7 Secrets of a Highly-Effective Resume Cover Letter

Written by Jimmy Sweeney


Just likerepparttar late, great Rodney Dangerfield,repparttar 106936 "humble" cover letter gets no respect.

Job-seekers spend so much time and energy on their resumes they've got nothing left to offer their poor, neglected cover letters.

Big, BIG mistake!

It isrepparttar 106937 well-written cover letter notrepparttar 106938 resume that can single-handedly land you more job interviews. The cover letter is your one chance to really "market" yourself to an employer using proven marketing strategies rarely found inrepparttar 106939 typical cover letter.

Conversely, there's only so much you can do withrepparttar 106940 traditional CV or resume. I believerepparttar 106941 carefully crafted cover letter is more important to your job search success than any other written document, includingrepparttar 106942 resume.

As a direct marketing professional for over 20 years, I bring to you my 7 secrets of a highly-effective resume cover letter:

1. ADDRESS your cover letter to a specific person. Do your best to find out "To Whom" you should address your cover letter. "Dear Manager" is lifeless.

2. OPEN with an attention-grabbing first sentence to really griprepparttar 106943 reader. This will almost guarantee your cover letter and resume get a closer look.

3. REMEMBER less is more. The best cover letters have plenty of white space. Cover letters that are clear, focused, short and sweet land more job interviews period.

4. FOCUS on what you can do forrepparttar 106944 employer. How can you benefitrepparttar 106945 company specifically? Do a little research and relate this simply and clearly in your letter.

5. CHOOSE WORDS that show enthusiasm and passion forrepparttar 106946 position you seek... (big, big secret!) Then, carry this passion intorepparttar 106947 interview with you.

Five EASY Ways to Improve Your Business Writing

Written by Melinda Copp


Have you ever wondered why some people can make millions writing books, and others (maybe you) can’t even complete a simple business letter worth reading? Sure, natural talent probably accounts for some of their writing success. But reallyrepparttar best-selling authors achieved that level of success by devoting serious time and effort to perfecting their craft. Plus, they love to write. As a busy professional, you’re probably more interested in finishing that letter than reachingrepparttar 106935 best sellers list. And while your job likely requires some writing, such as proposals, brochure copy, or even correspondence, you probably don’t have time to practice and perfect your writing skills. But that doesn’t mean you can’t improve. Whether you enjoy writing or not, you can make your writing more effective and better by usingrepparttar 106936 following five easy methods:

1. Keep it Simple To make your business proposals, sales letters, and promotional copy more reader-friendly, you must organize your ideas in a simple, logical format. While you don’t have to outline every point you want to make, you should spend a few minutes jotting down your ideas and planningrepparttar 106937 most effective order to present them. Some people like mind maps, and others prefer lists. Whatever format, or lack thereof, you choose for your pre-writing, make sure it is effective and easy to use. Once you have your ideas down, you can start organizing them. You’ll want to open your piece by capturing your readers’ attention. Answer their question, “What is this about?” If you’re introducing prospects to a new product, then tell them. And if you’re changing a company policy, get torepparttar 106938 point right away. Focus on your readers’ perspective and avoid long narrative beginnings, otherwise you risk losing their interest. Then userepparttar 106939 middle or body of your piece to identify your main points. Depending onrepparttar 106940 purpose of your piece, order your points by priority or chronologically. Finally, end your piece on a positive note.

2. Stop Thinking So Much Taking your time and planning every word won’t actually improve your writing. In fact, quickening your pace has a number of benefits, especially inrepparttar 106941 first draft. First, writing fast captures your natural voice and personality in every sentence. That means your words will sound like you, which is important in making your messages effective. Speeding it up will also help alleviate your fears of making mistakes. If you continuously second guess your sentence structures, word choices, and grammar, you’ll never finish your first paragraph. And that’s what editing and revising are for anyways. That’s right. Get used torepparttar 106942 idea of a first draft. Every writer knowsrepparttar 106943 importance of going back over their work to eliminate errors and revise their words. And with business writing, you risk losing credibility and professionalism if you make mistakes. Essentially, if you want your readers to understandrepparttar 106944 message you’ve put on paper, you must make sure you can understand it yourself. Evenrepparttar 106945 best, most experienced writers know thatrepparttar 106946 editing phase is crucial to creating decent work.

3. Write Less Before your excitement takes hold, write less doesn’t mean write less frequently. In this case, it means write fewer words. Shakespeare once said, “Brevity isrepparttar 106947 soul of wit.” And if he didn’t know what he was talking about, then you wouldn’t have read his work in high school English class. So what exactly did he mean? Simple; tighten up your language and leave out every word that doesn’t add meaning to your message. If you want your message to come across on paperrepparttar 106948 same way it sounds in your head, then you must eliminate allrepparttar 106949 awkward, wordy phrases that don’t make your message any more meaningful. For example, replace “due torepparttar 106950 fact that” with “because.” And substitute a simple “if” for wordy “inrepparttar 106951 event that.” These simple changes will make your message clear, less verbose, and more professional.

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