make no mistake about it. Absolutely no errors. Your cover letter must be perfection itself. A typo, a poor printing job, a misspelling - mistakes will make a poor impression because they imply that you don't care.

3. Use a word processor.

Never hand write a cover letter. Never. Prepare your cover letter on a computer using MicroSoft Word. Don't have a computer? Borrow a friend's or go to a business center and rent one for an hour or two.

4. Avoid fancy fonts and colors.

You are not creating a flyer or a poster. So use a business font such as Arial. No colors. Black on white reproduces easily. Use a plain white paper. No deckled finishes or colors either. Print your cover letter and resume on a laser printer. DeskJet printer ink smudges.

5. Keep it short.

Your cover letter should be one page in length and perfectly centered. The cover letter and resume are never folded. They are placed in an envelope large enough to accommodate them unfolded.

Interview DOs and DON'Ts

2010-03-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

Interview DOs :

Dress appropriately for the industry; err on the side of being conservative to show you take the interview seriously. Your personal grooming and cleanliness should be impeccable.
Know the exact time and location of your interview; know how long it takes to get there, park, find a rest room to freshen up, etc.
Arrive early; 10 minutes prior to the interview start time.
Treat other people you encounter with courtesy and respect. Their opinions of you might be solicited during hiring decisions.
Offer a firm handshake, make eye contact, and have a friendly expression when you are greeted by your interviewer.
Listen to be sure you understand your interviewer's name and the correct pronunciation.
Even when your interviewer gives you a first and last name, address your interviewer by title (Ms., Mr., Dr.) and last name, until invited to do otherwise.
Maintain good eye contact during the interview.
Sit still in your seat; avoid fidgeting and slouching.
Respond to questions and back up your statements about yourself with specific examples whenever possible.
Ask for clarification if you don't understand a question.
Be thorough in your responses, while being concise in your wording.
Be honest and be yourself. Dishonesty gets discovered and is grounds for withdrawing job offers and for firing. You want a good match between yourself and your employer. If you get hired by acting like someone other than yourself, you and your employer will both be unhappy.
Treat the interview seriously and as though you are truly interested in the employer and the opportunity presented.
Exhibit a positive attitude. The interviewer is evaluating you as a potential co-worker. Behave like someone you would want to work with.
Have intelligent questions prepared to ask the interviewer. Having done your research about the employer in advance, ask questions which you did not find answered in your research.
Evaluate the interviewer and the organization s/he represents. An interview is a two-way street. Conduct yourself cordially and respectfully, while thinking critically about the way you are treated and the values and priorities of the organization.
Do expect to be treated appropriately. If you believe you were treated inappropriately or asked questions that were inappropriate or made you uncomfortable, discuss this with a Career Services advisor or the director.
Make sure you understand the employer's next step in the hiring process; know when and from whom you should expect to hear next. Know what action you are expected to take next, if any.
When the interviewer concludes the interview, offer a firm handshake and make eye contact. Depart gracefully.
After the interview, make notes right away so you don't forget critical details.
Write a thank-you letter to your interviewer promptly.

Interview DON'Ts :

Don't make excuses. Take responsibility for your decisions and your actions.
Don't make negative comments about previous employers or professors (or others).
Don't falsify application materials or answers to interview questions.
Don't treat the interview casually, as if you are just shopping around or doing the interview for practice. This is an insult to the interviewer and to the organization.
Don't give the impression that you are only interested in an organization because of its geographic location.
Don't give the impression you are only interested in salary; don't ask about salary and benefits issues until the subject is brought up by your interviewer.
Don't act as though you would take any job or are desperate for employment.
Don't make the interviewer guess what type of work you are interested in; it is not the interviewer's job to act as a career advisor to you.
Don't be unprepared for typical interview questions. You may not be asked all of them in every interview, but being unprepared looks foolish.
A job search can be hard work and involve frustrations; don't exhibit frustrations or a negative attitude in an interview.
Don't assume that a female interviewer is "Mrs." or "Miss." Address her as "Ms." unless told otherwise. Her marital status is irrelevant to the purpose of the interview.
Don't chew gum or smell like smoke.
Don't allow your cell phone to sound during the interview. (If it does, apologize quickly and ignore it.) Don't take a cell phone call.
Don't take your parents, your pet (an assistance animal is not a pet in this circumstance), spouse, fiance, friends or enemies to an interview. If you are not grown up and independent enough to attend an interview alone, you're insufficiently grown up and independent for a job. (They can certainly visit your new city, at their own expense, but cannot attend your interview.)

Here are the keys to successful phone interviewing. Follow these simple rules and you should achieve success in this important phase of job-hunting.

Do give accurate and detailed contact information in your cover letter so your interviewers can easily connect with you.
When in job-hunting mode, don't have a disproportionately silly or long greeting on your answering machine or voicemail.
Do ensure that household members understand the importance of phone messages in your job search.
Do know what job you are interviewing for.
Do practice, if possible. Have a friend call you to do a mock phone interview so you get the feel of being interviewed over the phone.
When being interviewed by phone, do make sure you are in a place where you can read notes, take notes, and concentrate.
If you cannot devote enough time to a phone interview, do suggest a specific alternate time to the recruiter. It's often best to be the one who calls back so you can be mentally prepared.
Do consider using a phone interview log.
Do consider keeping some notecards or an outline in front of you to remind yourself of key points you want to cover with the interviewer. You don't want your responses to sound scripted, but you don't want to fumble for important points either. Do also have your resume in front of you so you can remember highlights of your experience and accomplishments.
Do ensure that you can hear and are being clearly heard.
Do consider standing when being interviewed on the phone. Some experts say you'll sound more professional than if you're slouching in an easy chair.
Do consider dressing nicely for the phone interview. It may sound silly since the interviewer can't see you, but you really will project a more professional image if you're dressed for the part instead of wearing, for example, a ratty bathrobe.
Don't feel you have to fill in the silences. If you've completed a response, but the interviewer hasn't asked his or her next question, don't start babbling just to fill in airtime. Instead, ask a question of your own related to your last response.
Do create a strong finish to your phone interview with thoughtful questions.
Don't panic if you have special needs. If you are hearing-impaired, for example, phone interviews are still possible.
Don't snuffle, sneeze or cough. If you can't avoid these behaviors, say "excuse me."
Don't chew gum or food, or drink anything noisy.

Resume Writing Tips

2007-02-15T23:41:00.000-08:00

Resume Writing Tips

Use Titles or Headings That Match The Jobs You Want.
Use resume designs that grabs attention.
Analyze advertisement for job description and identify the key words.
se these keywords in your resume.
Identify the employer's hidden needs. Solve these hidden needs in your resume.
Create an image of yourself that matches with the salary you are expecting. For example, language used in a resume for an $6 an hour position is much different than the language used for a $16 an hour position.
You can generate many more interviews by tweaking your resume and cover letter so that they address the specific skills each employer requests.
List your technical knowledge first, in an organized way. Your technical strengths must stand out clearly at the beginning of your resume.
List your qualifications in order of relevance, from most to least. Only list your degree and educational qualifications first if they are truly relevant to the job for which you are applying. If you've already done what you want to do in a new job, by all means, list it first, even if it wasn't your most recent job. Abandon any strict adherence to a chronological ordering of your experience.
Quantify your experience wherever possible. Cite numerical figures, such as monetary budgets/funds saved, time periods/efficiency improved, lines of code written/debugged, numbers of machines administered/fixed, etc. which demonstrate progress or accomplishments due directly to your work.
Begin sentences with action verbs. Portray yourself as someone who is active, uses their brain, and gets things done. Stick with the past tense, even for descriptions of currently held positions, to avoid confusion.
Don't sell yourself short. Your experiences are worthy for review by hiring managers. Treat your resume as an advertisement for you.
Keep your resume concise. Avoid lengthy descriptions of whole projects of which you were only a part.
Minimize usage of articles (the, an, a) and never use "I" or other pronouns to identify yourself.
Have a trusted friend review your resume.
Proofread. Your resume should never go with errors, grammatical weaknesses, unusual punctuation, and inconsistent capitalizations.
Sometimes you need to hide your age. If you're over 40 or 50 or 60, remember that you don't have to present your entire work history!
You can simply label THAT part of your resume "Recent Work History" or "Relevant Work History" and then describe only the last 10 or 15 years of your experience.
What if you never had any "real" paid jobs? Give yourself credit, and create an accurate, fair job-title for yourself. For example, A&S Hauling & Cleaning (Self-employed) or Household Repairman, Self-employed.
Best way to impress your employer is, fill your resume with "PAR" statements. PAR stands for Problem-Action-Results; in other words, first you state the problem that existed in your workplace, then you describe what you did about it, and finally you point out the beneficial results.
Don't go far back in your work history. About 10 or 15 years is usually enough - unless your "juiciest" work experience is from farther back.
How can a student list summer jobs? Students can make their resume look neater by listing seasonal jobs very simply, such as "Spring 1996" or "Summer 1996" rather than 6/96 to 9/96.

Resume Tips, Interview Tips, Preparation

What is a cover letter? How to write a cover letter ?

Top Ten Job Interview Questions For Job Seekers

Interview DOs and DON'Ts

Resume Writing Tips