When you go to apply for a job, the biggest influence you make on a future employer is how you carry yourself - your attitude and demeanor can give direct cues to your personality and knowledge. But in this day and age, your attitude, demeanor, work experience and personality are all showcased in your resume – often times we don’t meet face to face with future employers until they have already sifted through hundreds of resumes. Experts in the field say that recruiters spend an average of 20 seconds looking at each resume. So how do you get yours to stand out? Well, one way I have found very useful is adding a cover letter - it adds a personal touch if done right.
To draw from my personal life, let me share a factual story about resumes. Last year, my family business was looking to fill an entry level position. We put out a few ads in hopes to receive a pool of 10 – 20 applicants. Within only 2 days of posting, we received much more than expected, a whopping 150 resumes – and trust me this was not an easy task! It was a huge endeavor sifting through these applicants, as the number of applicants kept increasing, many of the resumes fairly similar.
We can’t depend on the amount of resumes sent to employers to drop, but we can make ours stand out among a pool of others. Of the ones I sifted through that day, ones creatively composed and/or included a cover letter stood the best chance of a call. When I noticed general layout problems, misspellings, large blocks of text, and broad objective statements, I often found myself skipping forward to other applicants. Even though you may be applying for an entry level position, or one not creatively inclined, a little creativity goes a long way. Employers want to see your unique personality, your sparkle, shining through in a clear, concise fashion. Remember, short and sweet. Below I've posted a few questions to ponder this week while drafting your own distinctive resume. We also ask you to share your favorite cover letter, and any resources you find helpful.
But first, I'd like to share with you my favorite resource for resume building. Smashing Magazine is a website and blog, they have loads of useful information, and a bit too much to cover here, skim through it for some great tips! Follow this link for a great blog they did on cover letters. I also recommend to bookmark this link in your browser for future use.
1. What are ways your resume can highlight your interdisciplinarity?
2. What are some questions about cover letters you may have?
3. What are some questions about resumes that you have and/or share some advice?
4. Share your best cover letter.
5. Share any resources you've found about cover letters and/or resumes.
1) A good resume shows all of the ways that a person is divers, so that is a great way to showcase your interdisciplinary major. Interdisciplinary majors have to focus on many different areas, which can often be appealing to different companies. One should always make sure to point out all of their areas of focus.
ReplyDelete2 and 3) One question that I always have about cover letters and resumes is how personal should I be? They say that you want to be somewhat personal, so that yours will stand out, but you don't want to go too far. They also say that you should put in humor when appropriate, but it is hard to know when it is appropriate. I guess there is a fine line between being personal and standing out, and then going to far and being inappropriate.
4) Here is a sample of my cover letter, and feel free to give any advice.
Heather Wilson
(352) 870-1703
8030 SE Sugar Pines Way
Hobe Sound, FL 33455
Family Private Care
Alicia Knable, Assistant Director
111 N. Madison Ave.
El Dorado, AR 71730
03/15/11
Dear Mrs. Knable,
I would like to request your consideration for a staff position at Family Private Care. I am an Interdisciplinary major focusing on health and behavior sciences. I heard about your company through a member of your staff, and I believe that I would be a good asset to your company.
I work very well with others and I adapt quickly to new work environments. I enjoy change, and I am always excited for a new challenge. My work is thorough and consistent. I believe that all of these things will make me a good employee at your company, ant that I will be able to make a difference there.
As a health care provider I am dedicated to my patients and I am always looking for ways to improve myself. No matter what the situation is I always do my best to ensure that the client gets the best possible care, because doing a good job is very important to me.
Thank you for your consideration,
Heather Wilson
5) Here are some other resources that I found for cover letters http://www.career.vt.edu/JobSearchGuide/CoverLetterSamples.html
http://www.resumecoverletterexamples.com/
1) By listing all my areas of interdisciplinary and including my interest as it pertains to the job and areas can help highlight my specialized education.
ReplyDelete2) My question about cover letters is simply what information to put on it to make it stand out. Like mentioned above so many people are trying to apply for jobs right now that it can be very difficult to make sure you catch the employer's eye.
3) Some really good advice that I heard from a previous professor is to avoid a template. Before this information was shared with me I had a template because I thought it was what you were suppose to have! Also my resume heading was left justified which is also a huge no no in creating a resume.
4)
Cristie Vargas
151 Gleason Cove
Sanford, FL 32773
(407)434-1792
March 15, 2011
YMCA of Central Florida
Mrs. Jennifer Spoon
256 Maple Way
Lake Mary, FL 32746
Mrs. Spoon,
I feel that my past work experience and education in the interdisciplinary field has given me the knowledge needed to fill your vacant position.
I have attached my resume highlighting past experience within the field. My qualifications closely match your desired employment requirements. My flexibility and critical thinking skills are top-notch.
I appreciate the time you have taken to consider me for the position. I hope that I have the opportunity to learn more about what it takes to member of this team. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Sincerely,
Cristie Vargas
5) http://www.readyresumes.com/convince-them-with-a-cover-letter.php
1. As mentioned above I think the best way to showcase our interdisciplinarity in a resume is by listing all the areas that we focused on, as well as any interests that would strengthen the areas already studied – and that pertain to the job that is being applied to.
ReplyDelete2. I have never drafted a cover letter before, therefore it would be what key points should be included, and what should be left out.
3. I read not so long ago that a good way to get an employer’s attention is by using headings that relate to the job that you are applying to. For example: instead of “administrative” use the heading “computerized accounting applications” this technique makes your resume more marketable to potential employers.
4.
Yelida Rodriguez
13728 lagoon Isle way
Orlando, Fl
(407) 854-9578
Orlando Regional Medical Center
Mrs. Angela Phillips
1414 Kuhl Avenue ~ Orlando, FL 32806
(407) 851-4181
Mrs. Phillips,
This letter is to express my interest in your current vacant position, as my resume indicates I have many hours of volunteer experience in the field, as well as being an Interdisciplinary major with a focus on health sciences, and biological sciences. I believe that due to my past experience through volunteer work, I would be a great asset to this area of the hospital.
Last summer I volunteered at a nursing home, I am seeking to complement this experience with an internship in order to obtain the necessary background for a future career in the medical field. This internship gives me the opportunity to assist to this area of the hospital, as well as broaden my knowledge.
Thank you for your consideration,
Yelida Rodriguez
5. http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverlettersamples/a/coverlettsample.htm
This is my fourth attempt to compleat this blog. For some reason when I try and copy the websites for the resources that I found for resumes it erases all that I have blogged. So, I will skip that for now and say that there is a site called 44 tips for a great resume. Look it up! I found it most helpful.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I love writing resumes. I feel as if a resume is your way to shine. It highlights your acheivements, education, and qualifications for the job at hand. It is your way to get your food in the door for that first interview. It is your way to be set apart from all other applicants.
At this time, I do not have any questions about cover letters or resumes. Some advice for others would be to speak to someone that you know in a professional career whos job entails hiring. See what they look for in an applicant. Also, ask what they find sets one applicants resume apart form the others.
Here is a sample of a cover letter that I would use:
Mr. John Smith,
ABC Entertainment,
257, Orange Avenue South,
Orlando, Fl 12345-6789.
Dear Mr. Smith:
My unique mix of previous work experience and my status as a University of Central Florida Interdisciplinary student in my junior year studying communications, makes me an ideal candidate for a summer internship with Universal Orlando.
My experience in sales and customer relationship management, combined with my courses in communications, have convinced me that management for a company such as yours is a career option I would like to explore.
More importantly, an internship with Universal Orlando would be mutually beneficial. Your company has an excellent reputation for customer satisfaction, and I know that the combination of my experience, education, and motivation to excel will make me an asset to your management of customer relations department.
I am sure that it would be worthwhile for us to meet. I will contact you within a week to arrange a meeting. Should you have any questions before that time, you may reach me via phone (123-456 7890) or via email (strousemarie@ucf.edu).
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
Marie Strouse
Enclosures:
Having a focus on photography and new media, my resumes tend to be a little more unique than most other interdisciplinarians. The way my resume highlights my interdisciplinary skills is two fold. First is my diverse work experience such as journalism, fashion photography and portraits. The second way is that most of my future employers require I submit five to ten of my best works. This allows me to (by providing a flash-version resume/portfolio) show off an online photo story, magazine and newspaper clips and individual pieces.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to lie, I don't have an questions about cover letter because it's not often in my field that you have a traditional resume. In my field you're not going to get a job by sending in a resume and hoping for a call back. You have to either know someone and they get you an interview or you arrive in person and provide a resume and portfolio on the spot which usually ends in a brief interview.
The biggest things you need to remember about your resume is to tailor your resume to your employer (most relevant experience first) and to check, re-check and check again for spelling/grammar errors.
For every job/internship I've had I've never needed a cover letter (for the reasons stated before) but if I were to have something I would sound something like this:
Ms. Christine Fontaine,
YWAM International,
123 Work Place Drive,
Kailua-Kona, HI 12345
Dear Ms. Fontaine,
I would like to express interest in the vacant position on the PhotoGenX team. I feel that my education and previous experience in journalism, photography and anthropology make me a well suited candidate.
I have included superior clippings regarding my experience and you should find that I am an excellent fit for your team.
I would like to further discuss the available position and will be calling your office within the next few days. If you would like to contact me please feel free to all me at 407-123-4567 or email me at kharris@gmail.com
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
Kevin Harris
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverlettersamples/a/coverlettsample.htm
http://www.coverletterhelp.org/
Hey Cristie
ReplyDeleteI too find ti difficult to know what to put into your cover letter and resume to make it stand out. But, that is good advise to not use a template.
Hey Kevin
ReplyDeleteWell it sounds like you are pretty set with your resumes and cover letters, so that is really good. I like your advice about how you should taylor your resumes and cover letters to your employer. that is very wise advice, and I think it was will pay off for you.
I see some good cover letters and understanding of resumes. It will come in handy to just go ahead and right one out, then you can make changes to it throughout your college career or profession, then have to write a new one all the time.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I want to add is to make sure to add some good action words:
Advised, Developed, interacted, Scheduled, Advanced, Devised, Invented, Selected, Analyzed Diagnosed, Maintained, Sold, Answered, Directed Managed, Solved, Arbitrated, Edited, Marketed Sorted, Assigned, Employed, Mediated, Studied...
Just to give a few examples.