Resume and Cover Letter Writing Tips

[Sapna]

Resume Writing Tips

Writing Resume can be a very difficult process. There are so many conventions and it is easy to get confused and just send one out without much care and attention. It takes a long time to perfect a Resume, but it is a very valuable tool and essential in your job hunt! The CV is the only piece of information about you an employer usually has. An employer should look at your Resume and think that this person can do the job they are applying for.

There are many different types of Resume, which suit different individuals and circumstances. The most common and accepted is the chronological CV. This is presented in order of date. Click here for an example of a Chronological Resume.

General Tips for Resume Writing

* Keep it relevant to the job you are applying to, employers will not skim your CV looking for significant information. If the information they need is not immediately apparent, they will not look for it.

* If you want your Resume to be most effective, you should tailor it to the job and organisation you are applying to. You will get lots of information on company websites, company literature, job adverts etc. about the 'type' of person working in the organisation and be able to adapt your CV to match this.

* Your CV should be a story of what you have been doing in your work life, keep it interesting, you don't want employers to think that you have done nothing exciting!

* Don't include things that you did at school, or years ago. Employers are interested in what you are doing now.

* Make sure that there are no spelling, grammatical or formatting errors - get as many people as you can find to proof-read your CV.

* Do not include contentious information, or information that will lead people to stereotype you.

* Do not have unexplained gaps in your work history. If you have been travelling, have had time off to care for a child or relative, put this information in. If you leave it blank, the employer will assume the worst!

* Keep it as short as you can - preferably to two sides of A4 paper (make sure the paper is good quality)

General Tips for Covering Letters

* Covering letters are also difficult things to write. General advice would be if responding to an advertisement:

* Observe the custom for writing business letters, with your address on the top right and the recipient's address under this on the left.

* Always address a person (you can phone the organisation to ask who to address your Covering Letter to).

* If the job advert has minimum educational or experience requirements, mention that you have these requirements in your Covering Letter.

* Never say that the company can benefit you, say how you can benefit the company, give an example of where you have benefited a company in the past.

* Keep the Covering Letter short, employers often do not have the time to read long Covering Letters, should be one Side of A4.

* The Covering letter should have a polite, friendly, yet formal tone.