Cover Letter vs Resume Whats the Difference

Cover Letter vs Resume Whats the Difference The difference between a resume and cover letter lies in the form and detail. A resume is a detailed outline of your professional experience, skills, and education, whereas a cover letter is a short overview of who you are, your qualifications, and motivation.A resume and a cover letter go together like nachos and cheese.But do you always need BOTH?This guide will show you:The difference between a resume and cover letter and their definitions.What the purposes of a resume and cover letter are.How a resume and cover letter complement each other.Why neither of the two should be confused with a CV.First look at both documents created in our builder. On the lefta resume. On the righta cover letter.Sample Cover Letter for a ResumeSee more cover letter templates and create your cover letter here.The difference is clear, right? Heres an explanation:1What Is a Resume?A resume is a formal summary of your work experience, education, and skills, divided into sections. It shows your career histo ry in a structured way and provides the recruiter with crucial information about your professional background. Its usually one or two pages long, and should be targeted to a specific job opening.What should a resume include?Look at the list below:Contact informationCareer summary or career objectiveWork experience sectionEducation sectionSkillsExtra resume sections (courses, publications, certificates, conferences, languages, etc.)The goal of a resume is to present you as a job candidate in an itemized, short, and informative way. All resume sections have to be labelled with clear and professional headings.As a whole, the document should follow the rules of a chosen resume format (usually the reverse-chronological one) and stick to the resume length standards.Read this guide to learn how to write a resume that sellsbetter than Amazon: How to Make a Resume for a JobOr, cut to the chase and find a resume for your profession here: 99+ Resume Examples for Every ProfessionWant to save ti me and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. Its fast and easy to use. Plus, youll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.Sample resume made with our builderSee more templates and create your resume here.One of our users, Nikos, had this to say:[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.Create your resume nowNow, what is a cover letter for a resume?Lets check.2What is a Cover Letter?A cover letter is a business letter that you send to a prospective employer to introduce yourself as a candidate. It provides additional professional information about you explains to the recruiter why youre applying for the position. Resume cover pages should not repeat the contents of resumes. Their goal is to supplement them.What should a cover letter include?Professional cover letter headingProper cover letter address sectionProper salutationCompelling cover letter introductionReasons you chose to apply to this companyYour offer and a strong closing statementOptionally, a postscript to hook their attention once moreJust like resumes, cover letters follow specific formatting rules and have their own length limitations.Heres how to tell your story in a cover letter: How to Write a Job-Winning Cover LetterAlso, look up examples for your profession in our collection of Professional Cover Letter ExamplesWant to write your cover letter fast?Use our cover letter builder. Choose from20+ professional cover letter templatesthat match your resume. See actionable examples and get expert tips along the way.Sample Cover Letter for a ResumeSee more cover letter templates and create your cover letter here.3Cover Letter vs. Resume vs. CVThe DifferencesThere are three types of differences between cover letters and resumes:Cover Letters and Resumes Have a Different PurposeTo get the difference between a cover letter and a resume, you need to understand t he functions they have:Resume summarizes your work history and qualifications. It gives the hiring manager an overview of your professional self.Cover letter sells your qualifications. Its supposed to provide the recruiter with the answers to why and how questions (Why do you want to work for this company and no other? How can you contribute?)Cover Letters and Resumes Have a Different FormatResumes and cover letters have different formats and formatting rules:A resume is a document divided into specific sections. It shows information in the form of bullet points.A cover letter consists of 3 or 4 paragraphs of text, divided into an opening, body, and closing. You can also add a PS line below your signature at the bottom.Cover Letters and Resumes Have a Different ToneResumes are more formal in tone than cover letters. Thats why we always recommend writing resumes in the third person. Instead of writing I managed a group of 20 people, we suggest you opt for managed a group of 20 people .A cover letter is your own professional story written in the first person. Hence, using I in a cover letter is recommended and expected.Why is that so?Before your resume is read by the recruiter, its scanned by the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Cover letters are explicitly meant for human (not machine) readers.Also:Resumes are objective; cover letterssubjective.Resumes use a professional tone; cover letters are more conversational. Telling the recruiter who you are, what passions you have, and how you can help the company give your entire application a more personal touch.Now you know the difference between a resume and a cover letter.But wait a minuteThere are also CVs. And theres a lot of confusion about them.CV vs. Resume vs. Cover LetterA CV (or Curriculum Vitae, from Latin) is the equivalent of a resume in Europeand globally, in Academia. However, in each of these contexts, CVs follow different formats. Read more about CV formats in Europe here and compare them with academ ic CVs here.Whats the problem?People tend to confuse cover letters with CVs. The truth is Europeans often use the terms resume and CV interchangeably, so if you're applying for a job in Europe and are asked for a CV, it means you should submit a resume not a cover letter.Jerome ImhoffCareer coach and professional resume writerFor more in-depth CV and resume comparison, check out our dedicated guide: CV vs. Resume: Difference and Definitions4How Resumes and Cover Letters Complement Each OtherNow that you know the difference between a cover letter and a resume (and a CV), lets see how they work side by side.Simply putYour resume is an outline for your cover letter story.In your resume, you list the critical aspects of your professional experience. In a cover letter, you describe them.Cover letters complement resumes.They give candidates a chance to elaborate on the basics that the resume covers and explain things only mentioned there.So, treat your cover letter as a chance to tell the recruiter something more about yourself and reiterate your value as a candidate.Prepare your resume first. Then, to write a great cover letter, ask yourself:Why did you apply to this company?What is your motivation to work with them?How can your work experience and professional skills contribute to the companys needs?Do you share similar values?Theres another reason you need both documents.As a Career Expert at Zety.com, Bart Turczynski says:A cover letter is a brief and to-the-point pitch. It is supposed to make the recruiter or hiring manager read your resume. In real life, however, the resume often determines whether the cover letter is read.Bart TurczynskiCareer Expert at Zety.comA cover letter is a brief and to-the-point pitch. It is supposed to make the recruiter or hiring manager read your resume. In real life, however, the resume often determines whether the cover letter is read.Pro Tip: When writing your resume and cover letter always double-check your grammar and spelling . Regardless of the document type, errors look unprofessional and can cost you an interview.Some say cover letters are a waste of time. Is it really the case? Check out: Are Cover Letters Necessary in 2019?Key TakeawayHeres a quick recap of all you need to know about the differences between a cover letter and a resume:A resume is an account of your career history in the form of bullet points, divided into sections.A cover letter gives the recruiter a more in-depth insight into your work history in the form of a letter.Resumes list qualificationscover letters describe them.A resume is a formalized document; a cover letter has a more personal touch.Cover letters complement resumes and are still expected by most hiring managers.Do you have any other questions about resume and cover letter differences? How would you define a resume and a cover letter? If you still have doubts, let us know in the comments.

How a Global Telecoms Business Rings Up Employee Advocacy

How a Global Telecoms Business Rings Up Employee Advocacy For every global company, attracting and holding onto  the right kind of talent is  as big a  challenge as it is important to get it right. Especially for businesses with employees scattered around the world, its important to have a consistent presence and address employer branding from the inside out but how?  Read on. Take Vodafone, for example. When you’re in the business of connecting people, you really have to practise what you preach. So how do they,  the worlds 2nd largest phone operator, dial up employee advocacy?  Youre  about to find out! Ive had a chat with Kimberley Harcombe of Vodafone UK to get the inside scoop. Listen to the podcast interview below,  keep reading for a summary of our conversation and be sure to subscribe to the Employer Branding Podcast. What prompted Vodafone to launch an employee advocacy program? Our team is responsible for Vodafone UKs social media policy. And after doing some research around employee attitudes towards the policy and whether they understood it, whether they even knew it existed, we discovered that the majority of people we surveyed werent sure what they could and couldnt share through their personal social media profiles.  We were then prompted to  introduce Go Social, which we work with Dynamic Signal  on. It gives us the opportunity to activate those advocates within the business, as well as make it explicitly clear what employees can and cant share on social as a Vodafone UK employee. What was  the primary goal for the organisation? First and foremost, it was always about reducing uncertainty around the expected social media behaviours, so really coming off the results of that survey. And then, second to that, was supporting the drive to increase ENPS, which is Employee Net Promoter Score, by identifying and mentoring our own advocates. And then, tertiary to that, was increasing the organic reach of our Vodafone UK content in social. What type of content seems to resonate best with employees? One of the great things about Go Social is the ability for employees to actually submit their own content. If theyve seen a really interesting piece on, for example, Do you actually have to put your phone on airplane mode now when you go up in the air?, they could submit that into Go Social and, once its approved, the contents available for everyone else to share, which people really like. So it becomes peer-to-peer sharing internally as well as externally with our social networks. And we found that our employees really like to share the content that demonstrates were more than just a brand, and that there are people behind the logo. And weve also found the employees tend to care about different things, to media or to what our customers might care about, and Go Social gives them a chance to share those stories with their networks that they might not otherwise see. What have been the main benefits for Vodafone and what have been some of the main benefits for employees? For the company specifically, advocacy is a major benefit. So, as mentioned previously, we knew that there were advocates out there, based on the survey that we did, but we didnt know who they were and where we could find them. The  Go Social program allows people to be an advocate of their brands; it really allows them to get behind what were doing as a business. And Ive also mentioned before, for the company, and its both for the company and for the employees actually, this one, is reducing uncertainty around expected social media behaviour.  And also, obviously, increasing the organic reach of our content, so our employees will share our content, whether that be news or a blog story or a TV ad, through their personal social media profiles. And that reduces the reliance on paid media. And weve seen over 20 million impressions to date from a relatively small group of employees sharing that content. And then for the company, its really important for us to know that our employees are happy, and that theyre being presented with all of the information about the company that can help them feel good about what were doing as a business. So that support to drive an increase in the ENPS by identifying and nurturing our own advocates is really important. And then, for our employees, the main benefit is answering the concerns we know that some of them have around how we expect them to behave on social so they get clarity and reassurance on what theyre allowed to share. What metrics do you use to measure success? NPS is one of them, absolutely. First and foremost, we use engagement rate. So one of the great things in working with our partners is that they are able to help us assess ourselves against other programs of a similar nature. And we believe the data, that weve seen some other companies running employee advocacy programs, that were significantly outperforming in terms of engagement rate, and that was at 83%. And thats significantly higher, so like 50 percentage points higher, than some of the benchmarks, across the board. So yeah, were really, really pleased with that. Are you able to tie back any of these metrics to actual finance bottom-line ROI? Yes. So, for us, I think its important to say that the decision to introduce Go Social was not about financial return. That was never the primary reason for introducing it. Instead, we look at how successful Go Social is and has been in driving employee advocacy, as weve discussed. We do also report on equivalent media spend using a very general benchmark, and we estimate that Go Social has driven the equivalent of more than £200,000 in media spend in the last 10 months. And thats from a group of users that now number over 1,000. So we started off with nobody in September, and were now up to 1,000. And our ambition is to break through the 10% figure, which originally came out in the original survey, of 10% of our employees would be willing to share content through their social media profiles. More on this topic at  Employee Advocacy: The Ultimate Handbook.

How One Lie Can Ruin Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How One Lie Can Ruin Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Last week, Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson resigned amid controversy that he had lied about his academic credentials on his resume. An activist Yahoo! investor exposed Thompson as having added a nonexistent computer science degree to his credentials. Unfortunately, resume embellishment like this is not uncommon. A 2004 study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found 60 percent of HR professionals had found inaccuracies on resumes “often” or “sometimes.” And much more recently, a  FindLaw.com survey reports  eight percent of Americans admit to embellishing or exaggerating information on their resume. Lying and your personal brand Job candidates might not always lie through extreme measures like adding an extra college degree, but many embellish their resumes in other ways. Some enhance their responsibilities at their past job to make it sound better. Others may change dates to fill gaps in their employment history. Lying on a resume is never a good idea, and is grounds for termination at most companies. Many human resources professionals verify resume information with the job candidates’ past employers, run background checks, or scour the applicant’s Twitter and Facebook pages to make sure nothing seems fishy. An SHRM survey found nearly half of HR professionals Google search their applicants, and one in five of those who conduct searches have disqualified candidates because of what they found. But when resume fraud slips by and is exposed later, it’s damaging to your company, and perhaps more importantly, your personal brand. Lying about just one aspect of your credentials can negate all of your experience and affect your future job prospects. So what if you have lied on your resume? You have a few options: Update it. Fix the errors on your resume. Tell the HR professional you noticed a few errors and would like to give them an updated copy. Tell the truth. Come clean and tell the HR manager the truth about your embellishments. This will probably disqualify you from the job, but it’s better than being hired knowing you’ve lied and having someone find out later. Remember, lying on a resume, cover letter, or in an interview is never a good idea. If you think your credentials could be stronger, go out and improve them! Have you ever lied on a resume, or heard of someone who did? Author: Heather R. Huhman  is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder president of  Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers. She is also the author of  Lies, Damned Lies Internships  (2011),  #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle  (2010), and writes career and recruiting advice for  numerous outlets.

What generation are you part of, really Take this test.

What generation are you part of, really Take this test. If you want to know how old you really are, look at the media you use rather than the generation you were born into. Generational labels are important in the discussion of the changing workforce. For example, we need to understand who is pushing for change and who is criticizing change in order to understand how to create workplace bridges. And increasingly, young people are calling for baby boomers to get out of the way. However I get a lot of email from people at the later end of the baby boom who do not identify with baby boomers. To some extent researchers have dealt with this issue by categorizing the latter section of the baby boom separately, as Generation Jones (born between 1954 and 1965). This category will make some people feel better, but there still will be baby boomers who are indignant at being lumped with the delusional, self-centered, money-hungry baby boomers. But hold it. Maybe you are not really part of the generation your birthday falls under. Heres an idea: We should determine our generation not by our age but by how we use media. This comes from Margaret Weigel, who has worked at Harvard and MIT doing research on digital media engagement:* We should not judge people rigidly by the years they were born, she says, If we want to define people by categories, it should be by behaviors because this is something each of us chooses. Another reason to use media engagement to peg someones age is that the media we use reflects both the space we live in and the circle of friends we run with. For example, you probably wont find the Wii at a senior center, and you do what your friends do or youre out of the loop. So here is a test I put together with the help of an interview with Weigel and an evening reading her blog. Add up your points to figure out what generation youre really a part of: Do you have your own web page? (1 point) Have you made a web page for someone else? (2 points) Do you IM your friends? (1 point) Do you text your friends? (2 points) Do you watch videos on YouTube? (1 point) Do you remix video files from the Internet? (2 points) Have you paid for and downloaded music from the Internet? (1 point) Do you know where to download free (illegal) music from the Internet? (2 points) Do you blog for professional reasons? (1 point) Do you blog as a way to keep an online diary? (2 points) Have you visited MySpace at least five times? (1 point) Do you communicate with friends on Facebook? (2 points) Do you use email to communicate with your parents? (1 point) Did you text to communicate with your parents? (2 points) Do you take photos with your phone? (1 point) Do you share your photos from your phone with your friends? (2 points) 0-1 point Baby Boomer 2-6 points Generation Jones 6- 12 points Generation X 12 or over Generation Y (Note: This post contains the views of Weigel and not necessarily those of Harvard and MIT.)

Best Practices of Writing a Resume

Best Practices of Writing a ResumeThe best practices of writing a resume are something you have to be aware of if you are applying for a job. Not all employers are familiar with the practices of writing a resume and as such, this is why it is important to outline your style so that it will be easier for you to achieve this.The format of a good resume is something that you should consider before writing your resume. The best practices of writing a resume suggests that the resume should be able to be read by the hiring manager without any problems. In order to make sure that this happens, the resume that you write should be well-organized.You can do this by being able to identify the information that the resume should include. As such, you should first determine what you want to highlight about yourself and include those details. If you want to get more details on this, check out the other best practices of writing a resume guidelines. However, remember that when it comes to resumes, y ou cannot include all the necessary information and elements.For instance, certain things that you can include in your resume to include your academic achievements, employment experience, personal characteristics, work and volunteer experience, work experiences, awards and degrees that you have received, and volunteer work done. You can also list the skills that you are known for. For example, if you have done advertising or public relations, you can include this in your resume.An important step that you have to take is reviewing the content of your resume. A good practice of writing a resume is that it should be organized. Thus, you should be able to identify how your resume is organized and if it is done properly. If it is not organized properly, then you need to think about revising it or rewriting it.Since the best practices of writing a resume are used by many people to write their resumes, you will also find many people using it. However, do not try to reinvent the wheel becau se the practice of writing a resume is not as easy as you may think. As such, you have to be ready to revise it and rewrite it as time passes by.If you are working on a resume or if you just want to write one for your own purposes, you should find a good resume writer. The best practices of writing a resume suggests that you should seek help from someone who knows the practice of writing a resume for the best. While most people prefer to go for traditional resume writers, there are also online resume writers who can help you out.You can also consider seeking help from a professional resume writer. A professional resume writer has the experience to help you write a resume in a structured manner so that it will be easy for you to achieve the best results.

And Ill Say It Again, It Isnt Your Resume

And Ill Say It Again, It Isnt Your Resume The reason so many people are still unemployed has very little to do with their resumes. Yet, more than any thing else, this document is being re-worked and critiqued.   STOP IT ALREADY! Job search is about knowing the right people and having them know you.   The resume is secondary.   It is back-up documentation. These are the top 10 things for an unemployed job seeker to obsess over: 1) Exploring options for work beyond a 60 mile radius. I hear job seekers talk about the fact that cant relocate their families more than any other objection.   Ludicrous.   No one says you have to move your family. No one even said you had to relocate yourself.   In todays world, more and more jobs can be done virtually. You will never know what the options are unless you pursue them. The one, most obvious choice, is to expand your search territory.   See what happens! 2)   Use a proactive approach Dont wait for a company to post a job, identify potential employers and pursue them.   Leave no stone unturned. Create a list of at least 50 employers that are likely to need someone who does what you do.   Now you can follow these employers on LinkedIn, Twitter, in the news and see what they are up to. 3) Lazer Focus Be extremely clear on what problems you are great at solving (and enjoy).   You can not, nor should not, be all things to all companies! Know what you are good at and sell it! 4) Sell Yourself No, not in a slimy way, but in a convincing way.   When you introduce yourself, use language that everyone can understand and make it interesting. 5) Stop saying you are looking for a job When you confess that you are looking for a job, you sound desperate.   This makes most people want to run and hide.   Even if they did have a job, they probably wouldnt offer it to you.   You are seeking information!   Really, you NEED to learn about other companies and perhaps industries to see what they are doing and how they work. 6)   Have more conversations Because most external hiring comes through referrals, spend more time meeting people and less time applying for jobs online.   Your chances of landing a job because you know someone inside the hiring company are many times greater! 7) Really research your industry and occupation Know what technology is being required.   Know what the challenges are.   Know the direction your occupation is headed in as well as your industry.   Your goal is to be a walking encyclopedia on the topics facing your field. 8 ) Understand and use LinkedIn You dont need to take a class for crying out loud.   Read a book, watch a video, start a new users group so you fully understand the best practices.   This tool will be around for awhile and youll want to use it once your employed too! 9) Be positive Complaining, bad mouthing, lack of self esteem all work against a candidate.   Fix this.   I know how hard it is to be out of work, but you can and must control your attitude! 10)   Be a giver not a taker An overriding principle of networking and strong interpersonal communication is to be a good listener.   Are you developing your listening skills?   Are you making conversations more about the other person?   Are you volunteering?   What else can you do to help others? Now, having said all this, I know that having a strong, accomplishment based resume is always a good thing.   The resume must be customized for every job you apply to.   It must uniquely convey your strengths.   It should be error-proof and truthful.   Yes, you have to have a good one, but do these other 10 things first!

Study these common interview questions - Sterling Career Concepts

Study these common interview questions Study these common interview questions I recently shared these two links with a client and wanted topost it hereas well. One of the biggest tried and true keys to interviewing wellis preparation. I recommend my clients get a notebook or index cardsto write out answers to common interview questions and then practice, practice, practice!These written answers aregreat to review the night before an interview or if you arrive to the location ahead of schedule. Here are links to two especially helpful and well-organized databases of interview questions: http://www.quintcareers.com/interview_question_database/interview_questions.htmlThe 150 typical interview questions http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htmInterviews and answers See these other posts on interview preparation: Job search advice from a recruiter Answering interview questions: Tell a story Make the most of your job search * Remember, a better-prepared candidate will outshine an ill-prepared candidate in an interview. Formulate and practice your answers ahead of time. Do what you can to ace the interview!