Many people eitehr underestimate or get scared at the work that goes into a great resume and cover letter. However, the steps are simple and worhtwhile. Career central looks at ways to write a kickass resume and cover letter to give a truly winning first impression of you and nail that dream job.

By Joshua Rayan

Putting together a kickass cover letter and resume takes work, but it’s worth it. To the employer who’s never met you, your CV and application letter are ‘you’. They can decide if you’re sorted into the pile of ‘absolutely not’, ‘KIV’, ‘shortlisted’ – or even ‘underlined with a red marker with the words ‘call now!’ boldly imprinted. That’s the power of a great cover letter and resume.

While most applicants work to prepare a solid resume, many undervalue the cover letter. Bad cover letters can kill good resumes within seconds! More positively, cover letters give you an edge in showing your knowledge of the industry, and explain why you’re right for the job.

So what sets apart a kickass cover letter and resume from the run-of-the-mill ones? Well, find out now!

Cover letter-Be simple, snappy and specific
Keep the cover letter to one page, says Anis Kamil, a veteran of various industries and currently Chief Operating Officer of railway engineering company Hikmat Asia Sdn Bhd. “Managers are busy people. We don’t have time to read your whole life story,” she says candidly.

A believer in brevity, Anis wants only three things in a cover letter – an introductory paragraph mentioning how you heard about the post; a second paragraph on what interests you about the job, and a last paragraph on how you feel you can contribute. “The last sentence should be that the resume is attached,” says Anis. “As for your hobbies, your love for acting… you can tell me about all that after you’ve joined the company…not before”.

If you need to stretch beyond three paragraphs, the ‘one page rule’ still applies. And give it a KISS – keep it short and simple aka get to the point. Employers can see through attempts to pad letters, and sometimes view big words or fancy language symbolise insecurity, lack of real knowledge or lack of focus. Remember – clear writing reflects clear thinking.

Show some knowledge about the company in the opening paragraph, such as “I have been noting with great interest your company’s recent achievements and activity in XYZ…”. This shows you did your homework and you’re not sending the same letter to all employers.

Resume-Give'em what they want
“Resumes should be two pages, maximum,” says Anis. “Don’t give me five-page resumes. Focus on the last two jobs and summarise the ones before that”. She recalls an applicant who submitted a 20-page bound resume, complete with pictures of himself at each previous job. No, he wasn’t called. ‘We decided he had too much time on his hands.’

“What’s important, says Anis, is for a resume/cover letter to fulfill whatever’s asked for in the advertisement, such as technical qualifications. State outright whether you have the skills or otherwise. Employers prefer you tell the truth, but be clear and not vague about it. We have to call and confirm. Don’t handicap yourself by creating extra work for the employer.

But my job history doesn't relate...
It’s okay if your previous jobs and the one you’re looking at don’t converge. For example, if you were a technician and you want a sales job, you can emphasise how your current job or other activities have contributed to your product knowledge, customer service skills and naturally sociable personality.

Have an ‘Objective’ section in your resume that tells where you want to go with your career (and therefore, why you want a job with this organisation). Use it to think about the rest of your resume – are you highlighting things that help this objective?

Take a minute to think about it
Most of the time, we have done plenty of stuff that we can put in our resume. We just don’t think of it in those terms.

Ever been chosen as Employee of the Month? Highlight awards that you’ve received, or achievements that you’ve pulled off. Were you the first in your company/department to achieve a certain target (such as sales, production, nailing a certain account, etc)? Don’t put in trivial things, though. If you have done something spectacular like winning a gold medal in some national or regional sports meet; you can mention it. But if you were first in Primary Six, well congrats, but keep the pleasant memory…as a memory and out of the resume.

Even for voluntary or informal activities (tutoring, proofreading), you can show how the specific skills that you honed in these experiences can apply to the job you want.

Flight attendant S. Vendran turned his bodybuilding/fitness hobby into a career asset in an appearance-conscious industry. “ I realised that I had progressed from just passing on health and fitness tips to actually giving my friends detailed guidance on diet and exercise,” he recalls. He listed ‘personal fitness consultant’ as an activity on his resume and got a job upgrade at another airline.

Be unique and positive...but don't lie
Use positive and dynamic language, with phrases like “it gives me great pleasure to write in…’ There are many examples on the Internet that you can use for inspiration, or to ‘learn the lingo’, but don’t copy them wholesale. It’ll sound impressive to an employer if you’re the only person to use the letter, but not if 10 other applicants do so as well. Plus, it’ll sound fishy later if the language of the letter doesn’t sound like the way you talk.

It’s generally accepted that you should highlight the positive and play up your skills and achievements. Having said that, however, never lie on a resume, cover letter or any formal document. Many details are easily checked out or eventually come out and the loss of trust will far outweigh what you lied about.

Have faith in yourself. A good cover letter and resume truly make you shine, not just because of the way things are packaged, but also because they represent you, and your abilities and experiences. If you want something on your resume and it’s not true yet, then get out there and make it true!

Take a minute to think about it
This is obvious but worth stating. Having oozed blood, sweat and tears crafting your kickass cover letter and resume, don’t neglect the simple step of proofreading for typos, misspellings and grammar mistakes. Have someone else read it – we tend to miss errors in our own work, because our brain ‘knows’ what it’s supposed to see. On the other hand, we can usually scrutinise someone else’s work with the eyes of a hawk!

Just as some people at an interview stand out and impress, a great cover letter and resume can also set you apart, get you noticed and open doors. As the saying goes, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” So get a head start and give yourself the best chance you can, because you deserve nothing less.

Cover letter don'ts
• Don’t play the sympathy card – like family illness or lack of money – hoping the employer will feel sorry and hire you.

• Don’t go ‘I…I…I’. It sounds arrogant. Focus on the company’s needs and show how you can help meet them.

• Don’t lead with phrases like ‘Despite my lack of …’ that highlight your weaknesses. Focus on what you can offer.

• Don’t rely on all-purpose buzzwords in place of solid details, or your letter risks sounding fluffy and shallow.