Networking In A New City Far, Far Away by Tim Tyrell-Smith

Article Source:  http://blog.spinstrategy.com/2009/08/networking-in-a-city-far-far-away.html

So I got re-connected with a new friend.  A follower of this blog and someone who is doing all the right things and not finding the right result in his local job search.  A scenario that fits a number of you, I’m sure.

He e-mailed a few weeks ago with a follow-up question from our last phone call.

After scouring the Denver market for the right job in the right industry, he has now started on another  path.  Toward a job outside his current city.  Not his first choice, but one that commonly comes up after a few months on the job hunt.

Now I’ll tell you he has one leg up.  And that is that he grew up and went to college in his target state.  The great state of Texas.

You may also be thinking about a similar path. 

“Do I need to start looking for a job outside my city?  Outside my state?”

“If so, how do I do that?”

So here’s what I told him.  And if you have any additional ideas for how to network in a new city far, far away, will you comment below?  I’m sure he’d love some additional ideas!

1.  Contact The Local College Career Centers.  He graduated from Texas A&M which has a great career center.  But I’ll bet if he were to call the career center at UT or Tech that someone there might make a few free resources available.

2.  Scour Your Contacts On LinkedIn.  How many of them live in or have lived in your target state?  How many of them work for companies that have their HQ or regional offices in that state?  This is one of the most powerful benefits of building strategic contacts on LinkedIn – the chance to contact them and ask for help.  And it’s not just your contacts, of course.  It is the entire network that you are connected to as a result.  

3.  Join LinkedIn Groups In That State Or Region.  The networking groups are there for just this purpose.  And even if you don’t live there now, e-mail the group owner after making your request and let them know what you are trying to do.  Who knows?  They may be able to help directly!  Oh, and please don’t just join.  Get in there and actively network.  Offer ideas.  And ask for help.

Top Regional Job Search Groups on Linkedin

Linkedin Job Search Groups.  After You Join . . .

 

4.  Join Industry Associations And Ask About Groups In That Region.   American Marketing Association (AMA), Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) are a few examples.  What groups are active in your industry or function?  And, which of them offer career services and local networking  support?  And, if you join, become an active member.  These should be key long-term ways for you to get involved and maintain an active network.

5.  Take A “Fam” (Familiarization) Trip To Your Target City.  You’ll have to do this at some point anyway.  But before you go, become familiar with the schedule of a number of local networking groups.  That way you can join in for some local and in-person networking with real people in your target city or state.  And when you stand up for your elevator pitch, do you think people will remember you?  The person that drove 400 miles to be there?  I would.  To find networking events and calendars in a new city, go to Meetup.  

6.  Reach Out To Friends And Family.  Everyone has a cousin somewhere in the U.S., right?  You’ve heard me say it is crucial to make sure your network knows your job search objectives.  Well, if you update or expand your objectives, your family and friends need to know that too.  And then you need to ask for their help.  Sounds simple but few people do it.

7.  Use Twitter To Find Active Networkers or Recruiters.  Did you know you can search for people or keywords on Twitter?  Even if your follower base is small, you can still reach out to people.  So in the case of my friend looking to network in Texas, I suggested he search for people located in Texas, tweeting “Texas”, “Dallas”, “A&M”, etc.  Once you find them and follow each other, you can try a direct message.  But that is now full of so much spam that it may not get through.  Best is to either send them an “@ message” or get their attention by being a helpful “re-tweeter”.

Twitter For Job Search. OK, But What Do I Say?

Twitter.  Like A Walk In The Park.

8.  Contact The Local Chamber of Commerce Or A Local Realtor.   The local chamber will be full of local business owners.  The realtor will know a lot of people and may just be motivated by the fact that you will likely become a client if you can find a job in the new city.

9.  Look For Fan Pages On Facebook.  Maybe there is a fan page out there for the City of Houston.  Become a fan and interact on the group’s wall.  Again, ask for a little help.  If you do it respectfully and nicely, someone will respond to help!

10. Call Your Local Gym Or Church.  Maybe they have contacts in the new city that could help!  Personal trainers meet a lot of people, right?  Maybe an affiliated Church in the new city has a career ministry.  One that helps and supports job seekers.

So that’s my list . . .

If you are considering moving to a new city or have done it successfully through networking, please leave a comment a below.  I’d love to brainstorm some more ideas with you or hear yours!

Job-Hopping, Revisited

Article Source:  http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/getting-started/Job-Hopping-Revisited/article.aspx

Sobering New Rules to Live By

By Allan Hoffman, Monster Tech Jobs Expert

Have you had maybe a few too many IT jobs over the last few years? If you were chasing bigger opportunities — and a bigger paycheck — during the tech boom or were downsized repeatedly during the bust that followed, you may find that you’ll need to address prospective employers’ concerns that you’re a job-hopper.

“If you were a chronic job-hopper during the dotcom days, people may be questioning your integrity and loyalty,” says Allison Hemming, founder of the Pink Slip Parties, networking events for laid-off professionals. “Within the pink-slip community, there are people panicked over this question.”

The overheated job market made job-hopping common during the boom, but those were different times. Companies now want to know a candidate’s reasons for job-hopping, though dotcom-era switches may earn a special dispensation.

“I think there’s an understanding that from 1997 to early 2000, it was part of the madness that the country was caught up in,” says Jason Berkowitz, chief operating officer of Hunter Recruitment Advisors.

Nevertheless, hiring managers and recruiters emphasize the need to prepare for the inevitable questions about your employment history.

Follow these rules:

• Steer the Conversation to the Positive: Rather than focusing on reasons an employer may see as a negative — namely, chasing after options or a higher salary — find ways to emphasize positive aspects of working at a variety of organizations.
• Practice Your Answer: Too many techies enter interviews unprepared for questions about job-hopping. “They know it’s coming, and they freak out when it comes, and then the interview’s over,” says Hemming, author of Work It! How to Get Ahead, Save Your Ass and Land a Job in Any Economy. She recommends writing down your answer, rehearsing it out loud, editing it and videotaping yourself. “Get comfortable with answering, and focus on the upside,” she says. “You need to be ready.”

Consider these specific tactics when planning how to handle a history of job-hopping on your resume and in interviews:

• State Why You Left on Your Resume: Berkowitz says he sees more resumes where a parenthetical explanation — “Company closed due to lack of funding,” for example — will appear after the dates of employment. You can even use your resume objective to indicate that you’re seeking employment with a stable company, he notes.  
• Communicate Your Soft Skills: With employers angling for techies with soft skills, emphasize how your experience at different companies allowed you to hone your ability to work with a variety of people, such as customers, senior executives and owners, recommends Evan Burks, senior vice president at staffing firm Comforce.  
• Provide References: References from your job-hopping days, even from managers at a firm no longer in business, can show you were a prized employee.  
• Show Your Loyalty: “You need to demonstrate that you stick to other things,” says Hemming. A long-term commitment to volunteer work for a specific organization, for instance, can demonstrate that you’re not always moving from one opportunity to another.  
• Convey the Scope of Your Experience: Focus on how you got the chance to work on a variety of projects, thereby gaining skills needed by your prospective employer, Burks suggests.  
• Have Solid Reasons for So Much Coming and Going: To a certain extent, employers want to get a sense of your reasons for joining and leaving a company. “You get a lot of really bad answers,” Berkowitz says. “You get a lot of people saying they got offered a lot of stock options.” Avoid being glib. Instead, strive to convey the thoughtful, well-researched reasons why you switched jobs.
• Know How You Can Fill Their Needs: “Bring it back to them,” advises Hemming. What problem does the prospective employer want to remedy? Think of a way your previous experiences will help the new company.

Of course, job-hopping may also call for a certain degree of self-examination. “Ask yourself, ‘Why is this happening?'” Hemming recommends. “Could you be making smarter choices?”

 

Gossip Your Way to a Great Job

Article Source:  http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-gossip_your_way_to_a_great_job-980

by Maria Hanson, LiveCareer

Titillating as it can be, gossip is something most people realize they should avoid, especially at work.

But there is an upside to gossip. In a recent survey by staffing firm Randstad USA, more than half of the respondents felt gossip was useful to job hunting. Gossip can also help you identify new opportunities within your own workplace. And even the most casual office chit-chat can give you insight into your work, your company, and even your own job security.

Follow these tips to gossip to your career advantage:

1) Rethink your idea of gossip. Work gossip isn’t just about who’s dating whom in the office. Any piece of information about a company or industry can be used to your advantage. Reading journals and websites specific to your industry may give you useful information about which employers are growing their workforce. Or hearing a rumor that free snacks in the break-room are a disappearing perk can be a heads up that your organization is doing some belt-tightening.

2) Don’t automatically shun all gossip. People often hear important work-related items first through the office grapevine. By ignoring all gossip, you could be isolating yourself. Attend seminars, parties, and other gatherings that provide a chance for networking. Be receptive, listen, and ask probing questions. But don’t participate in talking badly about anyone.

3) Filter the gossip. If you just listen, and tune out the nasty stuff, you won’t get a rep as a gossip monger. But you’ll be on the right channel if there’s news that could help your career. Open your ears and extract the opportunity-rich tidbits. For example, you may hear about something as seemingly insignificant as a hiring manager’s love of dogs. If you’re a dog lover, this could be just the gem you need to make a connection with the person who makes hiring decisions.

4) Put the info to work. Take the information you’ve gathered and use it to get to the right people. Email the hiring manager of a company that just won a big contract — and send your resume highlighting your relevant experience.

Find out how to tailor your resume for a specific position with your free resume guide.

5) Befriend a connector. Share your gossip with a connector. A connector is someone who seems to know everyone and effortlessly disseminates news. Likewise, if you need to do damage control, there’s no one better to approach.

6) Be your own gossip. If you’ve had a success you want known — something that could get you noticed in high places — get the word out there yourself. Not sure how to toot your own horn? Appropriate bragging has its place in the workplace. For example, at a staff meeting, you could mention a successful group project that you spearheaded. This can get you and your team the favorable attention you earned.

Gossip doesn’t have to involve backstabbing or spreading hurtful rumors. Useful gossip is about connecting with others in a positive way. Knowing your interests and using this knowledge to make connections with others can help your career.

Take a free career test to identify your interests and strengths and find out what kind of career opportunities best suit you.

7 ways online job boards can help your job search

By: Julie Rains at partner blog Wise Bread.

There was a brief period, before the last recession, when my career-services clients actually found jobs on online job boards. They’d post résumés and interview requests, and job offers quickly followed.

For the past several years, though, clients have told me they felt as if online applications led to a black hole: Résumés were submitted but companies never made contact. Even a rejection letter would have meant progress, indicating that a human was somehow involved in the decision-making process.

Though I don’t recommend online boards as a direct path to a new position, I do find them extremely useful in a job search.

For someone launching a job search, online job boards can provide a wealth of information. I have had consistently good results with Monster.com, though there are many other general boards, industry niche boards, and aggregators of job listings, such as CareerBuilder.com, Indeed.com, and Dice.com.

My focus is on finding well-written, detailed job descriptions that indicate specific responsibilities and requirements. Many descriptions are vague and useless to me; others, however, seem to have been constructed to outline highly specific needs for real jobs with viable companies. A bit of fluff promoting the company and its tremendous benefits and great working environment is fine but should be accompanied by a multi-bulleted list of duties, beginning with an overview and then mentioning key areas of accountability as well as position requirements.

Here’s what I use these job descriptions for:

Do a reality check. One of the first things a job seeker should do is define his ideal job or target position based not only on career goals but also on education, experiences, knowledge and skills. Figuring out whether such a position actually exists is a natural next step, made pretty easy with a keyword search.

Pinpoint a job title. A job title is useful in conveying goals to a hiring manager in words that she’ll understand. Postings with position descriptions can be useful in matching real-world job accountabilities with a job seeker’s professional capabilities. Though organizational structures may vary among companies, there will often be enough similarities to pinpoint a job title. Job seekers can then reference this title in communications with potential employers or those who may offer referrals, and use the title in searches of the careers sections of target employers.

Uncover obstacles to landing that perfect job. In some cases, a job seeker has most, but not all, of the qualifications. Not being a perfect candidate shouldn’t rule out searching for that type of position. But, if certain skill sets or types of experiences are requested repeatedly by a number of employers, then a job seeker could consider taking a class or learning a new technology, for example, or figuring out how to communicate why his experience is similar to the experience requested by the hiring manager.

See what companies are hiring and where the jobs are. Though I like to read articles about what industries are hot, what companies are hiring, and which geographical areas are experiencing an economic boom, I use specific job postings with real companies to make decisions about where to concentrate a search.

Refine or write the résumé. My modus operandi is to create a first draft of a résumé and then use job descriptions to make adjustments. I might add a position duty or a computer skill that seemed insignificant but appears on most job postings. For a job seeker writing her own résumé, the online job descriptions could be useful in creating or fleshing out the résumé.

Find keywords. Job seekers may be fearful that they won’t use the right keywords and their résumés will never be selected by computerized screening systems. Scrutinizing well-written, detailed job responsibilities and requirements can provide the job seeker with current keywords.

Craft a cover letter. Customizing each free cover letter to match the exact requirements of each target job can be time-consuming and energy-zapping. Instead, craft the letter to meet the descriptions and requirements for a handful of similar positions, and use that letter as the base for subsequent letters.

I typically don’t give unsolicited advice to individual clients, but, if asked, I will mention that putting oneself out there (posting a résumé for anyone to see, with no privacy settings) has not been particularly fruitful for many job seekers. To avoid the black hole of Internet searching, some clients have found that referrals from business associates (former co-workers, vendors and customers), direct inquiries to targeted companies, and communications with those in industry or trade groups are more helpful than blindly posting to online job boards.

Have you used online job boards to find a job lately? Share your experiences in the comments.

The Four Questions

The Four Questions
By: Southworth

Answering the following four questions in a fully persuasive way will greatly increase your odds of developing a winning resume. The questions are the crucial elements of the resume writing formula. Answering them will not only give you the material you need for building a strong resume but will also prepare you for networking and interviewing. Use the resume writing examples below as a point of reference.

What do you want?

What is your job target? The resume should be built around your job target (whether you include an objective or not) so that prospective employers can immediately see what position you are aiming for.

Why are you qualified to do it?

That’s the summary or “professional profile” section. This is where you outline the skills and credentials that qualify you for the job. You can break your skills into functional sections or use bullet points to highlight key points. If this section is done properly, it will convince prospective employers that the rest of your resume is worth reading, bringing them to the next question.

Where have you done it?

That’s the “experience” section. The reader needs to know whom you worked for, the city and state where they are located and what you did. Ideally, your job descriptions should include lots of active verbs and focus on keywords and functional skills that are most relevant to your job target. See our list of words below.

How well have you done it?

Listing accomplishments and special projects shows by example that you have contributed to previous employers’ bottom lines. The best accomplishments are those that demonstrate quantifiable results or your willingness to go “the extra mile.” Did you come up with an idea that saved the company money? Were you promoted because of your team building skills? Were you selected for a key program because of your positive attitude? Whenever possible, describe how you improved previous employers’ bottom lines – i.e., doubled sales, cut costs, reduced errors, streamlined processing or improved efficiency.

Use Numbers to Highlight Your Accomplishments

Source:  http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/resume-writing-tips/numbers-to-highlight-accomplishments/article.aspx

By Peter Vogt, Monster Senior Contributing Writer

 If you were an employer looking at a resume, which of the following entries would impress you more?

• Wrote news releases.
• Wrote 25 news releases in a three-week period under daily deadlines.

Clearly, the second statement carries more weight. Why? Because it uses numbers to quantify the writer’s accomplishment, giving it a context that helps the interviewer understand the degree of difficulty involved in the task.

Numbers are powerful resume tools that will help your accomplishments get the attention they deserve from prospective employers. With just a little thought, you can find effective ways to quantify your successes on your resume. Here are a few suggestions:

Think Money

Organizations are and always will be concerned about money. So as you contemplate your accomplishments and prepare to present them on your resume, think about ways you’ve saved, earned or managed money in your internships, part-time jobs and extracurricular activities so far. A few possibilities that might appear on a typical resume:

• Identified, researched and recommended a new Internet service provider, cutting the company’s online costs by 15 percent.
• Wrote prospect letter that has brought in more than $25,000 in donations so far.
• Managed a student organization budget of more than $7,000.

Think Time

You’ve heard the old saying, “Time is money,” and it’s true. Companies and organizations are constantly looking for ways to save time and do things more efficiently. They’re also necessarily concerned about meeting deadlines, both internal and external. So whatever you can do on your resume to show that you can save time, make time or manage time will grab your reader’s immediate attention. Here are some time-oriented entries that might appear on a typical resume:

• Assisted with twice-monthly payroll activities, ensuring employees were paid as expected and on time.
• Suggested procedures that decreased average order-processing time from 10 minutes to five minutes.

Think Amounts

It’s very easy to neglect mentioning how much or how many of something you’ve produced or overseen. There’s a tendency instead to simply pluralize your accomplishments — e.g., “wrote news releases” or “developed lesson plans” -– without including important specifics — e.g., “wrote 25 news releases” or “developed lesson plans for two classes of 20 students each.”

Don’t fall into the trap of excluding numbers. Instead, include amounts, like these:

• Recruited 25 members for a new student environmental organization.
• Trained five new employees on restaurant operations procedures.
• Created process that bolstered production 25 percent

The more you focus on money, time and amounts in relation to your accomplishments, the better you’ll present your successes and highlight your potential — and the more you’ll realize just how much you really have to offer prospective employers. Add it all up, and you’ll see that playing the numbers game is yet another way to convince employers that you should be a part of their equation for success.

Anti Unemployment Organization Wants to Pay Utility Bills

Source:  http://news.aol.com/article/anti-unemployment-organization-wants-to/638403?icid=sphere_newsaol_inpage

GOODYEAR, Ariz., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Founder and President Joshua Turner of Help My Resume, ( HTTP:// www.helpmyresume.org ) today announced the ” Flippin Pay My Bill ” contest, a state of Arizona approved contest, with the grand prize being a years worth of utility bills paid valued at $3,600. “Paying an individuals or families utility bill is another weapon that we have created to combat unemployment,” said Josh Turner, Help My Resume’s president and CEO.

“This contest will do two things for Help My Resume. It will satisfy a need to take a ‘necessity’ bill off of one individual or family’s plate. Allowing the winning individual or family to focus on other issues and hopefully get ahead in this tough economy. The contest will also let individuals know about the different free services that Help My Resume offers to all Americans eighteen years or older,” said Manon Chadwick, Vice President.

The “Flippin Pay My Bill” contest is open to all US citizens who are eighteen years or older, with the grand prize being a years worth of utility bills paid up to $3,600, with a second place prize of a new 2nd generation 32GB iPod Touch, and a third place prize of a $150 dollar Macy’s gift card.

Details and registration information for the “Flippin Pay My Bill” contest are available at http://www.helpmyresume.org . We are limiting only ten thousand entries into the “Flippin Pay My Bill” contest. Help My Resume will be announcing the winners of this contest on October 1, 2009.

 

About Help My Resume

Help My Resume, a Flippin Creative Inc. organization, is a national organization motivated by a love of America, and for the wellbeing of our fellow citizens and the dreams and hopes of a bright future and endless opportunities, each of us as Americans hold dear to our hearts. We work together with our corporate sponsors, private donors, and foundations across the country in order to motivate, build confidence, financially support and equip with new or upgraded skill sets, unemployed Americans from coast to coast all across the United States.

 

Help My Resume is a registered trademark of Flippin Creative Inc. a IRS approved non-profit organization.

SOURCE Help My Resume

2009-08-25 10:00:00

How to Sell Yourself in a Job Interview

Article Source:  http://www.ehow.com/how_107717_sell-yourself-job.html

How do you make someone want to hire you? Simple: Put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer and focus on his or her needs and you’ll become an irresistible applicant.

Step 1 – Find out as much as you can about the company: How is it performing? What is its mission statement and who are its customers? What are the interviewer’s priorities and responsibilities? The more you know, the more you’ll be able to ask informed questions about the job.

Step 2– Study the description of the job for which you have applied. Be clear on what is expected and if you have the background and skills to do it.

Step 3 – Take an inventory of your strengths and practice discussing how they complement the requirements of the job. Write down specific examples that demonstrate these strengths and be able to speak fluidly and intelligently about them.

Step 4 – Make a winning first impression at the interview. Be prompt, make eye contact and give a firm handshake. Dress one notch above what’s expected for the position you’re interviewing for.

Step 5 – Look for common ground between you and the interviewer to establish a positive rapport and to stand out from the crowd. You may have the same alma mater or mutual friends. Be careful not to overplay this and look desperate.

Step 6 – Turn what could be seen as potential weaknesses into strengths. You might say “I haven’t worked in promotions but I coordinated getting the word out for my son’s school carnival and we had twice as many people attend this year.” Be calm and confident.

Step 7 – Use specific examples to describe why you’re a perfect match for the job. Ask probing questions to demonstrate a genuine interest in the position. In the process, interview the interviewer to find out why the position is open. Get a sense of what the turnover rate is at the company, what the position’s job track is, and how the company keeps its employees happy. You’re trying to find out if you want to work for that company as much as they’re trying to find out if they want you.

Step 8 – Demonstrate that you are a problem-solver. Identify an issue the company is facing or a problem you might potentially encounter in that job and discuss how you’d solve it.

Step 9 – Make the interviewer feel good about hiring you. Be enthusiastic, responsive, truthful and friendly.

Step 10 – Follow up with a thank-you note that reiterates your qualifications and mentions specific topics covered in the interview to trigger the person’s memory about your winning interview.

Featured Career Expert: Alison Doyle, About.Com

Alison Doyle is a job search expert with many years of experience in human resources, career development, and job searching, with a focus on online job searching, job search technology, social media, and professional networking. She has covered job searching for About.com since 1998.

Alison is the author of Internet Your Way to a New Job: How to Really Find a Job Online (2009) and the About.com Guide to Job Searching (2006).

Experience:

Alison worked for many years in Human Resources. She has also worked in a college career services office, developing information technology resources to assist constituents with job searching.

Alison has been quoted or mentioned in many major online and print publications, including The New York Times, CNN.com, Newsday, NY Daily News, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, MSNBC.com, ABCNews.com, The Christian Science Monitor, The Arizona Republic, FastCompany.com, Employment Digest, Bankrate.com, HireVue.com, Kiplinger.com, LinkedIn, Mashable.com, TypePad, WashingtonPost.com, Consumer Reports, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the syndicated Careers Now column.

She has also been featured on the radio shows InfoTRAK, Blogtalkradio, Career Success, Women Aloud, Something You Should Know, and The Job Search Solution, as well as many local radio stations.

Alison is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Education:

Alison holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and has completed several years of employee benefit and and information technology coursework.

From Alison Doyle:

“You’ll find tips for locating job listings, finding employers, networking, and other ways to find the right job. Some of the topics I cover include online job searching, writing resumes and cover letters, references, unemployment, and interviewing skills.”

Media Contacts: Email Alison for interviews.

References:

• About.com Careers and Job Search LinkedIn Group
  Networking with career experts and plus job search advice and resources.
• Alison Doyle’s Personal Blog
  Commentary and career advice, and using your connections to build your career.
• Press
  Media mentions and coverage.
• Internet Your Way to a New Job
  Online job search, professional branding, networking, and career building strategies and techniques.

For more information about Alison Doyle, please visit this link.

How To Write a Cover Letter

Article Source:  http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/coverletters/ht/coverletter.htm

By Alison Doyle, About.com

How to write a cover letter for a job application. Tips on how to write an effective cover letter to apply for a job.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: One Hour

Here’s How:

1. Take the time to write a targeted cover letter for each employer. This means customizing each cover letter you write, so it specifically relates your skills to the job you are applying for:
   how to write targeted cover letters
2. State why you are writing, indicating your interest in the job:
   what to include in your cover letter
3. State where you learned of the position and the title of the position you are applying for. This way the person reading your cover letter will know which job you are interested in.
4. Explain the reasons for your interest in the organization. Let the cover letter reviewer know why you are interested in the company.
5. Express your enthusiasm for the job.
6. Identify your most relevant skills and experiences. Don’t just duplicate your resume. Rather, include the skills that most match the job.
7. Refer to the qualifications for the position and illustrate how your abilities relate.
8. Communicate your interest, motivation, and strengths.
9. Emphasize your achievements.
10. Indicate how you will follow-up, typically with a phone call or an email. Thank the company for their consideration.
11. Review sample cover letters: cover letter samples

Tips:

1. Avoid cliches and meaningless or wordy expressions.
2. Your cover letter should complement, not duplicate your resume.
3. Your cover letter is often the first contact with an employer, make sure it creates a good impression.
4. Take the time to target your cover letter to the job you are applying for.

What You Need:

• Word processing software
• Spell checker and grammar checker
• Cover letter samples to review