When applying to jobs on job boards, how do you set yourself apart from all the other people applying? I bet each job posting gets hundreds of responses. I am trying to figure out how to stand out in the clutter. I have the resume and portfolio, I am afraid the body of my email may not be up to par. Could you give me some tips, and maybe some examples? Thanks
Here are a few ideas. 1] Attractive headline. 2] Keep it as short and sweet as possible. 3] Exaggerate. Present yourself as better than you are or what you think you are. If you get the job, meeting their higher expectations is upto you. 4] Be positive throughout the email. Don't show any sign of insecurity such as desperation, begging etc. 5] Give a guarantee of excellent performance. An absolute Iron-clad guarantee.
I'm a newbie in the freelance writing scene, but I think you must sell yourself smartly in your introductory email because first impression do count. The above are excellent suggestions that I would take making sure to avoid talk too much about detais in my resume and portfolio, but working with my words in a way that creates interest to visit the URL where that information is available.
For the cover letter e-mail: 1. Be slightly more informal than the resume, let a little personality show through 2. First priority, tell what you WANT the position and what the COMPANY will benefit from hiring you (make sure the focus is on the company, not how badly you want/need a job) 3. Give a two sentence overview on your most important skills and experience, leave the rest for your resume 4. Close the "sell" by asking for a meeting or phone call or something. 5. At the most. three SHORT paragraphs. Keep the paragraphs short for easy skimming. Longer paragraphs will detour people from actually reading the e-mail If you're a web designer, I'd suggest you read a post I made on my blog back in February: 5 Steps to the perfect web designer resume
I think researching the company you are applying for -- and also following directions when applying really help you to stand out. I had someone recently consider me for something that I wound up deciding just wasn't right for me -- but he said that I was the ONLY applicant that bothered to research his company. How hard is a Google search? lol
I've read a lot of bids for work on boards, and a lot of covering letters / emails in my time, and the one thing that always marks out a bad application is an approach not personally tailored to the position. EspressoChick is right - research what you're applying for, or if there’s very little information at least show that you’ve read and understood what they’re asking for. Don’t cut and paste whatever your sent the last guy. It's always totally obvious when you are reading a generic pitch that has been sent to many employers. I've always thrown obviously generic applications straight in the bin when I’ve been dealing with CVs, and I’m sure the same is true for employers on boards.
1) Read that job posting carefully and use it as a source. The requirements they list all get into the posting for a reason. State clearly how you meet those requirements and have exactly the qualifications the job post authors seek. 2) Keep it short. You're letter doesn't need to get you the job. It only needs to get you the interview. When in doubt, leave it out (as mentioned above, long emails are a pain to read).