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How To Write The Perfect Cover Letter: Be Brief--And Be Gone!The best cover letters are 'one-page wonders.' Why? Because they suit today's busy employers who are already overloaded and often overwhelmed. The best way to catch their attention is to 'be brief?and be gone.' Leave them wanting more?so they'll call you for an interview?which is just what you hope for. Write a letter that makes your point about the job you want, displays your enthusiasm, and clearly asks for the opportunity to meet in person. Put these SEVEN SECRETS of a 'Short and Sweet' Cover Letter into practice and get your phone ringing next week: 1. Write a cover letter that fits on one page - MAX - three paragraphs total! 2. Give your letter plenty of 'white space' by creating generous margins and double spacing between paragraphs. 3. Use bullets and numbered lists when appropriate. This allows for easy scanning. 4. Start the first sentence of each paragraph with bold-faced type to draw in the reader. 5. Create paragraphs with three to four well-written sentences each. Convey your passion and enthusiasm to be interviewed for the position being offered. 6. Print out the completed letter and scan it for that 'easy on the eyes' appearance. Remember, less is more. 7. Clearly and directly ask for the opportunity to be interviewed! There you have it! SEVEN SECRETS that will land you more job interviews and hopefully the job you've been searching for. How short and sweet it is! Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the new, "Amazing Cover Letter Creator." Jimmy has written several career-related books and his unique, "think-outside-the-job-search-box" approach, make his articles a job-seeker favorite. Jimmy is regularly published on some of the Internet's largest career web sites. Who else wants their phone ringing off the hook with more quality job interviews? Visit Jimmy on the web right now at http://www.Amazing-Cover-Letters.com for your 'instant' cover letter today. |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES Get Dressed and Get Hired Tying a tie properly may tie you to your next employer. A properly tied tie is essential to a good first impression. With the recent outcry regarding athletes wearing flip-flops to the White House, it's apparent that a review of socially acceptable fashion rules is needed. Your Job Search Is A Marketing Campaign (Part 2) Here's a continuation of my article from a few months back on how the successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign. Three Tips for Successful Networking I generally shy away from using the word "networking" when it comes to our business. As professional "headhunters", we are constantly practicing and performing the art of networking in our daily operations. Many only consider the subject of networking when they are either seeking a new job or seeking new business opportunities. From our perspective, networking should be a daily event in your life. Networking is the art of building relationships that create benefit for yourself. Here are three tips to becoming a top notch "networker". How To Win the Job-Hunting Game When I got over the initial shock of being urged to "seek alternative employment" I found myself, like so many others, out beating the bushes looking for a job. I found that I was just another one of the sheep following the same traditional job-hunting procedures as everyone else. Five Biggest Resume Mistakes You Can Fix Yourself A career consultant can diagnose and overhaul a troubledresume. But you can check off the basics yourself. Ask Me No Questions, Ill Tell You No Lies If only there were no questions involved in getting a job! Should You Lie On Your Resume? Warning: Lying on your resume could cost you your job and your freedom. Telecommuting Website (Part Two) Last article I discussed why a telecommuter would benefit from starting a website, and what you should include on the website. This article, I'm going to cover how to market the website and the basics of getting one set up. How to Change Career Horses in Mid-Stream You'll get wet but the reward just might be a more fulfilling ride! The Power to Succeed It's amazing how we fool ourselves... while at the same time believing we are doing what's best. Job Security Is Dead! Are You? Job security is an out dated concept. The idea is nice: The longer an employee works for a particular company, the more valuable that person becomes to the company in question. But the reality of the current job market is a different story. Every day in the U.S., employees are forced into early retirement, laid off, or fired as a result of corporate down-sizing, mergers, and re organizational bankruptcy. Everyone Should Have a RED BALL in the Job Search May I explain what about what a red ball means to me and how I counsel others as a career coach. Work In Dubai Dubai is home to an exciting, diverse, multi-cultural blend of young, dynamic and professional people all enjoying the unrivalled quality of life the Emirate has to offer. It is of absolutely no surprise therefore that Dubai has the fastest growing population in the world. Discontentment in the Workplace While more people are finding employment, more employed workers are discontent and experiencing frustration. In most cases it can be boiled down to four factors: feeling undervalued, unappreciated and powerless, and world events. The Top 10 Mistakes Job Seekers Should Avoid In Contacting An Employer There are numerous tools and resources available to guide job seekers through the steps of a career transition. These tools are very useful and suggest much that you should do. At the same time, some individuals benefit equally by learning what to avoid. If you count yourself in this latter group here is a laundry list of things that "turn off" an employer. Make sure you steer clear of the following: What Turns Potential Employers ON; What Turns Them OFF? According to an annual survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, these are the most important qualities that employers are looking for in a job candidate, in priority order: (1) Communication skills; (2) Honesty/integrity; (3) Teamwork skills; (4) Interpersonal skills; (5) A strong work ethic. Be sure to highlight those skills in your resume, during your interview, and in your thank-you letter. That same survey discovered the number-one thing that can turn potential employers off -- a job candidate's appearance! Specifically, they cited unusual hair color or style, body piercings, tattoos, and unusual clothing as things that most often gave a bad first impression. What you think is "cool" may be the "hot" ticket to the reject list! So keep your need to express yourself under wraps during the interview, and you'll have a better shot at getting the job. Discuss Your Accomplishments During the Interview When preparing for your interview, you need to be ready to discuss your accomplishments. Surprisingly, many people are reluctant to talk about their accomplishments. But this is exactly what the interviewer wants to hear from you. War Time Hiring: 5 Steps to Attract Top Talent A recent report, titled "The War for Talent" stated that over the next 20 years, employee talent will be what differentiates successful companies from those going bust. The late 90's gave us a glimpse of the talent war, but was nothing compared to what's ahead. Here are five ways to bulletproof your company before the battle begins. Want to Work for Yourself? Those Dream Jobs Dont Just Happen, Theyre Created While traveling in northern California last October, I happened to tune into a local newscast. The newscaster was telling his co-anchor that the speaker at that morning's Rotary Club meeting had to cut his presentation short because he was being flown down to Disneyland to carve elaborate Halloween pumpkins for the park festivities. The newscaster wrapped up the story with the familiar quip, "Nice work if you can get it." He got the first part right. For a creative kid-at-heart, being a professional pumpkin carver is a dream come true. It was his serendipitous "if you can get it" thinking that missed the mark. The fact is, people rarely "get" great work; they create it!Despite all the emphasis on growth in the "job sector" I am continually amazed at just how many fascinating alternatives there are to the whole 9-to-5 schtick. And just as traditional job seekers can't wait around for "Mr. Job" to knock on the door, people who want to do satisfying work ? and call their own shots ? need to be proactive as well. Francis Bacon defined a wise man as one who "makes more opportunities than he finds." Here's a couple of other wise entrepreneurs who made it by going for it.Sports-lover Don Shoenewald was just 18 when he went to the Philadelphia Eagles management wearing a homemade Eagle costume and asking for a mascot job. They weren't interested. Undaunted, Shoenewald kept showing up at Eagles football games. Pretty soon the fans adopted him as the unofficial (meaning, "unpaid") mascot. Thirteen paid team mascot jobs, four mascot character creations (including ones for the New Jersey Devils and the San Jose Sharks), and 18 years later, Shoenewald started Mascot Mania, the only professional training school for mascots in the world.Despite what your high school guidance counselor might have told you, showing up invited in a bird costume isn't the only route to self-employment. For Dan Zawacki it all began when he was working as a sales rep for Honeywell and decided to give away 120 live lobsters as gifts to his customers. Dan was so bowled over by the response that he decided to open a small side business shipping live lobsters complete with pot, crackers, butter and bibs to crustacean-lovers from coast-to-coast. That is until his boss heard him pitching Lobster Gram, Inc. on a local radio station and promptly fired him.In the beginning, Dan worked out of his bedroom, storing his lobsters in a used tank in his father's garage. His first year he netted only $4,000. Ten years later, his company sells about 9,000 lobster packages a year for $99 plus shipping. All and all, not a bad tale.If you dream of making the transition from employee to self-bosser, the first thing you need to do is belief that you can. Then, the next time you see some entrepreneur doing what they love, try thinking: "Nice work ? now, all I have to do is get it! 10 Ways to Speed-Up Your Job Search Effort Today everyone knows at least one person who has lost their job to down-sizing, right-sizing, cut-backs, production reduction or a mean, vicious "bogus leader" who could care less about your family, your life or your existence at the company. This may sound a bit overboard, but everyone has probably experienced the manager, supervisor or company leader from hell, and if you haven't just stick around. |
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