Career Cube Blog

Most job seekers put a lot of work into creating a résumé or CV, as indeed they should. But most of them then treat the accompanying cover letter as a formality - and that’s a tactical error. Most people simply don’t understand the role of a cover letter or the art of selling, and therefore most letters are weak.

Six common mistakes include:

1. Does your cover letter essentially say no more than “My résumé or CV is attached”? If well-crafted, your cover letter is a key selling tool that can dramatically improve your chances of getting job interviews.

2. Do you have one cover letter that you use for many different jobs on offer? One of the roles of a cover letter is to personalize your résumé or CV for a specific employer and job opportunity, so you’ll need to create individual cover letters for each position for which you’ll be applying.

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1. A BLAND OR GENERIC OBJECTIVE: If your objective could be applied to a marketing resume as easily as a resume for an accounting position, then your objective says nothing and will get you nowhere. An objective is NOT some required paragraph at the top of the page that is an exercise in 5 lines of job speak. It’s an actual and real description of your skills as they’re related to who you are and what you want. It should vary with the type of job for which you are applying.

2. BLAND JOB DETAILS: “Responsibilities included overseeing construction of 4 Hilton Hotels in Tri-City Metro Area, each 50 floors in height.” Yeah? So what? That doesn’t say if they went up on schedule or if you brought the projects in under budget. It doesn’t say if you took all four from site work up or if the guy handling two of the four hotels was fired and you were promoted to overseeing all four. Differentiate yourself from the others coming in to interview. If you don’t tell the hiring company how you will be an asset to them, how will they know?

3. ANOTHER JOB, ANOTHER PARAGRAPH: Don’t keep adding on to your resume job after job, year after year. By the time you’re in your 40s, you need to have weeded out some of the earlier stuff. You don’t need all the college activities, just your degree. You don’t need ALL 5 bullets for each of your first two jobs.

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Getting a raise in this economy is very difficult for two reasons: management is rewarded for controlling costs and the bar for employee performance keeps going up. Before you walk into your boss’s office and have a discussion about a raise, read through this newsletter to learn how to do it successfully.

Do Not Use The Word “Raise”

Use the phrases “increasing my compensation”, “moving up in my pay scale”, “earning a promotion”…etc. These phrases sound more polished and they lead to more professional conversations about money - which is an awkward subject for most people anyway.

You Get Paid For Results And Productivity

I hate to break this to you but getting a college degree does not automatically qualify you for a raise. Being in the same job for the last 10 years does not automatically qualify you for a raise. And working hard doesn’t necessarily earn raises either. If you have to work hard to accomplish what others do more easily, you may be admired for your work ethic, but you probably won’t receive a raise because of it. You get paid for what you deliver and how you deliver it, period.

Not Wanting A Raise Is Not Good

If you’re reading this newsletter and thinking “I’m happy with where I am; I don’t need any more money”, I would caution you to be very, very careful about your attitude. While management does not like pushy people, they also do not respect unambitious people. They just don’t tell you that to your face. If you don’t show any desire to move up and make more, you can be sure that you are at risk.

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