An Addendum to “THE COVER LETTER” ARTICLE

Upon receiving so many comments and feedback from readers searching for help after reading the blog article, “The Infamous Cover Letter” I decided to add an addendum to it entitled, “The Infamous Resume.”

In the first article, it was emphasized that the cover letter is about the “whom?” and “what” of you – personally; and the resume illustrates the “where?” “when?” and “how?” of your business life. It is at THIS time, you also will find the “why?”

Last week I did a resume for a girl that was told by her business coach that her resume needed work. Puzzled, the girl asked me to rewrite and improve it for her. I asked her to send me the description of the job she was applying for and her original resume as it looks now.

Upon reviewing the job description, I found it was a perfect job fit for her skills. However, looking at her actual resume, I could understand if she didn’t even capture an interview.

The thing is, it was all formatted properly, dates accurate, job titles listed, but it said NOTHING about her proven track record of success and contributions to each company she listed. It said she worked for them, displayed her title, said she did routine tasks for them, but there was nothing to indicate that she was a gem in demand because of her ideas, work methods, achievements, or contributions who made the companies shine due to her efforts!

In the cover letter, you say who you are and why you were perfect for this position, but in the resume, you indicate you made a contribution and then, the secret is this…remember the rule? You know, the one drilled in your head by your English teacher, the rule…“Who, What, Where, Why and When and sometimes HOW? THIS is the place you highlight emphatically the HOW!

Resume #1

Weight Loss Counselor

• Sold memberships to clients (how many?)

• Helped Members on goals (Make an impression?)

• closed & opened store.

• told the main office how we did each week (how did you do?!)

Resume #2

Read the rest of this entry »

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

You probably assume I am going to state the obvious here and say that spelling and grammar checks are a must, which is of course very true. However, to discover those little typos, over-sites, spelling and grammar errors, the ONLY way to do it – is to review, review, and then review one more time.

I cannot tell a lie. I am sometimes lax myself at checking my own work more than once. I type too fast and inevitably present a typo or misspelled word in my own work, but I’m great at editing others work, because I’m focusing on THEIR words, spelling and grammar, not the creation. This isn’t uncommon, by the way – for writers in particular. Their brain is creating, brainstorming, focusing on characters, plots, scenes, and getting it down before they forget it…they are not focusing on the copy until it’s all on paper, which is why we have editors and proofreaders in the first place. However, that is no excuse, I admit. So, the lesson for all of us today, is to review, review, review. I have someone else check my own pages now – and then I can blame them if it comes back to bite me! 

Sentence length is always a topic of debate. Most of the time, the tendency is to write too many lengthy sentences than fewer. Some experts say it is ok to have a very long sentence as long as the grammar, spelling and punctuation are in place. I prefer to stick to the old school of writing that says, no – sentences should not be longer than an average of 17 words per sentence…and now I contradict myself, because this sentence is a lot longer than 17 words…get my point?!

Try not to repeat a word in a sentence and even limit repeating it in a paragraph, if at all possible. This does not apply to… the, and, of, it, in, if, at, to, etc., obviously!

Whenever you can, use verbs instead of adjectives, because doing is better than describing! You know, “actions speak louder than words?!” That’s another tip; don’t use clichés, unless it is just a fun-type article like this one!

Does your headline make people want to read more? Make sure your headline presents an invitation to read more. In my header, the first one just proposed a boring checklist; in the sub-header, it called for ACTION and an admission of guilt!

Now, will you excuse me while I review, review and review once more, this copy? Feel free to make comments – just remember, I DO make sure that my client’s work is accurate, and I use two programs and a thorough hard read to make sure!