10 Tips for Crafting Eye-Catching-By Peter Newfield

Your cover letter presents your intentions, qualifications and availability to a prospective employer in a succinct and appealing format. As your first chance to make a great impression, a personalized letter indicates you are serious about your job search. Your resume can give the nitty-gritty of dates, places of employment and education, but your cover letter must entice the reader to consider you amidst hundreds, or even thousands, of candidates for any one job opening.

1. Do You Really Need a Cover Letter?
You bet! Just as you would never show up unannounced at a prospective employer's door, your resume should never just appear solo on a decision maker's desk. Your cover letter is your first opportunity to introduce yourself, present your qualifications and show the search committee you are a potential candidate for the advertised position.

2. Personalize It to the Company.
Anyone can reproduce a "canned" cover letter and hope for the best.Instead, take a few minutes to personalize your letter to show a company you are serious about working there. State the reason for your interest in the company. Show that you have done your homework by mentioning company specifics such as a department, a new project or a recent acquisition. Address the cover letter to a specific individual whenever possible.

3. Why are You Sending Your Resume and Cover Letter?
Cover letters should be clear and to the point. Include the specific job title, two to three reasons why your experience makes a good fit and a brief outline of your career highlights.

4. Highlight Your Strengths.
You may be a great person and never call in sick, but prospective employers really want to know why they should consider you for this position. Brag a little! Give a few facts, list relevant skills and state accomplishments on recent jobs that will be impressive.

Examples:
· Increased overseas sales by 93 percent.
· Negotiated new financial leases or loans.
· Implemented new training programs that reduced staff turnover by 15 percent.

5. State Your Intentions and Qualifications Right up Front.
Don't expect a senior personnel manager or recruiter to wade through a mishmash of information on your cover letter before understanding why you are sending your resume.

6. What Makes You Different?
Emphasize your skills, talents and experiences to show how you would be a valuable addition to the team. If you have relevant volunteer or professional experience, mention it briefly in your cover letter. For example, if you are an accountant who serves as volunteer treasurer for a nonprofit community health organization, include that information. Or if you are an international sales rep who has lived in Europe and Asia and speaks several languages, add that to your letter.

7. No Negative Information.
Never include personality conflicts with previous employers, pending litigation suits or sarcastic remarks in your cover letter. If you are bad-mouthing your present place of employment, interviewers may fear a repeat performance if they hire you.

8. When Should You Include Salary and/or Relocation Information?
The rule of thumb is to always include salary requirements and/or salary history in the cover letter if a prospective employer requests it. For example, you could write: "My salary requirements are $60,000-$75,000(negotiable)." Or you might write: "My current salary is $53,000 at XYZ corporation." Eliminating this information from your cover letter may justify your resume getting tossed out. Never include salary and relocation information on your resume -- only address this information in your cover
letter.

9. Take Action Steps.
Take a proactive approach in your cover letter. State the fact that you are available for a personal interview; give your home, work, email and/or cell phone numbers where you can be reached; note that you will follow up by phone (whenever possible) to provide any additional information required.

10. Be Direct!
A professionally written cover letter and resume can open the door to your next position on the corporate ladder or to a new career in a different field. A clean, error-free presentation, combined with strong phrasing and solid facts, will encourage the reader to review the attached resume and call you in for an interview.

Peter Newfield is President of resume writing service Career Resumes..

How Resumes are read?

Resumes are rarely read. They're first scanned, usually by HR (Human Resources) or the internal recruiter. Each resume is scanned in about 10 seconds; HR scans hundreds daily and doesn't have the time to read resumes in detail. Even if it did, it's unlikely it could perform a detailed screen because HR is recruiting for multiple disciplines and understand each discipline only at the conceptual level. So, it's looking for keywords. You're competing for the reader's attention. If a quick scan captures the reader's interest, he or she reads your resume in detail.

Descriptive Titles
Resume reviewers first scan your resume looking at the positions you've held and the companies for whom you've worked. Their eyes scan your resume from company/position to company/position. This is why it's important to use descriptive titles for the positions you've held. When your assigned title does not accurately communicate your duties, substitute a more descriptive and accurate title. For example, if your title is “secretary” but you provide administrative support to an executive, then using a descriptive title like “Executive Administrative Assistant” will be more effective. An example from the engineering field: I

Keywords
Reviewers also look for keywords. You can influence how the reader scans by selectively bolding or underlining words you want to highlight. Highlighting keywords in this manner helps capture the reader's eye. Highlight only those parts of your background that relate most to the position you're seeking. Highlighting too many words will be counter-productive. Be very selective with the words you highlight.

Two Different Readers
After your resume is scanned by (HR), it goes to the hiring manager. Hiring managers invest more time reading each resume, looking for compelling reasons why they should interview you. They're also looking for reasons not to interview you. Hence, be sure to highlight accomplishments you've achieved so the reader can visualize the results you can achieve for them.

Resume Length
One page resumes are appropriate for individuals with no more than three years of experience. The one-page resume rule is very outdated and not appropriate for most professionals. Two- to three-page resumes are very common and appropriate for individuals with at least three years of experience. Page format details such as margins (top, bottom, left and right) and font size will significantly affect resume length. Use a font size of at least 10 point, which is the minimum most people can comfortably read. An 11-point font is best for most resumes.

Why do Employees hate their Managers and ultimately Quit?

Do you know why employees leave the company? Even with good salary and compensation? Listen up employers and managers. Bruce L. Katcher and Adam Synder published 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers - What Your People May Be Thinking and What You Can Do About It.

Being an employee and an employer myself, I will attest that these 30 reasons mentioned in the book are all true but I will only highlight some of them here.

In chapter 4, the title is, "Nobody Appreciates My Hard Work". Every employee should feel appreciated in small or big things they have done. Who in the world does not want to be appreciated anyway? In work, home, and even team play, people are looking for to be acknowledged. You would not imagine the impact to them even simple note like, "Nice design colors", "Great job mom", "Nice post"(for bloggers) or "That is a nice pass" (if you are playing basketball.) Just be careful though to sound like you are faking it. They will know it too. Believe me.

"Management Does not Listen To Employees". What is the feeling of being ignored? How can employees trust the judgment of management when their good suggestions are ignored?

"There Are Too Many Damn Meetings". This is something I really, really, hate. Many managers thought that activity means productivity and having many meetings means clear direction. I tell you that people usually wander especially if it is a long one.

"It is Just Not Right that We All Receive the Same Pay". I worked with company that the salary is based on level. If we are on the same level means we have same pay. If you work harder and I slack most of the time, don't you think it is unfair? One reason why companies do this is they are lazy to accurately measure performance.

Overall, I think lack of leadership skills is the root cause of this. There is so many people in senior level position does not know how to lead.

You Manage Things and You Lead People.

What's your take on this?

How to Be A Great Boss!!

If you can't stand your boss and dislike your job because of it, you are just a small part of a large community who feels the same. But what if you have recently moved into the role of a teamleader, boss or people manager yourself?

While the 'perfect boss' is a utopian concept, here is a quick checklist that will save you the heartburn of dealing with attrition and unhappy employees.

Always meet your people with a great smile

A smile can make a lot of difference. Always be cheerful and energetic and spread the attitude within your team or organisation. It drives great results. A smile and a warm handshake can wear off the stress that most employees go through, not to mention that it adds to your desirability factor at work. Also, smiling is contagious, and most people will find it easy to forgive you even if you happen to be a bit demanding on occasions.

Catch people doing things right
People make mistakes and sometimes they can repeat them, sometimes doing irreparable damage. But, have patience and let them grow. When they do things right, find them out and tell them it's a valuable contribution thay have made. Every interaction with your colleagues in the office is either a deposit or a withdrawal. As important as the Big Picture is, it will mean little if the boss shows little value for his team members' performance on a regular basis.

Appreciate generously
There is nothing more encouraging than appreciation for the smallest of difference one makes. For eg, when you enter the office after struggling hard with the traffic jam and the office looks clean or different, appreciate the person behind the effort and make him/ her "feel" how important the effort is to the organisation. Send your team emails, create a section where people can give compliments, etc. Positive feedback helps in building long-lasting habits. If you take certain positive behaviour for granted, you will be wasting time in reinforcing them later.

Be ready to say "I am sorry'"
If you erupt in a meeting, criticise a colleague's work or make ill-timed comments that you regret, how do you bounce back? Apologise immediately to the targeted person and to everyone around. Don't offer a long justification about the work pressure or a possible misunderstanding like most bosses do. Just say "I should not have reacted that way" and "I am sorry". This will show that you are professional and reflects positively on your character. It takes years to build up a reputation, and only seconds to destroy it. No matter what, don't snap or your people will think of you as a 'reactive boss'.

Help people prepare their goals and create a checklist
Be clear in communicating the desired goals from an individual in a team or the team as a whole. You should know your people, their strengths and opportunity areas. Team your people in a way where everyone learns and compliments each other's strengths.

A good manager not only coaches an employee to develop a skill but also helps in conditioning it as a behavior. In simple words, become a mentor, ie, a wise and trusted counselor/ teacher/ trainer, who can act as a catalyst for growth and nurture potential and talent. Building teams is not a one-time effort but an everyday process. Good managers involve, engage and inspire their teams on a daily basis.

Stay sharp
Read industry publications, reports and magazines and be aware of market trends. Your knowledge will reflect when you communicate with your team and they will look to you for advice and information. They will also talk positively about you with other members of the team. There is nothing better than third party publicity as it establishes you as a thought leader within your team.

Transfer of Skills::Career Shift!!

A 52 year old General Manager, Quality Assurance, working in an engineering company, is frustrated with his job. He has worked in this industry for 30 years with multinational and Indian companies. He sees no future for himself in his present job because the next job is that of production head and he has no experience in manufacturing management. Besides, his boss is young and will remain in that role for a few more years. The company has no job that would utilise his skills; this means he will do the same work until he retires. However, when he applies for jobs in the same sector, he does not get a better role profile nor is he able to command a significantly higher salary. The sector barely has any good companies to look forward for employment. What can he do to retrain within a short time and explore options in another industry? He is worried that his expertise and competencies have become obsolete.

This situation is common for many people who have gained all their experience and knowledge in a particular domain. As the corporate world evolves, making rapid shifts in the way businesses are managed, skill sets run the risk of redundancy. There are several ways of assessing whether your skills have become outdated. You can overcome barriers to professional growth, if you carefully recognise that your abilities have a place in different contexts. Search answers to the following questions:

1. Is it that the nature of your job or the industry that has changed? -
Answer this question carefully. Businesses are cyclical and often it is not your abilities that need to be altered, but the industry that you are in that requires a switch. Some characteristics of conventional jobs are usually imperative for management. However, services and products undergo technology changes and these are interpreted as complete revision of business requirements. Ask if it is the job that is not needed anymore or whether there is a difference in the method of carrying out the same job.

2. Why you are not aiming higher? -
If the next job requires you to manage multiple areas, you could aim to achieve that by training on the job and grooming yourself to take that role! If your superior's role is significantly broader than yours, try working towards it and obtain training and experience in that direction. Allow yourself to be groomed to assume larger responsibilities.

3. Is it possible for you to move from pure functional development to well trained talent?-
As professionals in hectic operational roles, we tend to focus on our functional capabilities, not realising that business management and leadership are an integral part of any function. While honing skills in specific areas of your specialisation, it is important to nurture managerial capabilities that can be leveraged.

4. Can you focus on applicability and not specificity of your capabilities? -
Do not restrict your abilities to particular jobs or industries. Use your skills in different ways and apply them to another scenario. For example, quality is a function that is required in sectors other than manufacturing such as telecom, BPO and even healthcare. Do not get bogged down just because your exposure is limited to a specific domain. Identify other areas that could also utilise your potential and experience.

Managing Older Subordinates!!

It requires a balance of maturity, diplomacy and assertion

How many times have you wondered what subordinates, who are senior to you in age, think of you? With a younger workforce at many leadership positions, it is now also a part of the Indian corporate culture to have older people report to a younger boss. In a country where age is revered, respected and rarely defied, this phenomenon puts the younger boss in a tricky position!

Motivating and managing older people, requires a balance of maturity, diplomacy and assertion. Inherent resentment towards a young confident supervisor, inability to take instructions from someone who is half their age, competitive feelings, etc are complex emotions that influence the older workforce in their interaction with their superior.

In India, familial cultures tend to replicate themselves in the workplace. There are no written rules on culture, but in general, a boss is looked upon as the older sibling/patriarch, whose knowledge and capability is greater than his subordinates. Managers like to look up to their bosses but many a times it is hard to concede to someone younger in age.

It is not sufficient to have a title and authority to get your managers to work with you. An older workforce has to feel wanted, needs recognition and does not like to be constantly reminded that a younger person is monitoring his performance! Here are some ideas to help you get by in dealing with an older subordinate:

1. Don't be self-conscious, be aware: Treat older employees the same way you do your younger employees. However, remember that your 57-year old employee's needs and reference points are different from that of the 37-year olds.

2. Be clear: Do not leave ambiguous instructions assuming that they have years of experience and will know what to do. Giving them, explicit explanations of your expectations of them should not be construed as slighting their experience, but a method of managing business needs.

3. Show respect for their experience: Give the older employee credit for his expertise. Show respect for your older managers' experiences and leverage it to benefit the team. They may not have grown in management cadres, but they do have a treasure of knowledge, practice and familiarity with tasks that can help you be more efficient.

4. Retrain: After a certain age, it may be arduous to upgrade basic skill sets. But your older employees need not be stuck doing the job they have been doing for years. Help them gain new capabilities. You will be surprised at how quickly some of them adapt and learn.

5. Empathise with their situation: Sometimes it is difficult to relate to a person's viewpoint if one has not yet experienced that stage of life. Be patient and understanding of their issues and challenges. Talk to them freely to appreciate their problems.

6. Alter your motivational strategy: Think of what motivates your older employees and use those to egg them on. A seasoned manager may have a completely different set of motivators compared to the younger one and good leadership must be sensitive to this.

7. Don't be "the boss": Do not waste time positioning yourself as the superior. You will gain acceptance if your business/unit does well and they enjoy your leadership. Do not wield your power and authority to remind them who you are!

8. Recognise their issues: Older employees face problems and have personal situations that are not the same as those of younger managers. Gestures like giving time off for health checkups or helping them for their children's wedding go a long way in enhancing the relationship.

9. Develop internal coaches: Older employees can be good mentors to younger managers. Use their knowledge and understanding of the organisational processes, history and culture as guiding forces for a new generation.

Emailing After Hours::Workaholics?

We all think about the content of our emails, but have you thought about the time at which you send them? Consider this situation:

My friend, whom I will call Julie, applied for a job at a well-known international company. She is excited about the job opening but concerned that the team she would join is a group of workaholics. As Julie tells it:

"One person on the team emailed me late on Friday evening. Another person emailed me on Sunday morning. They don't seem to have boundaries between work life and personal life."

Julie does not want to join a team that expects her to work 60 hours a week. She values her life away from work. So far, these emails are the only red flags she has had about working with this team. But they have warned her to look for other signs of workaholism.

What do you think about the timing of email? As a person who owns her own business, I work day and night. However, I try to time my email to go out during normal working hours. I do not want people to know I am thinking about business on Saturday. After all, they do not know that I have taken Wednesday afternoon off to drive my daughter to her violin lesson, visit a friend at the hospital, or see the latest Harry Potter movie.

At the same time, I do notice when clients write to me at odd hours. When they send messages on Saturday afternoon and reply to email from their vacations, it feels as though they are working too hard. Rather than admiring their commitment, I worry that they are over-committed.

Tethered to our jobs by email, instant messages, pagers, and cell phones, are we any more productive? I do not think so. I believe that getting away from the job, for a vacation, a violin lesson, a long walk, a hot date -- in short, for a personal life -- rejuvenates mind, body, and spirit. Making time for ourselves is more productive than replying within 24 hours to every email.

No matter when you work, you can use Microsoft Outlook to delay sending your message until a normal work time. (In the message, click Options. Then notice the delivery options.) Or you can write an email at 2 a.m. and save it as a draft to mail at noon.

I would love to hear what you think about possible workaholic communication AND what it tells our readers. But feel free to have lunch and get some sun before responding.