May 16, 2010
How to Write a Good Cover Letter
Even in this challenging economy, every company has room for exceptional contributors. If you make operations run smoothly and come up with innovative ideas that will increase the company’s profitability, then they need you. Here are some tips to help you draft a winning cover letter.
Research
Always research the company you’re applying to. If it’s a big corporation, check out their press room online. Read their press releases. Look for common themes. This will give you a big-picture perspective of where they’re moving as a company. Then, see what other people are saying about them. Do a Google News search of the company. And don’t be afraid to leverage your network. Is a friend of a friend a currently employee at said company? Try to get a few minutes of that person’s time to find out what the company culture is like. Maybe this person can even connect you to someone who works in the department you’re applying to. Finally, research the company’s competitors. How do their offerings differ?
Establish Credibility
When applying for a position, do establish your credibility and work history. But don’t spend more than a paragraph doing so. The past is gone. Today, companies care about what you’re planning to do for them now. Talk specifically about how you can apply the skills you’ve learned elsewhere to their business.
Show Off
After doing all that research, do you see areas that the company could move into? Is their competition pummeling them in certain areas? Sometimes it takes a person outside the company to see obvious opportunities that are being missed. Are there certain lucrative markets that are going untapped? Talk about this. Do don’t paint the company in a bad light. Let them know you’re passionate about making their company even more successful.
And finally, don’t forget to mention that you’re easy to work with (team player), committed to meeting deadlines (dependable) and attentive to detail (thorough). Believe it or not, many companies are willing to higher less experienced people if they possess these three characteristics. So don’t forget to weave them into your cover letter.
Was this helpful? Do you disagree with any of the tips? Have any of your own to add?
January 26, 2010
Lessons in futility
I have a hard time doing work that is futile. I like for there to be a point to what I’m doing. I struggle a lot with “what’s the point of my job?” or “am I even really needed here?”
I’ve dealt with these feelings in a number of positions. Sometimes it’s easy to fall into the way of thinking that you’re nothing special and anyone could do what you do. The pull is even stronger to think this way when you’re on the bottom of the totem pole and what you’re doing is so tedious and simple that you feel like a caveman could do it.
There are a few things I keep telling myself. And while half the time I roll my eyes at myself, I know that things will change.
- I have a specific skill set. I have something to offer to the workforce.
- My job is not my life. There is a lot more to who I am as a person than what people see on the surface at the office.
- Let it go. This doesn’t matter in the scheme of life.
Like I said, I have a tendency to tell myself these things and then realize that it feels like BS. When I’ve spent all day working on something, and someone comes back and redoes it all, or unravels it all, I could cry. And in my line of work, this happens 3 out of every 5 days. You can imagine the futility I feel. My job is pointless if someone else is going to come along and redo it behind me, just because they “felt like it.”
I don’t have any real advice. I don’t know how to change this from happening. I do believe it’s not specific to any one role or position, but certain ones feel it more often. Has anyone else felt like this? What you’re doing is pointless? Let me know. Or maybe I truly AM going crazy.
January 6, 2010
Something worth reading
I know I’m supposed to be giving you ideas and thoughts of my own, and I promise that will come, but I read this blog this morning, and for any of you writers, it’s something to add to your list of things to read once a month.
Copyblogger is probably my favorite blog on the subject of writing, and as usual, it hasn’t let me down. This blog, written by Sherice Jacob, seemed to speak directly to me on the subject of my own writing.
I hope it helps you as much as it helped me!
