Rumors of the death of the cover letter are premature. Cover letters often do make a difference – especially if they have all 10 of the following advantages. 1: The name of the hiring manager, if at all possible, even if you're sending it to Human Resources. And do send it directly to the hiring manager as well! Finding the name and email address of that person may take a little web research – the compa...

Long, rambling answers - padded with repetition and irrelevant information - don't win job interviews. If the interviewer is bored, they won't remember you afterwards. Or they might remember you as 'the last person I want to listen to in staff meetings!' We all know it's better to answer interview questions concisely. Easier said than done. How do you do it? Edit your interview answers. To avoid verb...

As spring is followed by summer, hopefully your job interviews will be followed by reference checks! Don't be knocked out of the running by relying on any of these deadly myths. Myth #1: Employers will only contact the persons you include in your references list. Not true. Many will contact others; it's neither illegal nor particularly difficult. They can even discover and contact past employers you haven...

In a previous article I provided six must-do tips for a stand-out job interview that gets you an offer. Here's the rest of the story! 1. Give lots of specific examples. Use the SOAR format: Situation, Obstacles, Actions, Results. Quantify results where possible. How well, how fast, how inexpensively did you get the work done? Offer 'evidence' of the quality of your work, naming specific impacts. Were your methods ado...

Preparing for job interviews? Let's assume you need no advice about grooming, being punctual or turning off your cell phone. Beyond those basics, here are the main things you need to do: 1. Study up, don't just wing it. Prepare well in advance, as soon as you start your job search. Review typical interview questions you find on the internet, as well as questions you can anticipate by looking at job postings, and...

The #1 reason people quit jobs is their boss. So in your job interviews you need to interview your prospective manager and get a feel for whether you'll like working with him or her. How can you do that effectively? It's fine to ask 'What is your management style?,' but the answer won't tell you the whole story. Here are 10 good questions to ask at interviews to dig a bit deeper. Use your best judgment...

For a great resume it’s important to include these 10 factors:1: A clear focus on a specific role or type of job and how you are well qualified for it.2: Emphasis on what you most want employers to remember about you – the top reason(s) why they should hire you instead of someone else. What’s your brand, your unique selling proposition?3: Keywords. Find them by analyzing job postings. The most important keyword is your desi...

Getting a job is a matter of marketing communications.You have a product to sell – your skills – but you have a lot of competition. You need to be able to very quickly, clearly and memorably communicate what differentiates you. That’s your brand.A tagline is a one-liner that instantly conveys your professional brand.“How would I use a tagline in my job search?”Use it in your resume as a headline or in the summary, at the to...

When you’re answering a job interview question, do you find yourself meandering at the end, repeating yourself because you’re not sure how to stop?As an interview coach, I often hear mock interview answers that wander around in circles or trail off into something like this:“… and, uh, yeah, that’s about it.”(That’s one of the worst endings you could use, because it implies that the good things you were just saying were all...

If you're in career transition there are many ways a good job search coach / career coach can help you get the job you want, faster than you would on your own.Time is money, so the investment in expert help can more than pay for itself.How can you use a career coach?Overcoming your unique job search challenges.Nearly everyone faces some kind of difficulty in their job search. Are you: Trying to break into a new line of work...