Expert advice & support to make your job search successful

K. Covering letters

A covering letter, sent with your CV is the opportunity to explain why your experience and skills match the role.
This will help you stand out and invite the reader to look at your CV.

You want your CV to be read so that you are invited for interview.

Use these pointers to help with your covering letter / email:

1. Tailor your letter to each application so that you stand out from the crowd
2. Do not have anything in your covering letter that is not in your CV
3. Look for the key attributes in the job specification and give examples of where your experience matches them
4. Try to use bullet points to give easy to read emphasis
5. Keep it brief and always check for spelling and grammatical errors

We wish you success in your job search!

L. Your online reputation
Did you know that many employers check on potential candidates prior to interview?

Research suggests that as many 80% do this and with over 400 social networking sites, you need to make sure that what a potential employer sees is what you would want them to see.

Check out http://knowem.com to see sites.

Most employers will only use the most popular like LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook so make sure you check your entries, you do not want employers seeing comments, videos or photos that could portray you in a poor light.

You want your CV to be read so that you are invited for interview.

SOME TIPS FOR MANAGING YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

1. Be Professional-
Ensure that your details, email and IM (instant Messaging) addresses / names are professional.
2. Google yourself -
See what Google can find on you, you don’t want any surprises.
3. Google alerts –
Set up an alert for your name to see what is posted about you.
4. Clean up –
Clean up your profile and information and make private any content that you do not want others to see.

Your online presence will become more and more important as both technology and the way these sites are used for both recruitment and checking out potential employees

We wish you success in your job search!