The purpose of the resume is to attract the attention of the interviewer. A good resume is a summary of your skills, talents, abilities, and experience in the field in which you are applying. Your resume should stand out and be distinctive. You are marketing yourself to the interviewer. In so doing, you are convincing them that you most closely possess the skills they seek.
Writing Your Cover Letter
A cover letter is a summary of your resume. It contains key words that illustrate your potential value to the company to which you are applying. The cover letter asks for an interview for a job. A cover letter is job specific, meaning it includes details pertaining to the specific position you are seeking.
Guidelines for Writing a Cover Letter
1.For a professional job, your cover letter should be typed. The best way to type your cover letter is with a computer word processor, which can aid in the accuracy and conciseness of your letter. If you do not possess such equipment, a word processor should be available at your local public library.
2. To start off your cover letter, you must include a salutation, or greeting. Do some homework to find out who you will be interviewed by in the company. Usually the interviewer will be your direct supervisor, if you were to be accepted for the position. Call the company to find out who this person will be. Address your salutation to this person, not the head of the company or its personnel department.
3. The Introduction of your cover letter is essentially a way of selling yourself to your potential employer. You want to pique the reader’s interest in your cover letter in the introduction. Write about the company’s achievements instead of your own to draw the reader’s attention. Do some research to find out favorable information about the company, and include it in a complementary way in the introduction.
4. The Main Body of your cover letter is a preview for your resume itself. It gives a concise statement summarizing your skills, and points the way toward reading your resume.
5. In concluding your cover letter, ask for an interview. Close in a complementary manner. Make sure you include space at the bottom for your signature. You might also wish to type your name and phone number.
How to Organize Your Resume and What Information to Include
1. At the Top of your resume, state your objective. Your objective is a single sentence which includes the job title desired and your career path.
2. Optimally, as a professional applying for a job, you will want to include your work experiences as the first topic in your resume. You will want to arrange you experiences starting with the most recent, and working backwards towards the oldest experiences chronologically. This information will enable your prospective employer to gauge where your career is currently, and where it may go in the future. Highlighting your individual skills, specifically those that set you apart from other potential applicants, will increase your chances in getting noticed.
3. Secondly, you should list educational achievements on your resume, usually after listing your skills and experiences. It is necessary to include details such as Universities and Colleges attended, degrees earned, awards and scholastic achievements awarded, and other impressive honors. These details are important when applying for a professional position.
Tips to Know
1. Avoid writing a dull and mistake-ridden resume. Include descriptive language to liven up your writing. Also, use meticulous grammar and ALWAYS proofread you work. When you are applying for a job, it is very important that your resume is mistake free and professional. Make sure you resume is well planned, with such features as generous spacing, headers, and bullets. Being creative is permissible; anything that will make you stand out in a positive way is good.
2. Keep your resume sharp and to the point. Your resume should be informative. However, a resume should not be too complex. The reader of your resume should be able to quickly scan your resume for your key skills and experiences.
