There are many aspects within life that tie into the end goal of achieving financial security and independence. The main way you earn an income is most likely from your full-time job. Increasing your income from your 9-5 job is one of the most important aspects of financial security. Submitting a job application that gets you in the door for an interview is an important skill, especially if the new role is paying more money than your current one. Having worked in recruitment for the past seven years I have seen some really good job applications and some that were not so great. There is certainly no one size fits all for writing a cover letter & resume but there are some good tips to start with.
How to write a good cover letter & resume
- Firstly do not neglect the cover letter, even if the job advertisement does not specify the need for one. A simple one page maximum cover letter is your chance to speak directly to the hiring manager about your interest in the role. You resume will speak about your experience but your cover letter will be more specific & personal.
You should start your cover letter by introducing yourself, making clear the role you are applying for & why you are interested in the position. Make sure you briefly identify 2-3 points about your experience and skillset which relate to this position. Be sure to evidence this by making reference to examples within your previous career experience.
Sometimes a job advertisement will request for you to address a ‘selection criteria’ either within the cover letter or in a separate document. If this is the case then your cover letter may be longer than one page as you will be expected to indiviually address each point in the selection criteria, evidenced by examples.
A cover letter to your job application, is like the first 30 seconds of a job interview…it’s an impression that counts. If you are submitting multiple job applications you should never use a generic cover letter. It only takes a little formatting to tailor it to each individual role you that are applying for. - Find out who to address the cover letter too. Don’t use a generic ‘To whom it may concern’ when the advertisement clearly lists the name of the hiring manager or supervisor. Address your cover letter to them personally. The cover letter is also demonstrating your ability with written communication skills. If this is something you struggle with then ensure you are proof reading it prior to submitting your application. Ask for help from a friend, family member, colleague, most people will generally know someone who has good writing skills if you are really struggling. There is no shame in getting assistance from someone in writing your cover letter or resume for that matter. The application is just to get you in front of the company for an interview. The interview is where you will need to shine. I have more information on how to ace an interview here.
- Sell yourself. The cover letter is like a first round interview, you need to be engaging and sell yourself. You may not be at the interview stage yet, but you still need to be showcasing yourself and your ability to do this job. Here are some examples of successful cover letters to you can get some ideas on how to structure yours. There are also numerous template ideas online for cover letters. As long as you are following the right formula, you can easily create a great cover letter to tailor to each job application you submit.
How to write a resume
The resume is the meat and bones of your job application. This is where you will need to go into detail about your skills, qualifications, career history & experience.
Good resumes include the following:
- Contact details including mobile number, professional email address & location. Do not submit resumes with no phone number, only an email. More importantly don’t have a typo in your mobile number or use your partner’s mobile number. If you don’t get your mobile number right then you are not really showcasing your attention to detail skills. The hiring manager wants to be able to contact you easily and swiftly to invite you for interview, so make is easy for them.
- Write a short personal summary paragraph on the first page. This should outline who you are and what you can offer the company. It should cover experience, skills and acheivements.
- List your current employment & outline your current responsibilities within that role. Be sure to include the date that you started there. Using bullet point formatting can be a good way to list your day to day responsibilities within your current position. When doing this think about everything that you do and think about what the responsibilities of the role you are applying for might entail. You don’t want to miss out on listing something that you think is irrelevant when in fact it might be something required for the position you are applying for.
- List your qualifications and education with the year it was completed. This is referring to any completed qualifications from TAFE or university. If you are quite young and going for an entry level role you can include your high school completion details. This is especially relevant if you are going for some sort of traineeship position. However if you are an older job seeker then you don’t really need to put your highschooling details on your resume and certainly not your primary school details.
- Highlight any acheivements you have had a your current or previous companies. This could be company awards or recognition. Or it might be some sort of results based achievement that you can showcase how much of an asset you could be for this new company.
- Consistent formatting. Make sure you are consistent in your formatting when listing all of your previous work experiences and key responsibilities in each of those roles.
- Update your referee details. If your referees are aware of your job search ensure their details are correct and up to date. It is unlikely that a prospective employer would reach out to a referee before you have had an actual interview but it is still good to make sure these details are correct.
- Ensure your resume is no more than two pages maximum. Using clear and concise language when tailoring your resume to the prospective position is a much better approach then waffling on. Employers are not going to sit down and read everything you write if your application is six pages long. It is just too much. Your resume needs to be short, sharp and showcase the important parts of your career history relavant to that particular position.
- Review templates for resumes within your industry for ideas. You will be able to identify for yourself which format you like and which ones you don’t. Utilise these templates to help create a resume that will hopefully help you get in the door for a face to face (or zoom, it is 2022 after all) interview.
In conclusion, the job application is just a tool to get your foot in the door of the prospective employer for an interview. A successful interview is what will get you the role. If you can learn the skill of being able to sell yourself on paper and in person it will be very beneficial to you throughout your career, especially as you climb the ranks.
