Published by Career Advice Author on 28th September 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized
A study with human resource professionals at corporations across North America reveals costly mistakes that can derail your chances of winning your dream job.
1. Writing longwinded cover letters
“Resumes and cover letters that are short and to the point impress me, because they require good communication skills.” – Svea Christensen, HR Representative, Click Commerce Inc.
Many of today’s human resource professionals take just 8-12 seconds to scan your cover letter, which is why you need to take the time to compose something brief and compelling. The experts suggest your cover letter should:
- Contain bullet points
- Match the needs of the position with your qualifications
- Highlight items of value that are NOT in your resume
- Engage the reader’s curiosity
- Have a sentence explaining why you want to work at their company
2. Grammar and spelling mistakes
“When someone sends me a cover letter or resume with errors in punctuation, grammar, etc., I automatically throw it into the ‘No Interest’ file.” – Rhone Lee, HR Vice President, PSC Inc.
It’s hard to believe this is a top pet peeve, especially with ‘spell check’, yet it is one of the top reasons resumes never lead to an interview. The experts feel anyone who submits an imperfect resume or cover letter is unlikely to pay attention to detail. As the human resource experts said again and again, “The best indicator of future behavior is current behavior.”So be detail-oriented and don’t count on your spell-check four grammar mistakes as it doesn’t always catch them!
3. Not preparing answers to potential interview questions
“We have only so much time for an interview, and we value effective communication, so it’s better not to answer in 100 words when 20 Read the rest of this entry »
Published by Career Advice Author on 27th September 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized
A study with human resource professionals at corporations across North America reveals costly mistakes that can derail your chances of winning your dream job.
1. Writing longwinded cover letters
“Resumes and cover letters that are short and to the point impress me, because they require good communication skills.” – Svea Christensen, HR Representative, Click Commerce Inc.
Many of today’s human resource professionals take just 8-12 seconds to scan your cover letter, which is why you need to take the time to compose something brief and compelling. The experts suggest your cover letter should:
- Contain bullet points
- Match the needs of the position with your qualifications
- Highlight items of value that are NOT in your resume
- Engage the reader’s curiosity
- Have a sentence explaining why you want to work at their company
2. Grammar and spelling mistakes
“When someone sends me a cover letter or resume with errors in punctuation, grammar, etc., I automatically throw it into the ‘No Interest’ file.” – Rhone Lee, HR Vice President, PSC Inc.
It’s hard to believe this is a top pet peeve, especially with ‘spell check’, yet it is one of the top reasons resumes never lead to an interview. The experts feel anyone who submits an imperfect resume or cover letter is unlikely to pay attention to detail. As the human resource experts said again and again, “The best indicator of future behavior is current behavior.”So be detail-oriented and don’t count on your spell-check four grammar mistakes as it doesn’t always catch them!
3. Not preparing answers to potential interview questions
“We have only so much time for an interview, and we value effective communication, so it’s better not to answer in 100 words when 20 Read the rest of this entry »
