Good Cover Letter Example

Use this sample cover letter to help you with ideas for your own.

February 20, 2006
Mr. Robert Bigbucks, Regional Hiring Director
Big Time Corporation
52 Pickup Avenue
Jobtown, New York 12345

Mr. Bigbucks,

I am responding to your ad in the Journal of Sales and Marketing for the Regional Director of Sales position. You will find that my background and experience is an excellent match for this position.

As Director of Sales for Acme Widget Company, I managed a staff of 50 sales professionals. During my five year tenure at Acme, I have increased the sales of widgets and widget peripherals by over 20% each year. This was the direct result of innovations in customer contact, service improvements, and staff adjustments that I made.

In researching Big Time Corporation, I have found that you have a higher than average sales force turnover, and also that you are using an older customer service contact and data base system. I have some ideas on how both of these things could be quickly and inexpensively improved.

In addition to the experience indicated on my résumé, I have also served as the Fund Drive Volunteer Coordinator for Wilshire Academy, a small private school in my town. Through my direct efforts, Wilshire Academy has been able to meet its funding goals for the past six consecutive years. Wilshire has awarded me the Meritorious Service award for each of those years in recognition of this achievement.

I would be very happy to discuss my experience and credentials with you, and show you how I can put my skills to work for the benefit of Big Time Corporation. I know that Big Time is right for me, and I would love the opportunity to prove that I am right for Big Time.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or to schedule an interview at your convenience. I can be reached at (555) 555-5555, anytime, or via email at johnd@doe.net. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, John Doe

Source:lifetips.com

When To Discuss Salary In An Interview

Avoid bringing up salary in a job interview. It's best to wait until you have been offered the job to start talking about money.

If an interviewer brings up money too early, attempt to direct the conversation back to the job duties and your qualifications. The more you show them how good you are for the position, the better your chances for being hired for more money.

Source : lifetips.com

Work experience

Many graduates find themselves in a very frustrating ‘experience trap’. You need experience to get a job, but you need the job to get experience. Fortunately, there are ways to put yourself in a position to enhance your employability.

All work experience is valuable - paid or unpaid, at any level, in any setting. Make the most of your time by taking on a range of tasks that help you learn new skills and develop a broader understanding of your working environment. Get to know your colleagues, find out more about their roles and learn from them.

Be flexible about the duties you take on. Basic administrative tasks like filing, compiling paperwork and data entry show you understand and use systems effectively. At the same time, the information you work with allows you to become familiar with the organisation’s business and culture. Your increased awareness is an asset whether you aim to stay with that employer or move on.

Employers are most impressed by relevant experience. Once you set your sights on a particular job or sector, it makes sense to concentrate on expanding your experience.

What jobs suit me?

Ask yourself what is really important to you and what you are willing to do. Everyone has unique motivations and ambitions. Yours may be different from people you know. Writing your ideas down or having conversations may help you capture your thoughts.

Try what jobs would suit me?, a tool designed to assist you with the decision-making process. After answering a series of questions, see which jobs might best match your preferences. Compare two jobs side-by-side or start by considering an employment sector.

Your friends and family may help you identify the key deciding factors for your career planning and may point out strengths that you take for granted.

Your university careers service has a wealth of resources to support career research and planning. As well as talking to a careers adviser, you may gain insights from psychometric tests, which focus on aptitude, ability, or personality. Ask which psychometric tests are available or have a look at psychometric tests.

The 10 Worst Job Tips Ever

Nearly every day, someone sends me a bit of astounding job-search advice from a blog or a newsletter. Some of this advice seems to come directly from the planet X-19, and some of it seems to have been made up on the spot. Here are 10 of my favorite pieces of atrocious job-search advice, for you to read and ignore at all costs:

1. DON'T WRAP IT UP

The Summary or Objective at the top of your résumé is the wrap-up; It tells the reader, "This person knows who s/he is, what s/he's done, and why it matters." Your Summary shows off your writing skills, shows that you know what's salient in your background, and puts a point on the arrow of your résumé. Don't skip it, no matter who tells you it's not necessary or important.

2. TELL US EVERYTHING

Another piece of horrendous job search advice tells job-seekers to share as much information as possible. A post-millennium résumé uses up two pages, maximum, when it's printed. (Academic CVs are another story.) Editing is a business skill, after all—just tell us what's most noteworthy in your long list of impressive feats.

3. USE CORPORATESPEAK

Any résumé that trumpets "cross-functional facilitation of multi-level teams" is headed straight for the shredder. The worst job-search advice tells us to write our résumés using ponderous corporate boilerplate that sinks a smart person's résumé like a stone. Please ignore that advice, and write your résumé the way you speak (BusinessWeek.com, 8/22/08).

4. DON'T EVER POSTPONE A PHONE SCREEN

A very bad bit of job-search advice says "Whatever you do, don't ever miss a phone screen! Even if you're in the shower or on your way to be the best man at your brother's wedding, make time for that phone interview!" This is good advice is your job-search philosophy emphasizes groveling. I don't recommend this approach. Let the would-be phone-screener know that you're tied up at the moment but would be happy to speak at 7 p.m. on Thursday night, or some other convenient time. Lock in the time during that first call, but don't contort your life to fit the screener's schedule.

5. DON'T BRING UP MONEY

Do bring up money (BusinessWeek.com, 8/7/08) by the second interview, and let the employers know what your salary requirements are before they start getting ideas that perhaps you're a trust-fund baby and could bring your formidable skills over to XYZ Corp. for a cool $45,000. Set them straight, at the first opportunity

6. SEND YOUR RESUME VIA AN ONLINE JOB AD OR THE COMPANY WEB SITE, ONLY

Successful job-seekers use friends, LinkedIn contacts, and anybody else in their network to locate and reach out to contacts inside a target employer. Playing by the rules often gets your résumé pitched into the abyss at the far end of the e-mail address talent@xyzcorp.com. If you've got a way into the decision-maker's office, use it. Ignore advice that instructs you to send one résumé via the company Web site and wait (and wait, and wait) to hear from them.

7. NEVER SEND A PAPER RESUME

I've been recommending sending snail-mail letters to corporate job-search target contacts for three or four years now, and people tell me it's working. The response rate is higher, and the approach is friendlier. A surface-mail letter can often get you an interview in a case where an e-mail would get ignored or spam-filtered. One friend of mine sent her surface-mail résumé and cover letter to a major company's COO in New York, and got a call a week later from a general manager wanting to interview her in Phoenix, where she lives. She showed up at the interview to see her paper letter—yes, her actual, signed letter, on bond paper—and résumé sitting on his desk in Phoenix (probably conveyed via an old-fashioned Inter-Office envelope). An e-mail might have ended up in the COO's spam folder.

8. WAIT FOR THEM TO CALL YOU

You can't wait for companies to call you back. You've got to call and follow up on the résumés you've sent. If an ad says "no calls," use your LinkedIn connections to put you in touch with someone who can put in a word with the hiring manager. Don't sit and wait for the call to come. Your résumé is in a stack with 150 others, and if you don't push it up the pipeline, no one will.

9. GIVE THEM EVERYTHING.

Give them your résumé, your cover letter, and your time in a phone-screen or face-to-face interview. But don't give anyone your list of references until it's clear that mutual interest to move forward exists (usually after two interviews), and don't fill out endless tests and questionnaires in the hope of perhaps getting an audience with the Emperor. Let the employers know that you'd be happy to talk (ideally on the phone at first) to see whether your interests and theirs intersect. If there's a good match, you'll feel better about sharing more time and energy on whatever tests and exercises they've constructed to weed out unsuitable candidates. Maybe.

10. POST YOUR RESUME ON EVERY JOB BOARD

This is the best way in the world to get overexposed and undervalued in the job market. (Exception: If you're looking for contract or journeyman IT work, it's a great idea to post your credentials all over.) People will find your LinkedIn profile if they're looking and if you've taken the time to fill it out with pithy details of your background. If you're not employed, include a headline like "Online Marketer ISO Next Challenge" or "Controller Seeking Company Seeking Controller." Your résumé posted on a job board is a spam-and-scam magnet and a mark that your network isn't as robust as it might be. These aren't the signs you want to put out there. Use your network (vs. the world at large) to help you spread the job-search word.

posted by Liz Ryan

Preparation is key to a successful interview

Does the idea of going to a job interview make you feel a little queasy? Many people find that it is the hardest part of the hiring process. But it doesn’t have to be. The more you prepare and practice, the more comfortable you will feel. Increase your odds of landing the job you want by brushing up on your interview skills.

Prepare before you go.
Find out all you can about the company before you go to the interview. Understand the products that they produce and/or the services that they provide. It’s also good to know who the customers are and who the major competitors are.

Practice makes perfect.
It will also make you feel more confident and relaxed. So, practice your answers to common questions. Make a list of questions to ask, too. Almost all interviewers will ask if you have questions. This is a great opportunity for you to show that you have done your homework and have put some thought into your questions

Make a great impression.
The interview is your chance to show that you are the best person for the job. Your application or resume has already exhibited that you are qualified. Now it ’s up to you to show how your skills and experience match this position and this company.

The employer will be looking and listening to determine if you are a good fit. He/she will be looking for a number of different qualities, in addition to the skills that you possess. To make the best impression, dress appropriately; sell your strengths; arrive early, by about 10-15 minutes; be enthusiastic; shake hands firmly; be an active listener; sit up straight and maintain eye contact; ask questions.

Say "thank you".
After the interview, follow up with a thank-you note. This is a chance for you to restate your interest and how you can benefit the company. Your best bet is to try to time it so that the note gets there before the hiring decision is made. You should also follow up with a phone call if you don’t hear back from the employer within the specified time.