Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

A cover letter is supposed to be brief, readable, and professional. A fax cover sheet or a handwritten note should preferably never be used, especially when you want an employer to view you as a serious potential employee. The ideal cover letter is four to five paragraphs long, with each paragraph consisting of maybe three or four sentences. Keep in mind, too, that “less is more.” Your letter should preferably be no more than one page in length. Write clearly and concisely, and stay focused in each paragraph.

For example, one could use the following for writing an amazing cover letter:

1. write one or two sentences to introduce the purpose of your contact;
2. write a second paragraph to highlight your relevant skills and work experience;
3. write a third paragraph to outline academic credentials and relevant certifications;
4. write a quick paragraph outlining salary requirements (include such a paragraph only in response to a querying employer, of course); and lastly …
5. write a closing paragraph that reminds the reader how to reach you.

This tip is excerpted with permission from Designing a Cover Letter to “Wow” Hiring Personnel, an e-book by Teena Rose. For more cover-letter tips, visit Teena’s Bookstore to download your copy for $27.77. You can also download a free 19-page excerpt.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

Close to two-thirds (62.7 percent) of employer respondents in the 2010 Orange County Resume Survey* said that when receiving resumes electronically (the most common delivery mode these days), they prefer them as a Word .doc.

More than a third (36.1 percent) surveyed prefer PDF files, while 1.2 percent favor Rich Text (.rtf). Text-only (.txt) and online resumes in .html format received no support in the survey.

Although a Wod .doc is usually a safe bet, it’s wise to check the employer’s Web site or contact the employer to determine the preferred file format for your resume.

*The 2010 Orange County Resume Survey by The Center for Career and Life Development, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA, Eric Hilden, Career Placement Officer, was distributed by email to 2,000+ employer contacts in Orange County and shared online employer contacts in Orange County and shared online via social-networking sites including Linkedin.com and Twitter.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

You can find many books, websites, and other guides with hundreds of sample cover letters. Use them as a starting point to help you get ideas for format and content, but don’t copy them. Write your cover letter in your own words so it has your voice and style. Take the time to research the company and convey your own enthusiasm for the job. A bland, generic cover letter says that you didn’t care enough about the position or the employer to expend any effort creating a specific and detailed letter.

This tip is excerpted with permission from Designing a Cover Letter to “Wow” Hiring Personnel, an e-book by Teena Rose. For more cover-letter tips, visit Teena’s Bookstore to download your copy for $27.77. You can also download a free 19-page excerpt.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

More than half (53.6 percent) of surveyed employers in the 2010 Orange County Resume Survey* said they have no preference for the type of paper resume are printed on when they are sent by postal mail, hand-delivered, or brought to an interview.

Almost a third (31 percent) preferred white paper of the type found in most printers and copy machines. Almost 11 percent preferred heavy gray or cream paper.

Paper choice is thus one less decision job-seekers need to struggle with, this survey suggests. That could be because printed resumes take on a less prominent role in the current environment. It is probably safe to say that most resumes these days are delivered electronically.

*The 2010 Orange County Resume Survey by The Center for Career and Life Development, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA, Eric Hilden, Career Placement Officer, was distributed by email to 2,000+ employer contacts in Orange County and shared online employer contacts in Orange County and shared online via social-networking sites including Linkedin.com and Twitter.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

In the Research Study: How Does Your Résumé Compare? Competitive Career Intelligence for 6-Figure Canadians*, 29 percent of résumés assessed did not present a clear strategic target.

WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT: Prospective employers are looking for an ideal match between an applicant and an opening within their organization. Therefore, the recipient of the résumé needs to know what position the candidate is seeking.

WHAT TO AVOID: General résumés tend to be ineffective. If the reader of the résumé is unable to ascertain where the candidate will be best suited, the individual is more than likely to be disregarded even if an appropriate role exists.

WHAT TO DO: Focus is imperative in today’s competitive job market. For a six-figure candidate to be considered, it is essential that he or she identifies a salient job target. Instead of being a closely guarded secret, the ideal position being sought must be the foundation of the résumé.

*Graham Management Group (GMG), a Canadian firm specializing in career-transition solutions for executives, managers, and six-figure professionals, examined and analyzed 1,000 résumés submitted in 2009 to the group by senior-level Canadians. GMG performed the analysis by methodically applying validated strategic résumé principles and theories in a structured manner across all documents. We’re excerpting some results of this analysis over the next several weeks.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

When you’re planning to relocate, submitting your resume with a cover letter to various companies in hopes of establishing a relationship and inquiring about employment opportunities is a great idea. A cover letter is an extremely important part of your direct-mail campaign, but also be sure you’ve devised an overall strategy about relocating. Research companies in the new location, decide which ones to target, and identify key people to contact. Our Quintessential Careers Directory of Company Career Centershttp://www.quintcareers.com/career_centers/ can help you reach major targeted companies. And once you’ve sent out your cover-letter and resume packages, make sure you follow up and contact these people to try to get some interviews, either by phone or as soon as you arrive at your new location. For help with your cover letter, visit Cover Letter Resources for Job-Seekers, which includes a link to our Cover Letter Tutorial.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

Results from the 2010 Orange County Resume Survey* recently revealed that more than a third (37.6 percent) of employers believe resume length should be determined by the level of the position applied for. Just over 30 percent prefer a one-page resume; almost 19 percent prefer a two-page resume; and 8.2 percent have no preference.

Many job-seekers feel constrained by a mythical “one-page” rule. These results suggest the constraint is unjustified.

*The 2010 Orange County Resume Survey by The Center for Career and Life Development, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA, Eric Hilden, Career Placement Officer, was distributed by email to 2,000+ employer contacts in Orange County and shared online employer contacts in Orange County and shared online via social-networking sites including Linkedin.com and Twitter.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

A resume by itself can be limiting; but when paired with a cover letter, both documents serve as a highly effective tag team. Consider this: An employer has a large number of applicants to review, yet he or she can take only seconds to consider each candidate. By knowing what is useful to the employer and calling attention to that in your cover letter, for example, you help quickly answer the question, “Why should I hire this person?” Focus the letter not only on your skill set, but also consider including details on how you can help the employer with what pains them.

This tip is excerpted with permission from Designing a Cover Letter to “Wow” Hiring Personnel, an e-book by Teena Rose. For more cover-letter tips, visit Teena’s Bookstore to download your copy for $27.77. You can also download a free 19-page excerpt.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

“Self-marketing success requires three essential elements,” said Susan Guarneri, the “Career Assessment Goddess,” in the Q&A interview she did with Quint Careers:

1. understanding who your target audience is and their needs,
2. having a credible and compelling message that your target audience values, and
3. capturing that target audience’s attention.

Resumes have been the primary tool for self-marketing in the past. Whether they will continue to serve that function in the future depends largely on:

• how the selection and hiring industries (HR and recruiting) of various professions evolve to accommodate other types of self-marketing tools, such as the web portfolio, and
• how the available talent pool chooses to promote their candidacy.

Some professions welcome creative approaches, often involving new technology, while others seem to push towards standardization of online application forms. Similarly, many highly desirable candidates promote themselves to selective target audiences and use distinctive approaches, while other candidates default to generic resumes hoping to catch anyone’s eye. Unfortunately, the path of least effort for many candidates is the generic resume, which is ironically the least effective in meeting the three self-marketing essentials.

Whatever the means of self-marketing (resume, bio, online profile, or web portfolio), best practices indicate that the type chosen needs to be appropriate to the target audience (profession and industry) and the candidate, and it needs to be effective in conveying a message of value and distinction.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

The importance of first impressions is clear when it comes to cover letters. In just a few paragraphs, you’ll present your communication skills, your attention to detail, your interest in the company, and let’s not forget your qualifications that are perfect for the job. A cover letter is also a great place to shine a bit of your personality too. Not sure what details to snapshot in your cover letter? Start by making a list of the top 10-20 components of your professional value and cross- reference that list to what the employer seeks. Your professional value, plus employer’s wants/needs, equals a great snapshot of you in a letter. Voila!

This tip is excerpted with permission from Designing a Cover Letter to “Wow” Hiring Personnel, an e-book by Teena Rose. For more cover-letter tips, visit Teena’s Bookstore to download your copy for $27.77. You can also download a free 19-page excerpt.

Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.