Did you know that, on average, an employer or recruiter takes only 8-10 seconds to screen your Resume and Job Application Cover Letter Writing before considering whether to shortlist you for a pre-screen telephone interview? Sometimes it can be even less. That is not a lot of time to create a first impression on paper. Just like professionals invest in a mortgage broker when purchasing property or a real estate agent when selling a home, why not hire a Cover Letter Writing expert to help you secure the perfect role? Investing in expert help ensures your job application stands out and addresses the key selection criteria of the role and the company culture.
You spend the most hours of each week working full-time sharing your ideas and plans with a group of people at work, so why would it not be important to invest in your job application to that perfect role?
Individuals often spend a considerable amount of time focusing on what needs to be in the Resume rather than how it is written. Both are equally important. The tone of voice and how a Professional Resume is written in terms of the style, font, layout and language is the difference between your job application to a great role you would like to apply for getting shortlisted or not.
You must always address the key selection criteria for the role that you are applying for. In my opinion each Resume should be tweaked for every job application to ensure the key selection criteria and core skills required plus culture and team fit is covered and you that you have done your research on a role, the responsibilities and of course the business itself.
Your Professional Resume needs to be factually accurate, including dates of employment, education completed, job titles, and skills possessed in each role demonstrating your growth as a professional in each individual role. The writing in your Resume should be concise, succinct, and to the point. Use of proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation must be in your tone of writing. A Resume should reflect who you are and your professional experiences. This does not mean it should be laden with unnecessary graphics or inappropriate personal information about you; it means you should feel comfortable using it to represent yourself as a suitable professional for the right role. The color of the wording needs to be black and only black. Resumes do get disregarded when all sorts of color and style of font are used upon them; it really does look so unprofessional and is extremely unnecessary.
Your Resume should be visually appealing and also attractive to the eye. Make sure it is neat, organized, and consistent and has a list of your successful achievements and responsibilities and skills used in each role. You’re Resume and the style and the way it is organised should be relevant to the position you are applying for. For example, you may need to make adjustments to your Resume when applying for a position as an Accountant versus a position as a Telecommunications or IT Project Manager. Make sure you do have the skills they are seeking; otherwise it is a wasted application and time for both you and the employer.
When you submit your professionally written Resume for a suitable position, you will want to have a tailored Cover Letter to accompany it. A well-crafted and professionally presented Cover Letter may make the difference between getting a job interview and having your application ignored, so it makes sense to take the time to write a thoughtful and tailored professional Cover Letter for each individual job application. However only do this for direct job applications as most Cover Letters via Recruitment Agencies tend to be ignored.
