Resume, Cover Letter, E-Mail: Are Yours Carbon Copies or a Picture Perfect Portrait?

October 19, 2009 by Jeffrey Marriott
Filed under: All, Brand-Yourself.com, Careers, Networking, Personal Branding, Resume, Skills, job search 
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Applying for jobs is not only time consuming, it is probably one of the most nerve-racking experiences ever.  You’ve spent hours if not days compiling materials just to put into your resume, you now have to move on to the cover letter, then after you’ve probably stressed yourself beyond reason you have to write them an e-mail! Now the question is, are you just creating carbon copy replicas of each of the priors or are you creating a written masterpiece? Each one building off of the last, creating the perfect picture of who you are.

The Resume

Your resume is the base layer, the primer of this portrait. It is what everything else is built on.  Your resume will have the essentials, who you are, how to get a hold of you, where you’ve worked, what you’ve done and various skills you possess.  This is not the time to try and focus on who you are.  Granted you can show pieces of your personality through layout and design, there’s time for that later.  The resume is just meant to give the base structure but definitely don’t be afraid to have a little fun with it, because it could definitely help with getting it (and you) noticed.

The Cover Letter

You’ve laid the base, now you can start working on the big picture. Don’t just repeat the same things you did in your resume. Take what you had in your resume and elaborate, bring it to life. Give stunning visuals of what you’ve done and don’t forget to say how it can benefit the company – they like it when you do that. Here is where you really get to shine and show who you are and what you bring to the table so truly don’t hold back, create something that is awe-inspiring and will land you the job of the century.

The E-Mail

By now you’re probably worn out, brain is toast and you’re out of inspiration. Don’t fret. Just stick it out a little longer and finish this masterpiece. The e-mail is where you will put all the finishing touches on all of the main points you’ve worked so hard to create. Give a quick reason as to why they should open your attachments and continue reading, what is it that makes you so appealing? Don’t forget to thank them in advance and once again, provide all of your contact information, you can never have that in too many places.  What good would it be if you did all this work and they couldn’t contact you?  Now, click send.

The Portrait as a Whole

When you’ve constructed your resume, cover letter and e-mail to the company you’re applying to it is truly a time for admiration. You need to check, recheck and triple check every detail of this process to ensure its perfection.  Like all art, it takes practice to be perfect but when you add your own personal flare to it and maintain optimism – you will succeed!

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Comments

  • This is really a stressful situation while waiting for your phone call.If you don't make your resume or cover letter impressive and appealing then certainly you have to wait more time. So this is such a great tips to know how to present your resume in right way.
  • Anticipation is definitely a stressful time. If you are confident though that resume, cover letter and email all represent who you are in the best light, it will take a load off your shoulders definitely. Then all you have to do is impress them by expanding upon everything they already know.
  • Jeffrey,

    I like the summary statement.

    I think it is better to put the cover letter at the Email body and resume as attachment unless they asked you to send it separately.
  • Jeffrey Marriott
    I thank you for the compliment. Also, I agree on that the cover letter in the e-mail body is a very common practice as well as an effective one and definitely make sure you tailor to the companies requests. This in how I have stated it is a personal approach I've taken and found particularly effective and an increasingly common practice amongst the industry paths I have chosen. Then there's a whole slew of other things to think about with the increasing number of companies having you apply directly through their site.

    Thanks so much though for reading this and your input is greatly appreciated.
  • That is generally how I see it as well. Unless otherwise asked I would stick to those assumptions.
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