|
I have worked for the law dept. of a few Fortune 100 companies. I don't think anyone payed attention to the cover letter unless it was to determine where to route the resume.
I would keep the letter concise. You will not win a job with the letter, but you can blow one. Describe how you found out about the job, why you would like to work for the company, and very briefly, your skills.
Your resume is attached. If they wonder, make them call you.
I took a small hack at what you wrote:
I write regarding your advertisement for an Application Support position.
My passion is in developing and supporting software. I would like to work on projects and solutions as complex as the ones Aderant provides.
I have an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Monash University. My education enhanced my curiosity and appreciation for the software development profession. I have also worked on freelance projects. I believe these experiences allow me to become a success in your organisation.
My resume contains additional details regarding my background. I welcome an opportunity to discuss them with you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
|
Lol this is quite funny because I just finished my Civics and Careers course so I know how to do all this stuff. xD
|
On July 24 2010 01:54 TaaiJoeng wrote:
Lol this is quite funny because I just finished my Civics and Careers course so I know how to do all this stuff. xD
Edit: This course is mandatory only in Ontario I think :0
....Fuck....quoted by accident....
|
On July 24 2010 01:55 TaaiJoeng wrote:Show nested quote +On July 24 2010 01:54 TaaiJoeng wrote:
Lol this is quite funny because I just finished my Civics and Careers course so I know how to do all this stuff. xD Edit: This course is mandatory only in Ontario I think :0 ....Fuck....quoted by accident....
that course is totally useless because by the time you have something to put in your resume/cover letter, you'd've most definitely forgotten what was taught.
|
Look at this letter. Now look at your computer. Now back at this letter. You can't code like me, but you can hire someone that codes like me.
ROFL
|
you gotta really put yourself in the shoes of the guy that hires you.
Baller's letter would work better then most of other letters in this thread.
Because if you write what your write the only impression is "oh another pretentious cover letter feeding me bullshit."
Basically what Cambium says is right. You have to dig deep, look up company's history on google, use information that isnt easily accessible. It will still come off as bullshit, but it makes you look hardworking.
|
I my own experience hiring people, I never read the cover letter until after the resume gets filtered into the 'to call' pile when I am making a list of specific questions to ask. So my advice is have some specific, interesting, applicable experience in the cover letter itself addressing the job posting. Show you can talk about what you've done and tell me why you fit in meaningful, relevant, complete sentences - not just resume bullet points.
I do tell the office assistant to throw out any cover letters/resumes that have misspellings, grammatical errors, silly fonts or formatting, or weird file types. If you can't get stuff like that right I have no time for you, and a lot of employers operate this way. If you advertise a job these days you get slammed with resumes and have a lot to filter through. Be careful not to let any silly stuff sabotage your chances.
Good luck!
|
On July 23 2010 21:23 baller wrote:u should really spice it up a little, show ur interest more, make ur letter stand out among the others. Show nested quote +Dear Sir, Madam, or Transgendered Individual
I am writing harder than anyone has ever written before. I broke 3 keyboards I am so extremely interested in your advertisement for an Application Support position. When I read this advertisement I had to take a break for 3 days I was so excited.
I have completed an undergraduate degree in computer science at Monash University. In a way, this degree is unique to anyone in the field. In another, more accurate way, this degree is the same as the other 10,000 undergraduates who graduated this year. But I am better than them. I'm smarter. Stronger. Sexier. I guarantee you.
My education introduced a strong, unhealthy obsession with softwares. I can't stop thinking about them much like an obese person thinks about food. I have also taken opportunities to work on a few ridiculously badass freelance projects and my resume will elaborate further on these matters because I would not be able to contain that level of awesome in only my cover letter.
Look at this letter. Now look at your computer. Now back at this letter. You can't code like me, but you can hire someone that codes like me. Also, I have demonstrated unprecedented communication skills in this letter and during my employment. I had to interact with small business clients on a daily basis. Every. Day. Have you ever met small business clients? You need to communicate the shit out of them.
My resume contains additional details regarding my background and I would welcome an opportunity to discuss them with you over a game of StarCraft: Brood War, the Blizzard real time strategy game that sold 11 million copies and is widely considered the best game ever in its genre and spawned a sequel called StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, which is set to release July 27.
I look forward to hearing from you. I look so forward to this that I will cut myself once in the arm for every day I do not get a response.
REGARDS!!!
Sir Haduken P. Australia III
This was amazing. Do you charge? I'll hire you when I need my cover letter written, for sure.
|
|
|
Look at this letter. Now look at your computer. Now back at this letter. You can't code like me, but you can hire someone that codes like me.
That made my day haha!
Seriously, you could proably use that letter editing out the humourous things
+ Show Spoiler +or you could make their day lol
|
Make sure you personalize it and dont put sir/madam. It looks like you just ran off 50 copies and are handing them out everywhere.
|
On July 24 2010 09:27 Kingsp4de20 wrote:
Make sure you personalize it and dont put sir/madam. It looks like you just ran off 50 copies and are handing them out everywhere.
What would you write? Since I don't know that much about the company and all I really have is a submit button on a job site.
|
On July 24 2010 21:24 haduken wrote:Show nested quote +On July 24 2010 09:27 Kingsp4de20 wrote:
Make sure you personalize it and dont put sir/madam. It looks like you just ran off 50 copies and are handing them out everywhere. What would you write? Since I don't know that much about the company and all I really have is a submit button on a job site.
No that's fine. Just write something specific about the company/job like I said earlier. Keep it short and error free. That's about it. The shortened version posted earlier by someone else isn't bad, just need some details added in.
Don't overthink it, the cover letter could, but rarely breaks your opportunities (assuming you cared enough). What they'll focus on is your resume.
edit: To me, you seem to care quite a bit about this job, put some of that passion into one or two sentences. Wanting something is often half of the battle (read my sig  )
edit2: To corroborate on what I said before, I think your energy is better spent fixing your resume. Tailor your resume to match the job description closely (you have no idea how many companies still do a keyword search on the resume, and this filters out more than half of the applicants), describe the more relevant experiences in more detail, and remove some of the irrelevant ones (they are more or less distractions and take up precious spaces).
|
Hi Cambium
Thanks for helping me! You've being great.
What do you mean by keyword search?
My resume is more or less geared towards a grad developer role (Which is ultimately what I am trying to get :/) but this position is obviously not a developer role.
This role however is with a well established software house and they did ask for tertiary qualification so I have my doubt if all they after is another hell desk monkey. I'm feeling that this support position is a step towards something else so what would you advise?
|
On July 24 2010 22:09 haduken wrote:
Hi Cambium
Thanks for helping me! You've being great.
What do you mean by keyword search?
My resume is more or less geared towards a grad developer role (Which is ultimately what I am trying to get :/) but this position is obviously not a developer role.
This role however is with a well established software house and they did ask for tertiary qualification so I have my doubt if all they after is another hell desk monkey. I'm feeling that this support position is a step towards something else so what would you advise?
By keyword search, I mean whether your resume mentions some of the things they are looking for. In your case, it might be something like "support", "customer relations", "resolving conflicts", etc.
I mean, most new grads work their way up, so taking a support job in a software firm is definitely a step towards the right direction. It's also always easier to switch once you have your feet in their door.
Obviously, if you can get a proper dev job, that'd be great, but don't be discouraged with this opportunity.
GL
|
I'm not discouraged and I realized that scoring a straight dev grad is probably a little too ambitious with my credentials. Australia don't have a huge industry like in the US and we kinda have an over supply of grads in this field and I'm being squeezed by competition.
|
On July 23 2010 21:23 baller wrote:u should really spice it up a little, show ur interest more, make ur letter stand out among the others. Show nested quote +Dear Sir, Madam, or Transgendered Individual
I am writing harder than anyone has ever written before. I broke 3 keyboards I am so extremely interested in your advertisement for an Application Support position. When I read this advertisement I had to take a break for 3 days I was so excited.
I have completed an undergraduate degree in computer science at Monash University. In a way, this degree is unique to anyone in the field. In another, more accurate way, this degree is the same as the other 10,000 undergraduates who graduated this year. But I am better than them. I'm smarter. Stronger. Sexier. I guarantee you.
My education introduced a strong, unhealthy obsession with softwares. I can't stop thinking about them much like an obese person thinks about food. I have also taken opportunities to work on a few ridiculously badass freelance projects and my resume will elaborate further on these matters because I would not be able to contain that level of awesome in only my cover letter.
Look at this letter. Now look at your computer. Now back at this letter. You can't code like me, but you can hire someone that codes like me. Also, I have demonstrated unprecedented communication skills in this letter and during my employment. I had to interact with small business clients on a daily basis. Every. Day. Have you ever met small business clients? You need to communicate the shit out of them.
My resume contains additional details regarding my background and I would welcome an opportunity to discuss them with you over a game of StarCraft: Brood War, the Blizzard real time strategy game that sold 11 million copies and is widely considered the best game ever in its genre and spawned a sequel called StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, which is set to release July 27.
I look forward to hearing from you. I look so forward to this that I will cut myself once in the arm for every day I do not get a response.
REGARDS!!!
Sir Haduken P. Australia III
A profound way to articulate a coverletter. I would undoubtedly give a job offer, at 4 times the salary without even having an interview after reading this cover letter.
I would go with this... IMO of coruse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
