Daily Career Connection

Most job-searchers know that a good CV or Resume is an absolute MUST if they want to get an interview for that next position. They may spend weeks compiling what they consider to be an interview-pulling CV, or they may even actually PAY (horror of horrors!) for an expert to write one for them. But the CV or Resume is useless if it doesn’t get read, regardless of how good it is, or how expensive!

While a good CV or Resume is the ‘Sales Brochure’ for the candidate, unless it gets read, or gets its ‘feet through the door’ in retail terms, it is pointless even sending it out.

The job of actually getting the CV or Resume read falls to the ‘humble’ Cover Letter. If the CV is the Sales Brochure, The Cover Letter is actually the Salesperson.

The Cover Letter (if it is even sent - many CV’s arrive without one!) is usually very poorly put together, often almost as an afterthought, and is just as often the actual cause of the CV not being read or, worse, tossed into the circular file. Consider the following:
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 Applying for a job requires planning. You need to treat it like a sales campaign.
The product you’re selling is you.

Most sales people are taught the AIDA formula when they first begin. The letters stand for:
Attention
Interest
Desire
Action

1. First you need to get the attention of the hiring manager.
This can be done by writing a punchy covering letter attached to a sizzling resume.
 
 In your letter make sure you highlight your qualifications for the job you are applying for. Yes, this sounds obvious, but a lot of applicants fall down on this point. Look at what is being asked for in the job advertisement. Take the relevant bits of your work history that match, and bring them out in the letter.

Do the same with your resume.
You should change your resume with every job you apply for to make sure it matches up with the specification in the job ad.

If you do this right, you will get the attention of the person doing the hiring.

2. Create interest. This again can be done on your resume.
After you have made sure your work experience lines up with what is being asked for, go into more details about how your work history. Let there be no doubt how you qualify for the post.

A good idea is to imagine you are the one doing the hiring. What would peak your interest? What is it in the resume that makes you want to get them in for interview?

3. Desire is usually best created at the interview.
When a sales person is attempting to sell a product, they need to build up a desire in the mind of the prospect.

Often a buyer is looking to solve some sort of problem.
If you were the sales person, you would be guaranteed to get the sale if you could convince the buyer that your product could do just that.

What problem is the hiring person trying to solve?

4. A sales person wants the customer to take action and place the order.
Action is what you want the hirer to take. And the type of action is giving you the job.
If you have done the first three steps correctly, this one should just slot onto place.

To help things along, it doesn’t do any harm to give the impression that you have more interviews lined up, in the very near future.

The author is a business owner for over thirty years with vast experience recruiting and motivating staff.
http://www.resumetricks.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Scott

Many people are astounded when you tell them that Cover Letters can be as important as their resume.

Generally I see Cover Letters with every paragraph starting with “I”, and making a vague attempt to repeat everything that is in the resume.  Margins are crowded, and formatting does not invite interest.   One can almost see the document floating toward the slush pile.

Worse, there is a date all right, but absolutely no contact information on the letter.  In other words, the document is anything but in proper letter form.  The biggest mistake about this is the following:  often, for not necessarily logical reasons, the Cover Letter gets separated from the Resume.  If this happens, you are toast if your Cover doesn’t have contact information for you.

Now you know that your Resume gets 20 to 40 seconds of perusal, but do you realize that the Cover Letter gets a mere 15 seconds of attention.  When the eye falls upon the letter, the document must be so compelling that interest is not only captured, but held.
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Even when you have learned how to do a resume? The process of creating a powerful resume is time consuming.

Getting the facts down chronologically can be a chore, particularly the first time you do it. Then, you have to write - read - rewrite - read, and rewrite your educational and work histories until your resume perfectly explains your background, abilities and character.

It’s estimated you will have less than 30 seconds to grab the readers’ attention so if your resume has any glaring errors employers will waste no time binning it.

To try to make sure your resume gets read here are five ‘must do’ topics in any job application.

1. Make sure you include a cover letter and that the letter makes the vital link between the job as advertised and your skills and experience.

Cover letters are so important to the job application that many managers automatically reject resumes that arrive without them. Your cover letter has to make sure your resume gets read. There is a way of doing this, create ‘the link’! The link is that part of the cover letter that shows how your skills and experience match aspects of the requirements of the job. This also shows that you understand what they are seeking.

2. Customize both the resume and the cover letter to the job.

No two jobs will ever be exactly the same and similar jobs will mean different things and be described differently by different employers. You need to show that you understand the requirements for the job you are applying for and you do this by tailoring your cover letter and resume for each application.

3. Focus on quantified achievements.

It’s all too easy for a resume to become too long and read like a list. Listing education, skills, experience and previous employers. Avoid this and focus on quantified achievements. Some people have difficulty with the concept of quantification.

But this is so important you must bring it out. Do you meet targets? Do you meet budget? Do you finish projects on time? Does your work meet the required quality standards? Are you growing sales, margins etc? Try to demonstrate how you have contributed to your company’s bottom line.
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