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Cover Letter Gaffesby Kevin Donlin - Guaranteed Resumes - Click for InfoIs your job search going nowhere? Then take time to re-examine your approach. If the resumes and cover letters you�re sending out have mistakes in them -- even one or two -- you�re shooting yourself in the foot. And costing yourself thousands of dollars in lost salary as your job search drags on, and on �. This week, we�ll focus on eliminating errors in your cover letters. To illustrate, I want to share the story of �Tom� from Seattle, WA, who wrote: �I think I�ve managed to do everything I�m NOT supposed to do in creating a hard-hitting, cover letter and resume, which would explain why I�m not receiving any calls from employers.� Learn from the cover letter mistakes of Tom (and others) below � 1) Proofread or perish �I live not too far from Seattle,� says Tom. However, there was a terrific job in Phoenix I thought I�d be great for, so I tweaked my generic cover letter and resume, then e-mailed them to the Director of HR. �One problem: the last time I used the same cover letter (for another employer), I had written that I would be more than happy to relocate to Portland. Oops. So much for getting the job in Arizona.� 2) The �Bureau of Missing Persons� effect Tom didn�t do this, but don�t you forget to include your phone number and other crucial contact information. A no-brainer, right? Wrong. One cover letter that crossed my desk said, �Please call me at your next convenience,� but didn�t include a phone number. Not good. 3) Assume nothing -- check your facts �Another mistake is making a name assumption based on an e-mail address,� continues Tom. �The contact person for a job had this e-mail address -- jacksonny@xx.com. I assumed his name was Jack Sonny, so I sent my e-mail with the salutation: �Dear Jack:� � an aide wrote me back: �HER real name was Nancy Y. Jackson.� Another blown job opportunity. 4) English, please Don�t write like someone who's been hit over the head with a legal dictionary. Here�s an example for one cover letter I finally gave up on reading: �I specialize in the implementation of workplace solutions that leverage self-directed teams toward increased throughput.� Huh? Write as you would speak to a live human at a networking event. You can avoid all four of the gaffes above if you do two things: take your time writing, then ask a trusted friend to review your letter. Keep this final point in mind. After reading every sentence in your cover letter, ask yourself: �So, what?� Is that last sentence compelling, or fluff? Necessary? TRUE? If not, rewrite or remove it. Then ask yourself �So, what?� again. Revise until every sentence shines. Best of luck to you!
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