Cover Letter – Page 10 – TP Javeton WebNet

Of your resume’s uniqueness

In view of the fact that a resume is limited to only one or two-pages in length, and yet must summarize a person’s career objectives, professional experiences/achievements and educational background, very important that you present a well-written resume that is also well formatted and free of errors. What may be as important, however, is to make it stand out from resumes of other candidates; and to do so you should consider the information in your resume carefully and make sure that it is unique to you (uniquely yours?).

That having been said, the following suggestions are provided in the way of tips on how you can go about making your resume unique to you:

Customize your career objective

To best accomplish the customization of your career objective, you should think of your overall resume as a sales tool in which your career objective is your opening statement. You want your potential employer to know what you want, not just restate what other people say they want; so state your commitment to your career goal, because if you are unsure of what you want, how is your employer expected to believe that you really want the job at their organization, and not that you are just applying because you want to get out of your current work environment?

Don’t be afraid to state what you want from a job and from an organization, because while you want to state your commitment, you also want to show that you are willing to take action to achieve your goal. Indicate what direction or action you are willing to take in order to accomplish your career objective; and be specific about what you are looking for in a work situation.

functional and chronological resumes

While you can say that you are looking for a “challenging” environment, this doesn’t mean anything to your potential employer, as people define challenges in various ways. So avoid using generic terms that are too broad defined. Simply state what you want, and what you are willing to do to get it, and in most cases that will be enough to give any potential employer a good enough idea of who you are and what you want.

Highlight best elements of your experience

This may be the most commonly overlooked aspect of writing a resume; understanding of course, that the entire professional experience section on your resume is, and should be, unique to you so you should take advantage of that particular aspect. Also, try to use power words wherever you can to list your responsibilities, while making sure that you have a winning attitude with each statement.

Focus on those responsibilities that best describe the skills you acquired while in each job that make you the most qualified candidate for the position you are seeking; and quantify your responsibilities when possible to showcase to your potential employer that you are driven by results, and you are capable of exceeding goals; but don’t be shy about promoting your qualifications, because you earned them with your hard work and dedication.

Personalize your cover letter

The biggest mistake many professionals make is not spending enough time on their cover letter; but your cover letter should receive the same attention as your resume as they go hand-in-hand. Address your cover letter to the appropriate person at the company (contact info is typically listed in the job description); and make sure to mention what position you are applying for, while demonstrating how well the information in your resume aligns with the job requirements.

about resumes, cover letters and interviews

Your cover letter also allows you to address any information in your resume that may raise questions; so take the time to do it right, as you don’t want your resume discarded because you chose not to create a uniquely personalized cover letter. Overall, make sure that your cover letter supports your resume and presents you as the most qualified candidate for the job.

Relevance of publications to career

There are many industries in which publication of an individual’s work is a critical part of his/her career development; and as professionals in industries that require us to actively publish research studies, essays, articles, textbooks, and other literary work, we have to find ways to account for such publications on our resumes. There are a number of things to consider with respect to publications as a resume is being developed.

First, if you are the subject of particular resume, ask yourself how relevant the publications are to your career objective. If you have recent publications that support your career objective, make sure to create a separate heading on your resume and list the publications in reverse chronological order. Follow the AP style when listing a given publication, omitting your name from the listing if you were the only author of the text, as that is implied.

Publications that do not support your career objective should not be listed on your resume; and while such works may be helpful to mention to your potential employer via a cover letter, it is not necessary to take up space on your resume with information that does not directly impact your career. Also, if you have a submission in progress, or you are working on texts which support your qualifications – for a particular job – that you know will be published at a later date, include them on the resume under a sub-heading of “submitted to,” or “to be published in,” (publication name).”

A literary resume section

However, if you decide to include works in progress, you must make sure that they will get published at some point in the future. This is mostly critical for freelance magazine, newspaper or creative writers; but do not list every article you have submitted for publication, unless you are certain that it will get published; and if your list of publications is fairly extensive, do not dismiss it completely from your resume, because you do want your employer to know that you have either published, or are in the process of publishing, your work.

To accomplish this you could simply create a section within your resume dedicated to publications, while taking care not to go overboard with the number of publications you list on your resume. It is acceptable form to list three to five publications in reverse chronological order in the section you’ve created. This will give your potential employer an idea of your work, the publications, audiences you have reached, as well as your qualifications. At the end of your publication listing, including a statement that tells the employer a complete listing of publications can be provided upon request.

Include publications that support career objective

In your professional summary, or cover letter, you can indicate the total number of publications you’ve had in your career; and you can always create a separate document that includes a complete listing of your publications (if the list is extensive), following the ASP style. Also make sure that your list of publications credits other authors properly. You should have a print-out of this list, along with your resume that you can bring to any job interview, or forward to the hiring manager at their request.

In addition, if asked about your publications, offer your potential employer a copy of any of articles you’ve written for their review. Overall, you should disclose any information about publications, if such publications supports your career objective and highlights your qualifications for the job. Review the information you list carefully and make sure that names and dates of publications are correct. Keep in mind that even minor mistakes can raise questions about your credibility.