Jasper, I 100% agree with Denise Renne.

You need to be applying for jobs you have more in common with, or BECOME the right person for the job by doing some pre-work.

Let's say the job involves a lot of Excel work. Then read books on Excel, outsource Excel gigs on Fiverr, create some cool templates on Excel.....become an excel MASTER so when you apply you're 110% the absolute right person for the job!

Hey Pedro, NevBox-worthy question!

A lot of people in the UK have asked me this......and yes, you might need to re-phrase things based on location. But here's what DOESN'T CHANGE throughout any culture:

If you can greatly benefit the company, they will want you.

That doesn't change. You can maybe even phrase it: "My goal would be to get the Atlanta Journal reporting a 25% increase in revenue just 12 months from when I start."

You can make it seem aspirational and not so direct.

Hope this helps!

Hi Denise,

I guess I must think of cover letters going to a company = having a robot read them. (hey, not that there's anything wrong with that...) But being able to put a face to the recipient is key. At least for me. So perhaps I'll just imagine your face the next time I have to write a letter ;) So I don't get all caught up with the actual term 'cover letter'. Oh see, I got a chill.

Alllrighty, I got the picture and thanks for both answers! :) Although, two things came to my mind:

1) ~6 seconds scanning time;

2) "decent length" A4 resume.

Sooo, what if I write a resume that contains buzzwords, which have an indication like asterisk (e.g. Team Player*) with a (second) back up page with a context explaining each and every one of them (such as Neville wrote)?

Denise, have you ever received a resume in such form?

Really great article! Thanks for the insights!

I have a question if you don't mind - of course, customizing each letter to the T (specific to each company) is really valuable, but what if you don't know too much about their specific pain points? How do you balance between a high-quality letter and sending enough (quality vs. quantity)? I personally know how many people can get caught up too much on one side (ie: blasting generic cover letters or spending forever on one and never getting it sent out).

Thanks!

Gregory

Hi again Ansis. You don't want your resume getting off into very lengthy territory. You want to keep your examples "in line" with your descriptions, not off on a secondary page. I'm getting the sense that you have some anxiety around length. The reality is that there is no what way to know exactly what will catch a recruiter's eye when they are giving their 6-second scan. So just make sure you don't waste words and that everything is as tightly and concisely written as possible.

Hi Roberto, thanks so much for reading and really taking time to process everything (as evidenced by your very detailed questions). I'm going to answer them briefly, however, because if I take any longer, I'll have to charge you! LOL! (Just kidding!)

#1 - 3+ pages are for CV's. In a resume, it's excessive. You don't need to include every. single. job.

#2 - Always keep your resume tight and relevant to the position you are applying for. If you have lots of varied experiences, leave off the ones that to relate to the position you are applying for. Keep your reader focused.

#3 - Both. But keep both brief. Expound during a phone or in-person interview.

#4 - See #1 and #2.

#5 - See #1 and #2. Additionally, stick to the last, most relevant 10 - 15 years.

Hi Greg, thanks for reading and thanks for your question. Again, if it is a proactive search, you will already be cyber stalking them so you will know their pain points. If you're just applying through Craig'sList or Monster.com, etc, you won't know that info and in which cases, it doesn't' really matter.

Hi Denise,

Thank you for sharing your expertise with us.

I am graduating from university in a month and am currently hunting for my first entry level job. While I have a number of self-developed skills useful to the jobs I am applying for, I have no practical experience in my prospective field. This lack of experience feels like a death sentence, especially when I compare my resume to that of colleagues on LinkedIn who managed to get work placements.

What I do have going for me is a willingness to sop up knowledge (I read Neville's work for a reason). How would you recommend positioning this desire to continue to develop professionally as to diminish my lack of professional experience? Is this doable? Furthermore, would it help to speak to my lack of professional experience on my cover letter?

I have loads of practical retail experience with no job gaps, but outside of teamwork, much of this experience doesn't seem to carry over very well to the communications jobs I am pursuing.

Finally, would you have any general advice for soon to be graduates?

Thank you once again,

Joe

Hi Denise,

Thank you for the article – it is brilliant, and I love your comments.

I am currently in a job seeking after 6 years of being in a single company. I have little idea what my value is for other employers and how to find a match, but with every your comment was like ray of light which dispels darkness so I feel much better now and I have new strategy to try. Thank you for that.

Those insights pushed me to thoughts that sometimes after one or two screening interviews you come to people who decide whether you a good fit for them and you have no idea what it is going to be and what to be prepared for. I don't know, may be those people should shot an interview on which they can throw some insights on what they look for. This why people often rely on personal connections – it is hard to describe desired fit in job posting (and most job postings have same problems as Denise's bad cover letter or speak buzz words). As a result I may apply for a position which is actually not a best fit for me and avoid position which is good.

But, coming back to recruiters, I have a question regarding resume – should I filter irrelevant experience from it? For example, If I am applying for a position of a Excel worker, should I specify that I have 3+ years of experience in Word?

Thank you for answers,

Oleg

Hi Joe, thanks for reading and thanks for your question. Whether you are just coming into the job market or you've been in it forever, it's all about framing. First, you need to look at your experiences and frame them as an asset, not a liability in your own mind. Then you need to frame a positive picture for your new potential employer. Always frame your resume (and cover letter) to what the reader needs to see. Never admit to your limitations; always play up your strengths. And help them see the transferable skills you have. While you may not have worked in an office, I'm sure you've picked up valuable customer service, time management and communications skills in your retail jobs... all of which are valuable in the corporate world. If you're not feeling very confident, use a skills-based resume format which highlights the qualities I'm sure even entry level positions require (rather than putting the emphasis on where you worked). Once you can sell yourself on this, you'll be able to sell it to an employeer too.

Hi Oleg, thanks for reading and for your comments; I'm glad I can be a ray of hope :). The very first thing that you said which caught my attention is about understanding your value. If you don't know and understand what value you bring, it will be very difficult for a potential employer to see that. So I would encourage you to truly reflect on your hard and soft skills.

You should always customize a resume for the positions you are applying to as much as possible. You always want to keep them focused on what is most relevant to what THEY are looking for. So make sure you highlight what is relevant for them first. If they want Excel, give the Excel first, with plenty of examples. If you want to mention Word for diversity, that's fine, just make it secondary.

Finding the right "fit" takes time and there is no exact science to it. Just like you need to be clear on what value you bring, you also need to be clear about what you want and don't want in a work environment so that when you see signs, you can act accordingly.

I've often resorted to using LinkedIn and doing a search of the employer's website to try and find the name of an actual person to address my cover letter to. Sometimes, however, I run into dead ends and have to get creative. I've called an employer before and asked for the name of the person who manages or oversees the area where I'm applying. That usually yields an appropriate name. Even if it's not 100% correct, just the fact that you got a name on there that's reasonably close is sometimes enough. I even had a prospective employer ask me about my cover letter and how I addressed it. When I explained to him how I went about getting the name, he smiled and nodded. "Resourceful," he said. "I like that." I wound up getting the job. :D

Kuestion 1: "Dear Hiring Manager." In 2007-08, I read and subscribed to a newsletter from someone who guaranteed that his cover letter and resume tips would always work. He advised to use "Dear Hiring Manager," if we couldn't find out/weren't sure about the name of the person who'd read our email/cover letter. Those days, even though LinkedIn existed, many people didn't know the best way to use it, or recommend connecting. BUT, this newsletter guy also advised to put two lines at the very top, before the "Hiring Manager."

He advised to use "PLEASE NOTE: I apologize for the impersonal greeting. I wanted to address this cover letter to you by name but it was not provided online and I was unable to obtain it. I am very interested in the position of ________."

I used it many times till 2008-09 and did get some responses to my emails/cover letters. Even got some jobs. Of course the rest of the cover letter had to be interesting, though short. Starting with something like, "Five reasons why I believe I may be the candidate you are searching for the [iNSERT POSITION HERE] position."

And then, ending the cover letter with a P.S. (like Neville does in his newsletters).

In case of pitches I've sent to editors, if I don't know their names, I've used "Hi there."

 

Kuestion 2: I'd like to ask about the word "Dear" - what's your reaction of getting it from someone you don't even know, even if they know your name?

Just remembered after reading Chris Turner's comment. When I sent physical coverletters and resumes, I used to call up at the company and ask the operator for the name of the head of the department to whom I needed to contact, or the HR's name. I told them I needed to send a letter to them. Most of the times, I got the name. Sometimes I didn't.

Even back in 2007-08, I've seen advice to send a physical cover letter and resume, to become a little special. So, that the busy recruiter would give some time to open and read it (it was also advised to us a colored paper, make good use of colors, to attract attention), rather than not even opening our digital resume in his/her Inbox.

I did get some calls after doing this. I also used to send a hand-written thank you note after interviews. It kind of worked, at times.

 

Kuestion 3: How would YOU respond to a paper cover letter and resume, and even a thank you note after an interview?

[Don't know how Neville thinks that the manager would take home the cover letter and use it as a sleeping aid. I would've used it to make a pocketmod (pocketmod.com), instead.]

 

Kuestion 4: How about using cover letters for jobs on freelancing sites like UpWork? UpWork still advises using customized cover letters. I've used them a couple years ago when I searched freelance jobs there, but not sure whether I got hired due to the cover letter or the resume. :) I did spend a huge amount of time to perfect both.

 

Kuestion 5: I don't need to write resume for regular jobs now. I used to have a one-page resume and another three-page one. I used them depending on the job and the post. The one-page resume was short but actually had the best copy. But, what's the perfect length for a resume. a) for a technical position, and b) for a non-technical position?

 

Kuestion 6: If you were scanning resumes, what is it that you look for in those 6 seconds? What would grab your attention? Can you tell us?

 

Kuestion 7: What's the difference between a resume and a CV? I didn't know they were different. People here use any of the two words to refer to the resume. At least that's what I thought.

 

Kuestion 8: If you don't have proper educational qualifications, or got bad grades, but have great experience in the field you're applying for, how would you mention this in your resume?

Thanks Neville and Denise for publishing this post.

Neville:

1. You wrote twice that you're back with us, once at the end of the post, another time in the first P.S.

2. Shouldn't the line "I have someone you should send your resume too" use to instead of too?

3. Another typo here: "You now now have a golden opportunity ..."

4. Why don't you change the "Questions or Komments" to "Kuestions or Komments?" Just a thought.

Thanks for getting Denise here, and for publishing her post. I'd like you to publish a post for freelancers (not just freelance writers and copywriters) how to get clients, some day.

Thanks for the sharp eye Raspal!

I actually do have a post about getting clients (not just for copywriters) that's right here:

https://copywritingcourse.com/consulting-as-a-side-job/

People always wanted me to do a whole course about it, but I didn't think there was enough complexity for a full course, so I just made one giant show-you-how post.

I love the idea of making the cover letter about them, and the resume about you. Good way to think about it! I guess I've always tried to make the resume do both.

Hey Chris, thanks for reading and sharing your comments... that's awesome! Employers value resourcefulness. And the funny thing is, it doesn't take a whole ton of effort... it's just that most people won't take the time to think or get creative. Keep doing what you're doing :)

Hi Raspal, thanks for reading and for your list of kuestions :)

K1 - not much of a question, but thanks for sharing your experience. At the end of the day, it's all about what works best for you.

K2 - Dear is a common salutation in business letters. I wouldn't stress out over it.

K3 - For me, if someone took the time to send a paper cover letter, resume and thank you note, I would remember it and them. But the had better be pretty amazing on paper too so that I would actually want to hire them!

K4 - I hire freelancers through UpWork and I appreciate when someone takes the time to represent themselves well in writing from our first meeting. It is usually a good indicator for me for how the rest of our interactions will be... I've never been wrong yet.

K5 - Regardless of position, one page is best; two pages max if you have really juicy info to share. At the end of the day, a resume is intended to invite further conversation, not share your whole life story on it.

K6 - I look for keywords relevant to the position I'm hiring for. If I see some, I stop and read carefully. If I don't see any, I move on because clearly that person didn't pay attention to what the job requirements were or they didn't care... and why would I want to hire them?

K7 - CV's are longer and basically tell your professional story. They are usually used by MD's, PhD's, educators and those kinda folks. Google it and look at examples.

K8 - As long as you have the degree, grades don't matter... unless you're applying to grad school. But then again, they'll see your transcript. Keep grades off resumes and focus on relevant experience.

Hi Jonathan, thanks for reading and for sharing your comments. Resumes and cover letters are absolutely all about them and what you can do for them. If you don't paint that picture for them, you'll be overlooked.

Hey Nev & Denise,

You should find a way to teach this as a class to graduating students at UT or any grad school really. So many students think they are king-sh*t because they just graduated and have experience managing a Facebook page or a Twitter feed for some random club. I've had the unfortunate job of screening dozens of resumes for a Jr. Online Marketing job. In the job description we specifically asked for a cover letter to screen out people who can't follow instructions. I would say 19/20 cover letters we received did not follow AIDA or have anything about our company and how they would help. Typical cover letter is all me, me, me.

It's so easy to stand out from the masses by following the advice in this blog. This blog touched on so many good points. I'm going to forward it to every applicant we deny going forward!

Thanks for the response! I'll share it with my mastermind group of people trying to relocate back to their home countries after building up their careers overseas.

Hi Lucas, thanks so much for reading and for your comments... you truly made me laugh out loud! I'm glad you found it helpful and thanks in advance for sharing :)!

Great question Joe!

I would highly suggest you figure out what the valuable skills are in your position. Is it having a big network? Having a big Instagram following? Knowing how to draw? Whatever.....

Figure it out and GET GOOD AT THOSE.

Get gigs on Fiverr.

Get gigs on Craigslist.

Get gigs through friends.

Make sure you get hella experience in all the things that would make you the ideal employee, and that will be impressive.

Good luck Joe!

Hey Oleg, you WANT TO BE A TRIPLE THREAT TO THEM!

So like Denise said, mention the Excel part to....but position your other skills at "Complimentary Skills." This way it doesn't look like your skills are random, but complimentary and ADD value to the Excel job.

Such as:

"In addition to knowing Excel well, I also have three years of experience in the Microsoft Office suite dealing with Word documents on an advanced level. In fact at my last job, we would frequently link Excel and Word docs together which was extremely helpful for the department."

Having extra skills is always a plus, especially if it's in the same realm (such as in the Microsoft Office suite of products).

Good luck Oleg!