This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
James writes:
I’m searching for a guide on how to write my resume, but I can’t seem to find anything. If you could give me some tips, or a site that I could go to, that would be greatly appreciated.
Can’t find anything on resumes? Wow. There’s tons of stuff available on resumes — in magazines, books, and on the Web… but I’ll give you a quick primer.
Your resume is a critical marketing tool. Your resume has to entice a prospective employer enough — through its focus, content, and style — to first consider your qualifications for the job at hand and then to invite you for a job interview. A resume is a statement of your unique mix of experiences, education, and skills. You must not lie on your resume, but you must always remember its goal.
I think the most important thing any job-seeker should do before attempting to write a resume is to first sit down and make a list of your skills and accomplishments from all your previous experiences (work, volunteer, school, etc.) because you will take from this list those critical skills and accomplishments — not your duties and responsibilities — that highlight your fit for the next job you are seeking.
The next step is researching and identifying the job — and all the requirements of that job — that you are seeking because it is critical that your resume is focused on specifics. You should also research the potential employers that may have jobs that you seek so that you can incorporate some of their keywords into your resume.
Wait! Does this advice suggest that job-seekers need to have a specifically tailored resume for every single job they apply for? Yes! There is absolutely no reason for you not to develop a different resume for each job and employer. For most job-seekers, this task will simply mean tweaking small parts of your resume for similar jobs.
Once you have the content down, you should focus on the style and look of your resume. Do not use a template; design your own. Follow a consistent style. Use normal fonts and sizes. Use bullets rather than paragraphs. Do not use personal pronouns. Consider using a career/job objective or profile section. Always list education and experience in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent stuff). Do not list any personal information (such as age, marital status, weight). Do not include controversial information. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, spell-check and carefully proofread your resume for any and all errors.
Read our articles published on Quintessential Careers: The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be? and 10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid.
You can gets lots more advice, including resume samples, resume-writing tutorial, and more, in this section of Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Janet writes:
When should you use a chronological resume? When should you use a functional resume?
You’re not going to like this answer: It depends. The resume format most in favor these days is the standard chronological resume, which is organized around a straightforward employment history. Job-seekers with a solid employment history who are looking for advancement within their career field typically use a chronological resume. Employers and headhunters prefer the chronological resume because it’s easy to assess issues such as employment history, qualifications, and career advancement by a simple glance at the resume. Functional resumes (and I advise not a purely functional resume but a chrono-functional resume) downplay employment history in favor of functional skills clusters, and are most used by new college grads, career changers, and job-seekers with employment gaps.
The answer I am giving to all my clients and students is this: In today’s job market, it is critical to have resumes for all job-search situations. Thus, I recommend developing both a chrono-functional and chronological resume for job-seekers in situations where a functional is typically the preferred. I also recommend having a least one electronic version of a resume as more and more of job searching moves to computer-based resume databases. The traditional print resume is not dead, but it is losing ground daily to its electronic counterparts.
Remember that a resume is a statement of facts designed to sell your unique mix of education, experience, accomplishments, and skills to a prospective employer. On the other hand, remember that a resume is a marketing document, so do not be modest; be clear about successes and accomplishments — and quantify whenever possible.
So, what are the most important things to remember about resumes?
- The function of a resume is to get you a job interview, not the job.
- A resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge dates, titles, accomplishments.
- Focus is critical; each resume should be tailored to a specific job, a specific employer.
- With employment history, focus on (quantifiable) accomplishments rather than duties and responsibilities.
- Appearances matter, so make sure your printed resume uses conventional (for your profession) fonts, colors, margin widths, etc.
- Avoid mistakes. Typos and misspellings will end the chances of even the most qualified job-seekers.
- Provide detailed contact information. Include your home phone, cell phone, and email.
Read more in my article, published on Quintessential Careers: What Resume Format is Best For You?
You should also consider reading this article about e-resumes written by my partner, Katharine Hansen: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Kenneth writes:
I have read numerous instructions on how to prepare a resume, use key words, proper fonts and paper, list education, etc. etc. I’m looking for a way to tell a prospective employer about my knowledge. I know a resume lists my schools, degrees jobs, job titles, etc., but I want a way to describe my knowledge gained in these studies and experiences. Preferably, I’d like to have it in database format so that a prospective employer can search it to see if I have the knowledge they want. After all we are in a knowledge age. Do you know if there is a tool or a way I can do this?
First, there is very trendy “Summary of Qualifications” section of your resume. (Sometimes also called “Professional Profile,” “Key Skills,” “Qualifications,” or “Key Accomplishments.”) It is in this section where you can showcase your knowledge from all your education and work experiences. I like to think of this section as an executive summary of your entire resume.
Second, you can develop a text-based resume, which is designed specifically for databases. Text resumes follow all the rules of regular resumes, but the design and format are much different, focusing on key words and jargon that may be used when an employer searches their resume database. These searches are done using keywords and phrases that describe the skills and education required for the position, thus when writing a text-based resume it is extremely important for you to use terms and familiar industry acronyms (jargon) that describe your skills and experience. Read my article, Scannable Resume Fundamentals. (Although very few resumes are “scanned” anymore, the same principles apply to text-based resumes.)
Finally, you should consider reading: Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your Resume. This is a great article for anyoneM working on sharpening and improving their resume.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Eugene writes:
I am a student studying law, and I recently decided to apply for a position as a paralegal with some law firms. I spent some time looking at your Quintessential Careers website. Now, I do not doubt for a minute that much research is able to substantiate the information that you have presented, but I find it difficult to imagine that some of the techniques you mention do work. What immediately springs to mind is the section on closing paragraphs: “I will call your office in the next week to schedule an appointment.”
To me, that sounds quite unorthodox, and perhaps even pushy and rude. I actually incorporated a line to the same effect in my cover letters after reading your website, but now I am wondering whether it was the best thing to do. Could you please explain to me why this works?
The Career Doctor responds:
In any job market, but especially in this job market, job-seekers need to know how to best market themselves to prospective employers. This self-marketing strategy has several components when writing cover letters.
First, rather than saying something like “I hope you’ll find my qualifications a good match with what you’re looking for,” you need to show — and tell — the employer that you are a good match for the position. Describe how your accomplishments, skills, and training are a perfect match for the employer’s needs.
Second, you do need to end your letter with an aggressive stance. If you do not want to be so aggressive as to say you will call for an interview, you can simply say you will call to discuss the job. Employers want go-getters, not passive employees.
Third, as I have stated numerous other times, you MUST follow-up all your cover letters and job applications. Saying you are going to call is the easy part; the hard part is actually making the phone call. And in the phone call, you need to still be aggressive in not taking no for an answer — just remember to stay professional at all times — while showcasing why you are the perfect person for the job.
Find lots more helpful information and resources in the cover letter resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Judy writes:
I have worked information systems in many different industries and am attempting to streamline my resume to each company’s “buzz words” or keywords. Do you have access to or can you refer me to site to find these words?
Keywords are nouns and phrases that employers use to search internal and external resume databases when searching for job candidates. While this practice started in the technology industry, it has certainly spread to many other industries, and more and more job-seekers are placing keyword sections on their resumes to strengthen their chances of being selected. (See our article, Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness, for more details.)
The best way to develop a list of keywords for your resume is to first examine your accomplishments and skills areas. Second, examine the type of job you are seeking to move into. Third, conduct some job searches at our job board and some of the other major job sites and make a list of the keywords from the job postings (using, for example, job title, job description, qualifications, skills, software, industry jargon, etc.). You might also consider searching the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook for keywords.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
“Cover letters accompany your resume when you can’t,” says Mary Jeanne Vincent in her WorkWise newsletter.
“They introduce you to your potential employer. Effective cover letters identify the position you are interested in by referencing the job title and the requisition number. They add value to your resume by highlighting your specific qualifications as they relate to the position for which you are applying.”
“There is no such thing as a good generic cover letter! If it is generic, then it isn’t effective,” Vincent emphasizes.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
Heather Eagar of www.ResumeLines.com advises using your cover letter to point out the highlights of your resume. Says Eagar: “Sometimes employers get so bogged down with resumes that they resort to weeding them out rather quickly. The first thing they read about you comes from your cover letter. Be sure to look at the job description for which you are applying and make a point to highlight them in your cover letter.”
She continues with a technique for making this information easy to read:
One of the most effective ways to do this is by using bullets. The reader might only spend 20 seconds on your resume package before deciding whether or not to read the entire document. You don’t want to go through all that work only to have him or her believe you’re not qualified (when you really are). By making your cover letter easy for the reader to skim over while picking up on all the important information, you’ve just made the hiring manager quite pleased. And if your qualifications are indeed a good fit, then you have a great chance of being moved into the ‘interview’ pile.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
James writes:
I’m searching for a guide on how to write my resume, but I can’t seem to find anything. If you could give me some tips, or a site that I could go to, that would be greatly appreciated.
Can’t find anything on resumes? Wow. There’s tons of stuff available on resumes — in magazines, books, and on the Web… but I’ll give you a quick primer.
Your resume is a critical marketing tool. Your resume has to entice a prospective employer enough — through its focus, content, and style — to first consider your qualifications for the job at hand and then to invite you for a job interview. A resume is a statement of your unique mix of experiences, education, and skills. You must not lie on your resume, but you must always remember its goal.
I think the most important thing any job-seeker should do before attempting to write a resume is to first sit down and make a list of your skills and accomplishments from all your previous experiences (work, volunteer, school, etc.) because you will take from this list those critical skills and accomplishments — not your duties and responsibilities — that highlight your fit for the next job you are seeking.
The next step is researching and identifying the job — and all the requirements of that job — that you are seeking because it is critical that your resume is focused on specifics. You should also research the potential employers that may have jobs that you seek so that you can incorporate some of their keywords into your resume.
Wait! Does this advice suggest that job-seekers need to have a specifically tailored resume for every single job they apply for? Yes! There is absolutely no reason for you not to develop a different resume for each job and employer. For most job-seekers, this task will simply mean tweaking small parts of your resume for similar jobs.
Once you have the content down, you should focus on the style and look of your resume. Do not use a template; design your own. Follow a consistent style. Use normal fonts and sizes. Use bullets rather than paragraphs. Do not use personal pronouns. Consider using a career/job objective or profile section. Always list education and experience in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent stuff). Do not list any personal information (such as age, marital status, weight). Do not include controversial information. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, spell-check and carefully proofread your resume for any and all errors.
Read our articles published on Quintessential Careers: The Scoop on Resume Length: How Many Pages Should Your Resume Be? and 10 Resume Mistakes to Avoid.
You can gets lots more advice, including resume samples, resume-writing tutorial, and more, in this section of Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Janet writes:
When should you use a chronological resume? When should you use a functional resume?
You’re not going to like this answer: It depends. The resume format most in favor these days is the standard chronological resume, which is organized around a straightforward employment history. Job-seekers with a solid employment history who are looking for advancement within their career field typically use a chronological resume. Employers and headhunters prefer the chronological resume because it’s easy to assess issues such as employment history, qualifications, and career advancement by a simple glance at the resume. Functional resumes (and I advise not a purely functional resume but a chrono-functional resume) downplay employment history in favor of functional skills clusters, and are most used by new college grads, career changers, and job-seekers with employment gaps.
The answer I am giving to all my clients and students is this: In today’s job market, it is critical to have resumes for all job-search situations. Thus, I recommend developing both a chrono-functional and chronological resume for job-seekers in situations where a functional is typically the preferred. I also recommend having a least one electronic version of a resume as more and more of job searching moves to computer-based resume databases. The traditional print resume is not dead, but it is losing ground daily to its electronic counterparts.
Remember that a resume is a statement of facts designed to sell your unique mix of education, experience, accomplishments, and skills to a prospective employer. On the other hand, remember that a resume is a marketing document, so do not be modest; be clear about successes and accomplishments — and quantify whenever possible.
So, what are the most important things to remember about resumes?
- The function of a resume is to get you a job interview, not the job.
- A resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge dates, titles, accomplishments.
- Focus is critical; each resume should be tailored to a specific job, a specific employer.
- With employment history, focus on (quantifiable) accomplishments rather than duties and responsibilities.
- Appearances matter, so make sure your printed resume uses conventional (for your profession) fonts, colors, margin widths, etc.
- Avoid mistakes. Typos and misspellings will end the chances of even the most qualified job-seekers.
- Provide detailed contact information. Include your home phone, cell phone, and email.
Read more in my article, published on Quintessential Careers: What Resume Format is Best For You?
You should also consider reading this article about e-resumes written by my partner, Katharine Hansen: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
State your qualifications at the beginning of your cover letter, advises Jimmy Sweeney president of CareerJimmy and author of www.Amazing-Cover-Letters.com. Here’s some suggested wording:
Thank you for describing the candidate you’re seeking to fill the position of restaurant manager. Co-workers and supervisions have acknowledged me for all the character traits you mentioned. I am organized, friendly, a solid leader, knowledgeable about the restaurant business, and excellent with customers and staff.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Kenneth writes:
I have read numerous instructions on how to prepare a resume, use key words, proper fonts and paper, list education, etc. etc. I’m looking for a way to tell a prospective employer about my knowledge. I know a resume lists my schools, degrees jobs, job titles, etc., but I want a way to describe my knowledge gained in these studies and experiences. Preferably, I’d like to have it in database format so that a prospective employer can search it to see if I have the knowledge they want. After all we are in a knowledge age. Do you know if there is a tool or a way I can do this?
First, there is very trendy “Summary of Qualifications” section of your resume. (Sometimes also called “Professional Profile,” “Key Skills,” “Qualifications,” or “Key Accomplishments.”) It is in this section where you can showcase your knowledge from all your education and work experiences. I like to think of this section as an executive summary of your entire resume.
Second, you can develop a text-based resume, which is designed specifically for databases. Text resumes follow all the rules of regular resumes, but the design and format are much different, focusing on key words and jargon that may be used when an employer searches their resume database. These searches are done using keywords and phrases that describe the skills and education required for the position, thus when writing a text-based resume it is extremely important for you to use terms and familiar industry acronyms (jargon) that describe your skills and experience. Read my article, Scannable Resume Fundamentals. (Although very few resumes are “scanned” anymore, the same principles apply to text-based resumes.)
Finally, you should consider reading: Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your Resume. This is a great article for anyoneM working on sharpening and improving their resume.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Eugene writes:
I am a student studying law, and I recently decided to apply for a position as a paralegal with some law firms. I spent some time looking at your Quintessential Careers website. Now, I do not doubt for a minute that much research is able to substantiate the information that you have presented, but I find it difficult to imagine that some of the techniques you mention do work. What immediately springs to mind is the section on closing paragraphs: “I will call your office in the next week to schedule an appointment.”
To me, that sounds quite unorthodox, and perhaps even pushy and rude. I actually incorporated a line to the same effect in my cover letters after reading your website, but now I am wondering whether it was the best thing to do. Could you please explain to me why this works?
The Career Doctor responds:
In any job market, but especially in this job market, job-seekers need to know how to best market themselves to prospective employers. This self-marketing strategy has several components when writing cover letters.
First, rather than saying something like “I hope you’ll find my qualifications a good match with what you’re looking for,” you need to show — and tell — the employer that you are a good match for the position. Describe how your accomplishments, skills, and training are a perfect match for the employer’s needs.
Second, you do need to end your letter with an aggressive stance. If you do not want to be so aggressive as to say you will call for an interview, you can simply say you will call to discuss the job. Employers want go-getters, not passive employees.
Third, as I have stated numerous other times, you MUST follow-up all your cover letters and job applications. Saying you are going to call is the easy part; the hard part is actually making the phone call. And in the phone call, you need to still be aggressive in not taking no for an answer — just remember to stay professional at all times — while showcasing why you are the perfect person for the job.
Find lots more helpful information and resources in the cover letter resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Judy writes:
I have worked information systems in many different industries and am attempting to streamline my resume to each company’s “buzz words” or keywords. Do you have access to or can you refer me to site to find these words?
Keywords are nouns and phrases that employers use to search internal and external resume databases when searching for job candidates. While this practice started in the technology industry, it has certainly spread to many other industries, and more and more job-seekers are placing keyword sections on their resumes to strengthen their chances of being selected. (See our article, Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness, for more details.)
The best way to develop a list of keywords for your resume is to first examine your accomplishments and skills areas. Second, examine the type of job you are seeking to move into. Third, conduct some job searches at our job board and some of the other major job sites and make a list of the keywords from the job postings (using, for example, job title, job description, qualifications, skills, software, industry jargon, etc.). You might also consider searching the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook for keywords.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Ruth writes:
I’m seeking an administrative assistant position and I’m confused as to whether my current job title falls into the category. My current position is operations coordinator, which focuses in the area of fleet services, warehousing and other duties. I possess the skills of the administrative assistant, but wasn’t quite sure if these two titles could be interchangeable. Thanks for your help.
The Career Doctor responds: I think job-seekers sometimes get too carried away with job titles.
It really doesn’t matter what your current job title is — as long as you have the skills necessary to succeed in the job you are seeking, in this case, as an administrative assistant. Employers do look at your past job titles, but what counts is not the title, but the experience and the accomplishments.
My advice is for you to get the job listings/descriptions of administrative assistants from a couple of different employers. Examine the qualifications they seek from prospective employees and be sure your background, accomplishments, and skills are a good fit.
Next, develop a solid cover letter and reputation that showcase the unique set of skills, accomplishments, and experiences that make you an ideal administrative assistant.
Then, when applying for these jobs, be sure to speak to the specific requirements of each employer, showing how you meet or exceed each requirement. You should be well on your way to an administrative assistant position.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book,
Top Notch
Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Resume is not accompanied by a cover letter or cover letter is not targeted to the open position.
Not all employers read cover letters (about two-thirds do), but to some of the decision-makers who do read them,
cover letters are very important. Your resume should always be accompanied by a cover letter. And given that
one of the main functions of a cover letter is to describe how your qualifications match a specific job vacancy,
it is pointless to send a boilerplate cover letter that is not tailored to the targeted position. Benjamin Smith,
corporate recruiter at HR services-provider Mercer, especially eschews “cover letters that are clearly form-written
and the job title is inserted into the first line.”
See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves
1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and
executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
You may wish to present a Qualifications Summary or Profile section on your resume. In addition to Profile and Qualifications Summary, these resume-topping sections go by numerous names: Career Summary, Summary, Executive Summary, Professional Profile, Qualifications, Strengths, Skills, Key Skills, Skills Summary, Summary of Qualifications, Background Summary, Professional Summary, Highlights of Qualifications. All of these headings are acceptable, but our favorite is Professional Profile.
Twenty-five years ago, a Profile or Summary section was somewhat unusual on a resume. Career experts trace the use of summaries or profiles to include information about candidates’ qualities beyond their credentials to the publication of the late Yana Parker’s The Damn Good Resume Guide in 1983. For the last 20-plus years, resume writers have routinely included these sections; however, the age of electronic submissions has now caused the pendulum to swing the other way.
On one hand, electronic submission means that hiring decision-makers are inundated and overwhelmed with resumes and have less time than ever before to peruse each document. That means that many of them do not read Profile or Summary sections.
On the other hand, the age of electronic submissions has increased the importance of keywords so that candidates can be found in database searches. Even some of the hiring decision-makers who don’t read Profiles and Summaries advise including them as a way to ensure sufficient keywords in the resume.
A vocal contingent of decision-makers, especially among recruiters, strongly advocate for a Summary section — but one that is quite succinct — a short paragraph or single bullet point. They want to see in a nutshell who you are and what you can contribute.
For a detailed discussion of these sections, including guidelines for crafting them and samples, see Chapter 3 of our e-book, The Quintessential Guide to Words to Get Hired By: Your Professional Profile: Bullet Points that Describe Your Strengths in a Nutshell.
And use our Resume Professional Profile/Qualifications Summary Worksheet to help you develop bullet points for this very important resume section.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
Keeping your executive resume to two pages is one of the trends executive resume and branding expert Meg Guiseppi writes about in her article for Quint Careers, Five Top Trends for Executive Resumes. Guiseppi suggests that to accommodate the need for brevity, pare down and consolidate all your great achievements and qualifications into a quickly readable communication. Provide deeper slices of success “stories” in collateral one-to-two-page documents — Leadership Initiatives Brief, Achievement Summary, Career Biography, Reference Dossier, etc. These companion documents can be crafted to stand alone for networking purposes.
[Editor’s note: For a variety of opinions on lengths of executive resumes, please see our articles The Scoop on Resume Length and Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves of Hiring Decision-makers — Part 1.]
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
Here’s a quick rundown of what your cover letter should entail, says the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD.
First, the length. Always err on the side of being brief, so no more than one page, and really about four paragraphs total. If it’s an email cover letter, it should be even shorter.
Second, the content. The first paragraph must engage the reader. Make it dynamic. Make it weave the reader into the rest of the letter. Don’t waste it with some boring formulaic sentence.
The second and third paragraphs give specific details that highlight your qualifications and your fit with the position and the organization; if possible, use some of the employer’s own words here. Your last paragraph should thank the reader and request an interview. You should also say you plan to follow-up the letter at a later date — you must be proactive. For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book,
Top Notch
Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves:
Resume is too long. While there is no consensus among employers and recruiters about resume length, most feel one page is too short. Maureen Crawford Hentz, manager of talent acquisition, development and compliance at Osram Sylvania, Boston MA, particularly disdains “abbreviated or ‘teaser’ resumes” that urge the recruiter, “for more information, call me.” Many recruiters believe that two pages is about the right length; for some, three pages is the outside limit that they will read. “If the resume is longer than two pages, it needs to be well worth it,” noted Hentz’s colleague at Osram Sylvania, Harlynn Goolsby. Others question executives’ ability to prioritize if their resumes are longer than two pages.
Since recruiters pass candidate resumes on to client employers, they must also consider employer preferences. “Most of my clients profess that they are too busy to read anything lengthier — thus, I deliver what they require,” said Chris Dutton, director at Intelligent Recruitment Services and Owner, Intelligent IT Recruitment, Manchester, UK. Recruiter opinions about resume length have been colored in recent years by the growing practice of reading resumes on a computer screen rather than printing them. Resumes that might seem too long in print are acceptable on screen.
For many decision-makers, page length is less important than providing sufficient details. “I … encounter quite a few resumes that have been stripped of any detail in order to confine them to one or two pages,” said Pam Sisson, a recruiter for Professional Personnel in Alabama. “My immediate response is to ask for a more detailed resume. A resume that’s three or four pages but actually shows the qualifications and experience necessary for a position is much preferred, in my opinion, to one that has cut out all the substance to meet some passe idea of a one-page resume.” John Kennedy, senior IT recruiter at Belcan, agreed: “Resume length is of very little importance so long as the information is accurate, verifiable, and pertinent to the position. If a candidate has 20 years of experience directly relating to the position being applied for and that experience is verifiable, it should be listed even if the resume goes four-plus pages.”
See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves 1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
A particularly effective way to deploy the specifics of an ad or job posting to your advantage is to use a two-column format (also known as a “T-formation” letter) in which you quote in the left-hand column specific qualifications that come right from the employer’s want ad and in the right-hand column, your attributes that meet those qualifications. The two-column format is extremely effective when you possess all the qualifications for a job, but it can even sell you when you lack one or more qualification. The format so clearly demonstrates that you are qualified in so many areas that the employer may be willing to overlook the areas in which your exact qualifications are deficient. One of our former students describes her success in using the two-column format:
“Several months ago, you referred me to your Web site where there was a sample of a cover letter using a ‘you require/I offer’ table format. Believe it or not, I sent in my resume along with a cover letter in this format to a job that was posted on Monster.com, and I actually got an interview!! The position is with [name of company], and I can’t even imagine how many applicants they had. When I went in for the interview, the person that I met with complimented me on the cover letter and actually said that that’s what got me in the door ahead of so many others!”
You can see three sample letters in a two-column format: Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3.
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In a Wall Street Journal article, writer Joann S. Lublin reported that, according to career coaches, an estimated 85 percent of cover letters are so flawed that senders never land an interview. Interviewing an entrepreneur who had reviewed several hundred thousand cover letters since founding her business in 1983, Lublin discovered that the business owner found not even 1 percent of those letters acceptable. In response to a recent vacancy at the 150-employee firm, about 100 of the 150 job-seekers sent letters.
“Two-thirds contained mistakes (including a misspelled current job title),” Lublin reported. “Fifteen applicants addressed the female CEO as ‘Dear Sir.’” Only six cover letters specifically addressed qualifications listed in the ad, and the CEO found only three letters interesting enough to inspire her to read the senders’ resumes.
For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.
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As a cover-letter writer and job-seeker — you must give employers what counts: a letter that complements your resume, serves as your first writing sample, and focuses the reader on what you have to offer, what you bring to the position, and why you are a suitable candidate. So says career counselor Louise Giordano in her article for Quint Careers, Cover Letters Count!. Giordano notes that the cover letter elaborates, clarifies, or adds material in clear language that is compelling and sharp. A terrific resume might never get read if the cover letter doesn’t hook the reader. Make a strong case for why you are a good fit for the job, providing specific examples matched to the employer’s needs as stated in the job description. Point the reader to qualifications and experiences that clearly show your fit.
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Avoid being boring and formulaic in your cover letters. Don’t waste your first paragraph by writing a boring introduction. Use the first paragraph to grab the employer’s attention. Tell the employer why you are writing and summarize the reasons you are qualified for the position, expanding on your qualifications in later paragraphs. Read more. Don’t use such cliches as “Enclosed please find my resume” or “As you can see on my resume enclosed herewith.” Employers can see that your resume is enclosed; they don’t need you to tell them. Such trite phrases just waste precious space. Write a letter that will make the employer want to get to know you better.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
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