job

[redbird]

I do not like writing cover letters.

Nonetheless, I have done so. This one wasn't as bad as most, because it wasn't "Dear Person I've Never Met, here's why I'm wonderful." Instead, it was "Dear person I worked for a year ago, here's what I've been doing, and why you should hire me for the new project." With lots of details, because what I've been doing is much more closely connected to the job I hope to get than is usually the case.

Technically, there isn't a specific job I'm applying for--at least, Edie wasn't aware of a particular job title. So I'm asking for "a position on $new_project" and emphasizing how $current_project, and what I did a year ago, when I worked for her the last time, prepares me for this. I also mentioned the names of a couple of supervisors in my cover letter.

That all went off by email to her personal AOL address, since she won't be getting mail here at the office for a few days yet.

Oddly, while I don't like writing cover letters, it didn't make me half as nervous as asking L (WINOLJ, at least not yet) and cattitude to look at my resume.

Now, I just have to remind myself that I cannot swap off going to the gym with buying coffee for Cattitude--even if he were willing, his going to the gym wouldn't get me exercised (though the swap would get him coffee).

Comments

[wouldyoueva.livejournal.com]

I'm not any more fond of cover letters than you are, but I did see a hint in the Tech Writer's list that helps. Take the job qualifications as a bulleted list and annotate it as to what you can do. So if the qualifications say (to pull something off Monster...):

"Provide support in defining and documenting various defined business processes, developing policies, procedures, and checklists, and working with management to build policies that govern the processes.

Requirements:
- Superior writing skills"

Say something like "I received awards for my writing from 1989 until 2005."


- MS Office skills (Word, Excel, Access)

"I have passed my MOAS test with a superior rating in Word, and a very good rating in Excel and Access."

- Excellent interpersonal skills

"I won the Peer Award for facilitating meetings that improved the turnover rate on our contract from 15% to 3%."

- Some training capabilities

"I trained the last six new hires in the Support Services department."
- Patience
- Experience working with clerical staff

"My manual, 'Everything you need to know about the IFMC contract' was written after consulting with the clerical staff in HR, business operations, and front desk."

- Knowledge of business processes in general

"I authored an article on how to streamline the proposal generation process."

Education/Background:
- 4-year Degree

"I have a BA from Penn State."
- Computer Training a plus

"I have completed my coursework on Windows XP operating systems."

See, the HR people are as lazy as the rest of us, and if you do the pre-screening for them, they're more likely to call you for an interview. Or so they tell me.

Good luck with getting hired for the new project. I got rejected for a job that I found out about from networking with an ex-coworker. But at least I got to the interview stage, an improvement for me.

[jcbemis.livejournal.com]

good for you. I hate writing cover letters too, and avoid having to do them if at all possible.