Improve your cover letters and emails. |
Cover letters/email messages
Don't waste opportunities just saying, "Please find my resume attached," in your cover letters and email messages! Truly "work it" every time you write to a hiring company. Here's how ...
1) Establish a professional sounding email address that does not contain your birth or graduation year (including these years tells people your age!) Also get a new email address if you share an email address with your spouse. For obvious reasons, recruiters don’t like reaching out to both Kimmy and Timmy when they're hiring just one of them. Learn the importance of a professional sounding email address.
--------------------
2) Add an email signature so recruiters can easily contact you. Here’s how.
--------------------
3) Attach your attachments! Here’s an easy way to remember to do so: Attach your documents as soon as you type the word “attached” or "enclosed" as in “Please find my resume attached.”
--------------------
4) Simplify your email background. Remove flashing graphics, colorful email backgrounds, and multiple colored and sized type faces. Also avoid excessive bolding, italics, hard-to-read script type and all-capped words. Don't let anything detract from your message.
--------------------
5) Consistently use spell check. Also improve your grammar. Get help doing both. Don't skim over this tip. I often get messages from job seekers with typos and wrong verb tenses. Take time to check your messages.
--------------------
6) Learn and use the hiring manager’s name. You can usually discover this information by calling the company’s switchboard or by typing the company name, city and the person's probable title using the Search People feature in LinkedIn.
---------------------
Add a table to your cover letter |
---------------------
8) Tell an interesting story to show you are qualified. Example:
What intrigued me about your position is the broad skill set required. A colleague once referred to me as an "ace utility player." He explained, "If a company needs a public relations leader, you are an expert publicist. If they need a marketing director, a communications pro, an editor, whatever they need -- you're it. Most people can do one thing well, two at the most, but Richard, you can do it all well." What struck me about his kind words was that he zeroed in on what I offer that makes me an excellent match for this position … versatility …
----------------------
9) Use a simple case study to convey how you’ve helped a company succeed. Mention a problem, the solution you implemented and the successful outcome because of your efforts.
----------------------
10) State what you know and like about the hiring company. Conduct research on LinkedIn, the company’s web site and on Google and other sites so you are well informed.
----------------------
11) Drop names of people who you know in the company or who have influence with it (such as clients or consultants), particularly those people who have agreed to vouch for your abilities with the company.
----------------------
12) Include recent samples to reinforce your abilities. (Remove dates from older samples or redo them lest people think you haven't done something impressive in years.)
----------------------
LinkedIn recommendation sheet |
13) Attach a list of your LinkedIn recommendations. It's easy to do and can ensure it will be seen by many more people than would seek out the recommendations on your LinkedIn profile. Simply copy/paste your recommendations onto a Word document, make it look presentable and then attach the document when applying for jobs via email or when an application system allows you to include attachments. Here’s how.
View all 50 fast fixes
Part 1: Resumes
Part 2: Cover
letters and emails
Part 3: LinkedIn
presence
Part 4: Networking
Part 5: Interviewing
Like
what you've learned?
Receive WiserUTips by email and benefit from our services! Also register for our free Wednesday webinars (See the right navigation bar for upcoming webinars).
Receive WiserUTips by email and benefit from our services! Also register for our free Wednesday webinars (See the right navigation bar for upcoming webinars).
_____________________________________
It's also helpful to paste things into the body of the email.
ReplyDeleteIt's also helpful to paste things into the body of the email.
ReplyDeleteThe secret to making money isn't working at a high-paying job, it’s finding creative solutions to people’s problems, and it doesn't take a fancy degree to do that. To get your creative juices flowing, check out these common and not-so-common ways of lining your pockets. Below that, you’ll also find.fast jobs
ReplyDelete