Lived Experience Forum

[NikNik]

Hi everyone,

This week's Career Chat is a practical one on writing cover letters and resumes / CVs.

Writing cover letters and resumes are hard work and sometimes it's hard to know what to include and what not to include. Some employers ask to respond to a criteria and others don't give much information at all! 

@Debstar from Ostara will share some tips and also draw from your own experiences of creating cover letters and resumes. We kick off at 10 am AEDT this Friday. I hope you can join us!

[Debstar]

Good morning to all of you.  Debstar here 🙂

As @NikNik mentioned, writing cover letters and resumes are hard work and sometimes it's hard to know what to include and what not to include. Some employers ask to respond to a criteria and others don't give much information at all! 

Today I will be sharing tips and ideas to help you with your cover letter and resume.

Feel free to come join in, and share your experiences and thoughts on this topic.

Chat soon, 

Debstar 🙂

[Gpro]

Hi @Debstar

My first time here! I am wondering how to cover my recent 5 year absence from the work force. I was in the corporate area for over 20 years. Workplace bullying exacerbated and triggered various medical issues and chronic pain led to depression. I am now looking to work part-time in a not too demanding role. I feel I am over-qualified for many roles but have too little recent/relevant experience. TIps? Thanks.

[Debstar]

Hi All,

I am going to draw on my experience at Ostara and also on my days as a recruitment consultant, as I would receive 100 plus resumes a day, and I would constantly be sorting through to find the “most suitable” applicants to interview.

Lets start with cover letters.

The cover letter is a single page letter (I say this because I would receive some that were 2-3 pages long) which is way too long.  One page provides plenty of room to share key information.

 The only time not to include a cover letter is when you are specifically told, do not include one.

The purpose is to introduce yourself, mention the job you are applying for, match your skills and experience to the skills and experience required for the job, and have a call to action at the end (ie requesting an interview or a time to meet).

So how can you make your cover letter stand out (in a good way)?

• Highlight and expand on relevant personality traits, strengths and experience
• Say why you want the job
• Sound genuinely enthusiastic about the role
• Rather than following a formula and writing “I am apply for the role of…” go straight into “As a hospitality manager with 8 years experience, I’d love to be considered for the role of…”
• If you are changing your career or returning to work after a break, use your cover letter to explain any inconsistencies.   Always present the negatives in the best possible light ie, how has the diverse experience helped to develop your strenghts.
• Keep it brief.

At Ostara, we encourage people to follow this format:

Paragraph 1- lead with why you are interested in the role

Paragraph 2 and 3- what makes you a strong and suitable candidate for the role (experience, skills and attributes, and any achievements)

In the closing- ask for an interview or for them to consider your application.

Any other tips or suggestions for your cover letter?  I would love to hear your thoughts 🙂

[Debstar]

Hi @Gpro and welcomed to the forum. Always really appreciate first timers joining our discussions.

That is a great question.  Firstly credit to you for working through what was going on, and being in a place where you feel ready to apply for part-time work.

Perhaps have a think about what sort of work you could do, that potentially draws on your strengths, but isn’t too demanding.  I was always mindful of making sure I had more energy than the job required of me, especially whilst in the process of rejoining the workforce.

Joining an organisation like Ostara can help, as we work with you to identify where you are at, and allocate a consultant to work with you on your individual needs.  We have relationships with a range of employers who have an understanding of life’s gaps challenges, and are constantly developing relationships with new employers.  We can provide a range of tips and suggestions to help you find employment, and can put you in touch with employers too.

In terms of your resume and cover letter, if you have any courses or volunteering you can list for over that time, that helps. It shows that even if you were not doing paid work, you still got up and made things happen.

Also perhaps changing the emphasis (or slightly dulling down your resume) for the first role could help you obtain the type of job you are initially after.

I also think that in some instances being honest can help, if you have an opportunity to have a direct conversation, or some would suggest putting this on the cover letter.  So why the big career gap?  Well I was ill and hit a rough patch etc and then I did xyz and now I am back…etc..  (I did this with Ostara, because it felt like a safe place to share this information, you can read more about my story below).

For me personally, I left the corporate world for a couple of years when I had Chronic Fatigue.  After nearly two years of “time out”, I felt I was on the improve and ready to start working, also part time.  I called up a retail company with clothing that I really liked.  Retail was my fall back plan and a stepping stone to getting back into work.  Rather than send in my resume (which I knew wasn’t looking great due to the gap and which was no longer focussed on retail), I called the employer up so they could hear my communication skills and enthusiasm for the role. I shared the years I had spent in retail (even though it was years earlier) and how much I loved their clothing. They asked me in for an interview. 

I wore and took in a few of my favourite pieces of their clothing into the interview, which worked in my favour, especially because the designer of this small company unexpectedly came to the interview, and loving her clothing, I quickly won her over.  So in summary, I focussed on my strengths and directed them to these too.  I fortunately got the job and this was the first stages of getting back on my feet.

After a few months in the retail job, I learnt about Ostara, and how they help people with mental health issues to get back into the work place.  I called them to introduce myself, and wrote a cover letter, telling them about my strengths and what I could offer to the organisation.  I also shared about how I had CFS and was now on the mend, and very much wanting to work three days. Over four years later I am totally well, and working for them 4 days a week (now by choice). Interestingly it has taken me into a whole new area of work that I really enjoy, that I can't imagine I would have known about had I not been through this experience.

So I think drawing on your strengths and finding ways to promote yourself can work too.

Hope that helps. Wishing you well on your journey back into the working world.

Any other ideas or thoughts anyone would like to share, it would be great to hear from you.

[Jinseng]

Hi @Debstar I was wondering is it okay to put dot points in your cover letter or does that look unprofessional? I try my darndest to keep my cover letter to one page but I find it really difficult so I often make the font a bit smaller and extend the margins a bit (hehe, a sneaky trick someone told me about!) But maybe that doesn't work to my advantage because I assume people might get overwhelmed by the big slabs of text and skim read it and miss important points. But then I wonder if using dot points is unprofessional? Did you see dot points much on cover letters and what did you think of it? Hope that makes sense. 

[Debstar]

Hi @Jinseng

Thanks for your message and question. I wouldn’t recommend doing the whole cover letter in dot points, but certainly it can work to do dot points for a few key skills or experiences. Yes, I have seen cover letters fully in dot points, and to be honest my initial thought is that the candidate doesn’t like following rules, which very rarely had them at the top of my pile.  I always look for candidates who can differentiate themselves in a good way, but also follow protocols (as I make the link between how they follow standards in their application and how they will therefore follow standards/ rules on the job).   On the other hand, by following the standard format, and having content that stands out (with a few dot points if you wish, which can highlight key points), that can really work in your favor. I have seen this many times, and am often impressed.

Whilst squeezing the info into one page is good (rather than two), I suggest that you want the cover letter to be easy to read and enticing for the person who is selecting the candidates. So with that I mean, don’t have the writing too small or make it difficult to read. Hope that helps 🙂

Any other comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to share 🙂

[Debstar]

Hi again,

Another tip for Cover Letters is to find out the name of the recruiting officer and address the letter to that person.  I always notice when someone has used my name (if it is not on the initial job ad) and this impresses me. It shows they have taken the extra step (calling the employer and asking who to address the letter to) and used their initiative.  This gives them a brownie point, which is always a good thing 🙂

[Debstar]

Hi All,

Below I have listed some elements that make for a good resume:

• Know the purpose of your resume- get clear on what you are looking for, so your resume can be focussed in this direction.
• Back up your qualities and strengths.
• Be specific when describing the roles you have been in.
• Use bullet points (whilst we don’t want to do too many dot points in the cover letter, this is the place to use dot points).  Better not to have long paragraphs of text, as this is not enticing for the recruitment officer to read.
• Put the most important information first, so the experiences most linked to the job being advertised stand out.
• Don’t include pics (unless it is for a modelling job etc). When I was a recruiter, I was amazed how many people included pictures, some totally inappropriate. I recall one girl applying for an admin role with a picture of her skiing.  Amazing how years later that has still stayed in my mind. Best not to include a picture, and let your written info and phone calls sell your skills for the role.
• Make it 3 pages at the most, any longer than that is too long. As long as all key information is included, and is clear and easy to read, the shorter the better.
• Make sure you use the right keywords. Most companies (even the smaller ones now) use digital databases to search for candidates.  This means the company will run searches based on specific action keywords.  If you don’t have those keywords, you could be out of the game before it even starts. The best suggestion is to google resume power keywords and learn about what companies are looking for.
• Where possible, put key responsibilites and key achievements.  This gives you a chance to highlight your achievements in the role.
• Print it on a good printer. 

Do any other suggestions come to mind?  Or feel free to ask questions or comment on anything covered today 🙂

[Debstar]

Hi All,

Hope todays’ topic has been a useful one for you, and you have at least one if not a few things you can take away from today.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend and look forward to connecting again in two weeks (as next Friday is Good Friday). 

Our topic on Friday 1st April is “What happens if your mental health condition is impacting  your performance at work? What supports are available?”.     

Look forward to chatting with you then,

Debstar 🙂