College Strategies

Lesson 7: Part Time Jobs: the Good and the Ugly

Writing your Cover letter

Not a person in the world will have just one resume; that would be professional suicide.

Rule number one for resume writing is that you have to customize your resume for each job you are applying for. It can be a little bit time consuming, but eventually you built up a database of résumé’s for all possible jobs you could be interested in. first thing to do is to locate the job. Once you have the listing see what requirements are listed explicitly. For example it could say “applicant must have strong interpersonal skills”. Then look for clues to other skills they would be looking for in a strong applicant. This can usually be found in the job description or job title even. If a person is supposed to conduct meeting as a part of their duties, then having strong organizational and public speaking skills would be required. The employer will be looking for those traits in a prospective applicant; he is just not explicitly stating he will! You are one step closer to getting the job if you recognize this simple truth.

Never ever ever send out a letter that is addressed to a random nameless person, always find out the name of the appropriate person you have to address your cover letter to. If you don’t then do not even bother sending it out, it will be a waste of paper.

In your cover letter it is important to mention where you found the job opening, and that you would like to explain why you are the best candidate. Avoid using a passage like: “I have strong interpersonal, organizational and computer skills.” Instead show the reader you have those skills, after all anyone can write anything really! So for example state the following instead: “in my position as (…) I gained a great amount of interpersonal experience. I have also further developed organizational skills by compressing long meetings into shorter more productive encounters as a (…).” See how this is instantly more impressive? You are not just saying you have a skill, you are proving it. You can fill in the blanks yourself with regards to previous positions. Keep in mind those do not even have to be paid jobs; were you a member of a council in your high school? That definitely counts! If you feel you have done absolutely nothing worth mentioning at all and do not hold any experience then think again. Evaluate every activity you have taken part in. were you a leader in your bake sale? There you have some customer service and organizational experience right away! Did you clean up beaches as a volunteer? That’s worth mentioning as well.

If you are new to the field though, and have never done anything directly related then mention it in your cover letter! Otherwise people will wonder why in the world you are applying for the job. For example; if you have worked in retail and now you are trying to get a job as a lab assistant, you can still use some skills from your retail experience. The rest you have to back up with an academic background and strong motivation. Let them see in your letter that you really want this position. If you are asked in an interview what your previous experience is you can answer for example “I don’t have any yet, but I really hope I can gather some here!” It spices it up a bit and shows you are motivated. You can also write it in your cover letter, but perhaps it is better to avoid the topic until the interview. It is hard to judge a person on a letter, and you are more likely to get the job if the employer really likes you in person.

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