Cover Letters = Candid Snapshot Of You To Potential Employers

In both your personal and business life, you only get one chance to make a first impression. We’ve all heard that before, right? So, why do so many job seekers screw up something so important?

The cover letter is a chance to make a positive impression on a potential employer. Unlike a face-to-face meeting, where your nervousness or bad luck can turn a first impression into a disaster, a cover letter is a first impression you get to have complete control over. You decide exactly what you will say, without any time pressure or having to come up with something spontaneously, and you also get to “stage” your letter.

You control what it looks like, what it sounds like, and how you come across.

The key element to remember is, while you might easily spend two hours agonizing over every detail of your cover letter, the first person reading it is not going to invest even a small fraction of that time. Your letter will be scanned quickly the first time. Only if your resume or application jumps to the “short list” is it likely anyone will really take the time to read your letter word-for-word.

So, you have a two-fold challenge: you must write a well-crafted cover letter that comes across well on a deep reading, and you must write a letter that favorably grabs the attention of the casual reader who is simply scanning.

Your first impression makes a first impression itself – the envelope and paper you use for your cover letter will send an unmistakable signal to the person who receives it. What? You thought printed resumes and cover letters were dead?

Not exactly.

There are plenty of smaller companies that still welcome (some preferring) printed materials. In fact, go to a job fair and you’ll find paper resumes nervously gripped by anxious job seekers.

When printing, does your cover letter arrive in a neatly-typed business envelope, laser-printed on heavy paper? Or, is it a blurry ink-jet printout on the lowest grade of bond paper, folded up double and stuffed into a small envelope? You can guess which of these two letters is going to make a positive impression.

It’s worth investing a few dollars in the proper grade of paper and the right kind of matching envelope – you don’t need to spend a fortune, but you do need to print your letter on something other than the recycled dot-matrix paper you’ve been storing in the attic since 1984.

If you don’t have a quality printer in your home office, then use the laser printers at Kinko’s or your local business center – even the library often has printers available for public use.

But let’s look beyond old-school paper submissions.

What about impressions resulting from job inquiries sent by e-mail?

When applying for employment, do your email attachments open properly? Do your docs look crisp on screen? In making your first impression via the cover letter, you need to ensure the letter appears professional (whether sent via e-mail, fax, or mail), that the content is relevant and appropriate, and that your letter adds value to your application or resume. A phoned-in, cookie-cutter cover letter is better than no letter at all, sure, but a good letter can step your candidacy up a notch.

Take every opportunity to improve your cover letter, so it opens a few more doors.

10 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting The Job Offer

Having trouble getting a job offer? Let’s begin with a few of assumptions.

Since you got the interview your cover letter and resume were obviously effective. You arrived on time, were dressed conservatively, smiled, gave a firm handshake, had the right attitude, did all the basics of Interviewing 101.

But you still did not get the offer.

Why?

1. You Didn’t Send A Thank You Letter

Did you send a thank you letter? Did you get it out immediately? Did you make necessary clarifications and mention particulars about the interview? Did you proofread it? Did you also send a hand written note?

2. You Answered Questions Negatively

How did you deal with “negative” questions? Did you end your answers on a negative or a positive?

3. You Were Negative About Former Colleagues

What did you say when you were asked about former employers or colleagues? Were you at all negative?

4. You Didn’t Do Your Research

How much research did you do on the employer? Did you only study their website? Did you Google them? Did you dig deep?

5. You Didn’t Connect With The Interviewer

How much research did you do on the interviewers? Were you able to make a personal connection with them? Did you impress them with your meeting preparation skills?

6. You Didn’t Ask Good Questions

What questions did you ask? Were they about the job? Were they about the company? Were they about the interviewers? Did they show that you had done in-depth research?

7. You Talked Too Much

Did you give direct answers to questions? Did you talk too much?

8. You Didn’t Listen

Did you listen? Did you really hear what the interviewers were saying? Did you pick up on clues?

9. You Didn’t Thank The Interviewer

Did you thank each interviewer at the start and conclusion of each meeting?

10. You Didn’t Express Interest In The Position

At the end of the interview did you express interest in the position?

How Speaking A Second Language Can Help Your Career

As a young adult preparing to enter the professional world upon graduation, the ability to speak a second language is a great skill. From social media to participating in a globalized economy, interconnectedness is rapidly becoming one of the defining characteristics of the 21st century, and by speaking another language, you will be able to access and interact with more communities than you would as a monolingual speaker. To a potential employer, your ability to communicate with manufacturers in Asia or target Spanish-speaking demographics here in the United States is a valuable asset.

For certain majors and related career paths, bilingualism is a no-brainer. However, even if you aren’t a political science major specializing in Russia and the former Soviet Union, it’s very likely that a second language will still come in handy. In the United States, the need for Spanish speakers is quite strong in the communications and media industries.

WPP, one of the world’s largest advertising companies, has an agency dedicated solely to creating advertising campaigns tailored to Hispanic people. Fox launched MundoFox, a Spanish-language network, nationally this past August. As a communications major, solid Spanish-speaking skills can lead to opportunities with companies eager to expand their reach by developing products that appeal to Hispanic people.

Speaking another language can also be beneficial in the liberal arts, such as literature and art history. As a literature major, having a second major in another language can help you obtain a position at a publishing house as a translator, thus enabling you to enjoy work in a writer’s native tongue and challenging you to help communicate the author’s sentiments to an English-speaking audience.

For art history students, proficiency in a second language not only enhances your studies while conducting research into primary sources, it also gives you a leg up when applying for jobs at art magazines, galleries and museums. Language provides direct access to culture, so the ability to speak another language exposes you to otherwise inaccessible insights and fleshes out your understanding of a writer’s or an artist’s work.

Obviously, if you want to work as a translator at Random House or as a research associate in an international department at the Council of Foreign Relations, you should be proficient, if not fluent, in your second language. For other positions, conversational speaking skills are perfectly fine. For students, this means that while pursuing a double major in your main area of focus as well as a second language would be ideal (get your money’s worth).

If you can’t fit the extra courses and workload into your schedule, don’t worry! A minor can still help you sharpen your speaking, reading and writing skills. You can also look into the study-abroad programs offered in your major’s department and see if there are any programs in countries where you can further cultivate your language skills. Joining relevant language and culture groups on campus can also help you work on your speech outside of the classroom.

For companies that regularly deal with international clients, bilingualism is an extremely attractive trait in a candidate. They like having an employee on hand who can engage clients with relative ease. Bilingualism also appeals to companies interested in entering new markets, which is becoming increasingly common in this age of start-ups. Simply put, speaking a second language can help your resume stand out in a sea of qualified applicants.

Be A Leader At Work By Helping Others

FACT: The best answer lies within each of us. We simply need help sometimes drawing it out.

When we remember this fact and act upon it as a leader, we shift the paradigm for how we help others solve problems.

We also help them grow and build their self-confidence. It’s the purest form of helping to develop others.

So, here’s the shift: Our job as a leader is to help THEM find the answer by asking great questions; Questions that help them think out loud and “figure it out” themselves.

Great questions ARE the answer to helping others figure things out for themselves, but great questions only work when we sit and listen fully to our teammate’s response.

Let them talk. Let them hear themselves think, allow them to fully answer the question – give them plenty of space to answer the question and refrain from offering our “two cents.”

Practice this process and watch their solution magically appear.

Try it the very next time a team mate approaches you with a problem: Ask, listen fully, confirm what you’re hearing (if necessary), and repeat.

Should You Consider A Career In Speech Therapy?

Speech Therapy referred to professionally as speech-language pathology, is an important discipline that helps people with speech problems communicate more effectively. A number of conditions, from emotional problems to birth defects, can cause a person to have difficulty speaking properly. Speech therapists are able to apply techniques to help them develop language skills and work around both physical and psychological obstacles. Jobs in speech pathology are relatively plentiful, and opportunities are expected to grow for qualified individuals.

Duties Of A Speech Therapist

Speech-language pathologists are responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of verbal communication disorders in children and adults. Problems with speaking may occur because of developmental disabilities, disease, psychological ailments, and several other medical conditions.

After an initial evaluation and diagnosis, a speech therapist must then determine the most effective treatment options for the patient. An individualized treatment plan is then put together and implemented. Speech therapy treatment may consist of one or more of the following:

• Teaching patients to vocalize the proper sounds
• Teaching patients alternative forms of communication if speech rehabilitation is slow or impossible
• Teaching reading and writing skills
• Developing muscles used for voice communication
• Counseling patients and families

In addition to diagnosis and treatment, speech-language pathologists must carry out administrative tasks, such as recordkeeping, scheduling and data organization. Speech therapists may also work closely with doctors, psychologists, and other therapists when serious conditions are involved.

Training As A Speech Therapist

Most entry-level jobs in speech therapy require a minimum of a master’s degree. However, some positions may be open for those with bachelor’s degrees if supplemented with specific coursework or experience. Graduate programs in speech-language pathology include courses on age-specific language therapy, medical disorders that cause speech problems and the latest methods of treatment.

Programs are accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and 253 programs around the country had been approved in 2010. This organization also allows individuals to earn the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, which is required by many employers.

While formal training is a mandatory requirement, the top speech therapists also possess several important qualities, including compassion, attention to detail, strong listening and speaking skills, and patience.

Job Outlook For Speech Therapists

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),employment opportunities for speech therapists are expected to grow by 23 percent through 2020, which is much higher than the average rate for all jobs. Much of this is due to the increasing occurrence of medical conditions that cause speech problems, such as strokes and hearing impairment. Another reason is that the population is becoming increasingly aware of speech problems and beginning to realize that therapy is a viable option.

12 Most Common Fears Holding You Back From Success

Success Tweet: Everyone is afraid sometime. Self-confident people face their fears and act. Look your fears in the eye and do something.

Fear is the enemy of self-confidence. Self-confident people face their fears and act. Procrastination is the manifestation of fear. When I find myself procrastinating, I stop and ask myself “What are you afraid of here, Bud?” Usually, the answer is on the 12 most common fears on the list below. Which of these stop you from moving forward? What are you doing about them?

1. Fear Of Failure

This type of fear has its roots in the misconception that everything you do has to be 100% successful.

2. Fear Of Success

This type of fear is based on the idea that success is likely to mean more responsibility and attention, coupled with pressure to continue to perform at a high level.

3. Fear Of Being Judged

This type of fear comes from the need for approval that most people develop in childhood.

4. Fear Of Emotional Pain

This type of fear is rooted in wanting to avoid potential negative consequences of your actions.

5. Fear Of Embarrassment

This type of fear is a result of empowering others to judge you when you demonstrate that you’re only human by making mistakes and having lapses of judgment.

6. Fear Of Being Abandoned Or Being Alone

This type of fear is related to rejection and low self-esteem.

7. Fear Of Rejection

This type of fear comes from personalizing what others do and say.

8. Fear Of Expressing Your True Feelings

This type of fear holds you back from engaging in open, honest dialogue with the people in your life.

9. Fear Of Intimacy

This type of fear manifests itself by an unwillingness to let others get too close, less they discover the “real you.”

10. Fear Of The Unknown

This type of fear manifests itself as needless worry about all of the bad things that could happen if you decide to make a change in your life.

11. Fear Of Loss

This type of fear is related to the potential pain associated with no longer having something or someone of emotional significance to you.

12. Fear Of Death

The ultimate fear of the unknown. What will happen once our spirits leave our bodies?

By identifying your fear, you are more than halfway to conquering it. Action is the antidote to fear. In most cases, you’ll choose wisely and your fears won’t be realized. In the cases when you choose poorly, you’ll find that failure isn’t as catastrophic as you imagined.

Successful people learn from their failures. By taking action on your fears, you win on both counts. You win if you make a good decision and things work out. You even win if you make a bad decision and things go poorly, because you have an opportunity to learn from your decision and the subsequent problems you faced.

The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are self-confident. Self-confident people face their fears and act. They follow the career advice in Tweet 45 inSuccess Tweets, “Everyone is afraid sometime. Self-confident people face their fears and act. Look your fears in the eye and do something.”

Procrastination is the physical manifestation of fear.

When you find yourself procrastinating, figure out what scares you about the situation. Is it fear of failure? Is it fear of success? Is it fear of rejection? Is it fear of being embarrassed? Is it fear of the unknown?

Once you’ve figured out why you are afraid, do three things; admit your fear to yourself, embrace your fear, take action. Action is the antidote to fear.

How Time Management Can Help Your Job Search

Let’s discuss an important part of a successful job search: How to take the elements/tasks of your job search plan and break them down into daily chunks.

I am a nut about planning and time management. Planning your daily schedule must happen if you are to obtain your goals faster, but it takes discipline and a system.

Take what you have in the project plan and put each of these tasks into your paper or online planners for the days and weeks you want to accomplish them. Be sure to book things as meetings when you need to have devoted time. I have to do this for my writing. I will book on the calendar a time slot to work on an article, a clients resume or project plan, just as I would a client call or meeting. I turn off e-mail and get to work.

You have to be this disciplined to get it done. If you feel disorganized, take the time, an hour or more if needed, to organize your plan and even your work environment.

I know there are times when I take 30 minutes on a Saturday or Sunday just to clean up my desk, put files away, pull out new files for the clients I will be working with in the coming week, and access my coming schedule for the week, even month.

I find if I walk into my office Monday morning and I have piles and piles on my desk, it throws off what I was planning to work on that morning and causes me to spend more time looking for things in piles rather than focusing on the task at hand.

This same process will help you plan out your calls, meetings, interview preparation time, and so on. This chunk of time will help you to be more productive and focused come Monday morning.

Now, for calendaring tools, here is what I find helpful. I utilize digital as well as paper time management resources. I have tried going paperless several times but it just doesn’t work for me. I really need to be able to view my month or week at a glance with all the big appointments standing out for me.

Find the best that works for you, but you must have three things:

1. All appointments in one place
2. All tasks in one place
3. You have to be able to see it quickly and easily and regularly

Time Management Tools

Online:

• Outlook Calendar
• Cozi Calendar app – for computer and smartphones
• iCal
• GeeTasksPro app

Offline / Paper:

• Staples ARC
• Franklin Covey
• Dayplanners and Dayrunners
• Mead (simple, inexpensive, small, weekly and monthly combo is my favorite)

What do you use that has been successful for you?

If this is an area you struggle with, contact me, I can help. I can suggest more resources in this area, so let me know.