Go Beyond Your Resume, and Visualize Your Perfect Job

Free Resume Articles : Go Beyond Your Resume, and Visualize Your Perfect Job by Allen Voivod

Got your resume out to the recruiters? Already signed up for that resume distribution service? Good. While your resume starts making its way through the job search ether, you've got some time to think about how you want your new job to look.

More money would be nice, but everyone wants that. Go deeper. Think about the benefits. The office culture. The opportunities for growth inside your new company? What else? There's bound to be more things that have crossed your mind.

Here are just a few of the options to consider:

1. What your workday will be like. Think about how you want to be able to communicate and interact with your bosses, your peers, your subordinates. What's best for you? Is the pressure to perform high, low, or just right? What kind of room do you need for do the job you want to do?

2. Benefits. There are so many new and inventive ways companies are giving incentives to their new hires - everything from hometown basketball team tickets to on-site child care and health clubs. and that's not to mention the old-school health, vacation, and retirement options you may have.

3. Your work/life balance. Are you okay with making a greater commitment to work - one that takes away from your free time, whether you're on your own or you have a family? How about your commute, or your ability and interesting in telecommuting?

4. Your goals. If you're not staying at the place you're at now, it's a safe bet your new job won't be your last. What's the next step after this one? can you imagine a job that will prepare you for the next step? What will you need to learn, experience, and achieve in the new position, in order to get even closer to you ultimate career goals?

Back in my bank auditor days, I switched companies to get more money - but that was just part of the equation. I also got a broader set of responsibilities, cut my commute time and distance by 85%, and had a much better chance to affect real change in my company.

My desires may be totally different from yours. But don't just stop at thinking they're different. Actually take some time to define what you really want out of the next job, aside from the money.

And when that recruiter emails you, or when the headhunter calls, you'll know how to spot the right opportunity - and not waste anyone's time. Especially your own.

About the Author
Allen Voivod is the Chief Blogger for ResumeMachine.com, the leading resume distribution resource for managers, executives, and professionals looking to accelerate their job search results. Get the attention of thousands of hiring agents with the largest and most frequently updated recruiter database on the web, and dive into a wealth of immediately useful career articles and blog posts - all at http://www.ResumeMachine.com !

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=846202

Selling Yourself Well: How To Write A Resume Cover Letter

Free Resume Cover Letter Writing Articles : Selling Yourself Well: How To Write A Resume Cover Letter by Mario Churchill

You are ready to apply to the job of your dreams. You have a thick, killer resume listing all your achievements and experience. You have a killer transcript showing all the marvelous grades you got on the way to a successful career. You have a resume cover letter that has enough bite to take your prospective employer by the neck and make him or her your slave forever.

What does that great resume cover letter look like? A resume cover letter should act as the complement, and not just the cover, to your transcript and resume. It should show your prospective employers what your resume and transcript cannot. Many prospective employers hardly hire new people merely on the basis of their educational attainment, or their breadth of experience. Prospective employers actually read the cover letter to gauge your personality and passion for the job.

How can such a small document do such a great thing? Believe it or not, your cover letter is actually a reflection of your personality. There is little you can do to a resume or transcript, but a cover letter's contents are entirely in your power. A resume cover letter, moreover, should show passion: achievements, without passion, can seem empty, and no employer wants a boring employee with no spark or fire. Show that spark or fire through your resume cover letter!

First, make your letter personal. Address it to the person who will hire you, and avoid addresses such as "Dear Madame or Sir," or "Dear Mr or Ms," or, "To whom it may concern." Such addresses should be reserved for legal documents or impersonal correspondence. Your cover letter should not alienate your recipient, and should show that you are applying exclusively to the company, not placing them in your personal slush pile.

Second, don't be afraid to list your achievements. Never sell yourself short: be confident in everything that you have achieved. After all, you worked hard to get where you are, right? However, don't gush about your achievements, as you already have your resume to back you up; and make sure that the company needs to hear what good things you have to say about yourself.

This brings us to the third point: do research about the company to which you are applying. You need to know a company's goals and vision, and use this information to write your resume cover letter. If your career goals are perfectly aligned with those of the company's, then you may soon be looking at a match made in heaven.

Fourth, be brief and direct to the point! Some naïve job applicants assume that managers and prospective employers are stiff beings with no hearts, minds, or senses of humor. Although this can be true for some managers, many prospective employers actually look for someone who has the excitement, enthusiasm, and passion for the job. However, they want to see someone expressing all this in four paragraphs or less. Your prospective employers' time is sacred, so save them a few minutes of their precious schedules by making a short cover letter that goes straight to the point.

Fifth, show how much you want to be interviewed. Provide all your contact information, and say that you are open to an interview and would appreciate being spoken with regarding the company and the job opening. If you show an active voice in your resume cover letter, you just might land the job.

Your resume is useless without the right resume cover letter. Your achievements can ring dull if you don't have the personality to back it up. Are you ready for that job application? Get that resume, transcript, and cover letter ready, and make them the best of their kind.

About the Author
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on write resume cover letter checkout his recommended websites.

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=565692

Tempering Desires: The Cover Letter Sample

Free Resume Cover Letter Articles : Tempering Desires: The Cover Letter Sample by Mario R. Churchill

It is a big competition out there. People seeking jobs are involved in a stiff competition to catch the attention of hiring officers and prospective employers. Each one wants to get that perfect opportunity of being welcomed to the job of their dreams.

As a consequence, it has become a common obsession among these people to come up with the most unique cover letters for their application. They exhaust all resources out there to be able to get the perfect sample cover letter they can use on the resume. Some buy books dealing on the topic. There are those who hire the services of professionals to get the best output. Some are surprisingly ready to spend hefty amount of money to get what they want.

Do cover letter samples need to be this pricey? Is this really the right way to achieve your dreams?

It seems strange to spend a fortune just to land a job. Truly, most things we need are not really free. However, the cover letter sample need not be expensive. No one wants to have his or her application form be stacked in the recycle bin. Thus, it is a must to stand out. The cover letter sample can provide a template for you to start on the unique project. Still, this should not be made as your sole objective when planning the job application.

Going Beyond the Sample Cover Letter Fixation

At this point, it is very crucial to go beyond the fixations that you have developed towards the grabbing the best sample cover letter sample. The cover letter format can give a good feel and a nice layout to your application. However, the ultimate factors to be considered by the prospective employers are the skills and qualifications of the applicant for the job. Thus, it is better to learn how to highlight these essential points rather than exhaust your energy in seeking the sample cover letter.

Helpful Tips to Come Up with the Better Sample Cover Letter

Provide a headline to your cover letter. This should be a strong statement that will catch the attention of the hiring officer. There are many formula words that have been used in hundreds of sample cover letters like "Enclosed in this letter" or "For your consideration." Most probably, the hiring officers have already seen them numerous times. Thus, deviating from these formula phrases will help in standing out from the stack.

Do research ahead of time and get to know the person in charge of the application. It helps if you can print the actual name of the officer in your cover letter. This will surely give a good impression.

It is helpful to highlight the important points. Of course, you have to keep in mind that the sample cover letter must be formal. As such, choose the aspects that you want to highlight. You can have the name of the position you are aiming for printed in block letters. For easy reading you can use bullet points to enumerate the skills that are relevant to the position desired.

It pays to also let your personality reflect in your sample cover letter. It will not hurt to show how passionate you feel for the job. This will even make the task of accomplishing the cover letter an easier task for you.

Conclusion

There is no need to join the sample cover letter gold rush. All you need to land that job is your sincere effort and dedication in your application and these handy tips. Nothing else could go wrong.

About the Author
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on cover letter example checkout his recommended websites.

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=558232