Cover Letters:
Cover Letters can be tricky; you question what to mention, what writing style to utilize, or even the content to focus on. However, you must remain intentional when writing these important documents so that you get your point across effective and efficiently.
Things to Remember
It’s important to remember what employers are looking for from you. A cover letter is essentially an expanded resume; you are building in detail on top of what’s being presented already. However, at the same time, you want to avoid sounding repetitive; expanding on things that do not need to be reiterated just takes up space.
What to Include in a Cover Letter:
- Introduce yourself
- Outline your strengths and skills with supporting details from past experiences in a succinct manner
- Make sure your skills are relevant to the job description
- Mention how you will serve as an asset to the organization
- Be concise and effective in writing; make sure you do not sound redundant
Resumes:
What Your Resume Should Look Like?
- Use bullet points to detail skills and experience
- Make it styled (for example, list things in chronological order)
- Keep it regularly updated (include the time frame of work experience and relevance)
- It should not exceed a page or two (depending on the amount of experience you have)
- Make it easy to read and understandable to all audiences
- Speak to a targeted audience; be intentional with the experience you list
- ALWAYS CHECK FOR GRAMMAR
Resume Don’ts
- Do not detail your experience or skills in full-sentence format
- Avoid grammatical errors and spelling mistakes
- Do not use informal word choice; make sure you use professional language
All in all, when writing your resume, you need to keep it relevant and updated. It’s a window into your professional background and it is the first impression you typically make on an employer, so make sure it is polished and makes you shine.
By: Elnatan Amare
