Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I hate cover letters
They can be torture to write sometimes. Yes, business professionals will always tell you that a cover letter is necessary. It will make you stand out from the rest of the applicants. If your resume is only ho-hum, your cover letter could get you the job. But I still loathe writing them.
Each cover letter has to be specific for the job you're applying to. It can't be a generic one you send to everyone. Apparently recruiters have a need to feel special and if they think you're toying with their emotions by sending them an obvious generic cover letter that's not all about them, your resume is in the trash by the first paragraph.
The pressure is on. It took me two days (not the full 24 hours in each day of course) to write out a stinkin cover letter for a job in San Antonio. I think I spent the first couple of hours trying to write the first sentence. Then I stared at a blank word document for another good two hours. Agh! I'll come back to it later, I said. When I did eventually go back, I got another sentence written. But then, I couldn't think how to flow into my next line of thought without an abrupt change of pace. That's the most difficult part, I think...going from introductions to the main plot.
I scoured the Internet for ideas. I Googled "cover letters" and read through cover letter samples and took pieces of several hoping to weave them together into a cohesive letter that would become my own. In the end I found the basics for any cover letter. You need three basic elements, or three basic paragraphs.
1) Why you are writing.
2) Why you are a good fit for this position. (It helps to list their requirements and how you fit them.)
3) How you will follow up.
And let's not forget to add just a small dash of flattery. I also researched the company's website and added a line that included information from their mission statement and how I agreed with it, showing how well I'd fit in with them.
Too bad the best cover letter I wrote is lost. It was written two years or so ago. I don't know what happened to the file. Maybe it was on my last computer before it crashed. I really could've used it as a jumping off point. But in the end, I finally got this new letter written. I don't know if it's the best cover letter. Probably not. But at least I don't think it stinks.
You know, I get that recruiters want a sense of your style before they call you in for an interview. They can't always get that from just a resume. The resume could be flawless, but if you screw up in a cover letter, they won't be calling. It's such a shame, really. A cover letter tells how you could be a good fit for a job, but in the end, you're really just trying to get a job. A cover letter is nothing but a fancy letter explaining why you and your resume should be given a chance because you really need a decent paying job. That's all.
That being said, below are two cover letter examples for your reading enjoyment. The one on the left is the actual cover letter I wrote, with phone numbers and my address changed of course. I left the company's info because I got that information right off their web-page and so could anyone else. The second on the right is a screwy letter I wrote for fun...what a cover letter really is.
(I think if you click on them, they should enlarge.)
Each cover letter has to be specific for the job you're applying to. It can't be a generic one you send to everyone. Apparently recruiters have a need to feel special and if they think you're toying with their emotions by sending them an obvious generic cover letter that's not all about them, your resume is in the trash by the first paragraph.
The pressure is on. It took me two days (not the full 24 hours in each day of course) to write out a stinkin cover letter for a job in San Antonio. I think I spent the first couple of hours trying to write the first sentence. Then I stared at a blank word document for another good two hours. Agh! I'll come back to it later, I said. When I did eventually go back, I got another sentence written. But then, I couldn't think how to flow into my next line of thought without an abrupt change of pace. That's the most difficult part, I think...going from introductions to the main plot.
I scoured the Internet for ideas. I Googled "cover letters" and read through cover letter samples and took pieces of several hoping to weave them together into a cohesive letter that would become my own. In the end I found the basics for any cover letter. You need three basic elements, or three basic paragraphs.
1) Why you are writing.
2) Why you are a good fit for this position. (It helps to list their requirements and how you fit them.)
3) How you will follow up.
And let's not forget to add just a small dash of flattery. I also researched the company's website and added a line that included information from their mission statement and how I agreed with it, showing how well I'd fit in with them.
Too bad the best cover letter I wrote is lost. It was written two years or so ago. I don't know what happened to the file. Maybe it was on my last computer before it crashed. I really could've used it as a jumping off point. But in the end, I finally got this new letter written. I don't know if it's the best cover letter. Probably not. But at least I don't think it stinks.
You know, I get that recruiters want a sense of your style before they call you in for an interview. They can't always get that from just a resume. The resume could be flawless, but if you screw up in a cover letter, they won't be calling. It's such a shame, really. A cover letter tells how you could be a good fit for a job, but in the end, you're really just trying to get a job. A cover letter is nothing but a fancy letter explaining why you and your resume should be given a chance because you really need a decent paying job. That's all.
That being said, below are two cover letter examples for your reading enjoyment. The one on the left is the actual cover letter I wrote, with phone numbers and my address changed of course. I left the company's info because I got that information right off their web-page and so could anyone else. The second on the right is a screwy letter I wrote for fun...what a cover letter really is.
(I think if you click on them, they should enlarge.)
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Potential Energy
I was randomly perusing other blogs and this one caught my eye. I enjoy reading it and there's been one or two posts I felt I understood well or connected with a bit. Enjoy her writing here:
Potential Energy
Potential Energy
Thursday, June 03, 2010
The not-so successful life after college
I don't think there's anything else in this grown-up world that I detest more than the silent soul-crusher that is job hunting.
When I was in elementary school, I was told and always knew one day I'd be in junior high. Then in junior high, I always knew I'd be in high school soon. And in high school, I always knew and was told that I would go to college. And so the day came and I went to college. And while in college, I was told and led to assume that after graduation, I would be getting a job that would lead to a career and I would be employed and making money doing something related to what I was going to school for. Well we all know what happens when you assume.
Turns out I was set up for a big let down. It was all lies! Damnable lies. Hardly anyone I know actually has a job in their degree field. Many people I know (including me) couldn't find work right out of college. Everything was always step by step in the (what I thought was) the correct direction. The path to success...the path that is known and understood. Not the scary pot-hole ridden path in the opposite direction.
Graduation was the edge of the plateau. There was no continuous mountain path upward. There was just graduation from college and then a big, steep roll downward. Resumes and blasted cover letters abounded. But I was hit with the same confounding response everywhere I went; Employers wanted to hire someone with at least 2 years experience. But how was I to get 2 years experience if noone would hire me??
So the bubble burst on the idea of working for an advertising agency right out of college. Either they wanted experience or they were a small company that had no openings. Later on while I had a crummy sales job, I job-hunted on the side...hoping to find anything better that didn't rely on a commission-based salary. In interviews I'd regurgitate the same spiel of information. Each interview picked at my life force. I realized I had nothing to say except to recite my academic past. I had no family of my own, I had no kids (but thank goodness I'm not a single mom), and I hadn't traveled the world. My life was my stupid resume.
So the rundown is this; after a move back to my hometown, a lack-luster job at a newspaper, a crappy job at a movie theater, and a stressful go-nowhere job in god-awful sales, I took up a new class at a community college. Finally, I was back in an environment where I understood the world. But the outside's evil eye was always boring into the back of my skull. It was there and waiting. I couldn't hide back in academia for long. So I'm now back at the plateau, gazing down again, knowing I have to tuck and roll once more.
(Sigh) Hopefully this time I'll avoid the larger rubble.
When I was in elementary school, I was told and always knew one day I'd be in junior high. Then in junior high, I always knew I'd be in high school soon. And in high school, I always knew and was told that I would go to college. And so the day came and I went to college. And while in college, I was told and led to assume that after graduation, I would be getting a job that would lead to a career and I would be employed and making money doing something related to what I was going to school for. Well we all know what happens when you assume.
Turns out I was set up for a big let down. It was all lies! Damnable lies. Hardly anyone I know actually has a job in their degree field. Many people I know (including me) couldn't find work right out of college. Everything was always step by step in the (what I thought was) the correct direction. The path to success...the path that is known and understood. Not the scary pot-hole ridden path in the opposite direction.
Graduation was the edge of the plateau. There was no continuous mountain path upward. There was just graduation from college and then a big, steep roll downward. Resumes and blasted cover letters abounded. But I was hit with the same confounding response everywhere I went; Employers wanted to hire someone with at least 2 years experience. But how was I to get 2 years experience if noone would hire me??
So the bubble burst on the idea of working for an advertising agency right out of college. Either they wanted experience or they were a small company that had no openings. Later on while I had a crummy sales job, I job-hunted on the side...hoping to find anything better that didn't rely on a commission-based salary. In interviews I'd regurgitate the same spiel of information. Each interview picked at my life force. I realized I had nothing to say except to recite my academic past. I had no family of my own, I had no kids (but thank goodness I'm not a single mom), and I hadn't traveled the world. My life was my stupid resume.
So the rundown is this; after a move back to my hometown, a lack-luster job at a newspaper, a crappy job at a movie theater, and a stressful go-nowhere job in god-awful sales, I took up a new class at a community college. Finally, I was back in an environment where I understood the world. But the outside's evil eye was always boring into the back of my skull. It was there and waiting. I couldn't hide back in academia for long. So I'm now back at the plateau, gazing down again, knowing I have to tuck and roll once more.
(Sigh) Hopefully this time I'll avoid the larger rubble.
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