Resumes and Cover Letters

[D-Lish]

Well I'm still looking for a job. It's interesting to here advice though.

 

I really don't have enough experience yet so I may just start cold calling places I want to work.

 

I do find it interesting that some people just throw away cover letters, I only send them when asked for.

 

I may try joining a temp agency to help me get some experience but I hope it doesn't come to that.

 

Is it worth it for you to also try dropping off resumes in person?

If I am in a store and someone comes in with a resume- I'll give them a brief interview on the spot. I've hired people on the spot that way as well. We're always looking for sales associates- so I will usually read the resume as they hand it to me, ask them questions.

 

My managers will do the same thing. It's a bonus if I happen to be in the store, because I can give the manager the go ahead to check their references and hire them.

[TheLoneSock]

I saw a job I wanted to apply for. It's like 1am right now. Do you think it will look bad that I emailed them with my resume and cover letter so late?

 

This actually used to be a concern of mine as well because I didn't want people to think I was waiting until the last minute to apply, or that I stayed up late and slept my day away, because I didn't. Ultimately I landed on convincing myself that they would see it as dedicated, staying up until 1-2am searching for jobs. Turns out it really didn't matter what time I submitted my credentials, as D-Lish said, as long as I got them in as early as possible to get ahead of the crowd.

 

There was a time when I would literally stalk the website of one organization in particular just after midnight because I knew that's when they released the newest open positions and I wanted to be the very first to apply. Not sure if that's what worked in the end but I did end up getting hired.

Edited August 20, 2010 by TheLoneSock

[D-Lish]

This actually used to be a concern of mine as well because I didn't want people to think I was waiting until the last minute to apply, or that I stayed up late and slept my day away, because I didn't. Ultimately I landed on convincing myself that they would see it as dedicated, staying up until 1-2am searching for jobs. Turns out it really didn't matter what time I submitted my credentials, as D-Lish said, as long as I got them in as early as possible to get ahead of the crowd.

 

There was a time when I would literally stalk the website of one organization in particular just after midnight because I knew that's when they released the newest open positions and I wanted to be the very first to apply. Not sure if that's what worked in the end but I did end up getting hired.

 

It took me a good year to find a job after I lost mt business. I took a crappy job at first, just to pay the bills, which bought me time to find a better one. Then, after I made more contacts and gained more experience, I moved on again. 3 jobs in 2 years.

 

My resume is so finely tuned- I can't tell you how many times I've re-vamped it.

 

I mainly hire managers- but I recieve a lot of sales associate resumes and then pass the ones I deem worthy onto managers to the appropriate district. I am AMAZED at how badly put together some resumes are.

 

Sometimes you need to tailor your resume to the position you are applying for. By the end, I had at least 6 saved resumes- and with each job, I'd choose the appropriate basic resume, and switch it up to highlight my skills as they pertained to that particular job.

 

SO many people make the mistake of starting their resume with irrelevant info. In my business, your education isn't as relevant as experience. And I want to see the most relevant experience at the top. Your work experience shouldn't be sequential necessarily- it should have the most relevant position/experience at the top of the list. Even if that relevant work experience was 3 years ago and you held another job in between- put the relevant stuff at the top.

[Gold Pile]

........... Your work experience shouldn't be sequential necessarily- it should have the most relevant position/experience at the top of the list. Even if that relevant work experience was 3 years ago and you held another job in between- put the relevant stuff at the top.

Hey! I just learned something, thanks

[PhillyDude]

I was just curiouse on your opinions when it comes to cover letters. I found some good models of cover letters online. What I wondered though is if the email itself should act as the cover letter with the resume attached. Or if the email should be kept short with a cover letter and resume attached?

 

What really worked for me was cutting and pasting my cover letter in the initial reply email with a attached resume.

[keane2010]

Probably the decision depends greatly on the job sought. I work in a really large company, so by the time I see a packet, they have been prescreened and I only see the cover letter and resume. To fulfill my personal goals as a developer of employees, I volunteer to interview across my office. If a person struggles or shortchanges them, this gives a real clue about what to expect if he/she is hired. Still, we might see 100 resumes for each job in my division.

 

But to most of my peers, documented results drive the decision. When I scan the resume, I'm looking for direct actions that yield documented results or impact the bottom line, such as "Implemented XXXX that saved $$". The biggest trend I see after the downturn is to look for people who make things happen. Still, some jobs are difficult to quantify, but a good resume still gives evidence of being a change agent.

[threebyfate]

When I used to get involved with hiring, cover letters were mostly quickly skimmed, since the vast majority were template style. More importantly, I looked for continuity of employment, experience, skills, educational background and interests. What worked best was to have an internal reference, someone who was an existing valued and trusted employee, who would vouch for you.

 

Beyond that, hiring was a crapshoot of interviewing and testing.