Burned out and thinking about for a kindler, gentler job? Read this article by CNBC

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45859959?slide=1

Lindsey is a career and employment transition specialist for Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Alumni Relations office.  An east coast transplant, Lindsey grew up in Gainesville, FL before she received her BS in Communication from Boston College and, most recently, a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Georgia.

While she began her career in recruiting, Lindsey found her skills easily translated into the field of career services.  Her industry experience in recruitment combined with her background in education provide her with the unique ability to both understand the complexity of the job search and communicate it effectively to her clients. She has extensive coaching, planning and facilitation experience with hundreds of clients across the country.

Lindsey serves CAREER-Magic clients through resume and cover letter interviewing and editing.  Lindsey looks forward to working with you and helping you to achieve your personal and professional goals!

by Tom LaRotonda

As we are now a few weeks into the new year, you might be noticing that the excitement of your resolutions is hitting its first wave of resistance. That is not a bad thing. It is actually a very GOOD sign for it means that the resolutions you chose are truly on the mark. Where there is resistance, there is opportunity.

Now before you leap to the conclusion that I endorse leading a life of always looking for obstacles to run head first into, allow me to explain. It is not the external situation that is the wall or the resisting force. Nothing of this world has the power to become the wall, unless you allow it to. The wall is totally inside your mind. You have designed the wall according to the blueprint of your existing life perspective. The brick and mortar that comprises the wall are supplied by the old beliefs and patterns that have produced unfavorable results thus far in your life. The wall you are facing will seem quite familiar as you are the master craftsman of its design!

The resistance you are feeling is a billboard that reads, “Warning: To go further requires courage, commitment, discipline and a whole new way of thinking and Being!” It signals you that your ego has been alerted about your chosen path to your Greatness. Its mission, which is to keep you off the Greatness track, has been threatened and the troops have been rallied to attack the enemy. In this case, the enemy is your new desire and conviction.

For most of us, the way we were taught to combat resistance is to work harder. Sayings such as, “No pain, no gain” and “Keep your nose to the grindstone” are strong beliefs that permeate our western mass conscious. Understandably so, as they have created enough success in our lives that to challenge them seems sacrilegious. Yet at what opportunity cost and impact to our well being and wholeness does that lack of challenge bring?

Is it possible that the courage, commitment and discipline the resistance is calling forth pertain instead to how well we utilize our mind to direct our thoughts and consciously connect with our Highest Self to access Source energy? Is it possible the sayings are very wise; and we just never bothered to clarify exactly how they were meant? What if the first human being who thought up the quote, simply mispronounced harder for smarter or wiser. Wouldn’t that be a riot!

Resistance announces that an opportunity is at hand. What is the opportunity? It is a golden opportunity to shift the focus from the illusionary outer wall to the real inner wall. It is an opportunity to take down the real wall forevermore. It is an opportunity to transform our lives and become a powerful creator versus a helpless victim. It is an opportunity to add wisdom, calm, intuition and right-minded thinking to the values of being strong willed, determined and blindly ambitious.

Resistance tells us it is time to slow down, reassess, relax, reconnect, and let go. By letting go I don’t mean to abandon the path. I mean to let go of your fears, old patterns and beliefs that have solidified your inner wall.

The moment I become aware of strong inner resistance I step back and find a quiet place to contemplate. My first question is always, “What is the thought that is currently dominating my perspective about the situation?” My example is maintaining a writing routine. The thought that most often appears as my wall of resistance is, “Who cares what you think about life Tom!” My wall has nothing to do with time management or other things going on in my life. My wall IS that one powerful thought; despite the fact that I have all kinds of evidence which says people do care. Yet at that moment, I have blinded myself to the helpful evidence. Once I challenge that thought, the resistance immediately starts to melt away. If it doesn’t then I continue the process of examining my thoughts until the resistance begins to soften.

My inspiration to you this day is to learn to appreciate and properly utilize your resistance. It is one of your greatest allies whose mission is to help you claim your Greatness. With resistance comes great opportunity for success and fulfillment!

Blessings ~ Tom

For more background on Tom LaRotonda go to:

www.tomlarotonda.com

To Subscribe to the Core Reflections Blog

http://blog.tomlarotonda.com

by Katie B. Smith

How will you make 2012 a great year?  I believe the New Year is not just about meeting goals but rather, positioning oneself properly to attract opportunity, joy and results in an easy and effortless manner.  For me it always starts with letting go of the old and making space for the new.  By space I mean physical and mental space. I clean out old files, put new systems in place, maybe even purchase new office furniture or clean out the office to create space and energy for the new business that awaits me in the New Year. I also like to color-code my calendar for the year and schedule vacations first (so I am sure to make time for them), then client time, workouts, marketing time, down time, and anything that is important for me to have a balanced life and experience less stress.

Once my calendar is set, I have a clear idea of where I need to put my time and energy to generate the results I want in my business and my life. I no longer take up my mind space thinking about scheduling and time management. My mind is free to focus on what really matters and I have the space to do so. I call these tasks part of my business operations infrastructure.  To work efficiently and effectively it is important to put your internal and external infrastructure in place. Like building a house, you have to set up the framework before adding the rooms, floors, windows, etc.  Setting up the operations of any business is a key to experiencing more productivity and results. This can also apply to your home—clearing out what no longer serves you or your family to make way for the new that awaits you.  And by clearing out and building infrastructure, you actually help new opportunities arrive.

It’s difficult getting back into the work schedule after being on holiday and saying goodbye to the past year. But what a gift to reflect on what worked and what could be improved, and then set up your internal and external space to reflect that. I can’t think of a better way to position yourself for ease and success than creating the space for opportunities to find you.

While we all have to do our due diligence, it helps to create an atmosphere inside and outside of yourself that reflects who you are and what you aim to gain in the next year.  You will be amazed at the clarity of your thinking, your insights, and the ease of results when you focus on your infrastructure.  It’s what creating the life and work you want is all about.

So how will you make 2012 a great year?  I encourage you to take one small step this month to strengthen your infrastructure and create space so you can attract all the new opportunities that await you.

Work & Live Well,

Katie

www.katiebsmith.com

303-955-0367

A career Marketing and Advertising Manager, Laura has called Denver, Colorado her home for 34 years. She earned her BA degree from Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York with emphasis on English writing and composition and a strong secondary focus to communications.

Among the highlights of her business career, Laura has worked for the A.C. Nielsen Company in Media Research and for the J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency as a Marketing Specialist. She led the customer service direction for a Denver-based property and casualty insurance company coupled with managing their advertising and marketing platform and facilitating their field agency and CSR training. As a Marketing and Communications company business owner for over 10 years, Laura developed strategic marketing plans and advertising programs to assist fellow entrepreneurs in meeting their sales and service goals. She rounded out her marketing experience by serving in the retail sector as a Cosmetics Business Manager and as a Starbucks Retail Store Manager, based to be the Community Involvement Coordinator for her district.

Laura serves CAREER-Magic clients resume interviewing and resume editing, as well as career event facilitation. With a special talent in networking, she looks forward to offering you her passion for promoting and marketing your individual talents to achieve your dream career.

Have you ever realized how many forms of communication there are? We speak and we have body language, but we also have our own thoughts, dreams, intuition, and the ability to listen to ourselves internally. All of this encompasses communication.  Communication is about transmitting or exchanging information.  How effective are you in communicating, both with others and with yourself?  How often do you actually listen to your voice of intuition and inner guidance?

To me, effective communication means being truthful and direct with an open heart, and keeping our word. Many people feel compelled to communicate when they are angry and off-balance. But maybe it would be better to remain silent during those times, and instead, open up when we are feeling empowered, secure and balanced. Imagine how interactions might look if we only communicated from a place of feeling balanced, rather than upset.

Effective communication also encompasses the ability to listen. It is when we listen and turn off our responses that we are fully engaged with another person. It takes practice to listen effectively, and some don’t feel comfortable articulating the truth of what they mean or are not conscious of what lies under the words they speak. But with practice, you’ll learn to tell the difference between what someone is saying and what they really mean. After all, talking takes energy, so why not conserve our energy and practice listening?

Likewise, have you ever been in a conversation where you or the other party doesn’t stop talking? You continue to talk about your expertise, your successes, and are not engaged in what the other person is saying but rather, in what you will say next. When we compete with the other party, we show our insecurities by needing to justify ourselves. We communicate from a place of ego instead of heart. However, when we fully accept who we are, we don’t need to justify or share our victories because we are at peace with ourselves and what we know. There is no competition to prove we are better than the people around us because we are more open and engaged in the moment.

This topic is near and dear to my heart, perhaps because I raised a hearing impaired daughter to talk—and she taught me how to listen. I learned a lot about communication through her journey into the speaking world. She lost her hearing at 17 months and our journey in learning to talk and listen began. She is 23 years old now and an amazing communicator, with herself and others. I am in awe at her ability and how much she has taught me to listen and to honor the amazing gift of communication that we all have. She has taught me that the ability to communicate effectively takes commitment, practice, and the awareness to choose how we speak and listen. So I invite you to honor your ability to communicate this next month.

What is one small step you can take to become a more effective communicator?  Maybe it is being silent instead of always talking. Maybe it is listening more deeply to your inner guidance, or maybe it is being quiet when you are upset, rather than dredging it all up to someone near and dear. You could even try speaking up at a meeting in which you would normally sit back. Whatever comes to mind in this moment as you read this, take note. It just takes willingness to shift one small habit to enhance our awareness of how we communicate. Like everything we learn, it takes awareness and practice. And we can’t change how we communicate until we begin making small changes in how we experience ourselves.

Enjoy this wonderful season and listen to the sounds of fall all around you.

Live Well,

Katie

If you find this information valuable, please forward to a colleague or friend that may benefit from it.

If you are interested in learning about your personal communication style and how to exercise it with those around you, please contact me for a personal communication styles inventory assessment and consultation at katie@katiebsmith.com

My associate Allison went to the gym today, and found in the October 2011 edition of O an enormously useful article…”How to Spark A Breakthrough.” I love the title!

Briefly summarized below are a few of the 9 steps offered in the article, in bold, for you to apply to any situation you want to transform, be it a job search, the next step in your career, or building your business. My thoughts on how to implement the steps are included.

Go Public - Share your vision with others, especially the ones in your life who will cheer you on and hold you accountable.

Join the Club – No matter what your goal, there is almost certainly a local club or at very least, an online club, of people who share your interests who want to support you. If you’re looking for work in the Denver area, you might want to check out this club – Caffeinated Careers Club

Confront the Risks: In a job search, there are risks like reaching out to strangers by telephone only to be rejected. These risks, however terrifying, pale in comparison to the prospect of extended unemployment.

Rely on the Kindness of Strangers: To the cynics in the room, I say that I have witnessed many times how much others want to help you. Be open to contributions from others. Allow them the grace of contributing to your well-being. Everyone wins!

Read the full article here: http://lindsyvangelder.com/sites/default/files/OPR100111WWOW-Spark_lo.pdf

Pay it Forward: The Great Glass Elevator Speech
Why the ‘Traditional Elevator Speech’ Leads Nowhere
by Dale L. Jones, Strategic Advantage
Public Relations and Marketing Communications
(303) 818-0210
www.strategicadvantage.ws

As a marketing and communication professionals, we’re frequently asked by nervous entrepreneurs and professionals headed to networking meetings about the best way to put together an “Elevator Speech”.

Fear not! Surprisingly and simply Willy Wonka has the answer.

First, let’s define an Elevator Speech.

Wikipedia says:
“An elevator pitch (or elevator speech or statement) is a short summary used to quickly and simply define a product, service, or organization and its value proposition.

The name “elevator pitch” reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes.”

Back to Willy Wonka, the fictional character originally played by Gene Wilder and later Johnny Depp in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Incredibly, Wonka depicted the best way to begin thinking about effective ‘elevator speeches’ in his description of the Great Glass Elevator, which he called the Wonkavator.

Willy Wonka:  “This is the great glass Wonkavator.”

Grandpa Joe:  “It’s an elevator.”

Willy Wonka:  “It’s a Wonkavator. An elevator can only go up and down, but the Wonkavator can go sideways and slantways and longways and backways…”

Charlie:  “And frontways?”

Willy Wonka:  “…and squareways and front ways and any other ways that you can think of. ……”

To be effective, think in terms of your creating a Great Glass Elevator Speech that moves up, down, sideways, slantways, longways, backways, frontways, squareways.

Instead of a Traditional one-way Elevator Speech which proceeds only from the speaker to the captive, often dismissive listener.

Let’s look at a few reasons traditional one-way elevator speeches potentially do more harm than good.

1. You have no idea if the person you’re talking to is in your niche or target market or remotely interested in your product or service.

2. If you do not know your audience, it is near impossible to provide value to them through your words. The key is to get to know your audience with a Glass Elevator Speech; not to just let them know you.

3. You are at a networking event with the express purpose of connecting with others. Regurgitating a memorized canned speech is not connecting.

4. Find out more about the person in which you are sharing. Be interested in the other person in the conversation instead of trying to be interesting.
The key is your connection with people. By definition, communication is between two or more people – listening, sharing ideas and forging bonds to attain a more substantive or positive end. When you truly listen and share with one another, good things happen.

So how do you create ‘The Great Glass Elevator Speech’?

1. Concise: Being able to boil your purpose down to a few words is a worthy exercise. Then,

2. Listen, observe, and comment as needed.

3. Find out more about the person in which you are sharing. Be interested in the other person in the conversation instead of trying to be interesting.

4. Be willing to go up, down, sideways, slantways and longways: Once you learn about the other person, you can tailor your “what do you do” response to meet their needs and interests.

5. Be Memorable for What You Don’t Say. Instead of tooting your own horn, encourage people to talk about their issues. Clients care about their own problems and how to solve them.

6. Answer with Questions. A well-timed, insightful question will have a big impact on a person.

7. Share for free: Provide examples, suggestions, help, or ideas on the spot.

8. Respect: Remember you are connecting with a person. Not a prospect. Not a hot lead. Be genuine. The person you’re talking with deserves your full respect and attention.

We are not talking about a one-way marketing message – instead an effective two-way conversation between you and another person. Stop thinking of every single meeting as a prospective business endeavor and begin to think about helping another through meaningful discourse.

People love to be listened to…Think about it.

You know when someone really hears what you say. By listening, you will understand their problem and in a position to know if you can help. Often that means you’ll be suggesting a resource or another person who can do what needs to be done, with no benefit to you. Either way, you are both in a better situation if you’ve used the Great Glass Elevator Speech vs. the Traditional Elevator Speech.

The key is the listener will be left with an understanding that you truly care about solving their challenge, vs. simply trying to sell them something.

(Shared with express written consent of the author!)

What are the primary functions, or uses, of a resume?

• Resumes are self-marketing tools used to present your qualification toward a specific professional goal. Its primary use is to convince the hiring manager or hiring committee that from all the candidates interested in the role, YOU in particular should be contacted for an interview. The more competitive the selection process, the better your resume should be!
• And a resume is not just used before the interview, but also during and after the interview. Be prepared to talk about any entry on your resume, since your resume is also often used by employers as a prompt for certain questions during an interview
• And of course after the interviews are over, that resume of yours helps remind your interviewers of the relative strengths and weaknesses of all the candidates as they make their final selection.
• After you land a job, an updated resume can help you keep that job, get a raise, or a promotion. When it’s time for a performance appraisal, you don’t want to just listen to your boss’s assessment of your accomplishments – this is your chance to document your accomplishments not just to your boss, but your boss’ boss, who will have to approve that promotion or nice raise you deserve.

Should every professional have a resume? If not, who would not need a resume?

• Yes, I believe every professional should have a resume, or a bio, or a profile of some sort. Most of us want to contribute our skills to a business as an employee or consultant, and many of us want to contribute our skills to a worthwhile organization. In either event, you’ll need some statement that persuasively summarizes your qualifications.
• Of course there is an exception to every rule, so if you are independently wealthy and have no desire to contribute to society through professional or charitable work, then relax, you do NOT need a resume or even a biography.
• But you should know, even Donald Trump has an official biography on his web site.

What are some fundamental aspects of resume development/writing to keep in mind when creating a resume for the first time?

• The first fundamental of resume writing is BE FOCUSED. Focus on a particular type of work and make every word on the page has a right to be there – in other words, make sure everything you include is relevant to your target position and your target audience. To ensure that your resume is relevant to your target audience, study the words employers use to describe the work at hand. Analyze those job ads that detail the work you want to do, and be sure to incorporate the soft skills and hard skills that employers are seeking.
• The second fundamental of resume writing is BE SNAPPY. Instead of writing passively and focusing on duties, write in a vigorous, accomplishment-oriented style that gives enough detail to prove you’re a performer. Think in terms of compact yet complete statements where you start with an action verb and end with a measurable impact.  Do write in first person verb tense. Skip the pronouns I me and my, which have the effect of making your resume sound less than objective and factual.
• The third fundamental of resume writing is BE TRUTHFUL. Never exaggerate or fabricate information – you would not want to put yourself in a position where you could not defend any particular statement in your resume – at a minimum that would result in an awkward interview, and in the worst-case scenario, you could be fired from your new job if a mis-statement is later investigated.

How should the resume writer use keywords in their resume?

• Key words or buzzwords are the nouns and noun phrases used by employers to describe the work at hand and the qualifications needed to excel. They include the job title, the technical or industry-specific qualifications and certifications, as well as the so-called ‘soft skills’ like presentation skills, relationship-building and negotiation skills.
• Keywords or buzzwords are sometimes used as “search terms” to retrieve a resume from a database.
• Recruiters and hiring managers are scanning the resume for these important terms as well. If your resume lacks important keywords, you may not make it to the interview because the person doing the first screen of the resumes may lack understanding of your profession and not be able to infer that you have the proper skills. They will go for the candidate who has all the requirements plainly detailed on the resume.
• I recommend using the keywords throughout the resume, in the summary section, in the experience section, and in the education section, in the context of a complete sentence. I don’t recommend using a keyword block or ‘invisible’ words – recruiters may assume if you don’t use it in a sentence it probably doesn’t apply to you.

What information belongs in a resume?

• CONTACT INFO – For starters, be sure your contact information is included and correct. You may think this is obvious but I do see resumes where contact info is missing, out of date, or mistyped. The hiring manager can’t invite you in for an interview if she can’t call or email you.
• DO include an overview statement, details on recent, relevant experience, education, technical skills, and professional activities that demonstrate you have the ability, motivation, education, and background to do the work at hand.
• NUMBERS are smart in a resume – include verifiable facts such as your company’s overall sales revenues, your budgets, your number of direct reports, your number of clients, and of course quantifiable achievements. Official recognitions of your work such as “Employee of the Year” are always great.

What information does not belong in a resume?

This is a great question. In resume writing it’s just as important to know what kind of information to leave out as it is what kind of information to include. Remember, if it doesn’t qualify you, it might just disqualify you.

• Getting back to contact information, do not include your work phone number or your work email address – these are your current employer’s assets and they are not appropriate for you to utilize in seeking other employment.
• Do not include everything you have ever done in your life. Some jobs are too old, some jobs may not be relevant to your current goal. Likewise with education. If you have attended multiple college, it may not make sense to include them all. If you have degrees or certificates that don’t really apply to your current goal, think hard about how or whether to include them. If you are pursuing jobs where they are seeking 5 years of experience and you have 25 years of experience, do not include it all, you will be seen as overqualified and not a fit.
• It’s generally not appropriate to include your date of birth, any kind of high school information, marital status, religious or political affiliations. Don’t include any information that will enable an accurate guess at your age. If your degree is more than 10 years old, do not include the date of graduation.

• Think of resumes and job applications as two very different things. Do not include unnecessary headers like “email, phone number, employer” and definitely don’t include addresses of employers, wages paid, or supervisor’s names and phone numbers. Do not include your photo.

• Also avoid the temptation to copy and paste the company “job description” into your resume. Job descriptions are too generic and too detailed to serve as vibrant examples of your accomplishments on the job. Most people understand your typical duties when they read your job descriptions. It’s better to add specific details that explain the scope of your work, how your work is measured, and what specific things you’ve contributed to the company’s success.

• References are not part of a resume, nor do you need to end with the phrase “references on request.” Employers know they can ask you for references at an appropriate time.

• Reasons for leaving are generally not part of the resume unless you can legitimately make an accomplishment-statement.

• Hobbies and non-work activities should generally not be on the resume. You might also want to avoid including hyperlinks for your email and any web pages for technical reasons (your resume might get caught in a spam filter).

What type size and font should be used?

It really is important to create a smart-looking document that commands attention.

• For the main body font, you should use a size of 9 to 11 points depending on the particular font you choose. Make sure your chosen font is crisp, business-like, and easy to read. Ask a few people to scan the resume for you and ask them if they find it user friendly and easy to digest. For your name, you can use a larger font, up to 18 points. Your name is the most important thing on the page so it should be the largest. For your section headers, use a 12 pt font.
• Avoid old-fashioned font treatments like underlining.
• Use a little, but not too much bolding, all caps, and italics.
• Don’t use more than two different font types in your resume.
• Be sure you have plenty of white space for your margins and horizontally between the major sections of the resume.
• If you have more than one page, make sure that the information is balanced across each page – you wouldn’t want to have a page and a quarter of information, as that doesn’t look well-thought out.

Should your years of professional experience determine the length of the resume?

Not necessarily!

• The length of your resume has more to do with the total amount of relevant content.
• The more recent and relevant the experience, the more detail you should include. As you go back further in your history it’s more appropriate to pare down the amount of detail you’re including in your resume.
• Make sure you are not repeating the same phrases over and over in your resume, no one wants to read the same exact description twice.
• For some people, such as consultants or people with projects, the number of relevant projects will determine the length of the resume.

Is there an absolute limit for page length of a resume? If so, what is it?

• No, there is no absolute limit, although most of the resumes I prepare for my clients do not exceed 2 pages. Expectations vary in different professions and industries.
• Some recruiters and hiring managers have a preference for very short resumes, others want to see more detail.
• When in doubt, keep it brief and packed with accomplishments and keywords.

What if you have very little professional experience? What information should be offered in the resume?

• Everyone’s resume should have an introductory section that talks about career goals, interests, abilities, soft skills, and hard skills, as they relate to the target position. If you’re just starting out in your career or you’re making a career change, your introductory section is even more important.
• In your experience section, you don’t just have to limit yourself to full time, paid employment. You can also include a description of internships, volunteer work, and part-time or independent work that relates to your goal.
• And of course if you have strong educational credentials, you can add details on relevant courses to further develop your resume.

How often should a resume be updated, and what are some tips on updating?

• You never know when you might need an updated resume – with social networking, great opportunities can come out of the blue and it pays to have a polished resume ready to go. You should also have an updated resume to present at your performance evaluations, or you risk being taken for granted by your boss.
• As far as how often to update your resume, a lot depends on how much you accomplish or how often you change jobs.
• Some people might want to update as often twice a year. I have one client who is a producer for a very popular and prolific comedian who has a complex business with numerous projects, products, TV shows, and tours going on each year. This particular client should probably update her resume once every three months.
• Others can get away with updating every year or two but the longer you wait, the more likely you are to miss out on important details that could support your career advancement.
• I strongly encourage my clients to keep an “atta boy” or “atta girl” file where you keep notes on things you’ve accomplished each month. This not only helps you to think about what you have already accomplished, it helps you to think like a top performer so that you’ll strive harder to excel. Set up an Outlook reminder that says “What did I accomplish this month?”
• As you track your career progress, remember to include specifics such as cost savings, sales increases, profit margins, names and types of accounts serviced. Every time you get a kind word from a manager, colleague, or customer, save it in the atta boy / atta girl file – chances are there is good material for the resume. And of course save details on any awards or recognitions you receive through your employer or  professional organizations to which you belong.
• Of course, every time you update your resume, re-examine your career goals. Then make sure every word on the page is still relevant and still supports your goals. So that your resume doesn’t grow into the great American novel, be sure to delete outdated or less helpful information.

When does work experience become too old and should be removed (or excluded) from a resume?

It really depends on the situation but usually 10 to 15 years is sufficient. You may have experience from the past that is still relevant and beneficial, but often I find ways to effectively include key qualifications in the resume without tying them to a specific time frame, job title, and company.

When you’ve finished creating or updating a resume, what should you do next? 

Share your resume with several colleagues and ask for suggestions on content. Ask them to point out any glaring errors too. And never think of your resume as “finished” – it’s a living document that should be tailored to suit the opportunity at hand. Whenever possible, ask your target audience – meaning the hiring managers and recruiters to whom you are sending the resume – for feedback on your resume – after all, you have written it especially for them, so their opinion matters a great deal.

Let’s imagine a job seeker finds an opening and is interested in applying. Should that person send both their resume and a cover letter?

• If you’re really interested in a position you should bring your “A” game to both the resume and the cover letter. The more specific you can be with your application, the more likely you are going to be seen as a top candidate.
• Hiring managers are generally favorably impressed when you make an effort in your application.
• Make sure that the cover letter is targeted to address the specific company, contact person, and opportunity at hand. A cover letter should be very different from your resume. It should not be a narrative rehash of what is already in your resume.

Are there any circumstances when a job seeker would not send a cover letter with their resume?

If you have someone inside the organization who is serving as your spokesperson, you might be able to get away without a cover letter. If you have no information on the company, such as a blind ad, you might be able to get away without a cover letter.

What information should be contained in the cover letter?

You should always try to get the hiring manager’s name and job title, the HR contact’s name and job title. This makes the letter more personal and is an important first step toward following up.

You should include a mention of anyone you know in the company and what they have to say about it. Include what you like about the company – they love hearing why you think they’re great. You should include specifics about the impacts you believe you can make in the position, and highlight your best qualifications for the job. And last but not least, you should let them know that you intend to follow up in a few days to get their feedback on your application.

1. 17.   What tone should the cover letter convey? Can the job-seeker add a bit of their personality? If so, what’s appropriate?

If you are responding to a job ad, do your best to match their tone. An earnest, enthusiastic tone is generally welcome.

How long should the cover letter be? 

Most cover letters should be less than one page.

Should the same resume/cover letter be used for every position a job-seeker pursues in their current job-search?

No! No one is impressed by a form letter. The best you can do in a form letter is a narrative rehash of what’s already in your resume. The only letter worth reading is one that is specific and vibrant.

Should the resume and cover letter be sent both electronically (via email) and in hard copy form (via the postal service)?

You should send the resume and cover letter in the format requested, whether that’s an online upload, and email, a fax, or a hard copy by mail.

• Follow up with the company to ensure that they received your letter and resume. Often people think they’ve successfully completed an online application, or attached a resume, and something went wrong. Sometimes spam filters and other technical glitches can get in the way. Never assume that your information was received!
• You can of course send a hard copy resume to a company but do so as a last resort. Many companies these days are paperless and wouldn’t know where to file a hard copy resume unless it’s the recycle bin.

When should a job seeker get help from a professional, like you, with their resume?

• It’s a very competitive job market these days, so even if you happen to be an outstanding writer, I would say getting professional help can make all the difference in a swift and successful end to your search.
• One reason for hiring a pro or getting outside help is this = Writing a resume is very subjective, meaning it’s easy for you to focus on things that seem important but just aren’t relevant to your target audience. Getting outside help from an expert can make the process much more objective, easier, and much more effective.
• It’s also important to note that many job search services often tax-deductible, so the cost of resume preparation and related services can be a write-off.
• At a minimum, look at current resume sample books, get a free critique or two from a professional resume writer, or get a friend or two to help you. If you do decide to hire a resume writer, ask your friends for referrals, or use the Professional Association of Resume Writers web site (www.parw.com) to find a certified professional resume writer near you.

Still have questions? Feel free to email them to tracy @career-magic.com. You can also send us your resume for a one-time free critique!