Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 13, 1990 TAG: 9005110728
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: BUS-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Employers put an ad in the paper to generate a pool of potential candidates for a specific position. If you don't fit the profile specified in the ad, don't be surprised or dismayed if you are never called for an interview. If you do respond to a want ad, take time to write a proper cover letter explaining why you think you're qualified. Without that extra effort, you've wasted your energy and the price of a stamp. Job candidates who zip off a resume risk facing disappointment after disappointment, slowing down their search campaign and lowering an already battered self-esteem.
Learn from the following real-life story:
The ad was brief. The key words were "Entry-level opportunity," "Sales Assistant," "Opportunity to learn broadcast TV sales industry." This is a definite profile, clearly stated. You know this is a starting position, as an assistant (read secretarial/office duties) with emphasis on the supporting sales (not directly selling) in a definite product area, TV advertising.
When the replies started coming in after the ad's publication, the sales manager began to screen the letters and resumes and choose candidates to interview. He was flabbergasted at the mixed bag of responses. He shared some of the resumes to point out how frustrating it can be to wade through those that make absolutely no sense considering the position he had to offer.
Examples of mismatched responses:
Vastly overqualified: A candidate with regional management experience in banking shouldn't be applying for an entry-level position as a sales assistant.
Resumes with handwritten updates for the latest experience. If you can't get your resume retyped, add your latest experience in a cover letter.
One resume, obviously prepared by a firm in love with adjectives, highlighted items with a yellow marker. Another presented in a fancy plastic case. There's no need to embellish a document that should speak for itself.
Resumes with clearly stated objectives for positions in the food industry, paper and plastics or criminal justice. What killed these candidates was that they didn't explain in a cover letter why the TV industry interested them. No cover letters were attached to any. They just landed on the desk in the impossible hope that the screening manager could intuit why they were good matches for the present position.
Then there were those responses that did contain cover letters, or at least what some people thought of as cover letters. We really don't think a blue memo stick-on attached to the resume makes the grade as a cover letter. Nor does the "fill-in-the-blank" type of letter where the address and position name is inserted in pencil.
If you don't have access to a typewriter, it's better to write your entire cover letter by hand rather than insult the reader with a "one size fits all" method of responding.
\ Improve your chances
\ Those examples will give you ideas about how people shoot themselves down in the competition for jobs. The following suggestions will improve your chances of getting a positive response:
Read, reread the ad, then read it again.
Outline the points the employer is making in the ad, then see how you can match these requirements. This is absolutely necessary.
Compose a brief cover letter explaining why you should be considered as a candidate. If your background is in a different field, tell why you're interested in learning the new field.
For instance, the ad quoted above stated "Opportunity to learn the TV sales field." Now, unless you've been living on a desert island, you have some familiarity with that industry. In your cover letter, show how some of your background can transfer into the new field. State enthusiasm for the opportunity to learn.
In reading the want ad, find out what level of employee they are seeking. Entry-level means just that. If you're overqualified, you don't fit the bill. They can't afford you in the first place. In real life, you can't go back to the beginning unless you have compelling reasons for wanting that reversal. If you do, state it in the cover letter.
For instance, one reply to our TV sales assistant ad came from a person with work experience in the broadcast field, with some managerial responsibilities. On the face of it, this would appear to make him overqualified.
But in a more careful reading of his resume, it shows that he is approaching retirement age, and might indeed want a position with fewer responsibilities. And because he has experience in the industry, he might make an excellent candidate. But there was no accompanying cover letter explaining this, so a potential opportunity was lost.
\ Resume goofs
\ Reading through the submitted resumes shows some obvious mistakes candidates make with this important piece of paper. Check your own resume to see if you are guilty of any of these gaffes:
Resumes can contain too much or too little information. There is no need for a biography including irrelevant information. On the other hand, just listing employers and dates doesn't say anything. Resumes should highlight accomplishments and responsibilities, with the most recent ones receiving the most attention. The fact that you sold shoes 20 years go is not really eye-catching.
Personal information that is not important does not belong on a resume. This includes age, marital status, eye color, height and weight. However, solid volunteer involvement and professional membership do reflect favorably on you.
Flowery language is a turnoff. Watch the adjectives. Keep your statements clear of nonsense.
Fudging on your educational background is fatal. If you have a degree, give the year granted, the school, location and major. However, if you've simply earned some credits and not completed the degree, the proper way to express that is as follows: "Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, Pa., 56 credit hours toward a degree in liberal arts."
Don't give your reasons for leaving previous jobs. This gives a negative tone to what should be a positive piece of paper. Save explanations for the interview.
Finally, make sure any additional information makes sense to the reader. One of the resumes we saw mentioned that the writer had been a contestant on "The Dating Game." What has that got to do with being a candidate for an entry-level sales assistant in a TV broadcast company?
by CNB