Q TIPS:
Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Job-hunting tips from the May 21, 2001 issue of QuintZine.
The biggest trick to composing a dynamic cover
letter is to begin it in a way that will draw the
reader in and make him or her want to read more --
and ultimately read your resume and invite you for
an interview. And you may have as few as 20 seconds
to grab that person's attention. Let's look at it
this way: A 1999 study funded by Pitney-Bowes revealed
that the average worker receives 190 messages a day of
all kinds -- faxes, e-mails, phone calls, letters, memos,
air-express deliveries, people just stopping by to chat.
Most workers have to actually stop their work to deal with
messages at least three times per hour, and 40 percent
are interrupted six or more times an hour. That means
the busy hiring manager has very little time to spend
on each piece of communication crossing his or her desk,
so your letter needs to get attention in a hurry to be
effective.
-- This Q Tip is an exclusive excerpt from
the 3rd Edition of Dynamic Cover Letters.
Although many employers who scan resumes electronically
don't scan cover letters, they often use cover letters to
help them code the source of resumes. They want to know
whether you sent your resume in response to a print ad,
Internet ad, or whether you were referred to the employer's
company, or are simply making a cold contact. Your cover
letter provides that information, so if you know the
company is scanning resumes, don't omit the cover letter
-- it provides information your resume can't.
-- This Q Tip is an exclusive excerpt from
the 3rd Edition of Dynamic Cover Letters.
June 15 is National Work@Home Father's Day.
Scheduled for the Friday before Father's Day
(the third Sunday in June each year), the day is
set aside to honor and celebrate those working
fathers who have elected to work from home --
either as home-based entrepreneurs or teleworkers --
as a means to improve family interaction
and professional satisfaction.
In this inaugural year, the event will feature
the contest, "Why I Work@Home: A Dad's View." Entrants
must submit a 250-word essay on how working from home
has improved the balance between their family and
professional lives. Winners will receive prizes,
including a "Father's World" T-shirt; a copy of
the CD-ROM, Your Profitable Home Business Made E-Z;
and the forthcoming book Safe@Home: Seven Keys to Home
Office Security, both books from home-office author
and expert Jeff Zbar
To enter "Why I Work@Home: A Father's View," entrants
must be work-at-home fathers with at least one in-home
child under the age of 18. They must actively work or
telework from a home office at least one day each week.
The essay can be no more than 250 words. Entries should
be mailed to Work@Home Father's Day Essay Contest, P.O.
Box 8263 Coral Springs, FL 33075-8263, or emailed to
contest@fathersworld.com. Entries must be postmarked
or emailed no later than June 1. For complete rules,
visit www.fathersworld.com/contest.html.
Winners will be announced on or about June 15.
The biggest trick to composing a dynamic cover
letter is to begin it in a way that will draw the
reader in and make him or her want to read more --
and ultimately read your resume and invite you for
an interview. And you may have as few as 20 seconds
to grab that person's attention. Let's look at it
this way: A 1999 study funded by Pitney-Bowes revealed
that the average worker receives 190 messages a day of
all kinds -- faxes, e-mails, phone calls, letters, memos,
air-express deliveries, people just stopping by to chat.
Most workers have to actually stop their work to deal with
messages at least three times per hour, and 40 percent
are interrupted six or more times an hour. That means
the busy hiring manager has very little time to spend
on each piece of communication crossing his or her desk,
so your letter needs to get attention in a hurry to be
effective.
