Cover Letters and More.docx
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CoverLettersandMore
CoverLettersandMore
CoverItinYourResume
Doesyourcoverlettermakeagreatfirstimpression?
Whatifit'sneverread?
Makeyourresumestandonitsown.
YourReferenceList
Don'tletthisimportantpartofyourresumejustbeanadd-on.Workyourreferencelisttogetmoreoffers.
CoverLettersThatSell
Ifeverythingwereequalbetweentwojobcandidates,theonewhoputsextraeffortintoacoverletterhasthebestshotatgettinganinterview.Notsurewhattosay?
Wewalkyouthroughtheanatomyofagreatcoverletter.
BeMyReference
Takeaproactiveapproachwithreferencesbyheedingthesefivegoldenrules.You,andyourreferences,willbehappyyoumadetheeffort.
CoverLetterDon'ts
Don'tmissyourchancetograbthehiringmanager'sattention.Letthislistof10commonmisstepsguideyou.
DeclininganOffer
Shortontimeandlongonstress,you'reabouttoverballydeclineajoboffer.Doyourselfafavorandexpressyourregretsinwriting.We'llshowyouhow.
SampleCoverLetter
Yourcoverlettercanintroduceyouraccomplishmentstoapotentialemployerwithspecificexamplesofpastsuccess.LearnfromMonster'sResumeExpert.
ColdCoverLetters
Didyouknowthatmorethan80percentofjobopeningsarenotadvertised?
Tryusingacoldcoverletterandgetajumponthecompetition.
NetworkingLetters
Jobsareoftenfilledwithoutbeingadvertised.Networkinglettersmayhelpyouuncoverthesehiddenopportunities.
MonsterCoverLetters
NowthatyourresumeisonMonster,youneedtocreateanattention-grabbingcoverlettertogowithit.
Follow--UpLetter
Whatdoyoudoafteryou'vehadasuccessfulnetworkingorintroductorycall?
Agoodlettercan'thurt.Here'sanexample.
SampleLetters
Gotcoverletterwriter'sblock?
Unsureofhowtoapproachanemployerthroughthewrittenwordorcraftapost-interviewthank-younote?
Checkouttheseexamplesforsomeideas.
OneforAll?
Ifyourpenisnomightierthanaboiledlasagnanoodle,youmightbelookingtogrindoutonecoverletterandtryingtochiselitdowntofiteveryemployer.Notagoodidea--here'swhy.
WritingRecommendations
Atsomepointinyourcareer,someonewilllikelyaskyoutowritethemaletterofrecommendation.Howdoyoucomposeittohelpthemlandajoborkeepthemfromgettingone?
JobReferenceFAQ
Whoisagoodorbadreference?
Whatarethesepeopleasked?
Whatiftheemployercan'treachthem?
Thesetypesofquestionsandmore,answeredwithin.
WhatIfTheyReadYourResumeFirst?
byKimIsaacs
MonsterResumeExpert
Yourcoverletterisaperfectopportunitytointroduceyourselftohiringmanagers,dazzlethemwithyourcredentialsandpersuadethemtoreadyourresume,right?
Sure--unlesshiringmanagersneverreadit.
Whileit'simportantthatyourresumeisaccompaniedbyahard-hittingcoverletter,busyhiringmanagersoftenreviewyourresumebeforedecidingwhetherornottotakethetimetoreadyourcoverletter,whichmeanstheymaynevergettoit.
Knowingthispotentialfateforyourcoverletter,thebeststrategyistocraftyourresumewiththeassumptionthatyourlettermightnotgetread.Ifyourresumeomitsimportantdetailsfoundinyourcoverletter,revisetheresumetoincorporateanyinformationyouthinkwouldenticeahiringmanagertocallyouforaninterview.
Askyourselfthesequestionstodetermineifyourresumeneedstobemodified:
IsYourResumeUptoDate?
Ifyouhaven'tupdatedyourresumerecentlyandareusingthecoverlettertoexplainyourrecentemployment,educationalcredentials,etc.,takethetimenowtoupdateyourresume.
What'sYourObjective?
Areyouusingaone-size-fits-all-jobsresumeandrelyingonyourcoverlettertoclarifyyourcareergoal?
Ifyourresumedoesnotclearlyspelloutyourobjective,youcouldbeoverlooked.Jobseekerswithmorethanonecareergoalachievebetterresultswhentheysetupmultipleresumeversions,eachonetargetingadifferentobjective.Youcaneasilyaddyourgoaltoyourresume'sObjectiveorQualificationsSummarysection.
HaveYouElaboratedonYourWorkExperienceandAccomplishments?
Whenscanningthroughpilesofresumes,hiringmanagerswillreviewyourlastcoupleofpositionstoseeifyourexperiencematchestheirneeds.Don'tskimponyouremploymentsection.Foryourmostrecent(andmostrelated)positions,writeaparagraphthatdescribesyourprimaryjobtaskssohiringmanagersunderstandthescopeofyourduties.Thenshowthatyou'reatopperformerbyaddingaKeyContributionssectionforeachpositionheld.Writeaboutchallengesyoufacedineachofyourpositions,theresultsofyourworkandthewaysyouremployersbenefitedfromyourperformance.Don'tjustrelyonyourcoverletterforthisincaseitdoesn'tgetread.
AreYourSkillsClearlyListed?
Hiringmanagersareusuallylookingforcandidateswithaspecificskillset.CreateabulletedsectioncalledAreasofExpertisethatincludesthekeywordsforyourrelatedskillsandproficiencyareas.UsetheSkillssectioninyourMonsterresumetohighlightjob-relatedskills.
AreYouWillingtoRelocate?
Whilethismayfeellikeitbelongsinyourletter,ifyouareavailabletorelocateorhavedefiniteplanstomove,includethisinformationinyourresume'sheadingalongwithyourcurrentaddress.Forexample,put:
揜elocatingtoDallas,TexasinApril2003?
or揂vailabletoRelocateInternationally.?
OnyourMonsterresume,includeyourgeographicpreferencesunderTargetLocation.
AreYouReachable?
Ifyourcoverletterstatesthebestwaytoreachyou(e.g.,bycellphone),besurethisinformationisalsoincludedonyourresume.Youwanttomakeitaseasyaspossibleforinterestedhiringmanagerstocontactyou.
Important:
Don'tforgetthathiringmanagersusedifferentmethodstoselectcandidates.Somewillreadthecoverletterfirstandcarefullyconsideritscontent,soit'sbesttoalwaysincludeacompellingcoverletter.
TalkaboutthisarticleandgetexpertadviceontheResumeTipsmessageboard.
Telluswhatyouthinkaboutthisarticle.
YourReferenceListIsaMarketingTool
byKimIsaacs
MonsterResumeExpert
JuliaJobseekerknowsthevalueofprofessionalreferences.
Aftersheinterviewedforasalesmanagerposition,theemployeraskedherforthenamesofthreereferences.Juliaknewshewasamongthetopcandidatesandthereferencecheckcouldsealthedeal.
Shecarefullyselectedherreferences,andthenspokewitheachofthemtoensuretheyfullyunderstoodherskillsandaccomplishments,andcouldeffectivelysellhertohiringmanagers.Herdiligencemadethedifference.
You,too,cantransformasimplereferencelistintoapowerfulmarketingtool.Followthesesteps:
GeneralReferenceTips
∙Choosereferenceswhoknowthevalueofyourworkandwillspeakpositivelyaboutyou.Don'tincludereferenceswhohaveimpressivejobtitlesbutdon'treallyknowmuchaboutyou.Yourreferencesshouldalsohavegoodcommunicationskillssotheycanconvincehiringmanagersyouwouldbeavaluedemployee.
∙Youdon'tneedtoconfineyourreferencestocurrentorformersupervisors.Whenselectingyourreferences,considerthemessageyou'retryingtoconvey.Forexample,ifyou'reasalesmanagertryingtoproveyourleadershipandaccountmanagementskills,youmightselectyoursupervisor,acontactfromakeyaccountandoneofyouremployees.Otherpossibilitiesincludevendors,customers,instructors,professors,advisors,communityleaders,colleagues,mentorsandotherbusinessacquaintances.
∙Avoidfamilymembersandfriends--unlessyouworkedwiththeminabusinesscapacity.EveryoneknowsAuntBettywillonlyhavewonderfulthingstosayaboutyou.
∙Askyourreferencesforpermissiontosupplytheircontactinformationtopotentialemployers.Provideanupdatedcopyofyourresumetoallofyourreferencestohelpthemsellyou.
∙Ifyou'vebeenaskedforasetnumberofreferences,it'sagoodideatoprovideacouplemorethanrequested.Thisway,iftheemployerisn'tabletoreachoneortwoofyourcontacts,hemaycontinuetryingtoreachothercontactsonyourlist.Availabilityofreferencesmightspeedupyourjoboffer.
∙Thenumberofreferencesyoushouldprovidedependsonyourprofession.Mostjobseekersshouldhavethreetofivereferences,butinsomefields(suchasmedicineandacademia),alongerlististypical.
SetUpYourList
Createanewdocumentforyourreferenceswithaheaderlike"ProfessionalReferenceList,"andfollowwithyourreferences'names,addresses,phonenumbersandemailaddresses.Youmightalsoprovideashortsynopsisofyourrelationshipwiththereferenceandthenumberofyearsyou'vebeenacquainted.Keepthedesignconsistentwithyourresumeandcoverletter,usingthesameheading,fontsandgenerallayout.
SampleReferenceList
CoverLettersThatSell
byKimIsaacs
MonsterResumeExpert
JohnandLindaappliedforthesamejob.Theyareequallyqualifiedandeachsubmittedanexcellentresumethatemphasizesaccomplishments,training,positiveworkethicanddedication.
Johnincludedageneralcoverletterthatoutlinedhiscareerhistoryandaspirations.Tosavetime,heusedthesamelettertoapplyforeveryjobopeninghelookedat.Lindaputmoreeffortintoherletter.Shefoundoutthehiringmanager'snameandaddressedhimdirectly.Sheresearchedthecompany,andlearnedaboutitsmission,pastperformance,goalsandcorporateculture.Shealsostudiedthejobdescriptionandclearlyspelledouthowsheisanexcellentmatchforthatparticularopening.Lindabackedupherclaimsbyhighli