Writing Letters/Resumes

Lesson 4: Call for Action!

What They Say.....

Either book will show you examples of right and wrong ways to say the same thing. Most of the links suggested in this course will also have ‘before’ and ‘after’ selections.

If an ad says a company wants to hire someone “detail-oriented," it is asking for someone who pays attention to the little things. It is also saying it wants someone who consistently meets deadlines.

If you see the word “flexible” this could mean timewise (work overtime as needed to get the job done) or it could mean the work load and responsibilities will change. Can you handle this? Tell them – you’re flexible with time needed and work responsibilities. They’ll pick up on this at your interview – and you WILL get one!

Reading a job opportunity is a lot like reading a real estate ad. Yes, all those old stale jokes still apply – the employer is trying to sell you the company/position. So do your research if possible and let them know you did. Make a one line comment about their company in one of your opening paragraphs, or how your experience fits into what they DID NOT need.

A local school board here runs a Continuing Education Centre both day and evening. They ran an ad recently; did not say for which section, but did say what courses. By checking their Course Calendar I realized they wanted instructors more for their evening and weekend courses. So in my Cover Letter I stated I was available and willing to train on those sections. Not only did I get an interview but we sidestepped the second interview and immediately talked about money. We settled on a per course fee as some courses required more training and set up than others then signed the contract within the week. The lesson here is that by doing research you can add to your inherent worth by answering what they don’t tell you.

The final lesson is to remember the point of the Cover Letter. It’s an ad to entice the employer to interview YOU for the ad they enticed you to answer in the first place. Don’t make false claims. Don’t try to be too witty or the life of the party. Be clear, be concise, and be relevant to what they want and need.

And above all, be confident! Now go and write some Cover letters!

TIPS/TRICKS: Keep a running log of what, when, how and to whom you sent a cover letter and resume. Record any responses. Use this log to follow up on these jobs (I sent you a resume last week and just wanted to know when interviews were starting). Any response means something worked on that Cover letter, so mark it as such. Go over the ones that worked and try to see why, so you can use it again.

HOMEWORK: Nothing like the real world to get you going. Get an ad you’d love to apply for, whether local or not. Now write your best cover letter. Edit, re-read, get someone else to read it, wait a day then SEND IT OUT FOR REAL. You may get a response, you may not (depends if you applied locally or not). But you will have a taste of doing it for real, not just for practice.

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