Cover letter and résumé 101
Last week’s column dealt with the importance of managing ongoing processes (e.g. phone, filing system, web surfing, etc.) and time management in the job search. This week, let’s focus on developing your personal marketing material (i.e. cover letters, résumés) and researching companies and industries.
Developing personal marketing material
General comment: Your cover letters and résumé must be free of errors relative to spelling, punctuation and grammar. Errors tell prospective employers that you don’t pay attention to details.
Cover letters must get the reader interested enough in your qualifications to look at your résumé. They must be brief, too, because reviewers only spend about 30 seconds reading before making
Jim Pawlak a decision. How do you make your first impression both brief and interesting? Start by getting to the point. When responding by snail mail, instead of a lead-in sentence that lists the job title, put the job title and reference codes, if any, in a “Subject:” line above the body of the letter. When responding by email, the subject line is built in. Leaving out the job title and any reference code guarantees your email will not be read.
If you’re replying to an ad, use the word-processing table tool to create a two-column, Your Requirements/ My Qualifications, approach to showcase how well you match. You can use this approach when answering online ads, too. Create your cover letter in your word-processing program, copy it and then paste it into the body of your email. If the ad is vague, use three to four bullet points that summarize major accomplishments listed on your résumé.
Three major things come to mind with résumé construction. First, replace “Objective” with a “Professional Summary” that showcases your major skills in bullet points. Why? Interviewers are far more interested in what you can contribute than what you want. An “Objective” tells what you want. A “Professional Summary” advertises who you are (i.e. Brand You). It immediately leads the reader to points in the “Experience and Accomplishment” section of the résumé, where you show how you added value with your skills.
Second, your accomplishments should cover the major responsibilities of the job that account for 80 percent of your time. While that may appear obvious, many people focus on the 20 percent they do best.
Accomplishments must not read like a statement in a job description. At the very least, the reader should think: Interesting; there’s a fit. At most, he/ she should think: WOW! — There’s a great fit. Use dollar amounts and percentages to give the reader a frame of reference. Use power words like increased, decreased, saved, created, developed and implemented to emphasize Brand You.
Third, except for professional association memberships don’t include any information about off-the-job activities. Readers are still in screening mode. I know one guy who didn’t get an interview because he listed Little League coaching on his résumé. The screener knew that the job entailed quite a bit of overtime during the summer and didn’t want to take a chance on interviewing someone who had afterwork commitments. Leave personal information off, too. You won’t be hired because you’re married, have children and collect stamps.
Researching companies, industries
Company research starts with the company’s website. Look for information about the firm’s core business, growth plans, customers and products. The online archives of the newspaper and local business journals are great sources of information, too.
A great site for information on public companies is prnewswire.com. For information on private firms, dnb.com (Dun & Bradstreet’s site) offers Business Information Reports for a $121.99 per report.
Industry research starts with an industry association; a simple internet search will locate one. Explore the site’s links to other industry information and trade publications. Also, pay attention to the types of seminars offered because they provide clues on the skills involved and the need for continuing education.
Next week’s column will cover networking.
Replace ‘Objective’ with a ‘Professional Summary’ that showcases your major skills in bullet points. Why? Interviewers are far more interested in what you can contribute than what you want.