Email, snail mail, phone, social media: rules for connecting with a potential employer.

Carrie Holler, a former HR executive for Rodale Inc. in Emmaus, PA, remembers a woman “who wanted to work for us in the worst way. She sent her resume to everyone from Mrs. Rodale on down, and she called us all several times a week.”

On paper, the woman wasn’t a good fit for the family-owned publishing firm. “Her resume didn’t have enough horsepower,” says Holler. Just to get the woman to quit bugging everyone, Holler invited her in for an informational interview. To Holler’s surprise, “She turned out to be so likeable and enthusiastic that I actually ended up hiring her,” Holler says with a smile.

Though that job seeker’s example might tempt you to follow her lead, don’t—she was the rarest of exceptions, says Holler. In fact, speed dialing a prospective employer and filling hirers’ inboxes with emails rarely pays off, whether you’re hoping for an interview or following up on one. Professionalism and strategic communications will serve you much better, says Karen Lippman, a managing director for Howard-Sloan-Koller Group, an executive search firm in New York City.

>>Read the article and learn the new rules for connecting with your next employer: http://workreimagined.aarp.org/find-a-job/how-often-should-you-contact-a-potential-hirer/

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Before and After - Improving a Real-life Cover Letter

Before Version

Here’s the before version. It reads like 95% of the cover letters out there. Like those other 95%, it basically says, “I know I need a cover letter, so here are some paragraphs of blah.” You can imagine multiple candidates for this position submitting this letter; there’s nothing especially personalized about it.

Dear Hiring Manager:

Your posting on LinkedIn for a Sales and Marketing Coordinator recently caught my eye, and I think you will find I am an exceptional candidate for this position.

I am an accomplished administrative professional and a junior in the Marketing & Management program at Riverrun University. Over the past ten years, I have provided high-level support in a variety of industries and across multiple functional areas. I am now seeking a position that will make the most of my administrative experience while offering additional opportunities for personal and professional development.

In exchange, I offer exceptional attention to detail, highly developed communication skills, and a talent for managing complex projects with a demonstrated ability to prioritize and multitask.

My accomplishments and qualifications are further detailed in the attached resume. I welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the value that I can bring to your organization.

Warmest regards,

Catelyn Stark

After Version

Here’s the after version. It’s awesome. It tells us who the candidate is and why she’s great at what she does. And she’s genuinely enthusiastic. This isn’t a generic letter; it’s a letter about her.
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Read the 'After Version' at Alison Green's excellent career advice blog: 
http://www.askamanager.org/2014/02/heres-a-real-life-example-of-a-great-cover-letter-with-before-and-after-versions.html

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Objective Statements Out, Executive Summary's In

Are you “looking to obtain a challenging position that will facilitate your work ethic”? “Seeking to obtain this challenging position in,” oh, let’s say the music industry? Perhaps you want to win “this challenging position that will utilize your expertise and education.” In other words, your objective is to get a job.

The recruiters and hiring managers who received your resume already knew that. That’s why you sent them your resume. Professional resume writers call this the “Duh! Factor.”

Unfortunately, it’s also the core of an old-fashioned objective statement.

Besides being self evident, an objective statement focuses on the farthest thing from hiring managers’ minds: your personal satisfaction. Instead of telling employers what’s in it for them, you’re telling them what you’ll get out of the deal (a job). That’s just bad marketing.
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Read the article here, and find out how you can improve your resume with an executive summary:
http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/trade-up-to-executive-summary

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Avoid These Words When Drafting Your Resume

When it comes to looking for a job, what you don't say can be just as important as what you do say. Here are nine phrases and words to leave off your résumé.

Try   

Try simply shows a lack of belief, passion, commitment, and confidence — all the qualities you need to succeed in today's tight job market. While try is the most dangerous word that an employee or job seeker can use in the workplace, there are certainly other danger words that also indicate negativity, uncertainty or controversy at work and can also doom your chances of getting (or keeping) a job. – Brad Hoover, CEO of Grammarly

Clichés

Don't use common buzzwords such as innovative, team player and results-oriented. These and others are so overused that they're now seen as clichés and have lost their impact altogether. Rather, list specific accomplishments. Instead of saying you have extensive experience in sales, note that you've worked in sales for 10 years, hit your quota the last 12 quarters and note specific deals you've closed. As a hiring manager I want real details of past jobs, such as how many people you supervised or specific ways you helped increase profitability.— Darnell Clarke, author of self-published "Employmentology: A Practical Systematic Methodology of Finding Employment by a Hiring Manger"
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Read this article in its entirety at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4004-words-to-avoid-resume.html

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Should You Call That Potential Employer?

I often hear people say that you should always call after you send your resume to ask if it was received, to build rapport and get noticed; this post recommends that you follow up once a week for a month before moving on (which is a lot, I think). On the other side of the argument, HR expert Susan Heathfield calls these phone calls ‘Fishing for attention’ calls and resents this waste of her time, saying this is a way of making a very bad impression.

There’s lots of conflicting answers about follow up calls, but I didn’t realise what a contentious issue it was until I read this post. In the comments, a HR professional said she hates getting these calls and that “no one appreciates being constantly interrupted by unimportant phone calls to check on whether a resume was received or not.” Vitriol from job seekers rained down upon her head. I think she underestimated the emotional impact of her words. People call about their resume because they really want or need a job and they don’t want to be told that issue is unimportant.

We understand that sometimes you just desperately want to know the progress of your job search. As such, we’ve got ten do’s and don’ts about calling to chase up your job application.

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Get the ten do's and don'ts at: http://www.10collective.com.au/calling-your-potential-employer-10-dos-and-donts/#sthash.3tceMJb9.dpuf

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