7 Secrets of a Highly-Effective Resume Cover LetterWritten by Jimmy Sweeney
Just like late, great Rodney Dangerfield, "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 is well-written cover letter not 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 in typical cover letter. Conversely, there's only so much you can do with traditional CV or resume. I believe carefully crafted cover letter is more important to your job search success than any other written document, including 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 grip 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 for employer. How can you benefit company specifically? Do a little research and relate this simply and clearly in your letter. 5. CHOOSE WORDS that show enthusiasm and passion for position you seek... (big, big secret!) Then, carry this passion into interview with you.
| | Five EASY Ways to Improve Your Business WritingWritten 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 really 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 reaching 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 using 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 planning 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 to point right away. Focus on your readers’ perspective and avoid long narrative beginnings, otherwise you risk losing their interest. Then use middle or body of your piece to identify your main points. Depending on 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 in 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 to idea of a first draft. Every writer knows 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 understand message you’ve put on paper, you must make sure you can understand it yourself. Even best, most experienced writers know that 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 is 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 paper same way it sounds in your head, then you must eliminate all awkward, wordy phrases that don’t make your message any more meaningful. For example, replace “due to fact that” with “because.” And substitute a simple “if” for wordy “in event that.” These simple changes will make your message clear, less verbose, and more professional.
|