GadBall Blog

Taking into account requests from our readers, we started a series of articles titled ‘Resume Makeover Series.’ The objective is to take you through the complete process of writing a resume, with best practices for each stage.

In our last article we advised that you should start your resume with a Power Statement. In this piece we round-off that discussion and talk about the resume Summary Section, which includes your Power Statement plus a few more bullet points about your most relevant skills/characteristics.

We recommend starting your resume with a Summary Statement, which is like your personal advertisement. It should give the reader a concise overview of your experience, skills and achievements. When writing your summary statement make sure that you focus on the job you are applying to, its main requirements and your unique selling points. Typically, the Summary Section is about 3-5 bullet points.

After the Power Statement, the Summary Section should contain a few points which highlight the important skills required for the jobs you are applying to. These skills should include a mix of technical skills as well as soft skills. Where possible, try to provide proof in the form of numbers and examples.

Here are some examples of skills/characteristics points for your reference:

[I am a] Competent problem-solver who resolved sales and shipping issues by creating internal customer-care system and saved 20 percent shipping; researched and delivered Web conferencing service for sales that saved 30 percent of travel budgets

[I am a] Visionary innovator who partnered with another programmer to create pioneering language-learning software that earned national attention; served as lead analyst for revolutionary legal document generating and tracking product

[I am a] Technical guru who provided direct support for successful million-dollar negotiation with major print vendor and completed many successful major conversions from mainframe to mini-computer systems.

[I am a] Strong communicator who was voted best specification writer – with least number of re-writes – by programmers and their managers.

Amit Puri is the Managing Consultant at Sandbox Advisors. He has over 10 years of business, career services and HR related experience, with companies such as Bain & Co, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Sandbox Advisors is based in Singapore and provides career management/advice, job search, interview, resume and HR consulting services in Asia.
Author Website: http://www.sandboxadvisors.com

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

We’ve all heard of the alpha male and female. The dictionary defines them as the dominant person in a group, the one everybody emulates and follows. The term was originally coined to describe behavior in wolf and dog packs, but for most of the 20th Century, it also accurately depicted the way we interacted in our careers. One person was on top, and the rest of us brought up the rear.

While wolves and dogs are stuck with this leader-follower relationship, however, we humans have an option. We can pull ourselves out of the back of the pack—out of the pack altogether, in fact—and assume a new role. I call it the “alpha career athlete.” It recognizes our innate ability to act as individuals and to set our own unique course in the world of work.

More often than not, the alpha career athlete still finds their employment in an organization. Most aren’t free agents or independent contractors. They work in teams, on projects and for departments and they report to a boss. Their on-the-job experience is similar to that of every other person in the workplace. What changes is their view of who they are working for and why.

An alpha career athlete works on themselves for themselves. They are interested in learning just how good they can be in their profession, craft or trade. They accept a job because it challenges them to be better than they have been, and they devote all of their talent to passing the test. Moreover, that same commitment to self improvement also enhances the value of their contribution to their employer. In effect, they protect their employment and preserve their paycheck by persevering in their determination to excel.

In Search of (Personal) Excellence

In 1982, Tom Peters wrote a business classic called In Search of Excellence. The book’s popularity was largely based on the author’s research into how companies achieved superior performance. It outlined a number of practices that other organizations could implement in order to achieve their own version of excellence.

What many readers missed, however, was the underlying premise of the book: success was best achieved through a commitment to excellence. If you wanted your company to prosper, it wasn’t enough to be good or even very good and certainly not mediocre or just enough to get by. The one sure pathway to prosperity was excellence.

What was true for organizations in the 20th Century is true for individuals in the 21st Century. Success is not achieved by being loyal to one’s employer or by knowing how things get done inside an organization. It is not assured with years of experience or even with a knowledge of the current state-of-the-art. What produces sustained career advancement in today’s world of work is a commitment to personal excellence.

It is what drives the alpha career athlete. He or she is “in search of excellence.” They are on a quest to become the champion inside them. This is not some quixotic adventure, but rather an entirely rational determination to express and experience the talent with which they (and all of us) were created. Alpha career athletes believe that, just as every company can achieve superior performance, so too can they. And they’re resolved to do so.

Companies, however, have Peters’ guidelines with which to work; alpha career athletes need something else. They need a set of practices that will engage, refine and unleash the excellence within them. What follows are what I think those practices must be:
I. Pump Up Your Cardiovascular System. The heart of your career is your occupational expertise. Re-imagine yourself as a work-in-progress so that you are always adding depth and tone to your knowledge and skill set.

II. Strengthen Your Circulatory System. The wider and deeper your network of contacts, the more visible you and your capabilities will be in the workplace. Make nurturing professional relationships a part of your business day.

III. Develop All of Your Muscle Groups. The greater your versatility in contributing your expertise at work, the broader the array of situations and assignments in which you can be employed. Develop ancillary skills that will give you more ways to apply your core expertise in the workplace.

IV. Increase Your Flexibility & Range of Motion. Moving from industry-to-industry, from one daily schedule to another or even from one location to another is never easy, but your willingness to adapt will help to keep your career moving forward.

V. Work With Winners. Working with successful organizations and coworkers enables you to grow on-the-job, develop useful connections that will last a career and establish yourself as a winner in the world of work.

VI. Stretch Your Soul. A healthy career not only serves you, it serves others, as well. A personal commitment to doing some of your best work as good works for your community, your country and/or your planet is the most invigorating form of work/life balance.

VII. Pace Yourself. A fulfilling and rewarding career depends upon your getting the rest and replenishment you need in order to do your best work every day you’re on-the-job. Discipline yourself and your boss to set aside time to recharge your passion and capacity for work.

All of us have the inherent capacity to be an alpha career athlete because all of us have an inherent talent that wants to be—deserves to be—discovered. Humans are the only beings, however, who can willfully choose to ignore their gift. And happily, they are also the only beings who can choose to recognize it. So, become the alpha career athlete you were meant to be; put yourself in search of (personal) excellence.

Thanks for reading,
Peter
Visit me at Weddles.com

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including his latest, Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

I got an email last week from Jim S. in New York. His job-search question may not apply exactly to you, but the mind-set I suggest to solve it should.

So, if you give me two minutes here, I’ll show you two ways to get hired faster, by playing to your strengths, and offering employers the equivalent of “found” money.

Ready?

Jim writes: “I have been a self-employed residential general contractor with some commercial supervision experience for 35 years. Last fall I had heart surgery and as a consequence, I am no longer able to meet the physical demands of the job. How do I best convey this situation to a potential employer and still get in the door?”

When Jim asks, “How do I best convey this [health] situation to a potential employer and still get in the door?” what he’s really asking is: “How can I bring up my health problems and still get an interview?”

This is common, backwards thinking.

Instead, of worrying about how to confess a negative, Jim should build a case for his strengths until they overcome any resistance in the minds of employers.

Here’s the question that Jim (and you) should ask instead: “How can I appeal so strongly to an employer’s self interest that any issues about my physical condition won’t matter — they’ll want to hire me for my brains and not my body?”

Put another way, there must be some management function Jim can perform in construction that can leverage his 35 years of industry experience and knowledge, without requiring hard physical labor. He should examine his work history until he can picture a suitable job.

Better yet, he should call past supervisors, vendors, and clients, remind them of the good things he did for them, then ask: “Given my knowledge and experience, what leadership role do you see me playing for an employer?”

This is one way to overcome obstacles of physical condition, age, etc.

Now, here’s a second way to get more job interviews …

Let’s say you find a wallet full of money and credit cards. On the driver’s license, it reads: “Warren Buffett, Omaha, Nebraska.”

Now. Do you think you might be able to meet the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway?

All you’d have to do is call Mr. Buffett and say, “I found your wallet. Can I deliver it in person?” You would enjoy making that call, having that conversation, and meeting Mr. Buffett.

Well, you can do the same thing with employers — get to meet them by offering to return their “lost” money.

How?

Research employers until you can call a hiring manager and say something like this: “Mr. Smith, I found some lost money that belongs to you. You see, I called your office twice posing as a potential client, and your staff didn’t ask me a simple question that my last employer used to increase revenues 35%. Can I meet you for 15 minutes this week and give you that information?”

You would enjoy making that call, having that conversation, and meeting Mr. Smith.

And if you brought your resume and more tips to help him in his business, a job interview would be the likely result.

Or, you can mail a letter describing your “found money” information, say you’ll call to discuss, and then call at the appointed time.

If you really want to stand out, fold up your letter and mail it inside a wallet to an employer. (Buy wallets cheap at any flea market or dollar store). The headline of your letter can read, “Is this money yours?” No resume needed.

The point is this: When you call to ask someone if they’re hiring, they’ll refer you to HR. When you call to return their “lost” money, they’ll hang on your every word.

All you have to do is research an employer’s business, industry, clients, and competitors, until you find one idea that can make or save them a sizeable amount of money.

Best part: You don’t need to create the money-making/saving ideas, just as you don’t need to create gold nuggets — you need only dig them up. Nobody cares where you found the gold (except for the I.R.S.).

If you can’t do this — if you can’t think of ways for someone in your field of work to make or save money — it means you have no idea why an employer should put you on the payroll. Instead of thinking of ways to earn a job, you are waiting for someone to give you one. And you are in for a long wait.

Kevin Donlin is co-author of Guerrilla Resumes. Since 1996, he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people. Author of 3 books, Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, USA Today, Fox News, CBS Radio and others.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Most of those who are in transition today are looking for a new job the same way they did the last time they were in the job market. And that’s a terrible mistake. In fact, it’s almost certain to lead to career cardiac arrest or what most of us call unemployment.

Why is that? Because today’s (and tomorrow’s) workplace is profoundly different from any that has ever existed in the United States. Just as the Great Depression changed the behavior of a whole generation of Americans, this Great Recession is changing the behavior of this generation of employers.

What we’re now seeing in corporate America is not a reduction in force; it’s a reduction in structure. There are fewer jobs, and those positions that have disappeared will never come back. But that’s not all. Even as they are downsizing their organization charts, America’s employers are also upgrading their staff. They’re trading out “C” level performers for “A” level talent.

Those two facts of work change everything. They mean that the days of the “come as you are” job market are over. You can no longer find a job the old fashioned way. And you never will be able to again.

We’re all familiar with the traditional approach to job search. It was a simple 4-step process:
• Step 1. You wrote up your resume.
• Step 2. You sent your resume out to a bunch of employers.
• Step 3. You did a little networking around the edges.
• Step 4. You landed a new job that was usually equal to and often better than the one you had before.

For 60 years or more, those four steps were the way Americans managed their careers and secured their hold on the American Dream. And they are now as obsolete as buggy whips and carbon paper.

The come as you are job market has morphed into the “only the best need apply” job market. Companies will no longer hire qualified people for their openings. This Great Recession has convinced them that they cannot survive and prosper in a global marketplace with that kind of employment strategy. Instead, if they want to be around to enjoy the recovery, they’re going to have to hire the best qualified talent there is.

What’s that mean for you and me? We have to change the four steps in our job search methodology. Here’s what we have to do now:

Step 1. Resuscitate your career. If you’re out of work, your career is sick. As with a physical illness, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve done anything wrong. It does, however, require that you get yourself well. You must upgrade your skill set, expand and enrich your network of professional contacts, add powerful new ancillary capabilities and do all of the other things that establishes a fit career. And you must do that before you start looking for a job.

Step 2. You must focus only on jobs where you are best qualified and then tailor your resume for each of those specific openings. They days of shotgun applications and generic resumes are also over.

Step 3. You must practice networking as the word indicates you should. It’s netWORK, not net-get-around-to-it-whenever-it’s-convenient. And you must network online as well as off.

Step 4. You must pick an employment opportunity that provides two forms of compensation. The near term paycheck you need to meet your financial obligations and the ongoing flexibility, time and support you need to invest in the continuous improvement of your career. Why do you need both? Because in the 21st Century world of work, you’ll likely be repeating these four new steps in the next three-to-five years.

Thanks for reading,
Peter Weddle
Visit me on CareerFitness.com

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

When used in the career guidance context, psychometric assessments are questionnaires that are designed to assess attributes such as personality, ability, values and occupational interests/preferences.

You might come across such assessments either on the internet, or through a career counsellor. They are useful but only if conducted properly. Many a times, people use them standalone and instead of qualitative self reflection/introspection, which is not recommended. Self reflection must form the foundation of your career decision making and development. Nothing can beat the insights generated from such an exercise and it can also be very rewarding in many ways. Assessments should be used to complement self reflection i.e. to further refine results, provide more ideas or eliminate choices.

It is also important to remember that you should not take the results from an assessment as the last word on yourself. Every person is unique and the results provided by an assessment might not capture every aspect of you. Assessments need to be interpreted properly and in the right context, which is why most advanced/good assessments will need to be taken through a career guidance practitioner. We certainly recommend that over most free/online/self administered assessments. If you do take a free/online assessment be very careful in selecting good quality ones and consider having one session with a practitioner just to make sure you are interpreting it correctly.

A distinction can be made between assessments that help individuals assess the content of career choices, or ‘what to choose’, and those that assess the process of choice, or ‘how to choose’ (which assess the skills needed for effective career decision making). In this article, we will focus on ‘what to choose’ since you will probably see more of these.

Perhaps the most commonly used instruments are occupational interest inventories. Interest inventories help individuals identify occupational fields that they are likely to find rewarding. Typically, an individuals’ responses to the items in the inventory are compared to those of people working in a range of occupations, to see how similar their interests are to those of people working in those occupations. One of the best known interest inventories is the Strong Interest Inventory. Note: If you decide to take such assessments without the guidance of a career advisor, the Self Directed Search (www.self-directed-search.com) and Career Key (www.careerkey.com) are some of the better ones and are also good value for your money.

Measures of work values, or basic beliefs about what is important to the individual in the work context, are also seen frequently. One example is the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire. This instrument requires the individual to rate the importance of 20 work-related values or needs. Examples of some of the values are ability utilization, achievement, activity, advancement, authority, compensation, creativity and recognition.

Personality measures are also available to help individuals assess their personal style of relating to people. Understanding one’s personality can also help in choosing a suitable occupational setting as well as a particular occupation. Commonly used measures include Cattell’s 16PF, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The 16PF for example, assesses dimensions like Reserved – outgoing, More intelligent – less intelligent, Emotional – calm, Humble – assertive, Serious – happy-go-lucky, Expedient – conscientious and Shy – uninhibited.

Amit Puri is the Managing Consultant at Sandbox Advisors. He has over 10 years of business and HR related experience, with companies such as Bain & Co, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Sandbox Advisors is based in Singapore and provides career management and HR consulting services in Asia.
Author Website: http://blog.sandboxadvisors.com

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

In today’s ever changing business world, we are constantly striving to stay on top of industry trends and best practices to operate more efficiently. The area of human resources has not gone untouched by change, and we need to address changes specific to the recruitment process. A company is only as strong as the weakest link, so it is imperative that an organization place emphasis on finding the right candidate. Finding the ideal candidate starts with reviewing resumes. Whether you are working with a staffing agency or conducting your own search, it is important to keep the following tips in mind when reviewing resumes.

First, the process of reviewing resumes does not begin with a resume. More specifically, the process of reviewing resumes starts with a solid job description. One must thoroughly understand the scope of the position before he or she can begin searching for qualified candidates. It is sometimes helpful to create a list of the most important qualifications you seek in an ideal candidate. This is sometimes referred to as a “candidate profile” and should include selection criteria such as desired educational level, relevant experience, and required skill sets.

The job description and candidate profile are not only important for reviewing resumes, they are also essential in the ad writing process. You will need both accurate and detailed information to develop an effective ad that will attract the ideal candidate. In preparation for the resume review, one will want to spend an adequate amount of time writing the ad and posting on the appropriate websites. Spending time in preparation will enable you to save time in the process of reviewing resumes. More specifically, effective ads and placement will narrow down the selection process more accurately.

Once the preparation process is complete and your inbox starts to fill with resumes, you are ready to start reviewing resumes. In reviewing resumes, it is important to be able to devote a block of time so the qualifications and credentials of candidates can be compared to one another. In the initial review of resumes, it is important to note that as technology has advanced so too has the submission of resumes. Due to the change in submission of resumes from snail mail to email, individuals reviewing resumes have modified the traditional screening process. For example, no longer does the quality of stationary and appearance of envelope play a role in the review of resumes. Although there have been some changes to the traditional screening process, other techniques have gone unchanged. For example, proper spelling and grammar still weigh heavily in the review of resumes.

To start the actual review of resumes, you will want to skim each resume to obtain an overall impression of the candidate’s resume. The resume should have an overall flawless presentation with easy to read formatting and organization, correct use of grammar, and proper spelling. If the candidate’s resume passes the initial inspection, you will want to review it further to assess whether or not the candidate meets your top credentials outlined in your candidate profile. More specifically, you will want to look for relevant educational and work experiences. While reviewing relevant educational and work experiences, you will want to keep a focus on the most recent educational and work experiences. Although it is important to look at recent experiences, you will also want to consider the stability in work history when identifying potential candidates.

If a candidate fulfills your top credentials, you will want to review it more thoroughly concentrating on such things as the applicant’s specific skill sets, achievements, and extracurricular activities. In this step of the resume review process, you are also looking for red flags (i.e. employment gaps, multiple shifts in career paths, and evidence of decreasing job responsibilities). Once you have reviewed all resumes in the search of red flags, you will want to identify the most qualified applicants. The most qualified candidates thus far should be contacted for an initial phone screen.

After the initial phone screens, you will be well on your way to successfully finding the right candidate. Just remember that finding the right candidate starts with reviewing resumes.

Author Byline: A company is only as strong as the weakest link, so it is imperative that an organization place emphasis on finding the right candidate. Author Website: http://www.lakeshorestaffing.com/employers/resources/tips_for_reviewing_resumes/

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Unemployment rates are at a record highs, leaving people more vulnerable to scams. Scammers use legitimate job sites and use names of legitimate companies in an attempt to fraud job seekers. Watch the above video and beware from scammers.

Sings the job might be a scam (any one of these should trigger you to research the position in depth):

• The job is a “work from home” type of jobs. Many times involves processing checks.
• The job requires you to pay an up front membership fee or any other fee. NEVER pay for a job or a lead to a job.
• Many times, the job description will have spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
• You never met the person who interviewed you.
• You are requested to send your resume with your social security number, mother’s maiden name, credit card number, bank account information, or date of birth before meeting with the employer.
• No company will ask you for your passwords
• You are requested to purchase equipment or send payment for equipment (e.g. computer, scanner, etc)
• Scammers create email accounts with free email providers such as Yahoo and Gmail. The email addresses might look legit but remember that most legit employers will use their company email accounts for hiring purposes.
• Beware of any job that sounds too good to be true.

How to avoid scams:

• If you’re not sure about the company/job in question – call directly to the company (not the number on the emails you receiving) and inquire if the job is real. Do some research to protect yourself before disclosing any personal information.
• If you’re not sure – better question the job BEFORE sending any information to the prospective employer
• If you are tech savvy and know how to get the IP addresses of the person who’s sending you emails (here’s how), you could use a website such as IP2Location to track where the email came from. If the company is based in the United States, usually there’s no reason why an email will be sent to you on their behalf from Nigeria.
• Use common sense.

Parenting college students during their college years should include encouraging internships. The college years are a once-in-a-lifetime experience for emerging adults. Moms and Dads serve as good advisors when they encourage their students to seek out internships in fields of their interest.

College internships are generally summer employment opportunities that offer job exposure in a particular field of interest, giving college students an introduction to important people who may, in the future, become valuable contacts. It is important that parents remind their students that contacts have contacts. Every contact may know someone else who will be able to provide the student with subsequent employment opportunities.

Parents should stress the importance of having a job experience. Their student will gain experience while making valuable contacts through college internships. Job mentors can also provide references that will be needed when the student is seeking a job after graduation. Always be building your resume. Great advise to college students.

Parenting College Students – Assess the Profession

Maturing young adults learn about themselves and about life through out their college experience. Summer jobs provide the job exposure necessary to assess the profession of their choice. College internships can also be experiences through which students determine whether they enjoy a particular job experience sufficiently to make it a career.

A winning strategy for success suggests that college students should be encouraged to seek internships. This experience may open their eyes to experiences they otherwise would never have considered.

Parents should encourage their student to push through their discomfort and “Try it, you might like it.” Actually the student may be very surprised. When a student is being productive, the parent’s tendency to worry about binge drinking, late night partying, and other potentially harmful behaviors is reduced. Through the internship process young adults have an opportunity to develop both financial and time management skills. This is a real life experience that cannot be learned in a classroom.

Parenting College Students – Heartfelt Advice

Encouraging college students to have real life experiences puts them on the right path for life. The value of internships is a strategy for a lifetime of professional success. College internships can be an opportunity for students to have a foundation for their adult working careers.

Mentors familiarize the intern with the mechanics of a profession, and then they can help groom the young adults for success in their chosen field. The parents provide encouragement and support needed for adult children to perform at an optimum level. The best part of an internship is it can place a student in a favorable position for hire upon graduation.

Post graduation, a potential employer needs to know that a graduate has the potential to be a good employee. The employer needs to assess whether the graduate can be successful in a work environment. Can they get along with others? If there is no work history and no internship, the potential employer has nothing that tells them this applicant can come to work every day. A graduate with a 4.0 grade point average but no work history may lose out getting hired to a graduate with a 3.0 grade point average with a work/internship history.

Internships often turn into a major job success for graduates. Additionally, it decreases the anxiety that often accompanies the hunt for employment upon graduation. It is a “Win-Win” situation. The new graduate has immediate employment and the employer gets an employee that will quickly adapt to the work environment.

Article by Dr. Debi Yohn. CollegeWorks101.com

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

It is amazing that with all of the advice available on writing a great cover letter, mistakes continue to be made. This isn’t to say that you have to be perfect 100% of the time, but you do need to strive for perfection.

So how to you kill a great cover letter?

Grammar and Spelling: Not only is this the fastest way to ruin a cover letter, it is also the most preventable. Proofreading your cover letter will ensure that you won’t be rejected for preventable mistakes. It only take a few minutes and it can make all the difference in landing an interview.

Informal Language: Your cover letter is a formal piece of correspondence and not the place for informal language. Avoid slang and conversational language and ensure that the tone of your letter stays professional.

Generic Text: Another major mistake made by job hunters. For many people, the job hunt is a numbers game. It is easy to blast out resumes to every job posting that you come across, with a generic cover letter attached. However, if you don’t give the recruiter the sense that you are interested in their company, success will be hard to come by. Tailor your cover letter to the specific company and you will have more “luck”.

Lying: This is self explanatory. If you are caught lying, you won’t even make it to the interview. Even worse, if your lie is caught after you are hired, it is grounds for immediate dismissal.

Unsigned Letter: A simple mistake but one that is easy to make. If you forget to sign your cover letter, it will give the wrong impression to the interviewer. Double check that each letter you send our has your signature.

Missing Contact Information: If you don’t let them know how to contact you, how do you expect to land an interview?

No Objective: Your cover letter is the start of your personal sales pitch. If the employer doesn’t know what you are selling, or even what job you are applying to, then it is easy to discount you as an applicant. Make sure that you state up front who you are, what you have to offer, and what job you are applying to.

Too Long: You don’t want to overwhelm the reader at first sight. Keep your cover letter brief. It should be no more than one page and should contain no more than five paragraphs.

Keep these pitfalls in mind and you are on your way to a perfect cover letter.

Trevor Wilson is an author and consultant who works with new graduates preparing to enter the work force for the first time. His site, Gradversity.com, provides daily advice on job hunting, networking, and resume/cover letter writing tailored to the Entry Level Job seeker. His first book, Overcoming Gradversity: How to Break Into the Entry Level Job Market, was published in 2008 and is available now.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Despite the down economy, there are plenty of jobs and internships to be had for anyone willing to work smartly and diligently to meet more hiring authorities.

You can do it the old-fashioned way — networking in person and by phone — or using new social media, like Facebook.

Here are two recent success stories from job seekers who did both, with lessons you can use today …

1) Work the Phone and the Room

“I started my job search in late August 2008 and had a new job on October 13. In addition, I had two other offers and each was $25,000 more than my previous position. I eventually ended up with a $40,000 pay raise. I count my lucky stars every day,” says Christopher Kelly, who now works at Burlington, Mass.-based nSight.

How did Kelly do it? Two ways …

First, he picked up the phone. “I called my top-tier employers before sending any resume. In fact, every interview I received was the result of a proactive phone call.”

Kelly researched employers using sites like MarksGuide.com and LinkedIn.com.

How many calls did Kelly make? “I’m not sure, but my September phone bill was for 3500 minutes,” adding that he used downtime while driving to make as many calls as possible.

Can you make 3500 minutes of phone calls today? No.

This week? Not likely.

But can you spend 35 minutes a day on the phone for 30 days? That’s 3500 minutes.

And that’s very doable. So, are you willing to make 35 minutes of phone calls today, to build relationships with people who can help you get hired? The answer should be yes.

Second, Kelly went to networking events. “The job I landed was the result of attending a mixer sponsored by a local industry association. I met someone who was looking for the exact background I have. I called him 9:00 a.m. the next day and set up an interview. I had an offer sheet 14 days later,” he says.

How did Kelly connect with this person? “I talked to as many people as possible. One person I spoke to told me he had just met someone looking for someone like me, and that man pointed me to my current employer,” he says.

To sum up, Kelly worked very hard — but for less than two months — to build relationships, by phone and in person, until meeting the manager who hired him.

2) Use Social Media Smartly

When Jamie Favreau, from Warren, Mich., updated her Facebook profile in mid-December 2008, she didn’t know how quickly it would lead to a new position.

“I changed my status on Facebook to ‘Looking to volunteer for a new non-profit,’” she says. That evening, a friend who saw her new status brought Favreau’s name up to a hiring manager, who later called to interview her.

Within three weeks, Favreau was working as an intern for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, doing media relations, social media, and public relations.

Favreau’s job search was simple, and can be boiled down to three key actions …

First, she built her network before she needed it.

The woman who discovered her status change had to first be in her circle of friends on Facebook. So Favreau was smart to build a network of connections on Facebook, in addition to her network on LinkedIn and Twitter.

How’s your network? Could it be bigger and better?

If so, try adding one person per day for one month. That’s 30 new connections — 60 more eyeballs to spot employment opportunities for you.

Second, Favreau used the right keywords, putting the phrase “social media” in the Info section of her Facebook profile.

Keywords are simply the words people search for online. If the phrases describing your ideal job aren’t in your online profiles, employers are less likely to find you.

Tip: Make a master list of keywords found in job postings that appeal to you. Then, include all relevant keywords in your profile on Facebook, ZoomInfo.com, and other sites.

Third, Favreau started working before she was hired.

After researching the needs of her prospective employer, Favreau did something smart. “I created a social network plan and I brought that to the interview.”

What did the hiring mangers think of her bringing a sample of work she hadn’t yet been hired to produce? “Their reaction was, ‘Oh, you know what you’re doing,’ and it was well-received,” says Favreau, who got the internship shortly thereafter.

Both of these successful job searches required thinking, research and diligent effort, something anyone can emulate.

Why not you, starting today?

Kevin Donlin is Creator of TheSimpleJobSearch.com. Since 1996, he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people. Author of 3 books, Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, Fox News, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Simple Job Search System, is available at http://www.collegerecruiter.com/guaranteed-resumes.php

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.