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Monday, March 07, 2005

Cover Letter assistance

Hey folks. I have more job searching on my plate today. I went to my university's website yesterday and found the Economics department's webpage. They have a list of companies on there where former Econ majors are currently working. I thought it would be a good idea to sort through the list and find the companies in Bowling Green, and then start mailing out a generic resume and cover letter and briefly discuss my situation.

My concern lies in the generic cover letter. All of my letters are focused on a specific opening, and I don't know how to alter one so that it won't be tossed to the trashcan or put in a filing cabinet to never be seen again. If any of you happen to be experts, or if you just like giving an opinion, I would really appreciate some help.

I'm going to throw my resume and cover letter up to my webspace and let you all have a look at it. Please make suggestions! I need a job!

Cover Letter
Resume

posted by Jason @ 11:34 AM   2 comments

2 Comments:

At 3:14 PM, Blogger The Wire said...

I realize you're looking for help with the cover letter, but I'm taking the liberty of commenting on the resume. Hope that's ok. I'd suggest you include a professional or career objective on the resume to let the hiring folks know what you are interested in career-wise. I think it really helps the people reviewing piles of submissions to give them a quick idea of what you'd like to do. Make the reviewer's job as easy as you can. That's my two cents. Good luck!

 
At 6:40 PM, Blogger Michele said...

I'm not an expert, but I do have some writing tips I can share with you.

Since the other commenter covered the resume, I’ll concentrate on the cover letter if you don’t mind.

You have included all of the necessary facts, but it almost sounds like a list. “I . . . I . . . I . . . My . . . etc.” Without getting too casual, you probably want your letter to be a little more conversational. Also, try to be more specific. For example, instead of “I believe (Avoid 'I believe' if you can. Be confident and say 'I am.') I am highly qualified for employment with XYZ” how about “Because of my years of experience doing ABC, and more recently my experience doing DEF, my knowledge and skills can benefit your xyz department. In fact, my last employer saved thousands of dollars by implementing my innovative plan for recycling bottle caps found in the parking lot . . . etc.” (Sorry, just being cute. But you get the picture.) Concrete examples are very powerful.

The last paragraph is nice because it shows a little of your personality. Be careful about “random B.S.” though. The idea that you are willing to relocate is not random. It’s useful information because they know you will not be hounding them for moving expenses, since you want to move anyway. If you want to add something else, make sure it’s something just as strategic. Don’t waste words--it dilutes the power of the letter.

Good luck!

 

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