Cover Letters and More.docx

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