How to Write a Great Resume and Cover Letter

​Hello, everyone and welcome back!

Today, we are talking about a hot topic that I always get asked a lot of questions about from my clients: how to write a really good resume and cover letter that will help you stand out amongst the high number of applicants. Let’s dive right into the best practices that you could apply right away.

RESUME:

1. Update your contact information with a professional email address. 
2. Have a customized LinkedIn URL.
3. You can do this by clicking the “Me” icon, edit profile and url, and edit customer url. Type the last part of your name and save it.
4. Include a professional Objective or Summary
5. This should be an overview of your most important career accomplishments. You can use 2-4 sentences in order to demonstrate your key skills, key outcomes, and demonstrate how your professional background will help the company solve a particular problem. One key hint here: include keywords from the job description here.
6. Format your work experience strategically.
7. List the company name followed by the dates of your employment. List the job title followed by the location. Write your job description followed by 4-6 bullet points showcasing your key accomplishments. Try to use numbers, percents, dollar amounts to showcase results that you helped achieve. 
8. Font selection
9. Best practices is using Verdana, Cambria, Gill Sans. Font size should be between 10-12 for better readability. 
10. Use jobscan.com to help you see how your current resume matches up to a particular position. It helps to better optimize your resume through applicant tracking systems that most companies use. They give you 5 free scans a month.

COVER LETTER:

1. Focus on the format. It should look similar to your resume. Use 4 consistent paragraphs. It should include the date, hiring officials name, address, and department. 
2. Try to spark interest by letting them know what interests you most about the position and the company. You also want to include how you learned about them and why you are so passionate about the position. You can also highlight a referring connection if you have one.
3. Try to create engagement by using the next 2 paragraphs to explain your unique value proposition--what problem can you help the company solve and what unique skills you bring to the table to be able to do this. You should learn as much about the company and position as you can. Use keywords from the job posting. You can also share a story about your most recent accomplishments. 
4. Include a call to action at the end. Maybe you want them to contact you for an interview or maybe leave your email or phone number so that they can follow up with you. The purpose is to get the hiring official to take some type of action and letting them know about your eagerness to start your position. End with a friendly closing greeting such as “Warm regards”. 

I hope this was helpful for you today! If you need additional assistance and support, I offer one on one coaching sessions. Just go to my website at elonaloparicoaching.com to schedule a session and I would be more than happy to assist you. See you here next week, same place and same time.

Stay tuned for more great topics and tips that you can use in your life and business right away. If you found this post helpful today, be sure to subscribe because it will only get better from here. I cannot wait to connect with you here again next week!

​Visit my website elonaloparicoaching.com where you can find more articles and resources!