When you submit a resume to a potential employer, what do you do to distinguish yourself from the other candidates for the position? Most people use a cover letter although I have seen and heard of applicants attaching a post-it note. That’s a gutsy move. It may not always work, but it has worked in at least one case.

Why did the post-it note work? Because it was different. It was out of the ordinary and attention-grabbing. But it wasn’t the post-it note that sealed the deal. It was what the applicant wrote on the post-it note. The message. The content.

And that’s what I’m going to focus on today. Simply submitting a cover letter with your resume isn’t enough to get you an interview. Your cover letter has to be attention-grabbing. It has to be unique.

With that in mind, here are 4 essential characteristics of a good cover letter:

1. Personal, yet professional – Your resume is where you list your professional qualifications for the position to which you are applying. In your cover letter, you can get a little more personal. Not too personal, but let your personality shine through.
2. Fill the holes in your resume – No resume is perfect. A potential employer will have questions. Your cover letter should briefly cover any glaring holes in your resume. Explain them in such a way that it makes sense to the interviewer so that she picks up the phone and calls you in for the interview.
3. Introduces you to your employer – The interviewer will read your cover letter before he reads your resume. That’s your first opportunity to catch his attention. Make a big splash. If your resume does its job, the interviewer will move quickly to the resume.
4. Shows your interest in the position – A resume might be good for several jobs you want to apply for. A cover letter will apply only to one job. It should be customized for the position to which you are applying. Let the interviewer know you are really interested in that position.

A good cover letter gets your foot in the door. The resume keeps that door open. After an interviewer has read them both, he should call you in for an interview. If that happens, you know they’ve done a good job.

In this day and age when employers can go online and find out virtually anything about you, it’s imperative that you think of yourself as more than just a job seeker. You might have to think of yourself as a brand and do some online reputation management.

Google – the largest search engine in the world – recently announced that they are changing the way search works. They’re calling their new product Search plus Your World.

Essentially, what it boils down to is that Google is rolling its search service into its social service, Google+, and creating a personalized experience for every searcher. Now, what’s that got to with your reputation? Everything!

By setting yourself up with a Google+ profile, you can virtually brand yourself online, which could give you a leg up on your job seeking competition. With a Google+ profile that is linked to your personal website, a Facebook page, an active LinkedIn presence, and a Twitter account, you can stretch your fingers and your mind out globally and become a personal brand. How you manage that could be the difference between a job or the unemployment line.

Furthermore, it could make a difference in your salary.

Employers today are looking for people who are Web savvy. If you understand current technology well enough to be a user, then you could be setting yourself up for the future, which is always a good thing.

Online branding is as important today for job seekers as it is for the companies who will be hiring them. Manage your online reputation and you’ll have a rewarding career.

(thanks to coolinfographics.com for use of the sample)

Thanks to a reader for mentioning the 5th type of resume. A new type of resume has become popular just in the last couple of years. It's called an infographic resume.

An infographic is an online visual representation of an idea. It can be a large visual representation that forces the viewer to use the scroll bar to see the entire graphic or it can be a smaller graphic that encompasses a single screen. Either way, it's an effective way to deliver a resume for many people today - especially graphic designers and web developers.

In simple terms, an infographic resume takes your text-based resume and converts it to graphics so that potential employers can see your experience and work history at a glance.

There are no hard-and-fast rules for creating an infographic resume. If you want to see a sample, click here.

That said, there are some rules that you do need to follow when creating your infographic resume:

1. Keep it relevant. Only add information to your infographic resume that is relevant to the job you are seeking.
2. Put the most important information at the top.
3. Keep it sectional for easy reference (though the sections can be side-by-side or top-to-bottom, or both.
4. You can still use text, but make it attractive and visual.
5. Highlight your most important skills.
6. Use color to your advantage.
7. Use links for your contact information - website, e-mail, social media accounts, and even Skype if you have it.

Like a text resume, potential employers should be able to get a glance at who you are with your infographic resume. Its purpose is to get you the interview. After that, getting the job is up to you.

 

When it comes to writing resumes, you’ll have to decide before you start writing just what type of resume you want to have. There are 4 popular types of resumes and each one fulfills a specific function quite well.

1. Chronological Resume – Perhaps the most popular resume type because it lists your work history at the top in reverse chronological order. Employers like it because they can see your work history at a glance. If you have a stable work history, then this is a great type of resume for finding your next employer.
2. Functional Resume – The functional resume focuses on skills and experience. If you have large gaps in your work history, then the functional resume can be your friend. However, many employers/recruiters don’t like these types as they seem to be “hiding” something. Make sure you clearly list your positions and responsibilities to avoid this misconception.
3. Combination (Hybrid) Resume – The combination, or hybrid, resume is more flexible. Your skills and experience are listed first, but you also include your work history below that so that employers can see it at a glance.
4. Targeted Resume – When you are applying for a job and want to highlight the skills and experience that are relevant to that job, a targeted resume might be your best bet.

Each of these 4 types of resumes have their places. People from all different careers and management levels use each one. But another type of resume has become popular in recent years. A mini-resume is not as extensive as a full resume. It can often be presented on a postcard and gives a brief summary of your career highlights. It works as a networking tool and allows you to get your foot in the door where you can get your full resume into a hiring manager’s hands.

**I am a member of the Career Collective, a group of resume writers and career coaches. Each month, all members discuss a certain topic. This month, we are talking about what job seekers can do to ready themselves for the interview. Please follow our tweets on Twitter #careercollective . You can also view the other member’s interesting posts at the end of the article.

Scenario: You spend weeks, even months looking for a job. You have networked to the point of knowing just about everyone on the planet (or at least their relatives), attended more association lunches than you care to admit, prepared the perfect resume on perfect resume paper, attended numerous job fairs, and finally interested someone to offer you an interview. Whew!

For as long as you have been looking, it’s not uncommon for the phone call requesting an interview to come with very little prep time. You may be asked to interview that day, or even worse, in a few hours. So what you can do you prepare?

In this rugged job market, it will pay for you to make sure you are ready to respond at a moment’s notice. Competition is fierce, and the more you can prepare in advance, the better equipped you will be to impress them at the drop of a hat.

So how do you set yourself apart from the crowd? Talent just won’t do it anymore. You need to have the entire package of credentials, skills and personality to impress those doing the hiring.

First, make sure you’re ready to go at a moment’s notice. Dress in business attire every day of a job hunt. Always start your day with all the prep you would take if you had your dream job. Keep a briefcase or portfolio at hand with pens, spare copies of your resume, business cards, a CD of your portfolio to leave with the employer, and any other items that will be useful in an interview. Keep these stocked up and ready to grab and run out the door with.

Bone up on the company you are applying for. But don’t think that all your information should come from the Internet. Often times, the local libraries have many resources you can’t find online. The annual report of the company you’re wishing to be hired by may not be accessible in any other form than actually going into the library and searching the card catalog.

To learn about the financial stability and history of your future employer, find a Standard and Poor’s report to really educate yourself on the inside of the company. Dun and Bradstreet is also a great resource for this information.

Use what you learn in your conversation during the interview. You won’t have to be prepared to give a lengthy report, but dropping these hints lets your future employer know you do your homework, which in turns says you will go the extra mile for them.

With the advent of social networking, you can find out a lot about the interviewer. Learn about their professional experience and background, and groups he or she may belong to. With this information you can have an even more in depth conversation that will establish a connection with the interviewer that others might not create.

Articulation is always the key for in person interviews. Prepare what you want to say. Don’t be afraid to practice your talk in the car on the way to the interview. Break your presentation in the parts you want to focus on. Begin with being personable and having an interesting opening line. Don’t hesitate to begin with small talk, knowing where you are going to take the interview.

This preparation will put you on the offensive and give you more control when you actually get into the interview. As you practice be aware of your body language, facial expressions and what you are going to wear. Create some answers in advance to questions you are sure to be asked. Identify you strong suits, be honest about your weak areas. Don’t be too glowing, but don’t paint yourself in a disparaging light either. Try to create a balanced perspective of yourself, always leaning on the positive.

And lastly, never speak poorly of your former employer. ‘Nuf said.

Check out what the other Career Collective members have to say about this topic:

• Sit Down and Panic. The Interview is Yours @GayleHoward
• How to Stand Out in a Job Interview @heathermundell
• Avoid These Reference Mistakes @DawnBugni
• Unspoken Secrets of Job Interviewing Prep: How Your Nonverbal Presentation and Behaviors Impact the Impression You Make @KatCareerGal
• Prep for Interviews Now: Snuff out the Elephant in the Room Later! @chandlee
• What Should Job Seekers Do Now to Prepare for an Interview @erinkennedycprw
• Take a Ride in the Elevator Before You Interview @barbarasafani
• Are You Ready for the Elephant in the Room? @WorkWithIllness
• “Tell Me About Yourself” (Oh, Yikes!), @KCCareerCoach
• The job interview as a shared narrative @WalterAkana
• Prepare your references for job search success @Keppie_Careers
• No Pain No Gain In Job Search and Interview Prep @ValueIntoWords
• Job searching? Take a cue from the Boy Scouts @LaurieBerenson
• Preparing for Career Success Starts with Interviewing the Employers @JobHuntOrg