How To: Write an Effective Cover Letter

Well the time has come... I have been neglecting writing a post about Cover Letters, and today it is finally here. For me, writing a cover letter is the HARDEST part of the job search process. I am sure I am not alone in this, and as a result I have decided to provide my readers with a "how to" guide for writing a cover letter. 

Writing a compelling cover letter is a critical component of an effective job search for college students and recent graduates. A well thought out cover letter will show employers that you are a motivated candidate and place high value on their employment opportunity.

A quality letter will convey to employers both why you are interested in the job or internship and how your background will enable you to excel in the position. Lastly the cover letter serves as a writing sample and will demonstrate to employers that you can communicate logically and effectively.

Many times in the job description, the employer will mention specific things they want the job applicant to include in the cover letter, so be sure to read the description closely.  Unless the description says specifically not to, do not send a resume without a cover letter. The cover letter is an opportunity for you to market yourself in a way your resume does not. 

Step #1: Get In, Get Noticed, Get Out
The goal of a cover letter is to give a hiring manager enough information to consider you as an interesting candidate.  A common pitfall of cover letters is giving too much or irrelevant information.  A good cover letter is economical at three sections, usually one paragraph each, and includes the following:

First Section–Introduction and connection to organization’s mission
Second Section–Summary of your skills/background as they pertain to the position
Third Section–Thank you, contact instructions, and closing

Sticking to this format ensures that you are providing all of the key information sought by the hiring manager, while keeping it to a length that is accessible and easy to read.

Step #2: Personalize Your Opening
The golden rule of cover letters is simple: create a personal and unique cover letter for every job application.  A one-size-fits-all approach to a cover letter is sure to land your application at the bottom of a hiring manager’s pile.

Personalizing your letter begins with the greeting.  If a specific contact name is not provided in the job description, do not open your cover letter with “To Whom It May Concern” or, even worse, “Dear Sir.” Do research on the organization’s web site to find the right contact.  You may find the name of the director of the department in which your desired job is located or you may find someone in human resources.  As a last resort, address your application to the Executive Director of the organization. This shows that you took the time to research the organization and will always be viewed more favorably than an impersonal greeting.

From there, explain why you are passionate about the mission of the organization.  Communicate the substance behind your passion; instead of stating, “I always wanted to help people,” try “Because I was raised with amazing educational opportunities, it’s personally very important to me to make sure that other people have access to those opportunities as well.” The more personal and compelling your connection to the organization’s mission is, the more likely your cover letter will be read in its entirety.

Step #3: Connect the Dots
In the second section, create a connection between your skills and background and the job requirements.  Remember that your cover letter accompanies your resume, so do not simply re-state all of the information already listed on the resume. Use your critical thinking skills to really analyze the job description.  Beyond the specific qualifications listed, what can you determine about what this organization is really looking for in this role?  Use your cover letter to demonstrate how your skills and experience match with what they want.

Avoid general statements like, “I know I am the best person for the job.” It is more effective to let your skills and experience demonstrate the strength of your qualifications.

Remember to also address any cultural or personality attributes sought by the hiring organization.  Include examples that illustrate personal traits such as leadership, teamwork, flexibility, or other qualities valued by the organization.

As many hiring organizations value diversity, freely identify yourself as a person of color, having multicultural experience, and/or possessing attributes that could add to the overall diversity of the organization.  In many cases, illustrating your fit with an organization's culture is just as important as your skills and experience.

Step #4: Close with Style
The third section is all about wrapping up your cover letter neatly and elegantly. Use this opportunity to thank the organization for considering your application and to reiterate your enthusiasm for the position, organization, and mission. This is also where you can provide instructions on how and when to contact you, generally a phone number and email address.

Remember that you must ensure that you have a professional email account.  You can create a free account on Gmail.  Generally, your first and last name or initials (or some combination of both) are acceptable.  This is the contact email address you should include in both your cover letter and resume.

Step #5: Do a Test Run
Before you send your cover letter to a potential employer, check the job description for any specific instructions.  At the bottom of most postings, there are generally instructions for how the organization would like to receive applications.  For example, do they want to receive cover letters as attachments or in the body of the email?  Do they want you to include a list of references with your application?  Or do they want you to answer a specific question in your cover letter?  Be sure to follow the specific instructions for how to submit your application and what to include in your cover letter. This demonstrates your attention to detail, another very important characteristic for most hiring organizations.

Now comes the time to employ your “editor”— ask the best writer you know to proofread your cover letter for typos, grammatical errors, and any inappropriate wording such as humor, slang, or emoticons (happy faces have no place in a cover letter or any other professional communication!).  Also check for adequate variation in sentence structure. Do not begin every sentence with “I have” Remember, this is a real-life example of your writing ability, a skill that is highly valued by almost every nonprofit position.


Finally, test sending the cover letter in the format desired by the organization to your own email account.  This will allow you to make any adjustments in formatting before sending your application to the actual organization.  As a general rule, keep formatting to a minimum so that it will be preserved across different email or word processing programs.

Example of Cover Letter Structure

Your Address


Date

Contact Person’s Name
Title
Address
City, State Zip Code
Dear Dr. Mr./Ms.__________________________:

Section 1
[one paragraph long]

Section 2
[one paragraph long]

Section 3
[one paragraph long]



Sincerely,
Your signature
Your full name (typed)



I hope my how-to helps you write a rock star cover letter. It takes practice but once you get the technique, down your cover letter will serve as a huge asset to your resume.

Hot Off The Press! The Best Blog On The Internet!

The first blog I started to follow (and still to this day is my favorite) is a blog titled "The Daily Love" The Blogs creator Mastin Kipp, started writing while going through personal issues as a form of therapy, and it turned into something much larger. It began as a feed of quotes sent to Mastin’s friends, and shot to fame after receiving an approval tweet from Kim Kardashian. (WOW KIM, he must be a big deal.) Further, Mr. Kipp has been hosted on Oprah's weekly show "Super Soul Sunday" titling him as an “up and coming thought leader in the next generation of spiritual thinkers.” 

Mastin’s mission is to "Connect people back to what makes them happy. Happy people make better choices, and better choices make for a better world." The blog features guest writers and weekly contributors that touch on the topic of self love, self development, relationships, self help, finding inner peace, as well as personal and mental growth. Every post is perfectly crafted and forces the reader think and reflect.

In reading through the daily postings, I came across a post titled "TWENTY-SOMETHING DOES NOT HAVE TO BE TWENTY-EVERYTHING!"  The content of the post is extremely relevant to the topics I touch upon in Destination Happiness. 

The post writer, Christine Hassler is writing to remind the "twenty-somethings" that even though during our twenties, or as she puts it: "our quarter-life crisis", we experience an incredible amount of pressure, expectations, confusion, and anxiety while embarking on the decade where we think we need to "figure it all out." But if you take step back and look at the bigger picture, we actually don't have to figure it all out. Life is a constant journey, and if you are willing to remove societal and self expectations about figuring everything out on a certain timeline or according to a certain check list; that your twenties will be a time of great discovery, freedom and exhilaration. 

The post goes on to discuss different interviews she held with a bunch of over 30 thought leaders and experts. During the interview she asked them "What do you wish you knew then, that you know now?" A few themes seemed to arise again and again, including: learning from your mistakes, being true to yourself, getting in touch with yourself and your emotions and developing your personal brand.

I'm going to share with you a few points I found particularly helpful:

• There is huge value in “oh no!” moments. The things that don’t go according to plan are often the biggest blessings in your life–sometimes it just takes time to clearly understand what the blessing is.
• Youth does not make you invincible but it does give you the amazing opportunity to create habits for healthy living NOW.
• Answering the question, “What do I want to do with my life” is more often a process of elimination rather than a lighting bolt of inspiration.
• Write down what you want to be known for.  Make a list of your professional and character values and never sell out. Develop your personal brand–remember your passion makes you unique!!
• Your thoughts are creating your reality so you are either attracting things to you or repelling them from you.  Be mindful of your thoughts!
• Adopt a “what can I give” versus “what can I get” mindset.  That is how you truly make an impact on the world.
• ALL relationships teach us valuable things about ourselves and are a catalyst for growth.  Even if they end, they are a success if you are willing to look at what you learned about yourself.

Christine closes by reminding the reader that "In order to create a life of meaning, you have to live it."

The advice Christine shares sparks a sense of initiative and makes me, an anxious "twenty-something", feel normal. The post reminds me that although putting an extraneous amount of pressure on myself will create external results, it could potentially cost me a lot of joy, peace, play and presence during this time of exploration. It reminds me to allow curiosity to lead me, and not be so hard on myself. (We are all our own worst critics.) 

I recommend the blog to everyone, no matter your interests. I guarantee you will find something that touches you, or helps you reflect on your inner most thoughts.

Remember: Each step is moving you forward, even if you feel like you are moving backward.

Going Up! Elevator Pitch 101

Undeniably, one of the most helpful classes I took during my college career was Business Communications. During the first few weeks of class the professor insisted I develop an Elevator Pitch.

What exactly is an Elevator Pitch?

An "elevator pitch" in regards to internship and job searching includes a 30 second overview of an individual's knowledge, skills, and accomplishments. The term comes from the time it takes to complete a normal (emphasis on normal, I can't tell you how many times I've unfortunately been stuck in elevators) elevator ride from the top to the bottom floor. It's an opportunity to get your point across in a timely manner; namely, who you are, what you've accomplished, and where you hope to go in the future.

Whether or not the origin of the term actually came from running into important people in elevators and delivering a short and clear sales pitch in the time it takes to ride the elevator, one thing is certain–-it’s important instrument to have in your tool kit.

In looking to define  "elevator pitch" for you all I stumbled onto Wikipedia to see what they had to say (which isn't much at all)...

An elevator pitch, elevator speech, or elevator statement is a short summary used to quickly and simply define a person, profession, product, service, organization or event and its value proposition.^[1]

The name "elevator pitch" reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes.^[2][3] The term itself comes from a scenario of an accidental meeting with someone important in the elevator. If the conversation inside the elevator in those few seconds is interesting and value adding, the conversation will continue after the elevator ride or end in exchange of business card or a scheduled meeting.^[4]

A variety of people, including project managers, salespeople, evangelists, and policy-makers, commonly rehearse and use elevator pitches to get their point across quickly. An example is pitching an idea to a venture capitalist or angel investor to receive funding. Venture capitalists often judge the quality of an idea by the quality of its elevator pitch and will ask entrepreneurs for their elevator pitches in order to quickly weed out bad ideas and weak teams. Elevator pitches are also used in many other situations. Personal uses include job interviewing, dating, and summarizing professional services.

What this entry does not emphasize is the importance of the elevator pitch, for EVERYONE especially beginning professionals and college students. It also fails to mention just how often the pitch can be utilized, how to build one, and that a pitch is not a one size fits all model.

I decided to tack on information discussing why an elevator speech is important and what an elevator pitch should include:

The uses of an Elevator Pitch go beyond giving a brief introduction in an elevator. There are many more likely uses such as cover letters, email introductions, mentor requests, introductions at career fairs, introductions in interviews, casual networking encounters and leaving voice mails.  The elevator pitch is so important because it is the first thing that people ever hear or read about you.  Even before your resume, or proposal gets in their hands, your elevator pitch sets the stage for why they would spend the time to look at your resume, proposal or presentation, which leads to an interview or meeting, which leads to the job offer or grant.

The key to using your elevator pitch for the variety of settings listed above is to get the foundation right. 

- First, the pitch should be short. The base of your pitch should take no more than one 1 minute to recite or 200 words to write. It  should include who you are plus a credential, you should think of your credential as either something that differentiates you from you peers or something that establishes a relationship or similarity between you and your audience. 

The speech should contain a specific objective. Get to the point quickly about what you are looking for or how that person can help. Your objective should be something that the person can directly facilitate either by making the decision him or herself or connecting you to someone that can get you closer to that objective.

Your Elevator pitch needs to show how you have demonstrated your interest. Give examples of things that you have ALREADY completed or committed to that illustrate this interest.  E.g) Don`t just say that "I have always want to be an doctor". You should be able to say, "I have taken pre-med courses."

Briefly discuss why you are qualified. This is your chance to communicate what makes you someone that your audience should consider helping.  People typically like to help those that they feel will be successful in the process.  There are a couple of things you should think about when highlighting your qualifications: Include your industry relevance, leadership, expertise, pedigree and impact

 - Lastly, give the audience two options on how they can assist. This is an old sales trick.  Always give two options.  A person will often flatly turn you down if you give them one option, but if you give them two options, then they often commit to one of them.  This is different than communicating your objective.  As I mentioned above, the objective is the end goal; here you want to communicate how the person can help you in the process that leads to that end goal.

This strategy is transferable whether you are looking to market yourself, a product or a company. No elevator pitch is "one size fits all" and often need to be moderated depending on the purpose or audience of your elevator pitch.

I cannot emphasize just how much  an elevator pitch can help round out your job hunting arsenal. I'm sure many of my readers aren't as lucky (for lack of a better word, I mean really, how lucky can you be about getting assigned homework!?) to be forced into writing a speech for class and getting it reviewed by a professor who worked in the business sector for over 30 years prior to teaching.

If you need help getting started on your pitch, or getting your pitch reviewed, utilize your career service office! Also, here is a cool tool you can use: The Harvard Business School (ooooooh Harvard) created an Elevator Pitch Builder to begin your "pitchcraft" as they put it, definitely worth checking it out!
Harvard Business School Elevator Pitch Builder

So get to writing! And always remember...

 Be authentic. Be brief. And above all: Be Ready!

How To Survive The Interview From Hell

The Interview from Hell.... 2 words: Brainteaser. Interview.

Have you ever heard of them, or even worse, have you ever sat through one of them?

I join a huge majority of the world in not understanding why any company would adopt such a horrible hiring practice, but they in fact do.

Brain teaser or puzzle interview questions first began popping up in high tech interviews. Since then they have become increasingly common, emerging in interviews for jobs in a wide variety of fields. They are almost guaranteed, and most commonly used when interviewing candidates for engineering and other analytic type positions.

The kind of brain teasing questions a company might ask is far spread. They range from complex, multi layered math questions, to intricate logic problems to bizarre questions that have no real answer.

If you've heard of this interview practice, you may or may not have heard of super companies such as Google being one of the toughest places to interview for a job, because their interviewers asked potential candidates a bunch of brain teasing questions. 

Like.....Seriously...? ... But wait, here's another

To get an even better idea, of the questions asked, I found this article on Business Insider titled 15 Google Interview Questions That Made Geniuses Feel Dumb listing the questions Google would ask during their interviews.

So, You may be asking yourself, what is the purpose of these questions? Super companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon (just to provide a few examples) claim to use puzzles or brain teaser questions to determine the prospective employee's ability to solve problems, think creatively, communicate complex information in a non-technical way and to better gauge the candidate's ability to make educated guesses. In other words, it's supposed to reveal the candidates way of thinking and whether or not you freak out easy. (siiiick)

So what do you do when your resume overloaded with accomplishments, a detailed plan on how you can raise the company's profit margin and your stellar interview style isn't enough? Here, I provide a brain teaser interview how-to video, as well as a few pointers I've come across researching the topic.
How to:

Tips:

• Show up to the interview with pens, paper, markers, calculator, ruler, whatever, to work out a possible brain teaser. It's unlikely that you'll be asked, point blank, how many times heavier an elephant is than a mouse and be expected to answer it on the spot. You'll have time. And depending on the job and the field, what you do on your scratch paper is more important than the conclusion you reach.
• Don't be shocked or offended. A question might surprise you or seem silly given the job for which you're interviewing. Don't let it throw you. Again, the answer is usually not the destination. Sometimes the wackiest question deserves an equally wacky process to reach a conclusion. But do take the questions seriously. Don't assume that it's being asked to tick you off or make you the butt of a human resources joke.
• Question the question. Show your ability to think through a problem by asking a clarifying question regarding the brain teaser. Further, asking follow up questions will give your mind a break and buy you time to help you fully understand what is being asked so you don't solve the wrong problem.
• Speak out your logic. Listen to what you are thinking. "Sounding out" the process of reaching an answer can help you think through the process in a different way.
• Draw out your logic. Just like sounding out a problem can give your brain a productive push, drawing it out can help you edit and improve your approach. 
• Practice. You can't prepare for the exact question unless you're sure you know what they'll ask. But you can exercise your mind by playing mental games, doing crossword puzzles and thinking about big problems. There are lists available on the internet that provide examples of brain teasing questions you can use to prep.

Hey, If I haven't said it enough or you need any reassurance the interview practice is stupid, Google, (in time) has come to agree. Google Says Tricky Interview Brainteasers Were "a waste of time"

Hope I could help! Good luck interviewing!

Back To Basics: The Resume—Tips To Make A Great First Impression

For both prospective college students, current college students and college alumnus,  there is a valuable resource often overlooked: Your University Career Service Office. The purpose of this office is to help its students navigate all aspects of the career development process providing up to date information on everything from resumes to the professional use of social media. The first step of the career development process, as emphasized in the Fordham Career Service Webpage is creating a Resume.

If you have ever been looking for a job, I’m sure you have asked yourself:  “What can I do to make my resume stand out and get an employer to seriously consider me for a job”?   If you Googled the term “resume”, you know that there’s a dizzying array of information and advice out there about what works best in putting something together that most effectively represents you.  How do you make sense of it all?

If you want your resume to have a good chance of being read by prospective employers, you must invest time and energy not only in its content, but also in its look. Whether you're creating your resume for the first time or in the process of revising it, keep the following tips that I learned during my time spent in the Fordham University Career Service office, on their website, and through their online services--that I now passing on to you to assure your resume is getting read:

1. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Particularly at the beginning of your career, it’s really hard to start your resume with a blank sheet of paper. So don’t. Check out examples at your university career center and borrow the best ideas for formatting, headings, wording and more. The Fordham Career Service Website offers easy to follow templates, and Resume Samples to help begin the process.

The Seven Day Happiness Challenge Pt 2.

Hello! Welcome to part 2! In part one I provided a general synopsis on the key elements of happiness and began to briefly explained the steps  of the Happiness Challenge! [For your reference, here is a Link to Part 1] As promised in part one, I am going to provide a list of simple, yet over looked kind deeds one can do during the challenge in hopes to get your ideas flowing! I am also providing you with a Happiness Challenge Record Book I created for you to print out and use to track your progress for the duration of the challenge. (there's a preview at the bottom of the post)

How To Use This Record Book

Each day I have provided you with a quote that pertains to happiness, kindness or gratitude. How you chose to reflect is ultimately up to you, but I included these quotes that truly spoke to my heart  in hopes that you may spend some of your thinking time reflecting upon them. What do they mean to you in your life? What could you learn from them or put into practice in your everyday life? 

Mindful Reflection: Simply circle ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if you reflected that day. 

Act of Kindness: Be sure to record what kind deed or word you put out into the universe for the day!

Gratitude: List 3 things that you are grateful for that day. If it’s one of those days it can be as simple as ‘I’m grateful I woke up  today.’

Happiness Level: Circle a number from 0-10 that represents your overall happiness level for the day. Remember that circling ‘0’ does not necessarily mean you were depressed or sad, but maybe just devoid of any happiness. Think of ‘0’ as neutral and ’10’ as finding out you won the lottery. 

After downloading the Happiness Challenge Record Book, you can plot your numbers on the  scale and visually see your happiness increase each week!

Here is a list of kind deeds for you to implement:

Give up your seat 

Hold a door open for someone 

Give a (sincere) compliment 

Make someone laugh 

Give someone a hug 

Take time to really listen to someone 

Make someone new feel welcome 

Give directions to someone who's lost 

Have a conversation with a stranger 

Pick up litter as you walk 

Tell someone they mean a lot to you 

Let someone have your parking spot 

Read a story with a child 

Offer your change to someone struggling to find the right amount 

Treat a loved one to breakfast in bed 

Offer to help with someone's shopping 

Tell someone if you notice they're doing a good job 

Pass on a book you've enjoyed 

Say sorry (you know who to) 

Forgive someone for what they've done 

Visit a sick friend, relative or neighbor 

Buy an unexpected gift for someone 

Bake something for a neighbor 

Do a chore that you don't normally do 

Help out someone in need 

Offer to look after a friend's children 

Offer to mow your neighbor's lawn 

Donate your old things to charity 

Give food to a homeless person and  take time to talk with them 

Visit someone who may be lonely 

Give blood 

Get back in contact with someone you've lost touch with 

Organize a fundraising event 

Pay for the person behind you (toll, coffee, fast food,…)

Put a coin in an expired meter

Every time you buy a new clothing item, donate something

Send flowers to someone

While driving, let someone out/merge into your lane

Bake some healthy treats to bring in to work

Leave an extra generous tip

See what donations are needed at a local pet or women’s shelter

Invite someone over for dinner

Treat a friend to the movies or coffee

 Create motivational quote cards to leave in places

Sign up for a charity 5k

Ask for donations to your favorite charity instead of birthday/anniversary gifts

Text someone a motivational quote, funny joke, anything to show you are thinking of them

Call your parents and tell them you love them

The 7 Day Happiness Challenge

Wednesday on my half day off,  I watched the documentary "Happy" on my commute home from work and immediately knew I wanted to implement  the principles they discussed into my everyday  life. After spending the rest of Wednesday and part of today with my mind racing, reading into how to find (and keep) happiness and reflecting on what happy people do differently than those just "going through the motions" I developed a simple plan and a week long challenge that I hope will divulge the true meaning of happiness.

I am posting the challenge I created  to invite my readers to do the challenge with me! I'm starting Monday (because aren't those the days we need happiness the most !?). The challenge can be done with zero financial costs and shouldn't take more than a half hour each day.

The challenges primary focus is on these three things:

1. Mindfulness

2. Gratitude

3. Kindness and Joy

Mindfulness	Gratitude	Kindness and Joy
Do less, notice more. Many of us spend too much of our time focused either on the past or on the future, paying very little attention to what is happening right now. Practice being still for five minutes a day. When we're mindful we become more aware of our thoughts and feelings and are better able to manage them. Stay in the moment, meditate; reflect on yourself, and reflect on your compassion for others.	Be grateful: it’s about much more than saying thank you, it’s about not taking things for granted and building a sense of appreciation for all things in life. Take a minute at the end of each day and write down 3 things you are thankful for. In doing this, even on your worse days you will realize there is still positive to focus on. Express your gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful being that you are, for the many wonderful people and things that are present in your life—for being loved and loving.	Do kind things for others, as the saying goes, "if you want to feel good, do good." Do one kind thing for someone every day. This could be a compliment, a helping hand, a hug, a small gift or something else. Whatever it is, do it with a full heart. Ideally your acts of kindness should be different than the kind things you already do on a regular basis

I am attaching a template I made to track your progress on part 2 of this post, along with some recommendations for daily acts of kindness you can do. Many studies show whether it be a happiness journey, weight loss journey or academic journey, keeping records improves the likelihood of a goal's successful completion.

At the end of the 7 days, I'm going out to celebrate my accomplishment! Do you think you can make these practices part of your daily life? Are you willing to give happiness a try? I'll post a reply and let you know how I did!

Smile on!!!