If you're like most people I know, you have absolute confidence in the economy, and you know a dramatic recovery will soon be underway. To be cautious, however, you think it prudent to have a current application letter and résumé on hand. Just in case.
You begin by reminding yourself of the obvious: The purpose of an application letter is to induce a prospective employer to read your résumé, the purpose of a résumé is to induce an employer to interview you and the purpose of an interview is to induce an employer to offer you a job.
For your application letter, you
Open by clearly identifying the job you are applying for and stating where you learned about it. With an average of five people (and sometimes hundreds) applying for each job advertised, you want to make it easy for the poor devil reading all the applications.
Highlight especially pertinent qualifications. Distinguish yourself from the competition by linking specific skills and experiences to those desired by the employer. Don't underestimate your abilities -- this is no time to be modest.
Anticipate and address questions raised by your résumé. Comment on anything that might detract from your application. If you are unemployed, describe the reason as positively as you can, and emphasize the exciting things you've been doing lately.
Say something specific about the organization or company advertising the job. Demonstrate curiosity and initiative by showing you've taken the time to learn.
Convey a sense of your personality. Think of yourself as an actor in a role. Emphasize one or two defining traits of the character you are playing.
For your résumé, you
List past activities chronologically, beginning with the most recent. You also can arrange material by function or job category to emphasize particular skills.
Omit the pronoun I. Begin phrases or dependent clauses with action verbs, such as initiated, coordinated, directed and managed.
Organize your material under clear headings. Use common headings such as employment objective; education; work experience; special skills, activities, honors or interests; references.
Maintain parallel construction. Throughout each section, be consistent in structure, format and style. If you begin a list of items with verbs, begin all items in that category with verbs.
List references by name and title, or state, "References are available on request." Be sure to ask all references for permission to list them.
Omit personal information such as age, sex, national origin, marital status, number of children, height and weight. But if you're being treated for work addiction or overachievement, be sure to mention that.
