Business Proposal Aspect of Your Resume and Cover L etter

ly Sanderson

f your resume and cover letter as a busines s proposal packed with s tatements of how much money you
ed for a previous employer or how you have made operations more efficient. Cons ider yourself as a lean,
profit-making machine.

It’s personal when you leave a c ompany, whether you want it to be or not. You have invested
a lot of time and energy in the job you are leaving. You have gotten familiar with a work
routine and with the personalities of the individual s with whom you interact.

Choosing a new employer is also a huge decision that will impact your l ife. H owever, by
gearing your job search toward strategic, profit-oriented, bean-counting bus iness aspects,
you will maintain an empowered stance that will give you confidenc e and help you stand
your competition.

s ume is not a memoir, an autobiography, an epitaph, or a record of added belt notches. It is a bus iness
al for a potential empl oyer that discusses what you can do for him or her in conjunction with your present
oc us.

s ume provides a summary of your qual ifications , experience, education, and skills gained. It provides
es of your specific accomplishments. Your cover letter discusses your interest in the company to which you
lying and emphasizes the highlights of your resume in reference to your relevant transferable skills . The
our research on a company, the more impress ivel y you can prepare your resume and cover letter to pique
rest of c ompany management.

rpose of your resume and cover letter is simply to get you a first interview. These documents are intended to
de them to consider you as a viable candidate for the position they seek to fill. And they need you to be a lean,
profit-making machine. Use your res ume and cover letter to show them that you mean business.

es and cover letters are communication tools which, when well written, use inferences
nifiers that indicate what you want to say indirectly. For example, you want to get
hat you are sophisticated without sounding snooty. You want to say that you are
ately available for work without sounding desperate, and you want to say that you know
bout the type of work their firm does in a subtle, nonchalant, and confident manner.

f my Preferred Resume c lients have strategically worded their resumes and cover
with particular audiences in mind, cons idering the questions that phrases or sentences might provoke, both
potential employers are reviewing their res umes and during interviews with potential employers . Then they
epared appropriate ans wers to thos e questions . The fol lowing are some basic tips for applying winning
nic ation tools in crafting your resume and cover l etter as well as down the road in your phone exc hange and
terview.

_ continued on
p Your L anguage Posi tiv e.

peak ill of your former employer. Never speak ill of yoursel f or your performance. Always present yoursel f
much c onfidence as you can. You s hould be able to do this without lying about your past. However, as David
brother Linus when bringing home his girlfriend to meet the famil y in the _993 version of Sabrina , “You
tive.” Neverthel ess, you should always be s incere and genuine.

terview figure out a smooth way to change the subject if they ask you direc t questions for which you don’t
ositive answers, but prepare a few compliments you can spout off about those with whom you have worked in
. And do your very best to leave on good terms when you need to move on to a new job. Don’t simpl y as k if
n use your boss or colleague as a reference; ask him or her to prepare a general letter of recommendation
u can submit to potential employers .

p Your Cover Letter Brief and to the Point.

over l etter should s erve the primary purpose of being a transmittal interface. Remember that potential
ers give each res ume and cover letter about _5 to 30 sec onds of their time, so make good use of that time.

irst paragraph you should explain that your purpose in writing is to express interest in a position with the
ny. The body of your l etter should discuss the highlights of your resume which exemplify the transferable
nd accomplis hments that you have to offer the company. Your cl osing paragraph should request an action
e reader, s uc h as a phone c all to schedule an interview at his or her convenience.

r Resume Should Focus on Only Relev ant Work Experience.

gh you c an mention other rel ated work experience, your resume s hould be tailored to your s pecific job
as it pertains to your career goals . It can also be arranged to emphasize the experience mos t relevant to the
ny to which you are applying.

clude your work experience from the last _0 years unless you have relevant work experience to mention
s to that which emphas izes your transferable skills you would like to us e today. Support old work experience
ated transferabl e skills gained in your more recent employment. Even if those skills were not the primary
f your work, they are s till legitimate and important to emphas ize.

sion

b search is like any other business dealing in your line of work. It involves both written and verbal
nic ation skills, negotiation, and strategic business objec tives, where you will consider financial aspects both
part of your potential employer and in terms of your own salary. A job s earch is more personal than a routine
tch, but you will do well to treat it as s uch. You have tons to offer, so consider your job searc h as a c hance to
oth in your job interview as well as in how you prepare your resume and cover letter.