5 Rules to Keeping Your Cover Letter Simple and Effective

5 Rules to Keeping Your Cover Letter Simple and Effective The trouble with cover letters is that they need to be concise and must never be longer than a one-pager. Employers are busy professionals who have 10-20 seconds to skim your cover letter â€" so it’s important to state your case clearly and to the point. How to cram lots of information into little space: Its not as difficult as it seems. Less really is more when it comes to crafting a cover letter that hits home. Its a simple matter of focusing your time and attention on the essentials, basically the items an employer is most interested in. Heres 5 ways you can do just that. 1. Three paragraphs Start with creating three paragraphs on one page. In the first one, tell the reader what job you are applying for and why. In the second you list your skills and experience. And in the third paragraph, clearly and directly ask for the opportunity to have an interview to discuss things further. 2. Stay concise Make sure you limit each paragraph to three or four well-written sentences, cutting out all the fluff and non-essentials. These could well be the most important sentences you write in your career, so take your time to ensure they are compelling and inspire the reader to want to see your resume and even call you for an interview today. 3. Layout Leave generous margins so theres plenty of white space and be sure to double space between paragraphs. This will make the cover letter more pleasing on the eye and put the reader at ease.  4. Facilitate reading Assist the reader see at a glance what you wish to say by using numbers or bullet points. You want the reader to be able get a two second snapshot of the cover letter, as most people do before they read it through. 5. Check and check again Proof-read through to catch spelling and grammatical errors, then print it out for one final edit. When you think it looks good, send it over to friends and family and let them go through it with a fine tooth comb. You’re done! Now imagine how the employer will feel when he or she opens your new cover letter. Hopefully they will find a simple, clearly worded letter that contains only necessary information and with a call to action â€" getting you in for an interview. Conclusion The rule of keeping things simple very much applies to cover letters. With employers being inundated with applications, they will appreciate a brief and effective letter like yours. The next step will be to keep your resume short and sweet to stay consistent with your punchy new cover letter.

What are we working for, really

What are we working for, really I told the farmer I wanted a horse. Here are things I know about horses from the farmers response: 1. Horses are very cheap right now. It used to be that you could buy an estate, put horses on it, call it a horse farm, and take a tax deduction on all the land. But the US just banned slaughtering horses. I am not sure why. I think this is part of Obamas attack on US subsidies to the rich. (Which, by the way, I support, and I am hoping he is so creative as this.) Anyway, now there are tons of people who want to get rid of horses. 2. Horses are a luxury to people who make a living from their farm. I will not get into the nuances of making a living vs. not making a living from a farm. But wait. I think I will. Its complicated. For example, if your great-great-grandfather homesteaded land and consequently you inherited 2000 acres and you mortgage it to support your family, is the farm supporting you? And if you dont mortgage it, but you live in poverty, is the farm supporting you? Stay tuned for posts when I answer these questions. Or just bitch about them. But anyway, horses are a luxury, according to the farmer, because they are a lot of work and they never make any money. (Well, except for the Amish, who still use horses to run farm equipment. But this will be in another post, too.) No. I think it will be in this post. Everything in this post, but in a minute. The issue is: what is making a living? And I actually do think I know the answer. The answer is if you are honestly making enough money to meet your needs. So, for example, take Melville. Hes hard for me to read because he was such a crappy provider for his wife and kids. I try to not think of that because my favorite character in all of literature is Ahab. And maybe its impossible to write that crazy a character who we will still all identify with unless the author is crazy himself. Because we all would like to do just what we love and not support ourselves, but most of us dont indulge ourselves that way. I used to say that all anyone needed to earn was $40,000 a year. And, because I dedicated the last decade (perhaps inadvertently) to personally testing all the happiness research I read I can attest that when I made $300,000 a year in LA my happiness was the same as when I made $40,000 in NYC. And, in that time, the Big Happiness Number has become $75,000, but I think that how much money I made didnt matter because my basic, underlying personal problems did not change. Not that I am sure what they are, by the way. I am pretty certain, though, they are something about feeling lonely, because I dont read non-verbal cues well, and because I didnt feel loved as a kid. But, heres something else I learned from the happiness research: You will gain more from being my friend if I talk about happiness than if I talk about sadness. So, lucky for you, I am clearing the $75,000 mark nicely this year, and the farmer responded to my request for a horse. With a donkey. He said that I have to take care of the donkey each day and if I do that, then we can consider the horse. But the farmer doesnt want to have a horse that he is taking care of. The farmer thinks that taking care of animals that dont provide financial gain in return is a petting zoo, not a working farm. This is probably true. And, speaking of petting zoo, we have about 15 baby cats. Here is a cat story: I think all farms have some cats. Is that right? Cat science: Tomcats travel from farm to farm, and girl cats stay on one farm. Some farms are very organized and they spay two cats and shoot the rest. Other farms, like the farmers farm, let nature take its course. When the farmer lived alone, it was so hard for the babies to stay alive that it was a sort of Malthusian society where, by the end of the winter, he was always down to a manageable population of five or six. But then the kids and I moved in, and we started taking kittens to the vet. And then we started buying expensive, grocery store food for the cats instead of forcing them to fight for table scraps. The kittens started thriving, and things were going so well for the mom cats, that they were even getting pregnant twice in one summer. This was great news to me and the kids, because seeing one-day old cats is amazingthey fit in your hand. And taking care of them is great fun. But the farmer got worried. Side story to the cat story but essential information: One of the farmers friends, a dairy farmer, has a bunch of little girls, the demographic most likely to coddle kittens. After about three years of four girls, the friends farm had 150 cats. So the friend and his wife took their kids away for the day and he had three friends come with beer and shotguns and they turned the farm into a cat-killing video game. The cats with the red ribbons on their necks were the ones the family wanted to keep. So I guess we will have one summer of kitten glory and then Ill pay to spay the cats. Which brings me to making a living on the farm. Its always a debate. Is it making a living if you dont have money to treat cats humanely? Because most farmers wont spend the money to spay cats. Is it making a living if the wife works off-farm? Because most farm families today need someone working off-farm, at least for the health insurance. Sometimes, when Im philosophizing about what making a living means, I think about lifestyle. Which brings me to the Amish. We live in a community where the Amish are buying a lot of land. They sell their land in Pennsylvania for $20,000 an acre and then move to our region of Wisconsin and buy land for $5000 an acre. So Im living amongst the yuppie Amish. photo credit: 42N To the Amish, making a living is sustaining a family within a community, and theres a great new book that describes why this formula leads to success in business: Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive, by Erik Wesner. For the Amish, the community is first. They do not drive cars because driving does not promote community, but they can hire someone to drive them, because sometimes you need to do that, and anyway, the alternative of making everyone into crazy Luddites does not develop community either. The Amish are making me rethink why people work. And what supporting a family means. The Amish sense of community is incredible, and while we each think we are making a living by supporting the family unit, or supporting ourselves to create a world full of meaningful relationships, we are nothing like the Amish. We make so many choices based on our individual desires. For example, that I want a horse, or that the farmer wants to never leave the farm for a job that pays $75,000 a year. I am thinking that the research about what makes us happy always comes down to community, not money. You become more like your friends, meeting regularly with a group makes us happier, if we structure our lives around consistent relationshipsincluding proximitywe are happier. So maybe Wesners book on business is the most useful research about happiness, because how to be happy is about how to make a living in a way that enables you to provide something for a group rather than just for yourself.

How to make it in New York City

How to make it in New York City I took the kids to New York City for a week, and while Melissa was trying to figure out what to do with the kids for the day I was working, she came up with this idea that my seven-year-old son should do an internship with a stylist. He wants to be a stylist. He talks about it all the time. And its hard for me because Im so bad at dressing myself that he has actually reprimanded me: Mom. Thats okay for the farm, but not for Boca Raton. So I thought we would just have this silly little day where a stylist shows my son a bit about her job. But really, I was blown away. The stylist Melissa contacted, LP Fashion Philosophy, is actually a girl/guy team: Erica  Lavelanet and David Pena. And they set up a shoot with a photographer and makeup artists and model. When we got there, I knew it was serious. The studio was in the trendiest part of Williamsburg and it was huge with hipster-grit and lots of natural light. The spread of clothes and accessories was incredible. My son was in shock, and I dont think Ive ever seen him shy, but it happened. He could see that this was special. The shyness ended quickly when David showed him how to sort through the clothes to pick a look. And how to get wrinkles out of the clothes you want to use. They explained that the shoot would do three different looks. So my son went to work on the first two assignments, thinking in terms of punk and glamour, and he gave his selections to the model, Kate Welsh, to try. And he found he has a penchant for accessories. At first I thought we were just doing this  in a pretend way. But soon I realized that each person was really top-notch, and they would use this for their portfolio. Watching my son manage the model made me realize that they were treating him seriously and that made him more serious about his own work. The makeup artist, Rie, did three changes of makeup that took about 30 minutes each. Kate said, from the chair she sat in for a very long time, that this was much faster than normal. Rie was unfazed when my son gave directions like, I think gold eyes would be good,  or Lets do blue and green lips to match the blue necklace and green belt. She made it all look good. We spent a lot of time waiting, between makeup changes, so while my son watched everyone in action, I asked about their careers. To my son, everything was so fun and easy. But I wanted to stress to him how hard it is to make it in New York in fashion. Erica and David launched their business when they were in college together, so they had a jump start when they got to the city, which is pretty much the theme of everyone in the room. Erica said that the amount they have to work to succeed is tremendous. You have to love working in this industry because its such incredibly hard work, is what she told me. Spencer Kohn was the photographer. He started doing this when he was fifteen, taking photos for his familys low-budget magazine, then he got an apprenticeship with a fashion photographer in New York City, and since he was only sixteen, his dad had to sign a release so he could see naked women. I looked at Spencers portfolio and I was blown away. He impresses me for his artistic ability, but also, he is so much younger than everyone in the room and still be able to function as the person in charge. And of course, hes a great example of how you dont need to go to college to get a great job. You need grit and determination and belief in yourself. In a city this competitive, good education doesnt differentiate you enough. At first my son sat back and watched as Spencer directed Kate and checked the results. But then my son had some ideas of his own. And Spencer said, Go ahead. Give it a try. And Kate listened. Kate was so impressive because she was willing to take direction from a seven-year-old.  Hed say, Try this and hed do something, and then she would do it.  The process reminded me of making jazz music, actually. They were working together to create something fun. So many people would think they are too good for that kind of collaboration with a seven-year-old. But it was a team of people who were all early starters they all appreciated that someone helped them so they could learn something they had no idea how to do, and so each person was willing to do what my son asked to give him the same experience. Spencer said that usually he gave the model a lot of direction, but today he was mostly the camera guy, and he let my son play the role of creative director. Then Spencer taught my son how to check to see how the photos are coming out. Sometimes I had to cover my eyes. Where did he get the self-confidence to do this? Sometimes he had to cover his own eyes. He never knew quite how the clothes he chose would look when theyre on, and at one point he said, Oh no! Your belly buttons showing! Button your shirt! Thats not good for a little boy to see! Spencer showed my son how to go through the photos on the computer screen to make sure they got what they needed. And suddenly all those hours of unlimited screen time my kids have at home  seemed really useful. You might notice that by the end, my son had started wearing the clothes he pulled for Kate to wear. So finally they asked him if he wanted to jump in front of the camera. Guess what he said? He was good, after about five minutes of practice. But then, proving that the best way to find out what you want to do is to try a lot and quit fast, he realized how much work the model does, and he took off his jacket and said, I want to be a stylist. Thats what I really want to be. Then he sat back down in the chair behind Spencer and said, You guys, I just love my job! That day, everyone got photos to use in their portfolio. My son chose a photo as well, because maybe when he gets older hell want to make it in New York City.

When life aint ever gonna be the same. Career Coach JobJenny

When life aint ever gonna be the same. Career Coach JobJenny You move.Someone important to you gets sick or dies.A pivotal relationship changes.You lose your job.There arekey moments and happenings in life that, like it or not, translate into one simple truth:Life ain't ever going to be the same.I understand this. Quite clearly, in fact.In the space ofone year, I've moved across the country to a relatively unknown town, lost my father unexpectedly to heart failure, struggled to make new friends and fit in, flounderedat staying in closetouch with old friends and family members, retooled my career, gotten engaged andam now buildinga new home with a new family.For a gal who spent more than three decades in one littleMidwestern town, with one main crew of peeps? It has felt, at moments, more than a bit staggering.But here is what I have begun to realize. And this is something I believe will be extremely helpful to those who have been struggling with a layoff, termination or other circumstance that has changed their life picture dramatically:You ar e best able react to, manage, and thrive through change -- even massive change -- when you first embrace the simple reality that life IS change. That it's all dynamic. All of it.People can come and go. Jobs (especially those cooshy ones, it seems) can come and go.Relationships can come and go.Geographies change, sometimes by choice and sometimes out of necessity.Things that seemed like great ideas, may turn out to be dud ideas, and vice versa.It is when you cling on to the old, wishing you could re-create a feeling, a situation, a circumstance, a relationship that's gone, a cake job you had, a life that is now different?That is when you will start to struggle.Change is tough. It's scary, especially if you're out of work and beginning to panic over what is to come.Make it a tiny bit easier foryourself, though.Before you go one step further, try and truly digest that life is dynamic. Don't just pay lip service to it. Sit down, contemplate, and consider the truth.Next, begin to conside r all of the potential positive sides to this truth.And then?You'll much more prepared tobegin building, and enjoying,your next chapter.Guess what? It could be really, really good.I know mine's going to be.

The 7 Biggest Mistakes Bloggers Make - CareerMetis.com

The 7 Biggest Mistakes Bloggers Make A significant segment of the online ecosystem is made up of blogs. WordPress aloneâ€"one of the most popular blogging platformsâ€"powers 28.9% of the internet. It’s estimated that there are currently over 440 million blogs worldwide.One of the most appealing things about blogs is their democratic nature. With many powerful free blogging optionsavailable, the only thing you need to get started is a point-of-view, a talent for writing, and an internet connection. There is, however, a potential downside to this freedom of access.evalThe low barrier to entry means that it can be difficult to make your blog stand out from the crowd.One way to do this is to ensure that you avoid the 7 biggest mistakes that bloggers make. Here, we’ll take a look at the pitfalls and discuss how to sidestep them.1) Be PatientevalYou may be writing brilliant content, but it will still take time for your audience to find you. There are more bloggers than ever before and it’s not easy to stand out from the crowd.Are you writing primarily to drive organic traffic to your site through keyword and search engine optimization Chances are when you first start your blog, you will have a million ideas. It’s tempting to let them all spill out onto the screen at once. Resist that temptation. Once the honeymoon period of writing blog posts is over, you’ll discover it can be hard work. It’s far better to come up with a realistic schedule and publish it on a regular basis.There’s certainly no harm in building up an arsenal of content that’s ready to post, but don’t publish it all at once. Instead, develop a content calendar. Schedule posts to be published at regular intervalsâ€"daily, every other day, weekly, etc.Keeping a consistent schedule is key not only to ensure you stay on track with content creation but it also enables your readers to anticipate fresh content at predictable intervals.3) Quality Over Quantity Going hand-in-hand with consistency is quality. Be realistic about yo ur output. When creating your content calendar, don’t set yourself goals that are impossible to meet. It pays to stick to a schedule, but if you focus on quantity over quality, every aspect of your blog will suffer.evalHow your visitors engage with your content on Google can have a significant impact on your SERP ranking. If a user clicks on any given search result and quickly returns back to the results page, Google will assume that the visitor didn’t find what they were working for. They will adjust your SERP ratings accordingly 5) Be ApproachableYou may be an expert in your field, but, keep in mind, your readers may not be at your level. After all, that’s probably why they’ve sought you out in the first place. Make sure to explain concepts that seem basic to you, but are perhaps unfamiliar to the audience you are trying to reach.Pay particular attention to industry-specific abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms. It’s always best to err on the side of caution and spel l out the full phrase the first time it’s used in a post.Another way of being approachable is by allowing comments on your blog. Disqusintegrates with many blogging platforms and processes, on average, 50 million comments a month.evalHaving a comments section can help drive engagement, but be prepared to engage directly with commenters. Disagreements are common amongst blog commenters, so you may have to moderate comments before they go live. Carefully weigh up whether there are solid reasons to introduce commenting on your blog.6) Develop Your Own VoiceWhether your blog has a single author, or multiple writers working as a team, it is good practice to maintain a consistent and distinct “voice”. This can vary somewhat from author to author â€" particularly when authors are publishing under their own name.In fact, it should. Allowing your personality and your way of looking at the world to shine through in your writing is a wonderful way to engage readers and develop loyalty. A s you develop this “voice” be aware that any sudden shifts in perspective and tone may alienate your readers.After all, you’ve put a lot of hard work into having them get to know youâ€"be careful of scaring them away.7) Be SpecificYou may well be an expert on a wide range of topics. But, chances are, your potential audience is searching for information or guidance in a specific area of interest.evalAre you a celebrity? Then your musings on a variety of subjects may be of interest to the general public. Otherwise, it is best to stick to establishing yourself as an authority on a particular topic or niche.The more focused your content is on a particular nicheâ€"and the more authoritative content you create that’s relevantâ€"the more likely you are to build a dedicated audience. And the more likely your blog is to come up in search results. Of course, it’s natural to have more than one interest (or business). If you find your interests are diverging from your specific niche, consider starting another blog dedicated to them.But make sure to avoid spreading yourself too thin. It’s best not to attempt being a jack-of-all-trades. Rather be a master of one.Whether you’re blogging for fun or profit, these seven pitfalls are to be avoided. Even if your audience is family and friends, you’ll no doubt want to create the best possible experience for them.If you’re a blogger for a business you really can’t afford to make any of these seven mistakes.To summarize:Be patientBe consistentQuality over quantityKnow your audience, set your goalsBe approachableDevelop your own voiceBe specificIf you avoid these simple missteps, you will be well on your way to being a successful blogger.

Professionalism Takes More Than Wearing A Suit

Professionalism Takes More Than Wearing A Suit Typical career advice for new graduates includes what to wear advice, but that is just the tip of the professionalism iceberg. What does it really take to be a professional in todays work environment? Miss Manners Says Thank you, please, hold the door, shake hands and make eye contact- sure, you do all these things all the time, right? And all your friends do too?! Now, what about the written thank you, RSVPing, and showing up on time? How are you doing with these efforts? I think youll agree, you could be better at these. And it doesnt require much effort, but it WILL make a huge difference in how you are perceived by others. Honesty and integrity are absolutely essential for success in life all areas of life. The really good news is that anyone can develop both honesty and integrity.  Zig Ziglar Integrity Means The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. Are you reliable? Do you deliver upon your promises? Do you go out of your way to help others? Are you honest and trustworthy? I know these things may sound basicbut every day, in every encounter (personal and professional), your integrity is assessed by someone. How will you stack up? It Isnt Just New College Graduates Now, just to be clear, I am not saying that these are issues only recent college graduates need to work on. These valuable elements of professionalism can be missing at any age. My post on US News World Report today contains more ways to build professionalism! I hope youll go have a peek! And by the way, Ill be presenting a no-cost webinar this Thursday, November 21st 8pm ET/ 5 pm PT with Lea McLeod of Degrees of Transition. Your Brand Online:  Tools and Tips to Stand Out! This is one of my favorite topics! There are so many ways to stand out and well look at the many free tools available to make this a do-able project for you! I hope youll join Lea McLeod and me for this fun, fast-paced program!

Brd Writing Resume

Brd Writing ResumeBrd writing resume needs to be unique, timely and convincing. This will give you the edge to land that good job interview. A lot of bad writers fail because they do not have any experience with this field. If you know how to do it yourself, do it.First off, make sure your resume is eye-catching. When looking for a job, employers do not like repetitive resumes or those which look identical. They will automatically find the more unique one and will call you. However, if you have no experience with this field, you should not worry too much about this as it is one of the most common mistakes made by brd writers.Remember, a good resume is not only presented in the form of an essay. You need to include elements which can grab the attention of the reader. One of the most effective ways is to make your resume include an introductory paragraph that will make them curious to read your resume further. These introductory paragraphs are very important. If you cannot put your per sonality in this, you may want to hire a professional.Offer benefits from your work experience. It will help to show the employer that you have something to offer them. This is also another way of attracting an employer to you.If you write a resume in the original format, then there are chances that it will turn out to be very lengthy. If you are a good writer, you can skip over this step and just use your skills. Just make sure that your resume is not too wordy.Hire a professional brd writing resume service. A professional service provider will write your resume for you at a particular price. After you have submitted your resume, you will get all the details from the brd service provider. After this, you can create your own resume using your skills.You should always keep your resume interesting so that the employer does not become bored with reading your resume; hence, you need to choose a unique topic that is not common. Once you have picked a specific topic that is interesting to the employer, you should make sure that you have included relevant information in your resume.In case the employer finds your resume interesting, he or she will feel obliged to get in touch with you. Therefore, never give up. Keep on writing even after getting the first call.