My husband recently went through the arduous process of hiring an assistant. When he posted the job online, he received more than 100 applications. To give this some perspective, when he did this three years ago, he received about 40. After reviewing some of these choice pieces of prose, I just have a few pointers for some of the job seekers out there.
1. Proofread. I mean really it is a simple thing to do. Ask a friend to help you catch things you might miss. Don’t just rely on spell check.
2. Again, proofread. When cutting and pasting your cover letter, make sure it is addressed to the person you are actually sending it to. I mean, really folks.
3. Follow directions. If the job posting says send in your resume, then don’t just email questions. With this economy, managers aren’t interested in your worries, concerns, etc. They are weeding through hundreds of applications and looking at any reason at all to delete your email.
4. Address your weaknesses. Put yourself in the manager’s position when looking at your resume. If you are applying for a job that you are WAY overqualified for, then address it in your cover letter. If you are currently residing in another part of the state, city, or country, then say something about it.
5. Do your research about the company before applying and tailor your resume and cover letter to it. This may help you stand out unless they’ve read my tips too.
6. Send a thank you note. This tells your interviewer that you are interested in the job and really is just basic common courtesy. So take a couple of minutes, find a card and a pen, and write something heartfelt out.
So, I can’t guarantee that you’ll land that perfect dream job by following my tips, but I can tell you that your resume will be less likely to end up in the trash pile (assuming you have a decent resume, which would be another article and more advice than I care to give tonight). Good luck with your job search!
No comments:
Post a Comment