Cover Letters

Your cover letter is the first thing a hiring manager will see when you apply for a job. It's the deciding factor that determines whether your resume will earn a glance or end up in the trash, so make sure you leave a positive and lasting impression by avoiding these top cover letter don'ts.

1. Don't begin with a weak opening
The first part of your cover letter may be the only part that a hiring manager takes the time to read, so don't risk an opener that will make their eyes glaze over. Grab the reader's attention with a short introduction and an attention-grabbing statement. For example, "Your need for a top-performing administrative assistant is an excellent match to my 4-year track record in successful office management and executive support for a Fortune 500 company."

2. Don't repeat your resume
Nobody wants to read the same thing twice. Instead of regurgitating your resume, highlight the top three key points or skills that you offer.

3. Don't send the same one to every job
Just like your resume, customizing your cover letter is the key to success. Read the job description and use it as a "cheat sheet" to create a cover letter centered on this specific position.

4. Don't only focus on your needs
Avoid using "I" or "my" too often. Although you are writing about yourself, the cover letter should mainly focus on the employer and the position. What makes you the right person for this specific job? How can the company benefit from hiring you?

5. Don't use "Dear Sir or Madam" or "To whom this may concern"
Avoid addressing your cover letter to a generic reader by finding out who the actual hiring manager is. Do your research and it will definitely pay off, maybe enough to get your cover letter to the "yes" pile. If you can't find the name, use the reference "Hiring Manager" instead.

6. Don't forget to indicate the position you are applying for
Hiring managers usually hear from hundreds of applicants—sometimes for different jobs within the company. Make a reference to the job that you are applying for incase they are hiring candidates for more than one position.

7. Don't hide that you're great for the job
Take advantage of formatting tools such as bullet points or bold fonts to emphasize your achievements. If the hiring manager is going to scan your cover letter, you want to make sure these important details jump off the page.

8. Don't go over one page
Make sure that your cover letter is clear and concise. No matter how extensive your work history, keep it down to one page only. You don't want to waste the reader's time …or put them to sleep!

9. Don't email as an attachment
Sending a blank email with an attachment risks your application looking like spam. When applying to a job online, include your cover letter in the body of the email and attach your resume to the message.

10. Don't forget a strong closer
If you have followed #1 above, it is time to end your cover letter with a bang. Include a strong closer that will leave a lasting impression and create anticipation for your resume. Promise to follow up by phone or email—and pull through when the actual time comes.

By Joanna Boydak, LiveCareer

Make People Ask For Your Card

Here is great article from Promotional Consultant Today. I think it's a great way to know if someone is interested in how you can help them.

John
_________________

You walk into a meeting of five people, and the instinct is to immediately hand them your business card. Don't do it! Why? Because they didn't ask for it. Promotional Consultant Today shares these strategies for making people ask for your business card.

Let me explain why that's important. What happens when we give out our business card before someone asks? We announce: This is what I am doing. And maybe even: I want you to buy from me.

By giving out our business card when people don't ask for it, we put ourselves and our businesses in the spotlight-- this might be gratifying for our egos, but it's not good for our positioning.

"Get in touch with me when you need me" is a weak attempt to get someone interested in our product or service. Although most people will politely accept the card, they will seldom, if ever, call.

But that doesn't mean that you should leave everything to chance. Think in terms of earning the right to be in people's contact lists. This way you will be asked for your business card, which is an entirely different situation. As a result of your extra efforts, people will also keep your card, and maybe even refer to it instead of trashing it with the others they receive unsolicited.

First of all, strive to become a person that attracts others. That's very simple. It begins putting other people in the spotlight instead of ourselves.
Another necessary skill is active listening. Like it or not, people are much more interested in their own lives than in ours. And they love others who are genuinely interested in their plans, desires, headaches and values. If you encourage them to talk, you will be amazed at how quickly they will reciprocate and ask: "And what do you do?"

Isn't this a nice prompt for handing them your business card?

My favorite is asking for their card first. You simply say "Gee, this really sounds very interesting-- let's make sure we stay in touch. May I have your business card?" Usually this prompts them to say "Sure, and may I have one of yours?" It is that simple. And what if they don't ask? I do not offer mine.

Now, when I have their business cards, I also have permission to contact them. And that allows me to take the initiative, so most of the time I immediately follow up with a personal note and this time my card will be enclosed in the same envelope. Of course, that doesn't mean that person is going to call me. It doesn't mean that she will want to do business with me right away--quite the contrary. Most of the time it will take a lot more follow-up than that one note. But it is a pretty good way to begin a relationship, don't you agree?

Source: Wanda Loskot is professional speaker and business coach for small business owners and self-employed professionals who love what they do, but hate selling. She offers free business strategies, marketing tips, teleclasses and other valuable resources.

My friend Dave Cornell talks about choices

How can a cloud get a job recruiters attention

Last week I applied for a customer service position with MAC at the Minneapolis International Airport. I could easily do all the job qualifications, but one.

After I had submitted the online application, I immediately called the person that was responsible for receiving the applications. I had asked her when they would they would complete the process of selecting the top candidates.

She was really nice on giving me an indication when I should call back. I told her that I had all the qualifications except one and she informed me that that specific qualification was going to be weighted more then all the other ten required qualifications.

After they had a chance to review all the applications, I called her back. She informed me that they had received over 260 applications and because I didn't have that one qualification I wasn't going to be considered for the position. Because they had such a large pool of applicants, having 10 out of the 11 requirements wasn't enough. WOW!!

Being that the information on online applications are digital, many get scanned by a computer program. This computer program is looking for key skill words or buzz words that the employer is wanting their new employee to have.

When scanning hundreds of application, if you don't have all the buzz words, YOUR OUT!!!

As a job seeker, I was told over and over again to customize each resume and cover letter to reflect the needs of the company for the position. Every time I did an online application, I looked over the job description and the company's website to eyeball what I thought were the most important words. I'm sure I missed a lot of the key words.

Wouldn't it be great if there was website or program that would scan companies webpages and job descriptions to find the most likely buzz words?

Washington County Library Announces New Resource for Job Seekers

By John A. Stefani

Job seekers needing help with resume or interview preparation can now get live expert help at the Washington County Library. Using your Washington County library card you may access a new online resource, JobNow!, from the library or from home. JobNow! offers live assistance from job coaches trained to work with individuals through every step of the job search process. All coaches possess four-year college degrees, must undergo a rigorous selection and training process, and must complete a full background and security check.

The JobNow! service offers personality assessments to help beginning job seekers pinpoint their desired career field, resume and cover letter templates, local job search websites, and more. Job seekers can get constructive suggestions on their own resumes, help in writing a professional cover letter and even get live interview practice and feedback. 

Tutors are online seven days a week, from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., and they offer assistance in English and Spanish. If those times don’t work, job seekers can submit their resumes at any time of day through the JobNow Resume Lab and a job coach will return your resume within 24 hours, along with detailed feedback and suggestions for improvement. Call Washington County Library’s Info Desk, 651-731-1320, with questions about the new resource.

Unleashing the Magic of Creativity

By John A. Stefani

At a recent meeting for a nonprofit organization I belong to, a long time friend complimented me because I am so creative with fundraising ideas. According to Wikipedia, “Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new (a product, a solution, a work of art etc.) that has some kind of value.” Not everyone is cut out to be painters or poets, at the same time, it’s important in a work environment to embrace some creativity. Creativity can be the way a business can gain market share on a competitor or to gain new customers. Creativity can be the way a community organization increases its budget through a new fundraising idea.

What process do artistic people, like artists and poets, do that classify them as being creative?

Is it magic?

As a child, I was pretty good at doing table magic. I enjoyed showing people the magic tricks that I could do. I practiced the tricks so all my movements would seem natural. Much of what a magician does is convincing the audience’s eyes to look one place when all the action is happening in another place. It seems when people look at creative people they look at the final product and not so much the process that went into it.

People are so used to looking in the wrong areas they miss the true creativity of the craft. I believe that creative people end up unintentionally deceiving others. It’s just how people tend to look at other people's creativity; people just look in the wrong spot.

I have witnessed the birth of the best ideas with a group of people, a cocktail napkin and a pen are present (adult beverage optional). Brainstorming is a great place to start.

By writing down all the ideas even if they seem crazy might yield a few great results. This is best done in a group of people. When creativity becomes in full bloom people will start adding to one of the ideas to make it better. Brainstorming should be practiced regularly. After awhile, creative ideas will start popping up outside of brainstorm sessions. Here is a good resource on how to start brainstorming:   http://www.mindtools.com/brainstm.html

Get a free PDF creator that anyone can use

When I first got into my job search, I printed all the job descriptions I applied for. I did this so I could reference them later on when a hiring manager would contact me. This meant that I would have to keep the paper in folders and organized so I could quickly find them later.

Even if I didn't get the interview, I would still have to store all those paper copies of job descriptions. On top of that, it could be months before I could hear something about the next step of the job process.

Lately, I have been using PrimoPDF. In my job search it's been really useful. It is so nice not having to run to the printer and then file the job descriptions for later use. I just save them in my computer in a folder with my customized Resume and Cover Letter for that position.  

PrimoPDF is a free, high-quality PDF creation utility that enables printing to PDF from virtually any Windows application. PrimoPDF is the world's most widely-used free PDF creation tool, and is the #1 ranked "PDF Software" utility on Download.com.

PrimoPDF is the basic PDF writer of Nitro PDF Software.

Nitro PDF Software allows more control over the documents. With Nitro PDF one can create forms as well as highlight and edit PDF documents.  Click here to see the comparison
  
PrimoPDF acts just like a printer where instead of the file going to print it creates a PDF. Of course, I can always hard print the PDF document later with my printer. PrimoPDF is perfect for those who don't need to edit PDF files or those who are on a strict budget. One could always choose to upgrade to Nitro PDF later.

What are you waiting for? If not you, who? If not now, when?

By John A. Stefani
Video by the Minnesota Jaycees


Here is a great organization to volunteer, learn, show an gain solid friendships!



There are many people I know in the Minnesota Jaycees that have proved themselves in their communities and within the state to be a positive force of change. These are people who see thing in the world that they don't like, make a plan to improve it and then act to make things better.

Volunteering to improve the world through the Jaycees isn't work. It's fun and enjoyment! People who participate in this dynamic organization are the in the top ten percent!

I think about the great years I had had being involved in this organization. The great people I've met, and the fun I had. Even though I'm an alumni of the Jaycees, I look forward to continually supporting this organization.

Using my Personal Brand Statement

In the last few weeks, I’ve been refining my . I’ve received from a few people, who I had asked, words that would professionally describe me. I feel I’ve put together a pretty good personal brand statement. Versions of it could be used as 30- or 45-second elevator speech. I’ve even used it on the summary of my resume. I feel it could also be used to answer that tricky interview question. You know the one: “Tell me about yourself?”

After all that work, during the last few interviews, I never really had the opportunity to say my complete branding statement during an interview.

Instead during the interviews, I’ve been trying to get into the conversation key words from my branding statement to emphasize what I’m all about.

Yesterday, I went into a company for an interview and they had me fill an application. In the area of the application for special skills, I couldn’t think of any skills that I have had formal training on that would pertain to the job. I really didn’t want to leave that area blank. Since, skills like perseverance, disciplined, consultative, relationship building, and self-starter are all skills that sales professionals should have and, those skills are in my personal brand statement, I wrote my personal brand:

“Disciplined and goal orientated self-starter who perseveres to educate the customer about the value of products and services in a consultative manor. I do this by asking questions and listening to the customer to find any gaps, quickly find methods to fill the gaps and then consult and educate the customer on the value of the products or services that fill those gaps. I am interested in a small to medium sized company looking to expand their bottom line through relationship building and providing value to customers.“

After he read that section he said softly, “I like that. That’s what we are looking for.”

I have learned that having a personal brand statement is very important for those who are searching for the next position or next project. I learned about creating and using my personal brand from taking classes at the Bloomington-Minnesota Workforce center. The classes I took were presented by Anne Pryor or Kathleen Crandall (www.MeaningfulConnections.net)

Rant - Hollywood Celebrities Betray 99ers - Tier 5 Unemployment Now

By John A Stefani

I saw this blog post (Rant - Hollywood Celebrities Betray 99ers - Tier 5 Unemployment Now) written by Pastor Dinary and had some thoughts.

In the US, there are tax regulations when giving donations to charities and to receive tax deductions. For example, one could receive a tax deduction if the charity were a 501(c)(3) organization.

I did wonder how the IRS considers the legitimacy of those foreign charities? As I looked into it further, the IRS.gov has some specific rules on Charitable Contribution Deductions. With very few exceptions, contributions to a foreign organization are not deductible. Also according to Don D. Nelson, Attorney at Law, CPA., a U.S. expatriate residing abroad, still must file a US Income Tax Return each year on their worldwide income! If there is some sort of foreign charity tax shelter, I wasn't able to find it.

It's true that it appears like Hollywood celebrities are self promoting and shameless to be giving money to overseas charities when the economy here in America seems so bad. Yet, there are many who have helped out with US issues, as well. After Hurricane Katrina, there were many Hollywood celebrities who helped and contributed to improving the situation of those who were effected there (see: Stars roll up sleeves for hurricane relief - USA Today Posted 9/14/2005).

I thought about the arguments of the writer saying that, "Hollywood celebrities take American money and use it to live in foreign countries." On the surface the writer makes a good point yet, Hollywood celebrities aren't the only ones that use American money and use it to live outside the U.S. According to www.overseasvotefoundation.org, "The data indicates that the number of civilian Americans living abroad hovers around 4 million." Another website (Suite101.com) states, "According to a recent report by the U.S. State Department, nearly 7 million Americans have temporarily or permanently relocated overseas."

It's obvious that the military is a fraction of that number, the number of Hollywood celebrities living overseas is even smaller and the Hollywood celebrities numbers are minuscule. Celebrities living overseas are noticed more because of their celebrity status. When Uncle Bill and Aunt Alice decide to spend their retirement years in Chapala, Mexico no one hears about that in the news. Are they admonished for turning their backs on the unemployed? NO! They are looked on as making an economical retirement decision that made sense for them.

The writer alludes that since Hollywood celebrities are taking US dollars (converting them into foreign money) to buy goods and services from other countries, an argument could be made that they are contributing to the US international trade deficit. According to the U.S. Census Bureau Economic Briefing Room, The US  international trade deficit in goods and services was $38.3 billion in November, 2010. Again the amount of US earned dollars Hollywood celebrities are spending overseas is minuscule. Our consumption of foreign goods (like oil) and foreign services (like outsourced call center personnel) far outweigh the amount of money that the handful of Hollywood celebrities are spending by living overseas.

Compared to what millions of average families spend on gas, cars, clothing, and other items that are manufactured overseas, the negative economic effect of Hollywood celebrities spending money abroad would be like standing on the coast of France and throwing a stone into the ocean and then expecting a tsunami to hit the US East Coast.What I'm saying is, the money Hollywood celebrities are spending abroad is a drop in the bucket compared to the accumulated purchases of imported items from the rest of  us 308,745,538 US residents (2010 Census Data).

I am a "Buy American" guy, and feel that Hollywood celebrities who are US citizens should work towards changes here in the US by becoming more politically involved here. A good example of those would include: Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sonny Bono.

What do you think?

How to be Lucky

This video was made by Darren Rowse 
The video highlights good ways to take advantage of luck!

“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” What's your opinion?Feel free to comment!

Self Assessed Career Interest Tests

Generally there is the misconception that a good career guide can give you the correct answer about your career hunt. Such tools help you to define the perfect options but you have to find it out on your own. This article will help you in self career assessment.

Let Natural Talents Guide Your Career

Today, I went to a session called the Natural Talent and Genetic Skills test facilitated by Michael Monroe Kiefer M.S. Through his research, he discovered that the people who are most successful or “Peak Performers” in many different fields had similar characteristics. One characteristic they had was they all set goals. The second characteristic they had is that they also had a positive self image and saw themselves as being successful. The third characteristic of peak performers was that they used their natural talents and skills in their professions.

It was interesting how he compared the sports industry to businesses. Most businesses review their employees, and they look at the 25 or so different skills that the employee does on the job. In this review there would typically be three to four skills that the employee does really well and about three to four skills that the employee doesn’t do well. The rest of the skills the employee does are average. What most employers do is not spend much time with the items that the employee does really well or the average skills but spend the bulk of the time in the review and after the review working on getting the skills the employee is the worst in and improving them. Keep in mind that spending time and effort attempting to hone those skills employees are less adept at -- at best, it would become an average skill. Mr. Kiefer stated that companies that do this are going to end up with average employees.

In the sports realm, they treat things differently. Take a football player like Bret Farve. When Bret Farve was in high school he already had the aptitude to play football and be a quarterback. In college, he continued to learn more about his quarterbacking skills and further developed those skills. At that point, no coach would have told Bret, “Gee, you are really good at quarterbacking and I see that you are a poor kicker; we should send you to more kicker training.” NO! They gave him more quarterback training -- because a professional quarterback is very specialized.

The better thing to do is to give that employee more training in what he/she excels in so the employee can master them to the point of being an expert. This makes the employee more valuable. A manager of a group project looks for the best people to complete each task of the project to assure the project is done to perfection and on time. A business is like a huge project with the project manager at the top.

He states that everyone has natural talents and we should all look at developing our own natural talents. This does make sense to me. I believe that everyone is an expert on some field.

Here is an article that I found about his system:

6 Quick Tips for a Successful Holiday Job Search

Author: Michelle Dumas

If you have ever conducted a job search during the holidays-if you are conducting one right now-it is important to understand that the holidays offer valuable opportunities not seen at other times of the year. Whatever you do, don't believe the misconception that looking for work during the holidays is a waste of time. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If anything, the holidays are a time to step up your job search. You should continue to set regular goals and take positive action steps on a daily basis toward achieving those goals.

Not only will you have less competition in the job market during the holidays, you may have increased employment opportunities as many employers are still interviewing and hiring. Some are seeking new staff to fulfill certain business goals before the end of the year and others seek to put new employees in place, to have them all ready to go at the start of the New Year.

Here are some quick but essential tips to help you maximize the success of your job seeking efforts during the holidays:

Happy Ending To Eden Prairie Man’s Tireless Job Search

Happy Ending To Eden Prairie Man’s Tireless Job Search � CBS Minnesota – News, Sports, Weather, Traffic, and the Best of Minnesota

I met Kevin Sperbeck through the Job Transitions Group that meets Tuesday mornings at Easter on the Hill Lutheran Church in Eagan Minnesota. If you remembered in the news about the people who went to the Minnesota State Fair with Resumes on a Stick? Yes. That's the group. He is a very energetic person, and I am glad to see that he landed a job. Networking is the key!

Rating of today's MinneapolisHires.com's Minneapolis Job Fair

Today, for my job search, I attended the Minneapolis Job Fair. They advertised the event as having “Over 200 positions will be available.” Some of the booth vendors advertised by the Minneapolis Hires website included: The Entrepreneurs Source, Country Financial, Career Directors International, Primerica Financial Services, Minnesota Army National Guard, Champion Career Management, and Farmers Insurance Group.

As a job seeker, normally I don’t like going to job fairs without knowing exactly what companies would be attending the event and what positions they are seeking to fill. I like to target two to three specific companies. Talking to companies not looking for a position in the job seekers field, is a waste of time for the company’s representative and the job seeker.

 

Since, I’m not really looking to get into insurance and financial sales, I knew I wouldn’t be speaking with Country Financial, Primerica and the people from Farmers Insurance Group. Though I am thankful for those who serve in the military, the Minnesota Army National Guard wouldn’t fit my needs either. At the same time, it wasn’t a bad start of a list for the advertised 200 positions. Even if each of the other companies represented had several positions available, there would be a few to choose from within my field.

With business cards and a short stack of resumes in hand, I went into it without know who I was going to talk to. The event was held at the Holiday Inn & Suites Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. In-person registration was easy, and all I had to do is provide a valid email address. As I entered the room, I scanned the booths. Except for the companies they had listed, there was also Amway, ACR At Home Healthcare, couple of temp agencies, a company selling jewelry and another selling an opportunity on selling energy juice. I was not impressed.

 

What is Amway, the multilevel marketing (MLM) company, doing at a job fair? People typically get into MLM companies not as a sole income source but to get good quality items at wholesale prices. I suppose if you get a few people in your down line it would be alright. To make a living with any MLM program one would have to make all his/her friends and relatives an employee. Isn’t that the same process you have to do if you were planning on selling insurance? Get all your friends and relatives to buy from you? I think MLM companies are targeting the unemployed hoping the MLM company can make money for itself.  Like unemployed people have money for such things. People can get a better deal buying products through double coupons from the local Rainbow on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Out of the bunch, ACR At Home Healthcare was the only quality employer in the group and they were looking for people that home health care skills, which I don't have.

This Minneapolis Hires job fair was designed for those who have no idea what career direction they are targeting. I have been to better job fairs. It seems that Minneapolis Hires has to learn some lessons about the promotion of their job fairs. Since I used my time at the event to network with other job seekers, I didn’t totally waste my time. Of course, I could have saved some gas and wear and tear on my car by just walking from my home to the local coffee house and networked with some people there.

My conclusion: MinneapolisHires.com over-promised and under-delivered this job fair.

What are your thoughts?

If you attended this particular job fair and got good leads or an interview, I’d like to hear about it. Please comment in this blog.

First blog post in a long time!

Boy, it looks like I haven't had a post on here for over a year. Many things have happened. I've lost my job at and I'm currently in the job search. I got let go at the beginning of July. It's funny. When I interviewed for the company I got let go from for that entry level job, I was going to college and said to Ron, the interviewer who would become my supervisor for the position, "I'm only going to be here through the Summer and then I'll move on to a better job." That was 24 years ago last March.

Boy, it looks like I haven't had a post on here for over a year. Many things have happened. I've lost my job at and I'm currently in the job search. I got let go at the beginning of July. It's funny. When I interviewed for the company I got let go from for that entry level job, I was going to college and said to Ron, the interviewer who would become my supervisor for the position, "I'm only going to be here through the Summer and then I'll move on to a better job." That was 24 years ago last March.

Since then, I have been going to networking events, and classes at the local Workforce centers. I've worked for 12 days at the Minnesota State Fair at a booth for a company called "Carpet Court". Good company. Anyone looking for any type of flooring (carpeting, tiling, wood flooring) and Silestone or Granite counter tops should check them out. They were good people to work for and they have some great products. I have also volunteered through the Minnesota Jaycee Charitable Foundation with their Bingo operation at their Hasting Eagle's site and a few days before elections calling for a political party for their get out the vote campaign. The phone calling experience was fun but that could be a blog post right there.

I had a about six phone interviews and three face to face interviews. Things have sure changed since I had to look for a job. In that time with that company I had to interview for the entry level position and a second time for the Buyer's position with the company. Now people apply on-line. You send it off and "Poof". Who knows where it goes.  If they don't want you, you may not even get a response.   This type of on-line job application process pits the applicant against at least a hundred other applicants. These companies have computer programs that would scan your digital resume and looks for the certain key words the company is looking for in their candidates. The resume has to be customized so the skill words the applicant has on it that relate to the companies skill words need to match as close as possible. On top of that, if the job description show that there are ten skill requirements and you only have nine? Forget it. In this job market there is a person that has all ten and, if you have nine of the requirements, then it's not you.

I've been mainly focusing more of my time networking then searching the internet for jobs. The way I get the networking process is that you have to help others out, but you can't just expect them to help you. It's where you get people thinking about helping me in my job search because, they want to help me since I've helped them out in their job search. I've heard some network presenters say that one should connect with five people per day. I have done that. I have quite a few people on Facebook (356 people) and Linkedin (186 people) as well as a few on Twitter. I just have to keep the network healthy. Increase the quality rather then working on increasing quantity of people. Of course, as I meet new people I'll connect to them on those sites. It's all to get at that hidden job market.