It happens every day: people see a job they want, they furiously write their respective cover letters and resumes, and then quickly send them off to their potential employers. No, it's not a bad thing to be prompt in your efforts to get a job, but is the rush causing you to miss out on your dream job?
The truth is that people often overlook the importance of resumes and cover letters when they're creating them. People jump to conclusions and think brevity and errors are all a part of the process, and that employers will forgive a mistake or two along the way. But are these people naïve in their thought process? Absolutely! There is no reason you shouldn't have well-written, thorough cover letters and resumes to send off to employers. If you don't, it's likely you'll miss out on a great job.
There are a number of steps people would like to rush through the process, but that doesn't mean they should. When you find yourself needing to write an errorless, in-depth cover letters and/or resumes, try utilizing these three tips to help you get through the endeavor.
Read your documents out loud
It's a proven fact that our eyes can't catch the errors our ears can. Once we become attached and used to the materials we've written, we often fail to see errors that are sitting right in front of us, but reading out loud will help us catch them. By reading documents out loud to yourself or to the people around you, you will undoubtedly be able to stumble upon any mistakes you've made through the writing process.
Have a friend or family member look them over
Although reading our own work is great, it's also important to have a third party edit our materials as well. In choosing the best person to look over your work, make sure they have your interest at heart and will give your documents their best editing eyes and a thorough read through. When these people hand your documents back to you, ask them for their feedback: did they see any big errors; did they see any wording they would change; do they think you rambled too much; do they like the layout and design of your documents; etc. By having a third party read your work, you're sure to pick up on those last-minute errors you may have overlooked.
Create a connection to your prospective employer
Oftentimes, we are sending out dozens of resumes and cover letters to potential employers. The problem in all that is that we may be trying to do as little as possible to tailor each of our resumes and cover letters to fit our potential employers. By doing this, you may cause yourself to miss out on a great job. Whenever you are ready to apply for a job read about the company and find out how you can form a connection to them. For instance, perhaps they specialize in a product you often use, perhaps their president comes from the same alma mater as you, or maybe you once interned for them. Do your best to find a connection you have with the company and highlight that both in your resume and cover letter.
Getting a job isn't always a piece of cake, but by following these three steps in creating and editing your resumes and cover letters, you may find yourself employed in no time.
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Author: An experienced writer on all things related to higher education and business, Amanda Watson spends her days covering the latest stories on various topics such as online mba ranking, web entrepreneurship, and social media marketing. You can contact Amanda at watsonamanda.48@gmail.com.