4 Steps to Writing a Kick-Ass Cover Letter

4 Steps to Writing a Kick-Ass Cover LetterThe cover letter is a hiring managers first line of defense. Some of the more seasoned professionals look at your letter first because it can be the most accurate gauge of how much effort youve put into trying to land that job. A good recruiter can tell whether youve taken the time to pay attention to details, polish a coherent narrative, and give a glimpse of who you are as a part and an employee. Almost any recruiter can tell when youve cut corners or made (and missed) careless mistakes. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Even if youve written a cover letterfor the ages, there are still subtle pitfalls and hidden opportunities for finesse you may be blind to.1. Get the personenname rightThis may seem like an insultingly obvious point. But so many letters open with generic Dear Sir or Madam or To whom it may concern, rather than being addressed to a particular person.Step one figure out the person who will actually be doing the hiring and screening for your position. Step two make doublythen triplysure youve spelled their name 100% correctly. Its leid hard to get that detail right and it will save the hiring manager the wince when they see a letter or two out of place. You never know what makes the difference in whether or not you make it out of resume pile limbo.2. Strike a balance between style and substanceSo many cover letters open with snooze-worthy first lines. I write to express my keen interest in the X position. You can do better than this. Try something that will hold any readers interest, but be carefultoo interesting and you run the risk of it not transitioning well into the rest of your cover letter. Try to find a dazzling opening sentence that seamlessly segues into discussion of your professional qualifications and manages to add insight and context to your application. Its a tough note to strike, but can really help you knock it out of the park.3. Strike a bal ance between flattering them and selling yourselfIts important to convey your genuine interest in the company, and to hit home just how much you want to be a part of the team there. Flattery, when done correctly, can get you everywhere. Dont forget, however, to include some insight into yourself. That is, after all, what theyre looking for. Playing only to their egos will often backfire.4. Be humble, but also bragTheres a difference between bragging, humblebragging, and being overly humble. And theres a sweet spot where they overlap. If you have holes in your application, or there are certain qualifications you lack, its important to mention these things and be proactive. But dont give too much space on the page to what you dont have. Move on quickly and focus on what you can offer to the company, and why youre uniquely qualified and perfect for the jobeven without that one specific skill you dont quite have yet.If youre at this stage, you already have a good letter. Dont be scared to take it that extra mile. And, when in doubt, ask. Generous, smarter-than-you friends and paid professionals are out there to help.

Ask the Experts Best Resume Formats, Worst Advice, and How to Stand Out

Ask the Experts Best Resume Formats, Worst Advice, and How to Stand OutPosted on September 5, 2018November 11, 2019 by Jobscan Whether youre selecting a resume schablone or gestaltatting your own, the way you structure your pastwork experience could make or break your your job search. So we asked 7 experts job search strategists, resume writers, and recruiters to weigh in on the best resume formats, worst formatting advice, and a few novel ways to stand out.Jobscans resume match report has added new resume checks that overlap with the advice below, including date formatting, headings, web presence, sentence length, and more. Additional information at the bottom of the article.What is the most important thing to keep in mind for your resume format?Sarah Johnston, Job Search StrategistThe most important thing to keep in mind when formatting a resume is to be consistent. If you are going to use Month-Year for the employment time range on one punkt, keep that format throughout. A common mistake is swapping to just year half-way through the resume. Inconsistencies can cause recruiters and hiring managers to question whether you are trying to hide something.Jessica H. Hernandez, Executive Resume WriterChoose a resume format thats easy for the employer to scan quickly. Hiring managers are bedrngnis reading the entire resume on the first pass. Theyre going to scan over it for position titles, employment dates, keywords and metrics that stand out before deciding to read it thoroughly. The resume format you choose should make those areas of information simple to locate and read. Consider bolding or italicizing position titles, employment dates, important keywords and numbers so they stand out as the eyes scan across the page.Tabitha Trent Cavanagh, IT and Gaming RecruiterThere is some debate around this, but I say ditch adding your complete physical address to your resume. Include your personalized LinkedIn URL instead. This will save the hiring manager valuable time as they inevitably search for you on LinkedIn. No more, Wait are you this Derek Smith or that Derek Smith? You may, however, want to indicate your current location somewhere in the header in case the employer is looking for candidates in a specific geographic area.What piece of resume formatting advice makes you cringe every time?Jenny Foss, Job Search Strategist and Recruiter1. Photos (when you dont work in an industry for which your physical appearance is critical).2. Over-stylized formatting with little meat in the actual words (especially if youre sending that baby through an ATS).3. Listing References Available Upon Request. After 15 years of recruiting, I can assure you that if/when theyre ready to check your references, they will ask you for them even if you dont list that on the resume.4. leid listing dates (because youre trying to draw the readers eyes away from gaps, etc.). If I see no dates, I immediately think something is up.Virginia Franco, Executive Resume WriterWhen I see dense blocks of text (4+ lines with little space in between paragraphs/bullets), it makes me cringe every time.While this formatting poses no problems when reading in print, our eyes have a tough time digesting it on screens, particularly when the screen is small and we are reading in a rush.I recommend keeping bullets short and sweet (2-3 lines max). Add at least half an inch of white space in between to facilitate online, skim reading.What is one of your favorite pieces of unconventional resume formatting advice?Adrienne Tom, Executive Resume WriterEmploy design components that help key content pop without being too over the top.Design features dont have to be flashy to have a big impact in a resume. Consider adding simple break-out box, chart, graph, or other visuals to capture the readers attention and draw the eye to major career wins.Visuals are likely to capture a readers eye faster than simple text. In the executive resumes that I create, I frequently include a design co mponent as a way to highlight big selling features like business development, revenue growth, sales improvement, market share expansion, or specialized skills. These visual aids add interest and promote value while keeping the resume from looking like all the rest.Truly, most marketing materials use some form of visual aid to guide a readers eye to key points. Tactics include larger text, color, bolded text, boxes, or graphs. Utilizing a similar approach in a resume (in a tasteful way) is an excellent strategy to make the file more appealing.A caveat, content in some design components may not be ATS-friendly meaning the content within these features may not be read by a computer screener so ensure you repeat details in the actual resume content.Kerri Twigg, Certified Resume StrategistSome unconventional formatting advice that has worked well, especially for people who are in marketing, web development, or web designers, is doing the combo of a creative resume as your first page th en doing it a little more conventionally on the second. That way you can have that visual element that really matters to you while still having the content and space to add a couple of stories on the second page. Its not too creative but it has that creative edge.I also look at the font the company is using on their website or their job ad.Try to match that font (and in some cases even the color scheme) on your resume so it looks like youre already part of that company. Even if its not a font traditionally used on a resume, like something outdated like a Times New Roman, use it because thats what the company has chosen and youre speaking their language.Its not just keyword matching.Jobscans optimization toolis checking your resume formatting.New intelligent checks make even the best resume formats more ATS compatible and recruiter-friendly than ever.ATS ChecksHard skills, soft skills, and keyword matchingJob title and education matchingATS-friendly section headingsNEWATS-friendly da te formattingNEWATS-friendly file typeNEWATS-friendly resume templatesNEWRecruiter ChecksMeasurable results, word count, and words to avoidSentence lengthNEWPredicted skills missing from the job descriptionNEWIndustry-specific insightsNEWKeep an eye out for additional new features. Jobscan is updated every two weeks and even more formatting checks are on the wayFacebook Commentswpdevar_comment_1 span,wpdevar_comment_1 iframewidth100% important