Monday, February 4, 2008

COVER YOURSELF WITH A GOOD COVER LETTER

Most job applicants understand the importance of the resume. But on average, most don't bother to send a cover letter to their prospective employer. For professionals seeking employment, sending a resume without an accompanying cover letter is tantamount to a spit in the employer's eye. You must show that you really want that job! Beg for it! But politely, in a nicely worded letter that shows how much you want it.

The cover letter is essential for "problem" areas in someone's work history. I have yet to find a client who didn't believe that he or she had a problem resume. Those beliefs stem from fear and insecurity about whether he or she can make the grade. But a cover letter can only make your situation better. You'll seem more professional, and you can address those issues in which you find yourself lacking, and turn the negative into a positive.

Let's look a career change, for instance. The reasons for switching one's life goals often cannot be adequately addressed in the resume, which customarily only has enough room for factual information (job history, locations, years, titles, and duties). Let's say you're a teacher seeking a pharmaceutical sales job. In the resume objective you can say you want a career change, but there's no place to explain why you're jumping from a "cushy" position as a teacher into the tempestuous world of sales. A cover letter can solve the problem.

However, in the cover letter, one or two sentences can be carefully crafted that will explain why you seek the change. A parent returning to work after taking time off to care for children would need a cover letter to explain the situation. A breadwinner moving to another state or area to be closer to an ailing relative can explain in the cover letter.

Even if there is not such a dramatic reason for your job search, a letter will help get you a step closer to getting that interview! Approximately 10% of all applicants are interviewed. Our resumes and cover letters vastly increase your chances of being among that 10%.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

To Tell or Not Tell the Truth: That is the Question.

Many of the clients that come to us believe that they have a deep dark secret that cannot be revealed on their resume. However, the facts that shame them are real life incidents that are commonplace: "I was unemployed for 2 years," or, "I left the workplace to take care of my children and can't justify what I did during those seven years," or I didn't finish my education.

Yep, deep dark secrets, those are.

Not.

That's life. That's everyday. And an interviewer that doesn't understand the vicissitudes of life is probably a machine and not a human being. Take it from www.affordable-resumes.com. We believe that there is no shame in living. Now, barking like a dog and thinking that you can sing? Now, that's another story. Or wearing a bikini or Speedos with a triple fold hanging stomach. Well, actually.... other countries aren't as body-conscious as we are in the U.S., so I won't even go there.

Whatever the source of your "shame" www.Affordable-Resumes.com, can handle it. We ask our clients not to self-sensor when giving us information. We tell them, "let us handle those issues, we'll finesse them, but not to tell the truth is bad news." Most people like to tell the truth, and when caught in a "white lie" in an interview, you're really saying you're not a trustworthy person. So, come clean with us, and we'll come clean on your resume. And you'll actually garner more respect for being up front.

We recently instituted a policy that we would not serve clients that are not willing to tell the truth on their resumes. There are many companies to whom they can turn who are willing to "do their bidding." The reason why Affordable-Resumes.com requires clients to tell the truth is that it makes it possible for the client to relax when s/he gets the job interview. At the interview, if a question surfaces which answer isn't somehow reflected in the resume, the client turns out to be a liar. That's an extreme word, but let's face it: once you lie about one thing, the chances are that you will lie about another. Example: your boyfriend tells you he went to a strip club only once with his friend--though they hang out every Friday night. Do you believe him? Example: the handsome hunk who is laughing hysterically in the next room, while tutoring your girlfriend, is just a "friend" one week but she's going to his place for tutoring the next week. Do you believe her? You are now trying to look back at whether there was another instance where your significant other lied. It is human nature to doubt them the next time.

Here's another example. Everyone has watched a legal television show or movie where the legal case or the cliff-hanger boiled down to whether the witness was "credible or not," right? And we're given numerous opportunities to ask ourselves whether the person is trustworthy, right? Well, consider your interviewer a judge and jury. If you mention facts that are not on your resume, chances are, you'll be disqualified as a credible witness.

Resume reviewers have nothing but a piece of paper in front of them. There are three things they will ascertain, immediately, even unbeknownst to them:

1) the race of the potential employee, usually by the name
2) the sex of the employee, usually by the name
3) the age of the employee, usually by a date that is or is not on the resume.

Determining the candidate's age requires the most scrutiny. How does one determine another person's age? By when s/he graduated from college or high school. If you leave the year of your graduation from either blank, you're old. Period. Or, let's say you put the age that you graduated, but show gaps in employment for 10 years. What happens? The same result. You're old, or incarcerated, or had a baby and are returning to the workforce from a lengthy voluntary pregnancy leave. You have flagged the problem. You're either messy and drafted an incomplete resume, or "you got issues," dude. Problem.

If everything is on your resume, the reader does not have to hunt for mistruths. The reader can actually get to know you. If you can get past the barrier of them discarding your resume because of perceived mistruths, you're almost there. If you get the interview, you're golden. So, focus on getting the interview. Showcase your skills in such a way that they have to consider you a candidate, because ultimately, the employer wants you to help them make money. Let your skills do the talking.

To tell or Not Tell the truth: the answer is much easier than it would seem. The truth always wins.

Is there something you feel bad about that you think will mess up your chances for the job? Address it--in the Cover Letter, a subject of one of our other blogposts.