How To Nail Your Cover Letter

How To Nail Your Cover Letter If you really want the job you’ve been dreaming about, you’ll need to put forth a little more effort. Most employers expect to see a cover letter with every submitted resume. They are no longer optional. Even if they were, why would you pass up an opportunity to explain why you’re perfect for the job? This is your chance to showcase your personality and convince the employer to call you as opposed to any other applicant. The last thing you want to do is lie on your resume or cover letter. Hiring managers want to hire you, not a representation of what you think they want. All lies will eventually come out. The cover letter is a chance to explain everything that wont fit on your resume and present  yourself as the perfect candidate.  Now that you realize how important it is, here are some tips to boost the quality of your cover letter and get your dream job! Address your letter to the right person This may take a little research on your part, but if it’s at all possible, address your cover letter to a specific person. “To Whom It May Concern” is not only overused, but it shows a lack of effort. It’s especially embarrassing if you use this and the name of the manager is in the job ad. It shows you just don’t care. That’s not the impression you want to give. Call the company and get the name of the person the application is going to. Taking this extra step will not only show that you are sincere about getting the job, but you respect the manager enough to find out his or her name. Doing your research also help avoid embarrassing mistakes such as addressing your letter to a Mr. Chris Smith, when Chris is actually a woman. Put emphasis on what you can do for them â€" not what they can do for you The cover letter is time for you to highlight your skills and what makes you the perfect candidate. The interview will be the time for more of an exchange and to convey your enthusiasm for the job. Right now, you’re trying to convince them of why they should call you in. If they get a feeling that you only want the job for superficial reasons (pay, prestige, etc.), they’ll think that you’re only trying to take. A good employee recognizes that to be successful, you have to give and take. The hiring manager wants to see what you can bring to the company to help them grow and succeed. It’s fine to show a little enthusiasm in your cover letter, but spin it to how it will benefit the company. Think something like, “I’ve been following your company since it’s start up and I’ve love to bring my skills to the team.” Then give some suggestions on how you can do that. Don’t just summarize your resume The hiring manager already has a copy of your resume. Don’t use your cover letter to rewrite your job history in paragraph form. Elaborate on certain jobs and emphasize what skills you used and achievements you made there. If you’re new to the employment field, use experiences from school. You can talk about how you’re always chosen to be the group leader in class and it gave you ample opportunity to develop management skills needed to bring to your future position. The cover letter is the place for you to talk about experiences that won’t fit on your resume. Customize your letter for every position you apply for Hiring managers can smell a stock letter from a mile away. Also, if you’re using the same letter and just changing small details such as the job title or the manager’s name, you’ll eventually slip up and send the wrong letter to a job. There’s no faster way to get your application in the trash. Every new application should have a new cover letter. It’s work to rewrite your cover letter, but it’ll pay out. It shows the hiring manager that you’ve done your research and you desire the position you’re applying for. Include a specific fact that only pertains to the company you’re applying for such as “I enjoyed the post on your company blog about…It helped me to…” Call  to action Now that you have some tips, take the time to research your dream job. Visit the company’s website and take some notes. Take key points from your resume and tell a story about them. Discuss your enthusiasm for the job, but put your emphasis on what you can bring to the company. It’s not hard to write a cover letter, just takes a little bit of thought! About the author:  Jim Raychrudhury is a passionate blogger and freelance writer, interested in careers and business.  

New Game Match the personal brand to the product brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

New Game Match the personal brand to the product brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career For all of you that have been following my blog and have played Brand Autopsy before, I have invented a brand new game for you (no pun intended). This game will have no winners or losers, but will surely create conversation. The game is called brand matchup. As my readers, you get to choose which product brand matches up to the personal brand listed, by leaving a comment on this post. On subsequent posts, there will be themes for the product brand, such as the theme of coffee, as you may view below, as well as a famous personal brand. When you think of Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft, what brand of coffee comes to mind?

Careers support for doctoral researchers University of Manchester Careers Blog

Careers support for doctoral researchers University of Manchester Careers Blog Any researcher knows that research success involves more than just knocking out a thesis overnight and dazzling your examiners with your off-the-cuff insights at your viva. The groundwork starts on day 1 of your research degree. You know what Im going to say about career success now, dont you? OK, cut to the chase Ive written a major new section on the Careers Service postgraduate website to support doctoral researchers, wherever you are in your research degree, to improve your chances of career success. At the start of your doctoral research degree Includes finding support to help you through your PhD, exploring your strengths, applying for teaching or part-time roles, starting to establish your academic reputation (including winning academic funding and prizes), learning to get your message across to academic and non-academic audiences, as well as starting to explore the wide range of careers open to you. Those tough intermediate years Some topics are similar to first year, but now theres more emphasis on starting to build your contacts, actively researching different careers or building your academic reputation, building up your CV and reflecting on what youve done, so you can tell your story to people you meet (who may help your career later) and a whole page on keeping going, including the challenges of Imposter Syndrome (seems its quite common in academia). That hectic final year (and beyond) You probably wont have much time for adding extra skills unless theyre directly related to your PhD, but theres lots of info on deciding which career to go into, finding and applying for jobs, getting through interviews, making contacts and using careers events, plus finding support to get you through the final hurdle. Theres a lot more in each section, including links to further resources where you need them those are just some of the highlights. How should I use this? You can use this resource whenever youve got a moment to think about your career, but its also intended to support your annual career development discussion with your supervisor. What do you mean, Whats one of those? To be fair, theyve only been introduced this year, but theyre now part of your officially monitored progression (through eProg). If your supervisor isnt familiar with them and isnt sure what to talk to you about, send them to our Careers for Doctoral Researchers resource. Feedback As ever, Id love to get your feedback on the resource, including suggestions for development or things Ive forgotten to include. Either leave a comment here or send me your suggestions at careers@manchester.ac.uk with the subject line Careers for doctoral researchers. All Postgrad-highlighted Postgraduate academia Applications and interviews networking Options

4 Amazing Presentation Tricks - Classy Career Girl

4 Amazing Presentation Tricks So, you’ve been asked to give a presentation to the client or your team. You feel the nerves start to creep up as soon as you’re asked. Your palms begin to sweat, and your stomach feels like a pit of doom. All this before you’ve even begun preparing! If you’ve felt alone in this, stop right there. I get asked all the time about the secret sauce to giving a compelling and engaging presentation. I’ve been in your shoes and I know how scary it can feel at first and how overwhelming it can be to figure out where to begin. In this article I want to share with you some of the most impactful tools I’ve used to create presence and successfully deliver any type of information. 4 Amazing  Presentation  Tricks 1. Memorize, Memorize, Memorize! Have you ever seen a presentation where the speaker is reading their notes and avoiding eye contact? If you do this, it will create a lot of distance between you and the audience. The audience will feel instantly disengaged and you dont want that. Instead, think of a presentation as a conversation with your audience. Keep your notes tucked away and focus on the audience instead. Whether or not  you are talking to a group of 3 or a group of 300, being present is a sure way to attract their attention to you and be with your presence. Having your content memorized will make it easier  for you  to interact with the audience instead of figuring out what page you are on in your notes. For my favorite resource to help you remember literally ANYTHING, watch this Ted Talk by science writer, Joshua Foer. He describes the technique â€" called the memory palace â€" and shows off its most remarkable feature: anyone can learn how to use it, including him. 2. Rock  Your Confidence Pose Over 55% of what the audience will  respond to will be from your body language. Believe it or not, how you  stand  speaks more to the audience than what you actually say. An Executive Coach once told me that how far apart you hold your hands will be how much money you want to make. From that moment on, I  got  very conscious of how I presented my hands after hearing that. The closer you hold your hands, the more you contract your body towards your center, showing insecurity. Instead, spread your hands apart, align your legs with your hips, avoid bringing them together, and notice how your chest opens up and your voice will project more. You will convey greater confidence in your knowledge of the material. [RELATED: The Beginners Guide to Getting Booked at Speaking Events] 3. Get Your Gestures During your next presentation, don’t be afraid to move your hands to convey a key point that you’re trying to make. The grander the motion, the better so that it emphasizes  your point more. Gestures  will become more natural when you  have  practiced this so spread those arms and project your point as you prepare for your presentation. The audience will be more engaged with you and believe in what you’re saying. 4. Be Bold Be bold in how you speak during the presentation. After all, 38% of your credibility is coming from how the audience is hearing you. You can use this to your advantage and match your tone with bigger body language we discussed above to project confidence. Have a bit of fun as well if your audience is open to that. Surprise them and do something unexpected. All of these tips may feel awkward at first but remember that your audience wants to connect with you in some way. Even if they hold a straight face, don’t underestimate their enjoyment. I’ve been approached by the most stern audience members with glowing reviews after the presentation. You never know who will benefit from your messages, so keep at it!

10 Job Interview Mistakes That Can Kill Your Chances

10 Job Interview Mistakes That Can Kill Your Chances Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comIt’s understandable if you’re stressed before a job interview, especially if you’ve been overlooked before and are struggling to pay the bills with no money coming in â€" we’ve all been there at some point!Fortunately if you prepare well in advance and learn what not to do, you’ll have the advantage over other candidate.Let’s take a closer look at 10 job interview mistakes that can kill your chances and what to do about them …1. Not Looking The PartevalWhile advice to wear a suit to job interviews can be a little cliché these days, dressing smart still fit’s the majority of situations and it’s better to dress up than to dress down. Just don’t dress to distract.Whatever you decide, make sure you look the part for the job at hand. You may even be informed ahead of time how to present yourself Checking our phones is becoming second nature to many of us, but whatever you do don’t instinctively reach for your device in your pocket or bag i f there’s a lull during the interview. This shows disrespect and disinterest and is all round unprofessional behavior.There may be an instance where showing the interviewer something relevant to the conversation on your phone might be appropriate, but this should only be to add value not as a crutch because you’ve forgotten something about your resume, the company or the point you wanted to make.In most cases you should turn your phone on silent or off and have it out of reach. Do you even need to bring it in at all?4. Not Knowing the Company or RoleNo interviewer is going to expect you to know everything about a company’s history, but since you have expressed an interest in working there you should be able to explain why, with reference to what you know and like about it.evalYou also need to know about the position you’re being interviewed for; after all, you’ve got to demonstrate what you bring to the role and why you’re the best of the bunch. You can’t do that if yo u don’t know what you’re applying for.Lack of preparation is a common job interview killer. Do your research and then you can be confident no matter what they ask you.5. Overstating Your Superficial Knowledge of the CompanyFor every person who doesn’t know anything about the company is somebody who has learned the company website’s about page verbatim. Interviewers can spot insincerity, so don’t overdo it or try to ‘suck up’ by discovering the interviewer or boss likes vintage wines and pretending you do too.6. Talking and Not ListeningNobody likes a self-important rambler. Yes, sell yourself, but don’t try to lead the conversation or get everything out in one monologue. Most jobs are about teamwork and this only demonstrates selfishness.The key thing to understand is that an interview is a back-and-forth process. This means you must listen and respond accordingly. If you respond with something completely irrelevant to the question, you could give the impression that you won’t listen on the job or are bad at following instructions.If you don’t have a direct answer, resist the urge to randomly change the subject. Acknowledging the situation and then offering a somewhat relevant anecdote is a much better approach.7. Lack of Enthusiasm or EnergyWe all have days of tiredness and brain fog, where all we want to do is go back to bed. You can’t let this seep through during a job interview however, as this is the first and possibly only chance you’ll get to make a good impression.The interviewer doesn’t know that you’re usually full of energy and have an unrivalled work ethic. They see what they see on the day.So, act high energy, don’t slouch, be interested in what they have to say and show enthusiasm for the position. If it doesn’t effect your nerves, have a strong coffee beforehand to keep you alert.8. Not Asking the Right QuestionsevalShowing enthusiasm for the role also means asking questions. Of course, all job interview 101s tell you to ask questions, but don’t just ask random questions â€" make sure they are relevant to the things you’ve just discussed, the position you’re applying for and you genuinely want to know the answers.You might think that having nothing to ask demonstrates that you’ve taken everything in and are ready for the job, but more often it reflects disinterest, lack of enthusiasm and lack of confidence.On the flipside, don’t ask silly questions, things already covered or things you already know the answer to, just because you think you should be asking something.9. Not Knowing Your ResumeIf you include something in your resume you better make sure it’s true and you can expand on it in a discussion. Failing to do so will make you seem unprepared and at worst, deceptive.If it’s been several years remember to go over old facts, skills and employment details before the interview.evalThere’s also nothing wrong with being selective in your resume. Include your best jobs, skills and achievements; then you’ll never struggle with answering questions.10. Not Following UpFailing to follow up after an interview probably won’t lose you the job if you did particularly well, but it will underscore your interest and enthusiasm, and that you’re polite and professional.A good rule of thumb is to wait 24 hours and then send a short email thanking the interviewer for the opportunity and restating your desire for the role.At the very least this means you won’t get lost in the shuffle.If you take note of the above mistakes and how to avoid them, we’re sure your job interview will go well and you’ll be back in employment in no time. If you found the information valuable, feel free to give it a share!