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The primary purpose of a cover letter is to convince the employer to read your resume.

Many job seekers mistakenly use cover letters to try and convince employers to hire them. They write long letters detailing their skills and experience and how they apply to the employer’s situation.

Less is more when it comes to cover letters. With often hundreds of candidates for a single position, employers have stacks of resumes and cover letters to read. Drowning in information overload, they can find themselves skimming or even skipping documents.

Wouldn’t it be great if resumes came with flags that popped up and said  “I match what you are looking for in these ways! Read my resume for more information!”  Read more...

What do movie trailers and cover letters have in common?

They are both advertisements. And their goal is to persuade you to take action:

• Go to a movie
• Read your resume

Could you use a more persuasive cover letter?  Take some cues from Hollywood movie trailers and you’ll be getting five-star reviews in no time.

Keep it short and sweet

Producers know that there is a limited attention span for previews. A good movie trailer has to be short to get its message across.

Limit your cover letter to one page. A short cover letter lets the reader focus on your message, and reduces the tendency to skim or ignore your letter.  Read more...

I have pirates on the brain. Swashbuckling pirates. First there was Talk Like a Pirate day, then  Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl   played a million times on cable and now I’ve got that pirate song stuck in my head. It’s the one they sing at the top of their lungs while happily hoisting mugs of grog:

“Yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!”

I ask you, who has a happier career than a pirate? No one. They are the poster children of career satisfaction.  And why? Because they are absolutely, positively, perfectly suited to being pirates.  It is not just that they have superior pirate skills or that they love their pirate job duties. Those things are important, but there’s more to it than that.   Read more...