Land More Job Interviews By Improving Your Cover Letter

If I had a dollar for every cover letter I’ve written, then I wouldn’t need to write cover letters anymore. It is known that having a great cover letter is essential if you are trying to land a job in 2017. But with a million different opinions on the internet about what belongs in a cover letter, it can be difficult to know what to write. The good news for you is that you’re reading this article, by the end of it you will know exactly what belongs in a cover letter and how to make yours stand out.

Your Cover Letter Is Your Elevator Pitch

Keep the cover letter light and use it as a chance to show your personality. This doesn’t mean including an anecdote about your best keg stand, it means you should show who you are. If your dream is to become an investment banker someday, then show it! Employers want to see that you have goals and aspirations because. What this means to them is that if you’re hired, you will work hard. Don’t be scared that mentioning long-term goals will ruin your chances, this will only happen if your goals don’t align with their goals. And if that’s the case, then the job isn’t right for you anyways.

My strategy has always been relatively simple. Three paragraphs. Follow this guide below to land more job interviews in 2017.

Show That You Know The Company

The first paragraph should highlight information about the position and company that stick out to you. Do you find it interesting that the company volunteers every year for a certain organization? Well mention that you know this and it’s important to you. This will mean a great deal to employers and it will give you grounds for a discussion outside of work. Personal conversations (if done right) will almost always sky-rocket your chance of a second interview.

Highlight Your Skills & Achievements That Relate To The Position

This one can be slightly tricky unless you know what you’re doing. The main point I will hammer in your head is that telling someone something will not influence them effectively. You must show them through the use of anecdotes. Consider this, imagine that a stranger is telling you about how smart their dog is. Assuming you have never met the dog and don’t know this person, you will probably not care. But what if this stranger was telling you a story about the time their dog tipped the pizza delivery guy? The stranger didn’t tell me that his dog is smart, he showed it to me. You must avoid shoving your opinions on others, instead you should let them come to that conclusion.

Highlight The Reasons This Position Belongs To You

Avoid sounding cocky when you use this technique. The goal here is to sound like you are already prepared for the position. A prepared job applicant is a huge ‘turn-on’ for human resources. Would you rather receive a puppy that pees everywhere or a puppy that is already potty-trained? Don’t worry, I know you aren’t a puppy. And hopefully you don’t pee everywhere. Anyways there is always the ‘cover letter writing service‘ route. If you want to land more job interviews then you need to follow this advice. Well good luck on your job application process. Feel free to comment with more tips and advice for our readers

What You Need to Know About Your Resume | Resume Writing Services | Blog Article Writing | https://www.TheProPaper.com

What You Need To Know About Your Resume

November 23, 2016

Provided By: The Pro Paper

www.TheProPaper.com

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We live in a constantly changing world, and this means we have to take account for new methods of accomplishing tasks. What was once a simple process, has now become a complex system that we do not ever see. When you consider the job application process, it is not always clear what you should and should not put on a resume’. Since every employer uses different techniques of hiring, you need to be aware of the subtle differences so that you can maximize your chance of success.

As a recent college graduate, I have been creating new resumes weekly to find out what works best. This is very time consuming and wasteful because I could be using this time to follow up on applications I have already submitted. But after submitting hundreds of resume’s, I decided to do some serious research on what works and what doesn’t. It’s amazing how far a little research can take you in the length of one article, and reading this will take your resume to the next level. 

The first thing to consider is the length of the resume. We live in an overloaded world and most people will suggest keeping your resume to one page. This is not always simple, because you have to start making tough decisions about what to cut out. Well I am telling you that it is not the end of the world if you have a two-page resume. In fact, most employers don’t really care that much as long as it isn’t more than two pages. 

Do you really think big companies like Dell or Microsoft sit down and sort through thousands of resumes to fill one position? That would be ridiculous, instead they have techniques of narrowing down the resumes before anyone ever looks at them. This is very important so pay attention. These companies use software to analyze resume’s and gather critical information so they can eliminate people that don’t display certain expertise. For example, I am attempting to land a job in finance and I’ve been wondering why no companies have been reaching out to me. After learning about this software, I decided to run an analysis on my resume to see what the deal was. Apparently these software’s categorize you in to one single industry. In my case I was placed in IT because I make websites. 

This is something most people never think about, I sure didn’t. But there are ways that you can use this information as an advantage. First, think key words and phrases. These software’s scan for certain combinations of words in order to determine where your skill-set lies. So you can use this to your advantage by only using words a software developer would use (if you are applying for a software developer position).

My suggestion is that you create many different resumes for each job type you are applying for. I currently have six I am sending out to companies, depending on the job. Other than this, there are other little things you may not notice that are very important. The best advice I can give you is to show, not tell. Employers do not care if you consider yourself loyal or hard-working. They do seek these qualities, but you need to SHOW it through the information you provide. So instead of saying I am a problem-solver, I would describe an accomplishment of mine that involved solving a problem. 

This leads me to my final point. Eliminate any passive content in your resume. You do not need to describe your role at a company, the employer knows that a sales associate helps customers. Instead you should use this section as an opportunity to describe achievements you have attained through the position. If you work as a sales associate, instead of saying ‘Managed weekly inventory and stocked shelves’, say ‘Increased efficiency in inventory by 15%, saving the company $4,000 a month’. This is what employers want to know about you.

So as a quick recap, these are the most important things you need to consider when writing a resume. Remember that big companies use software to narrow down the pool, so keep your resume tailored specifically to the job you are applying. Use keywords and phrases to your advantage so that you boost your chance. Show, don’t tell. Employers want to know what you’ve actually done, not what you think you can do. Use an active tone as opposed to a passive one so that employers can get a better idea of your accomplishments. Or you can just hire a writer at The Pro Paper to write your resume, we offer resume writing services and many others! Good luck on your job application process.