Question:
Resume and Cover Letter Writing for a Novice ?
Answer:
-To be blunt, the job hunt situation sucks right now.
Some areas are in a small upswing, but we're all
pretty much in a slump (in the USA).
To help your search:
1. Custom tailor your resume and cover letter to the
company and position to which you're applying.
2. Follow up with each lead about 2 weeks after
sending your resume to confirm they've received it.
(No begging.)
3. Take a temp job. It'll get you experience and will
give you *some* income. If you're worried about
timing, take shorter temp jobs.
4. Don't get discouraged.
-You realize, of course, that you're job hunting in a depressed market,
right? There are far fewer openings these days, and many companies are
looking for mid- to senior-level skills while only offering entry-level
wages. So unless your area has a fair amount of tech-writing
opportunities, you're going to find the pickings are slim, the money is
low, and the competition is fierce. Be willing to start out at crappy
money, then use your performance to justify asking for more. And/or be
willing to move to where the jobs are.
As far as resumes and cover letters, many members here tout the advantages
of the T-letter (search the archives), a methodology also preached (under
a different name) by Martin Yate in his excellent "Knock 'Em Dead" series
of books. For me, Yate's books are the bible for job hunting. Whether you
go with his philosophy or not, there are tons of good
job-hunting/resume-writing books out there. Do some reading and see if
your current rez is in line with what the pros recommend.
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