Components of a Great Resume and Cover Letter

Finding a Job isn't easy. As a matter of fact it is just plain hard to do, especially in this economy. But if you develop a sound strategy and implement it over and over it will eventually work to your benefit. I want to share with you the critical components of a resume and a cover letter.

At the beginning of any job search process, you need to develop what I call a platform of presentation. For the process, this "platform of presentation" is the Resume and Cover letter. There are many places on the Internet to find good resume templates, but essentially the critical areas of the resume are as follows:
The Title: This is your name and contact information
A one or two sentence goal statement which gives the reader an understanding of what your goal is for this particular application
Bullet points that describe either your areas of expertise or your accomplishments. In this area it is preferable to state your accomplishments and if you are looking for an executive position, it is critical that you monetize your accomplishments. If you can't do that, then put some type of metrics to the bullet
Your List of Titles and Companies: With this make sure you reflect the month and year that you worked at the position. If you use a year only people will think you are hiding something. Prepare 3 or 4 bullets per title that give the reader an understanding of what you did at the job.
End the resume with a statement to the effect "References and Salary History Available upon Request"

Care should be taken to prepare a good cover letter in a professional business letter format. Make sure you have a good opening telling them how interested you would be to discuss your background and qualifications. I recommend a cover letter be no more than 4 or 5 paragraphs with your signature at the bottom. You want them to read it. If you have long paragraphs and too many, they just won't.

Your cover letter should also have, somewhere in the middle of the body, 3 or 4 bullets of your accomplishments. You can use the same ones that you used on your resume.

If you use both your Resume and Cover Letter as your platform of presentation, the reader will see your opening twice, once with each document. I hope this information has helped and my sincere best luck to you in your job search.

Finding a Job isn't Easy. At How to Market Yourself, you can read and study key techniques to help you in your job search effort. We cover the Resumes, the Cover Letters, Interviewing, and Negotiation Skills.

As an Executive at a Food Processing Plant, I personally review 100s of resumes a year. You would be surprised at how ineffective most resumes are in catching a readers eye. Even if you have all the expertise in the world, if you can't represent yourself well, you probably won't be found in the piles of resumes typically submitted for a single job opening.

I hope the best for you in your job search. Check out our site about Marketing Yourself to learn everything you need to know about going after and getting that next great position you are seeking.