With their resumes. And cover letters. My God people.... what are you DOING???? The resumes and cover letters I have seen just blow my mind. Each time I see a bad one I think "really? REALLY?? THIS is what you chose to send out to a potential employer"? Do these people not know that the job market is BAD right now? Like bad, bad, bad, bad? And even if it was an AWESOME job market - I still cannot for the life of me understand why ANYONE would response to a job listing with a short email saying how they want the job, and they won't "embarrass the company" if they are are hired. And not leave a phone number. Or address. Just a few sentences about how they want the job and THAT IS IT. This is NOT ACCEPTABLE PEOPLE! Now, I'm no genius, and I'm not a resume professional, but I've seen what's out there and I am afraid. YOU should be afraid. There are TONS of websites out there, books, seminars, all SORTS OF PLACES FOR YOU TO LEARN ABOUT RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS. People... UTILIZE THESE RESOURCES!!! Help the professionals help you.
You're not listening, are you people of the world? I KNOW you are not listening because if you WERE listening and paying attention you wouldn't do any of the following:
1. Use a template to create your resume (not a bad thing) and NOT TAKE OUT THE PARTS IN THE TEMPLATE THAT SAY THINGS LIKE "Insert work experience here" and "Insert key experience here". Do NOT leave those on your resume. They do NOT belong there.
2. Attach a resume. Or copy and paste it. But SEND YOUR RESUME. Do NOT just send an email asking when you can come in for an interview.
3. When writing your cover letter or introduction email - REFERENCE THE JOB AND COMPANY. Do NOT just send an obviously generic message that you appear to be sending to EVERY JOB OUT THERE IN THE WORLD. Make it personal. Let the hiring manager know you are interesting in THAT position, and why. This is your chance to make an impression. Yes, there is a chance that hiring manager will only skim your cover letter, or not read it at all - but resist the temptation to just send the generic note. Personalization is key. Even if you have just a regular template and you change only a few things here and there in it to make it work for the position you are inquiring about, that's fine. And if the listing tells you to contact a certain person - PUT DOWN THAT PERSONS' NAME! Make it look like you read the ad!
4. I feel like I shouldn't have to even SAY this, but please use proper grammar and spelling. Punctuation is also nice. No run on sentences, no random commas, and no random capitalization's in your note. Proofread it. Write it and wait an hour. Come back and look it over again before sending. You want it to be PERFECT.
This isn't rocket science people. There's tons of articles out there on the web that will tell you more specifics. You can even PAY someone to write your resume for you. God knows I will even re-write your resume your email for you. I LIKE doing that, and I'll even do it at a bargain rate! I can even give you a nice cover letter outline. You have to promise though to read what I've written above and take it to heart.
Oh, and one little tip I got a long time ago in a magazine and I have employed from time to time. Send that resume and cover letter Fed Ex or Priority Mail. If you REALLY want the job and want to distinguish yourself from everyone else - it's the priority mail thing. Addressed to the HR Manager or Hiring Manager personally. The reason? The regular envelopes tend to be opened by people like myself, and we sort them and THEN they go to the HR Manager. If you want it to bypass people like me - do the priority mail. That sometimes goes directly to the person in question, and it stands out. A little trick from me to you because I WANT you to succeed. I really, really do!
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