Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy
Last week was the inaugural call of the Jobseeker Mastermind Series, and I've gotta say, it went really well.
The topic was cover letters, but as any of you who have worked with me know, I don't do anything without referring it back to the job description. That's where the rubber meets the road-that's where the hiring manager/company puts out there what they want, and you must demonstrate that you were sent from the heavens as the perfect candidate to meet their needs.
One client on the call is an attorney, the other an actuary, so of course the jobs they were applying for were very different. But the strategy to decoding a job description is the same.
The clues as to who the company is looking for are scattered throughout the job description. When I wrote these as a hiring manager, I really tried to capture the essence of my perfect candidate in a concise posting.
One example, a job description we looked at mentioned "fast paced" twice, "multi-tasking at a very high level" and "Training will be provided, however, a knowledge of contracts and a keen business acumen is required." In a 99-word job description (about 7 lines in MS Word)-that seems kind of intense. So they really want someone who is independent and picks things up very quickly. So what other qualities would a person like that demonstrate? How would they sound on the phone? What kinds of experiences would you expect to read on their resume or in their cover letter? What would they have done that proves that they meet those qualifications?
Of course keep in mind that the basic qualifications were for a legal associate with a minimum of 2-3 years of experience, and proficient in MS Word and Excel. Which many candidates meet. It's the intangible, the personal qualities that are also mentioned in the description that are actually more important to the employer. Many candidates will meet the 2-3 years of experience part, but what's going to separate all the candidates who apply from those they call in for interviews are those intangible qualities, those personal characteristics that demonstrate that they'll be a fit with the company.
And that's what you discuss in a cover letter. Talk about how you learned a new software in under 2 weeks. Include examples about how your workload was above average for your position, talk about how you're always commended for juggling multiple responsibilities. Talk about how you recommended changes to contracts that were strategic improvements to help their business.
And you'll get a call.
The topic was cover letters, but as any of you who have worked with me know, I don't do anything without referring it back to the job description. That's where the rubber meets the road-that's where the hiring manager/company puts out there what they want, and you must demonstrate that you were sent from the heavens as the perfect candidate to meet their needs.
One client on the call is an attorney, the other an actuary, so of course the jobs they were applying for were very different. But the strategy to decoding a job description is the same.
The clues as to who the company is looking for are scattered throughout the job description. When I wrote these as a hiring manager, I really tried to capture the essence of my perfect candidate in a concise posting.
One example, a job description we looked at mentioned "fast paced" twice, "multi-tasking at a very high level" and "Training will be provided, however, a knowledge of contracts and a keen business acumen is required." In a 99-word job description (about 7 lines in MS Word)-that seems kind of intense. So they really want someone who is independent and picks things up very quickly. So what other qualities would a person like that demonstrate? How would they sound on the phone? What kinds of experiences would you expect to read on their resume or in their cover letter? What would they have done that proves that they meet those qualifications?
Of course keep in mind that the basic qualifications were for a legal associate with a minimum of 2-3 years of experience, and proficient in MS Word and Excel. Which many candidates meet. It's the intangible, the personal qualities that are also mentioned in the description that are actually more important to the employer. Many candidates will meet the 2-3 years of experience part, but what's going to separate all the candidates who apply from those they call in for interviews are those intangible qualities, those personal characteristics that demonstrate that they'll be a fit with the company.
And that's what you discuss in a cover letter. Talk about how you learned a new software in under 2 weeks. Include examples about how your workload was above average for your position, talk about how you're always commended for juggling multiple responsibilities. Talk about how you recommended changes to contracts that were strategic improvements to help their business.
And you'll get a call.
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