Hello my friends! Last Thursday and Friday (4/7 and 4/8) I was in Tampa, FL participating in the HR Florida State Council Meeting. It was amazing. As usual, a lot of learning, a lot of networking, and a lot of new ideas! If you have Twitter and would like more info you can look for #hrflorida or go to www.hrflorida.org.
One side note and another tip for my previous posting (Part II): I discovered a few days ago that I was sending my Resume without my phone number. Can you believe it? So a good advise is to review your Resume frequently to make sure that all your information is up-to-date (and THERE).
Now, let's talk about the Part II of Rule of Engagement #3, the COVER LETTER!
The first questions that comes to mind is why include a cover letter? The Resume has all the information that they need, right? Well, the cover letter is an additional opportunity that I will have to present other experiences, skills, and trainings that I may have that are not included in one of the versions of my Resume. For example, most advertisers are very specific in what they want, including the experience within specific industries. So, the cover letter is your opportunity to explain why you are applying even though your experience may be scarce in that industry, or you don't possess certain experience (like a software application), and such.
The cover letter also provides you with the opportunity to hyphen certain aspects of your Resume that may be of interest to the recruiter. So, having only one cover letter will not work, it is safe to say that you will have one generic one and possibly MANY cover letters, each customized for each one of your applications or Resume Submissions.
Tips for creating a professional cover letter:
Tip #1. Spelling - Make sure that the spelling and grammar are 100% correct. To me, personally, this is a challenge and I have to be very careful.
Tip #2. Size - You may be tempted to write a long cover letter. DON'T. It should be short, concise, and to the point. Just a help to get the recruiter to read your Resume.
Tip #3. Personality - The cover letter is a good opportunity to show professionalism but also to show some personality. Let them know why you are interested in that job and why you think you will be able to help them achieve their company goals.
Cover letters may be formal or informal, depending on the requirements of the recruiter. General letters should be casual and relaxed if a cover letter is not required, but if the recruiter requires a Cover Letter or Letter of Interest, well, it is required so make it formal.
For sample cover letters you can go to http://jobsearch.about.com/od/cover-letters/tp/types-of-cover-letters.htm They have really good examples and good information.
Next Time: Part III - Applications!
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