Use Impressive Written Communication

Aside from resumes, your job search will likely require you to write effectively to communicate your capabilities.  Interviews are great when you can get one, but they are usually the result of prior written communication. 

Your effectiveness in writing cover letters, completing applications, and sending follow-up thank-you letters depends on paying attention to the details. For pointers on these three necessary documents see the material here.

Cover Letter Focus and Critique

A great cover letter can have as much impact as a great resume and increase your odds of landing an interview. To insure your cover letter is effective, a critique can arm you with valuable information to make this essential document the best it can be.    

The benefit of a cover letter critique is to not only catch blatant errors such as spelling, grammar and formatting, but to receive feedback on how well you address the employer's needs and separate yourself from the competition.

Follow these three steps when seeking a cover letter critique: 

  Find a reviewer

  Relate your background and a copy of the job posting

  Take any advice given that works

For the details see the article here

Job Search #3: Effective Cover Letters

The objective of writing cover letters is to obtain a reading of your resume and help you win the interview

When you are a writing a cover letter, there is specific information that needs to be included. Your cover letter will include a contact section, a salutation, information on why you are qualified for the job, a closing, and your signature.

To see what to include in your cover letter, how to write it, its format, and cover letter examples, see the full article here.

Cover Letter for over 50

Searching for a new job when you are over 50 can produce anxiety, but you can create a cover letter that makes you stand out as a highly desirable job candidate. The first thing that employers notice about your application is your cover letter, so it is important for it to be effective.

Your cover letter is a tool to get you noticed by employers; it should be customized for the job you are seeking. Draft a compelling message for each position, and let employers know why you want to work for them and how your skills and experience are useful for the position.

For more information on the letter content, see the complete article here.

Write a Persuasive Cover Letter

You put a lot of thought and work into developing a professional resume, but may lose steam when it comes to the cover letter. When you submit a resume for a job posting or to a referral, you may be asked to submit a cover letter. There is at least a 50% chance that your cover letter will actually be read.

A well-written persuasive cover letter is a powerful addition to your suite of career marketing documents. So transform your existing cover letter from boring to attention-grabbing in five steps.

See the five steps with examples in the full article here.

Cover Letter, before and after

In addition to a cover letter being specific in linking your abilities and experience directly to the job requirements, the letter has to also grab the reader.  It may be that the cover letter gets the reviewer to read the resume or in a pursal of your resume they want a confirmation their impression from the cover letter.

In any case an example of a real cover letter in ‘before and after’ versions can give you some pointers on the possible improvements you might incorporate in your introduction. For a brief comparison of the two versions see the examples here.

Your Cover Letter, In Minutes!

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• Easy editor allows you to select professional templates. Simply fill in the blanks
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• Get the job interview you want, today!

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What Makes a Good Cover Letter?

A good cover letter should convince the hiring manager to give you an interview. It needs to be customized for the job, and help you stand out from the crowd.

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Most cover letters are boring and generic. That's where our cover letter builder comes in. We make it easy to quickly create a professional cover letter that will help convince companies to give you an interview.

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Click here to get started, and get the job interview of your dreams today!

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How to Create a Great Cover Letter

A cover letter is the best way to introduce yourself to a potential employer. It tells them a little bit about yourself, your background, and why you are interested in the position. A great cover letter is going to help you get your foot in the door and give you the best chance at getting a great position with any top company. There are many tools and resources you can use to help you create the best cover letter for advancing your career.

To create a cover letter to go along with your job application, it is helpful to have the right tools at your disposal. If you are very confident in your word processing abilities, you can use a program to create your own organized and professional cover letter. However, if you feel like you need some help creating a good outline, use cover letter templates. These templates can be opened in your word processing program, and then you can plug your information directly into the document. A template will have a neat, professional layout already in place for you. This way, you won’t need to worry about choosing a font or properly formatting the document.

The easiest way to create a great cover letter is to use an online cover letter writer. These specialized webpages will let you enter your information into pre-selected information boxes. When you are finished plugging in your contact information and the body of the letter, the website will then create your completed cover letter. You can then save it to your computer’s hard drive or print it out immediately to include with your employment application.

Top Cover Letter Tips

Your cover letter should always be accurate and professional. Never submit your cover letter without giving it a second look. Check for grammar and spelling errors and make sure you’ve included all the right contact information at the top of your letter. You don’t want to miss out on a job opportunity because you accidentally missed a digit in your phone number or spelled your email address wrong!

Another good tip for cover letters is to highlight your skills with carefully selected keywords. These words will jump out at the prospective employer and tell them exactly what your strengths are. Use words that are easily understood and simple, like organized, experienced, and professional. Keep it simple so your cover letter will be easy to read and understand. Many hiring managers are busy and have a lot to go through, so they’ll appreciate a short and sweet cover letter. Try to keep the whole thing to one page.

The right cover letter will improve your chances of getting noticed at a prestigious company. You can stand out from the other applicants if you use the right formatting and keywords. Using the right tools and tips will help you get the position you are truly qualified for. Whether you are a teacher, an accountant, or a recent graduate looking for anything, the right cover letter will get you started.

The Keys to an Outstanding Cover Letter

When applying to various jobs, experienced job seekers know that the resume is only part of the package. The other part is the message that comes either in paper form or, more recently, in e-mail form. We're referring to the cover letter, an art form that has been neglected by far too many job hunters. Putting all of your effort into your resume and ignoring the introductory message that accompanies it is a costly mistake. If you understand the keys to crafting an outstanding cover letter, there's no need to be left in the dust in the race to find gainful employment.

The first thing you need to know is that much like a resume, a cover letter should be brief, simple, and easy to read. Hiring managers don't possess large amounts of time to read the mounting pile of messages on their desks or in their inboxes. If they bother to give you their attention at all, consider yourself lucky! Keep them in a good mood (the kind of mood that prevents them from deleting your message) by writing no more than a few paragraphs, with your total output being a page or less. It's perfectly acceptable to use bullet points; indeed, this can be a useful strategy in summing up your main qualifications for the job. Sell yourself effectively in fewer than 500 words, and you may just be the winner. Besides, a brief message accomplishes one of your primary objectives: Keep the reader in a state of wanting to learn more about you. In the job search, this means piquing the hiring manager's interest so that he or she will grant you a phone call or, better yet, an interview.

The second key is use an attention-getter or "grabber." Hiring managers see the same phrases and sentences over and over. Imagine how many times they hear somebody claiming to be a "self-starter" or a "people person." Your objective should be to stand out from the crowd and grab the hiring manager's attention within the first few sentences. An example would be: "Your company is a leader in the marketplace – but it needs a sales manager who can put this company over the top. I am that sales manager." Yes, that's a bold statement, but at least it's unique. One can imagine the hiring manager calling someone just to see if he or she can back up such an assertion. Any callback is a good callback, even if it's done out of curiosity. You might be surprised at how a bit of curiosity can turn into real interest and eventually a hire.

There's another key to cover letter magic, which is keywords. If you see certain words in the job ad, job description, or company website that stand out and represent what the company would expect from you as an employee, pay attention because those are important keywords. These words and phrases should be inserted into your cover letter in a way that's natural and not overdone. You'll also want to insert commonly used industry buzzwords that pertain to your line of work. The idea is not to load up on keywords, but rather to show that you're attuned to the changing needs of the industry as well as the job position itself.

If you're not the type of person to write documents from scratch, you'll want to know about next key, which is the worldwide web. Look online for sample cover letters and free cover letter templates that suit the type of job you're looking for. It's as easy as filling in the blanks if you manage to locate a cover letter generator online, and this can be accomplished in no time by entering a phrase such as "free cover letter builder" or "free cover letter template" into Bing, Google, Yahoo, or any search engine of your choosing. If you're willing to invest money into your job search, a professional letter template may be available for a reasonable fee from a writing or printing company. Yet another option is to skip the templates and instead look at a variety of free cover letter samples that you can easily find online through a search engine. The idea is to look at a number of examples and let them inspire you to compose a document that suits your particular style, situation, and purpose.

Here another key that's essential to your success: Avoid the one-size-fits-all approach. Yes, it is very easy and convenient to blast out the same copied-and-pasted message to a hundred different employers. In some ways, that might seem like a good strategy, since you'll be reaching more hiring managers. However, it's important to realize that quality is much more important that quantity when it comes to your job hunt. It's much better to impress a handful of hiring managers than to bore a hundred of them with the same old boilerplate letter; even if you're using a template, your message doesn't need to look or sound like one. For each and every cover letter you send, do your due diligence and learn as much as you can about the company and the hiring manager at that company. Address your message to that person specifically (this is always preferable to "Dear Sir or Madam"), and mention things that pertain to that company in particular. This strategy will demonstrate that you care about the company and that you're truly interested in working there.

So, to sum it all up, start with the first key, which is to compose a simple cover letter that is brief and gets directly to the point. Get the hiring manager's attention as quickly as possible by writing something interesting and bold (but not arrogant) within the first few sentences. Insert keywords in a manner that is logical and organic. Use templates and samples from the Internet to guide you, or consult a professional for assistance. Additionally, eschew a one-size-fits-all approach in favor of a highly tailored strategy that demonstrates knowledge of each individual company and hiring manager. Combine all of these keys and tips, and your search for a job might end up being much quicker and easier than you ever imagined it would be.

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4 Cover Letter Tips to Supplement Your Resume

While the bulk of candidates I speak with are looking for guidance with their resumes, some folks are looking for other ideas on how to effectively market themselves.  If you have been successful at crafting the perfect resume (or invested in having the perfect resume crafted for you), you may want to consider fine tuning another document that many employers ask for in your application - the cover letter.  Here are 4 simple tips to consider as you craft your cover letter:

1. Unlike a resume, your cover letter should be personalized...
2. Make sure to tailor your letter to the specific job posting using examples...
3. Create excitement about your interest in the position and clearly state why...
4. Finally, close out your letter with a desire to speak further in person or over the phone...

For more information, click here.

Cover Letter Tips and Tricks

Your cover letter should be only one page long. Any longer and you’re giving too much information, taking up too much of a recruiter’s time, and demonstrating that you can’t summarize using a clear, concise writing style.

The following topics characterize the elements of a cover letter.

• Keeping it simple
• Spacing is in
• Making style count
• Spelling mistakes - Ooops!
• Using the right language
• Handwriting doesn’t pay
• Focusing on the employer
• Keeping your salary a secret 

If you are interested in the details of these topics, see the complete article here..

Get The Hiring Manager's Attention

Your resume’s cover letter needs to make a strong first impression that will entice employers to want to know you better. Researching the organization and demonstrating why you would make an excellent candidate for this particular job will set you apart.

• State why you like the company
• Use the job description as guidelines
• Bring your specific experiences to life
• The last paragraph should say you're eager to learn more about the position
• Add an individual touch by saying what your next steps will be

If this sounds interesting see the complete article  click here 

How to Market Your Skills ...

By Curt Rosengren US News and World Report Posted: July 19, 2011

You’ve seen skills checklists that ask you to tick off every skill that sounds like you. When it comes to telling your story to a prospective employer, it’s still one-dimensional. There’s nothing to back it up.If you want to talk about your skills in a compelling way, you have to go deeper than that. Remember potential employers aren’t interested in your skills; they’re interested in how those skills can meet their needs. The following will help make your story more compelling by letting you demonstrate that.

Reverse engineer to find your skills  In a nutshell, you’re going to identify your skills through reverse engineering. You will look at three things:

1. Your big picture responsibilities
2. The tasks you had to perform to fulfill those responsibilities
3. The skills you needed to successfully perform those tasks

For the rest of the article, click here.