Key Ingredients for a Good Resume Cover Letter « Back

One factor that baffles us is how people continue to send out the same cover letter or resume even though it has failed to get a result in the past. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get a different result is repeating old ways hoping to get new results.

Research based on past job seeking experience has shown that it's NOT your skills, talent or experience an employer rejects but simply your application that gets you written off as an unsuitable employee.

Many people remained unemployed due to the fact that their cover letters and resumes were styled in the same way throughout the time when they produced no results. By making simple changes in the resume and cover letter, many were able to secure a few interviews to say the least.

Reverse engineer your resume.

Creating a good resume is like following a recipe in a cook book... you have to have the RIGHT ingredients but here's the key, you have to TASTE it... there's no point serving up food that tastes bad even though you think you followed the recipe. Here is a simple strategy to TASTE your resume before you send it.

Lets do a simple role-play and self assessment.

Before you send your application, pretend that you have already sent it and you just received your rejection letter. What let you down?

Could your skills have been better described or put into better context? Did you show enough research? Does your work history not follow one another in an advantageous manner to your application? Are you missing some of the key factors they're looking for?

More often than not you will find some areas that could do with improving, so improvise them. When you feel your application is up to your expectations, send it.

One of the main problems in critiquing your own resume is you being too close to the subject. You would be too close for your own scrutiny. Sometimes, you might to consider hiring writers to fine tune and hone your resumes and cover letter to a fine precision.

Remember, every day that you spend applying for jobs and waiting for responses costs you money. In the business and job market, every day spent is money spent. Spend your time in writing wisely and aim well to bag the position you want.