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Emails That Support Your Resume

Mar 02 2014

If you are sending your resume by email, you need to treat the email as carefully as your resume and certainly as carefully as a printed cover letter. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Be professional and business formal in your language. The email that accompanies your resume is not the right place for texting abbreviations or for emoticons.
Your email should include an identification of the job you are applying for, preferably both in the email’s subject line and in the content. Read the ad or job posting carefully for any instructions (such as a job identification number).
Be sure your email includes your full contact information (name, phone number, and address). The company you are applying to may not email a reply; they may prefer to phone.
Like cover letters, cover emails are an excellent place to put in information that might not belong in your resume, such as “open to relocation” or a statement about why you chose that particular company.
Do not send the same email to several companies at once. Send each company its own email.
Remember to include your resume in the exact form (Word, .pdf, text) that the company specifies. Some companies accept attachments but others want you to embed your resume in the email itself. If you are not sure of the format a company requires, send the company a Word 2003 file attached to the email and also embed the resume in the email itself.
Save the email and then delay 10 or 15 minutes before hitting send. Walk away from the computer and take your mind off the email. When you return, read the email again to make sure it is clear, professional, accurate, and as brief as possible. Check for spelling or grammatical errors. Then send.

At Robin’s Resumes®, we believe cover letters and cover emails deserve the same attention as your resume.

The Ten Big Do’s of Resumes

Jan 19 2014

Write your resume for the job you want. Research the company and industry you are interested in and give them the details that will make their eyes light up.
Look at ads and job postings for the skills/accomplishments companies expect to appear in your resume (“must know Excel”) and make sure you add them to the content.
Start every bullet with a verb, preferably not “responsible for.”
Discuss as many of your skills as possible in terms of accomplishments. Everyone can file. But if you “Saved 300 man-hours a year by reorganizing the filing system to reduce lookup time”—then you have an accomplishment.
Try to put numbers to your accomplishments. In addition to numbers you personally generated (“sold $3,000 worth of product in 1 day”), your numbers can include size of company (“worked for international company with $1B in revenue”), number/type of people you reported to (“reported directly to company president,” “wrote monthly reports sent to Sales and Marketing departments,” “handled correspondence for five attorneys”), number of people who reported to you, the time something took (“promoted after 1 year”), and similar items.
Take credit! If you were a member of a committee, if your team accomplished something under your direction, if you made a suggestion, if you were employee of the month—mention it.
As well as your college degree, include courses you’ve taken since graduation, including company-sponsored courses. These courses show a commitment to professional development.
Add your volunteer activities (“member of board of Chamber of Commerce; volunteer at Big Brothers/Big Sisters”), especially if you are a new graduate and your work history is sparse. Success is the nonprofit area is also meaningful.
Provide a cover letter or email. Some companies do not expect a cover letter, but those that do really want it. Also a cover letter or email is another chance to highlight your successes.
Proofread the obvious: there is nothing more frustrating than finding out too late that you switched digits in your phone number, left a letter off your email address, or misspelled the name of the company you are writing to.

So how can you be sure you are doing the right things in your resume? At Robin’s Resumes® we provide job seekers with resumes that give them confidence and get them interviews.

Three Job Search Frustrations: What a Job Seeker Can Do to Overcome Them

Oct 20 2013

Some of the worst frustrations of a job search are, unfortunately, created by the company doing the hiring.

Problem One: The Impossible Job

Recently on LinkedIn a Human Resources manager posted a job description and asked why the company was having such a hard time filling the position. Everyone who responded pointed out that the job posting was way too detailed—no single human being could possibly bring all those skills to the table.

The job hunters looking at that job posting must have felt extremely frustrated. They had all the skills and experience to handle most of the position to perfection; but no chance at all of handling the rest.

If you find yourself agonizing over jobs like that, you have two courses of action: write a cover letter that clarifies the situation for the company and hope they will realize what a good fit you are; or move on to a more realistic job posting. If you do decide to educate the company, I will be happy to help you write an appropriate cover letter or email.

Problem Two: The Aggressive Interviewer

Some hiring managers approach interviews like interrogations: they want the interviewee to sweat. The best way to prepare for an aggressive interviewer who delights in posing impossible questions and scenarios is to have a strong resume at your back, one that enables you to recall the highlights in your career and work them into a response. If you cannot answer the question asked, you can at least draw from your history to find a close example or to turn the question into one that you can answer. Robin’s Resumes® specializes in resumes that give job hunters the confidence and assurance they need during interviews.

Problem Three: Inaccurate Information

The company advertises an opening. Unfortunately, the advertisement contains misleading, missing or inaccurate information.

Whenever you interview, be prepared with questions that clarify exactly what the company expects, where you would be working and for whom. If the information you receive does not match your expectations, you may need to move on. The wrong job is like the wrong spouse: no matter hard you try, it will seldom change enough to match your expectations.

Job hunting is often frustrating but a good resume and cover letter or email can help you deal with the frustration and even turn it around. Contact Robin’s Resumes today.

Anticipating the Job Market

Oct 13 2013

In my previous blog post, I talked about the opportunity that unemployment offers to envision and grasp your dream job. Once you know what your dream job looks like, the next step is to become more active in your job search and actually anticipate openings. You should be in contact not only with the companies you have researched, but also with recruiters and venture capitalists.

When you know the type of company you would like to work for, research the companies in your preferred location that match your criteria. As part of your research, see if you can discover where each company might be feeling pain. For example, a company that is expanding might not be advertising for a Human Resources professional now but will probably need one in the future. A company with a dated website and no presence on social media might be interested in hearing from someone who is an expert in website and social media marketing. When you have found the companies that match your criteria and uncovered a problem they may be having, send them your resume with a cover letter or email explaining why you feel you are a perfect match for them. Be sure to add information on the value you would bring to them if hired.

Recruiters and venture capitalists are always looking for active job seekers. Recruiters have many positions they need to fill for many different companies and often those positions are not advertised. Venture capitalists are looking to fill positions in the companies they work with to ensure that those companies succeed. Again, they may not advertise those positions.

You can also anticipate the job market by participating in LinkedIn and making sure that your profile matches your resume. Joining LinkedIn discussions and groups enables you to make connections with people, demonstrate your knowledge and find out more about the companies (and their employees) on your wish list.

Finally, you can anticipate the job market by working with a Certified Job and Career Transition Coach. As a Certified JCTC, I remain aware of what recruiters, venture capitalists and hiring managers require and can make sure that your resume contains the information that they are looking for now and in the future. Contact Robin’s Resumes® for more information.

What Your Cover Letter Does for You

Aug 25 2013

A cover letter or cover email should be considered a requirement for any resume that you send to a company, recruiter or hiring manager. It is true that your cover letter may never be read. But if the recruiter or hiring manager expects a cover letter, you want to be sure he finds one. What does a cover letter or cover email do for you?

First, it gives you another opportunity to briefly emphasize your accomplishments and use the keywords that correspond to the job you are applying for.

Second, it is a great place to put information that the company has asked for that does not normally appear on a resume, such as a salary range or willingness to relocate.

Third, you can add a call to action; for example, stating that you look forward to discussing your qualifications in more detail. If a follow-up call is in order, you can let the recruiter or hiring manager know when you will make that call.

Finally, a cover letter is another opportunity to show your communication skills and attention to detail—which is why you should proofread your cover letter as carefully as your resume.

Both Career Directors International and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) have surveyed companies and human resource professionals on the benefits of a cover letter. In general, a personalized cover letter was viewed favorably by between 60% and 69% of respondents. In fact, 46% of SHRM respondents considered a cover letter just as important as the resume, or even more important.

How do you personalize a cover letter? In cover letters (unlike resumes), you can use the first person (I/me/my). Use that freedom to explain why you are perfect for this particular job. A recent survey indicated that what employers expect most in a cover letter are tailored skills, a clear statement of the job you’re applying for, details from the resume and then your personal value. Let’s take each element in turn.

Tailored skills: As with your resume, your cover letter should show how your skills match the skills that the company is looking for. Highlight your experience in the company’s industry and in the position.
Clarity: Be sure the cover letter specifically mentions the job you are applying for in the language used by the advertisement or posting.
Details from the Resume: Again, the details should be the ones most important to demonstrating your value to the company. You might want to stress one or two of your greatest achievements and accomplishments. Give exact information (“ranked 3 out of 30 salespeople”), not generic statements (“sales guru”).
Personal Value: Check the company website to see how you might fit in and contribute to their culture and their business. Mission statements are a great way to find out about the culture. Add a sentence about why you have chosen to apply to that company (“I am passionate about environmental issues.”).

Although some recruiters will claim they never read cover letters, how do you know you are applying to someone who does not read them? Those who do not read cover letters will simply ignore them. But can you chance having your resume rejected because you thought the cover letter would not be needed? It is far better to apply with a cover letter.

If you are having trouble translating your resume’s message into a cover letter or email, please contact Robin’s Resumes®.