A question about sending resumes

[Calamity Jane]

It's been a LONG time since I actually sent out a resume in reference to a newspaper ad... if it's not requested, is an actual cover letter still required? I never send a cover letter with emailed resumes, I just type into the message:

Please accept the attached resume in response to the following advertisement *insert c/p here* that was posted on *insert website here*.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss my future with *insert company name here*, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Is something similar ok for a mailed resume, or do I need to do the whole outlining of my experience... blah blah blah?

 

[KillerMuffin]

ALWAYS send a cover letter. Even if it's a few brief paragraphs. Not just the "here's what I'm doing" stuff. This is your chance to show that you can actually say something intelligent. It's your first bit of conversation with a prospective employer.

No more than two paragraphs, keep it around 500 words or one typed page 12 point including all relevant addresses.

Every cover letter I have ever written has ended up with an interview. Your resume should be outstanding, but your cover letter shows them that you're a human being.

 

[Ishmael]

Always send a cover letter. E-mail or not. Resume's can be done professionally and most employers know this now. But the cover letter is you unless that is done professionally and if it is, it comes off sounding like Boiler Plate. Your cover letter can make all the difference. Be honest and sincere. Try to stay away from all the 'buzz' words unless they fit. There should be enough of them in your resume.

Don't be afraid to state your goals and any other talent you may have that you think adds value to your being an employee. Even if it isn't professionally related. Mention a hobby or two. Employers like to see real people around as well. (This works better with small to medium companies. The larger ones all filter through HR)

The most impressive cover letter I ever recieved was hand written. If you have the penmanship I would reccomend that you do that as well.

Do as much research on the company as possible and make sure you know whether you're sending it to the dept. head, or Human Resources. If there is a way to bypass HR, try to do so. (Tactfully I might add.)

Miles should have some helpful hints here as well.

As the thread develops I'll get back to you.

Ishmael

 

[Epiphany]

Yes, cover letter, always. Doesn't have to be detailed, but a cover letter always makes a good impression.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I've always thought of a resume as a way to tell the prospective employer what you can do.

The query letter tells them what you can do for their specific company. It's personalized and shows that you're interested enough to put some effort into it.

 

[Killswitch]

Cover Letter always....but how do you all handle the inevitable
" Salary Requirements" deal?

Ive always found this a slippery slope.

 

[ronde]

As KM said, with some additions

One would think it should be obvious, but proof your cover letter and resume for grammar and spelling. It still amazes me how many I get with spelling errors and misuse of words like "their" instead of "there". Put your spell checker on "prompt" and read each potential error in the context of the sentence. Then, go back and check for "their/there", "an/and", etc.

In your cover letter, tell me why I want to hire you over all my other applicants. I currently have an open position, and in three days I received 50 resumes. If I'm going to invite you for an interview, you're going to have to stand out from the crowd somehow.

Use 12 point type, like KM said, and pick a font that is easy to read. Do not use a script font! I know it looks pretty, but it's hard to read quickly. Do not use a bold font to highlight things in a cover letter. I expect a factual description of your talents, a statement that will lead me to believe you are self-motivated to succeed, and some indication that you know something about my company that would make you wish to seek employment with us. I don't want to see advertising copy.

It's important to realize what the cover letter does for you. Hiring new employees is a difficult, time consuming process. I have to go through at least two approval loops with written justifications, then write a job description that fits the requirements of Human Resources. I have to sort through a multitude of resumes that may or not fit my requirements and sort these down to 6-10 actual candidates.

The chances are I'm already doing at least part of the work I for which I need the new employee in addition to my own duties. If I want to have any kind of a personal life during the process, I have to figure out how to work these hiring tasks into my already filled day. A well-written cover letter will draw my attention, and I'll probably read it more thoroughly than I do the resume. A resume without a cover letter needs only a couple things that seem odd to be resigned to the reject pile.

 

[CoolidgEffect]

The money question.

They are the porfessionals. They know their budget. NEVER tell them a number. If you tell them a number you are locked in. Instead be vague and complimentary. "I am sure you will pay me a fair salary for this position."

Also, if they tell you a number, do not accept it immediately. Slowly count to 10 (in your head) then repeat the number back as if you just might consider it. They just might raise it.

Your base salary is very important. All subsequent pay increases will be based on this. Don't lowball yourself.

 

[april-wine]

When forwarding your resume to me, forget the cover letter....A few erotic scribblings will be perfect.....Oh yeah and to ensure employment, nudie pics please.......

 

[Killswitch]

I like that....pay me a fair salary.......at least that may get you by a definative answer until an interview can be arranged......

My wife or I never offer that information it just seems that a lot of companies are asking for it in advance nowadays.......

Thanks CE.

 

[Killswitch]

When forwarding your resume to me, forget the cover letter....A few erotic scribblings will be perfect.....Oh yeah and to ensure employment, nudie pics please.......

And no salary requirements will be necessary.....you arent being paid in dollars....

 

[ronde]

Cover Letter always....but how do you all handle the inevitable
" Salary Requirements" deal?

Ive always found this a slippery slope.

The answer is - you don't in the cover letter or in the resume. Here's why:

1. Salary ranges for a position vary across the country depending on the cost of living. California salaries are astronomical compared to the Southeast in gross dollars, but about the same in purchasing power. To ask for a minimum salary may eliminate you from consideration in either place. In California, the potential employer may think your low minimum indicates your capabilities, and in other areas, your high minimum will price you out of the market.

2. We all work for money, but asking for a minimum up front may make you seem to be more interested in money than in the job. My experience is that if people change jobs for money, they are usually poor employees. People who change jobs for more challenge or more responsibility usually make good employees. Most Human Resources people will tell you the same.

3. If you're applying for a job in the same relative area, you will most likely get a higher salary than you could by staying with your current employer. The reason for this is that if a company has promotable employees, they would promote them with a small increase in salary and avoid recruiting fees, relocation costs, etc. Since they don't, they are prepared to pay significantly more to hire from the outside.

4. If you're selected for an interview, do well, and are selected for the position, that's the time to negotiate. If the company cannot meet your minimum, what have you lost? A day or so in interviews, and the satisfaction of landing something new. If you're good at your job and make a super impression, it's likely the company will find a way to meet any reasonable salary minimum. They have found the employee they want, and don't want to start over just because of a few thousand dollars a year. A new search will cost them more than that in addition to delaying the arrival of someone they need.

 

[Ham Murabi]

Send a cover letter.
Short, punchy sentences, and no more than two sentences to a paragraph.
Keep it brief. Don't make the personnel department manager's eyes glaze over.

 

[The Heretic]

Some good advice but a few comments:

If you are sending via email (many companies prefer it this way, especially in the tech sector):

1) Don't send a cover letter/resume combo that has special formatting; i.e., it should be plain text, no HTML, no special Outlook formatting, etc. - just plain text. If you don't know how to do this then ask.

2) Send the cover letter and the resume in the same email as plain text, with the cover letter at the beginning, then the resume below that. If you want to also send the resume as an attachment, then send it in Word format (unless they ask for something different - but 99.9% of employers who want it in something other than plain text are going to want it in a Word format) - but also send it in plain text in your email. Keep the Word doc relatively simple - eschew fancy fonts or images unless there is a good reason for them.

Many companies want plain text for several reasons:

a) Word docs can contain viral agents.

b) Many companies want to put your resume into some kind of database (usually something will convert it to XML or SQL) and plain text is much easier to do.

I send my resume both ways; I send it embedded as plain text after my cover letter, and I send it attached as a Word doc. The Word doc allows them to print it out for an interview or to pass it around. I also provide a link to my professional website in both forms - they can also download the Word doc there too, and soon I will have it there in XML format.

With regards to salary; some good advice so far on how to deal with that - however, some companies want to know a range so that they can know whether to consider you for an interview or whether you are totally out of their budget. You sometimes have to play it by ear - but I have found that you can keep from boxing yourself in by saying it of course depends on the job, company, and location - and then giving them a range - say from $50,000 to $75,000. This let's them know your general requirements, and whether you might fall in the range, at the same time it prevents them from locking you in.

Also, in today's market, and depending on your situation - it is sometimes more important to get the job than to get the best salary. In my locale and job type, there is a LOT of competition, and I am finding that I am having to lowball to get considered - so a lot just depends on your situation, but giving a salary range works most of the time.

 

[miles]

Ronde has good advice.

Cover lettters? Some HR people insist on them, others hated them. I almost never read them and most end up in the trash. If the employer requests one, by all means include it. Make it very short and to the point.

Resumes with typos, weird fonts and formatting, functional resumes, and resumes longer than two pages are immediately disqualified. Don't include any personal information or "References...by request."

The best way to make your resume stand out is to highlight what you accomplished at your job and how it benefitted the company. Tell them why you are valuable. Something like "Developed and implemented policies that increased collections by $100,000." Most people describe their job duties in their resumes instead of their acheivements. If I'm hiring a ditch digger I want to hear how many he dug and how fast, not how he did it.

Good luck.

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

It's been a LONG time since I actually sent out a resume in reference to a newspaper ad... if it's not requested, is an actual cover letter still required? I never send a cover letter with emailed resumes, I just type into the message:

Please accept the attached resume in response to the following advertisement *insert c/p here* that was posted on *insert website here*.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss my future with *insert company name here*, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Is something similar ok for a mailed resume, or do I need to do the whole outlining of my experience... blah blah blah?

I agree with KM, always a cover letter...why you'd be good for the job....it's your chance to "customize". It's really remarkable the difference that you find in cover letters.

 

[miles]

One other thing about salary - it's nobody's business but your own how much money you make in your job, and has nothing to do with the job you're interviewing for. The following link describes how to do it. Trust me, it works.


http://www.nmt.edu/~shipman/org/noel.html

 

[KillerMuffin]

I don't mention the salary anywhere except places that specifically ask salary requirements. I use the word negotiable. If they're not willing to show the salary up front, then I see no reason to give them my notions for salary up front either. We can negotiate during the interview.

I don't put references on the resume itself. There is no room for them. If that gets my resume in the trash, then that's the price of doing business.

I have a full page of both personal and previous employer references and four letters of reference by past employers who are no longer available for contact. I generally include this in the resume package. I have several different reference sheets, they're tailored for the industry I'm applying for. Different prospective employers talk to different past employers, friends and relatives.

The Stud is the best example. He's got a bunch of different trades he's good at. Carpentry jobs talk to carpenter references with one or two of the other relevant references. Managerial jobs talk to managerial references.

Most of our references our military and highly mobile, so they're all written references.

*shrugs*

 

[Calamity Jane]

Ok, I typed up cover letters. Not exactly tailored to each company, but definitely tailored to each type of position I'm sending them out for.

I also have a sheet of references ready in case it's needed.

Salary requirements shouldn't be an issue since I'm sending them out for jobs that are all roughly in the $10 -$12/hour range. It ain't rocket science.

Thanks for all the info, and keep your fingers crossed!