How to Start Your Cover Letter with a BANG!

How to Start Your Cover Letter with a BANG! Want to grab an employers undivided-attention? Use this little-known cover letter secret to land more quality job interviews immediately. A fantastic, must-read headline practically forces a hiring manager to keep reading right through to the end of your cover letter. BUT, headline placement is all-important so listen up… Put your show-stopping headline right above the cover letter body text. Use bold font so it stands out. Itll be the first thing the employer sees. Keep in mind that a knockout headline will do more for your cover letter than any other single ingredient. Why? Because it pulls the reader into your letter. And without that, your cover letter has an excellent chance of being completely overlooked and fed into the paper shredder. Reread the above headline in this article. How To Start Your Cover Letter With a BANG! Does it bring a smile, a question, a bit of curiosity? You can do the same for your readerâ€"â€"with your own sizzling headline. Why do well-written headlines work so well? The answer is simple: Advertisers, marketers and columnists have literally trained us to scan headlines in newspapers and magazines for decades. Well always stop and read more when a great headline attracts our attention. Its no different with a cover letter. Heres what to do… Directly above the greeting in your cover letter (Dear Ms. Smith), place your winning headline. To make it even more effective, use boldface print and center it on the page. (Two lines maximum). Here are 3 examples of excellent cover letter headlines: I would love the opportunity to interview for the position of [fill in job title here] I believe Im an excellent match for the position of [fill in job title here]. Prompt, Friendly and Results-Driven. May I interview for the position of [fill in job title here]? I would love the opportunity to meet with you in person. How can an employer pass that up? Remember, the first step of your job hunt is to land the job interview. Using a headline to attract the attention of a potential employer AND asking for the interview at the same time is incredibly powerful. Try one of these examples or create a winner of your own. Next, take a seat by the phone because its about to start ringing! Further reading at How To Make Your Cover Letter Grab the Employers Attention.

Writing a Profile For Your Resume

Writing a Profile For Your ResumeWriting a profile for your resume is a lengthy process. It's so long, because you want to be sure that your resume is perfectly unique. You want to make sure that your resume makes it stand out from the rest of the resumes in the same category.The first thing you need to do is select a good category for your resume. You can use a variety of categories depending on the job you are applying for. Your resume is designed to make a statement about who you are. This means that it should highlight your special skills, education, and work experience.Start by typing your resume into a search engine. This will help you find several sites that sell resumes. You will probably notice several sites in your search results, so that's where you should start.Quality is everything when it comes to getting hired. You want to ensure that your resume has what it takes to be seen by an employer. You don't want someone to go on and read your resume and decide to pass on the job.Use the information contained in the resume and profile to create a unique look. You can highlight all of your experiences or try to point out your skills as opposed to just stating your position. Try to make your resume to stand out from the rest of the resumes in the same category. The best way to do this is to put a personal touch on it.You can highlight your achievements and list your unique outlook on the things that you have done. However, keep in mind that if your resume reads like it was written by just anyone you will not be taken very seriously.You will want to write a resume that has a personal touch. Don't be afraid to use the basic keywords and content words. Instead, be creative and be yourself.Remember, when writing a profile for your resume, you want to make sure that you are unique and stand out. Remember that your resume needs to be something that a potential employer looks at and makes a decision as to whether or not they want to hire you.

3 Gadgets to Buy with Your Tax Refund

3 Gadgets to Buy with Your Tax Refund Its tax time baby! And if you have received your tax refund, it could be burning a hole in your pocket to be spent.  How about buying some gadgets? Here are some options for gadgets to buy with your tax refund check: 1.  For gaming, creation and entertainment: the new iPad Anyone who knows anything tech probably knows that Apple recently released the third iteration of their uber popular iPad tablet. Key features of the new iPad, as it is called, include: Retina display (Everything is brighter, better crisper) 4G (Fast baby fast!) Better camera (Ability to record high definition video) Get more details and purchase your iPad  here. Alternative: Asus Transfomer Prime  or  Samsung Tablet 10.1 2.  For reading books/magazines, and watching movies: Kindle Fire The Kindle Fire is Amazons cool tablet/e-reader device that is a 7 powerhouse of media. You can read books, magazines, documents, watch movies, and download apps. All for $199. Also if you are already an Amazon Prime member, you get free 2-day shipping and additional perks with your Fire like the ability the rent eligible books for free  (as frequently as once a month) and ability to stream eligible TV shows and videos online for free. Get more details and purchase your Kindle Fire here. Alternative: Barnes Noble Nook Tablet 3.  For getting motivated to be fit and get moving: Fibit The Fitbit is an awesome little device that is like a pedometer on steroids. Its as small as a bluetooth headset and you can wear it on a belt clip or on your clothing it can even clip to your bra, girls! Not  only does the Fitbit track your steps, but it can also tell you distance traveled, how many floors youve climbed and how many calories have been burned. Wear it at night and the device can track your sleep how many times youve waken during the night and your actual sleep time. You can get it for $99. Get more details and purchase your Fitbit  here. Alternative: Jawbone: Up Planning to purchase any of these gadgets?  If not, how are you spending your tax refund? Have you done your taxes yet?  No worries we wont judge. Let us know in the comments.

4 Tips When Trying To Start A Career As A Fashion Model

4 Tips When Trying To Start A Career As A Fashion Model Becoming a model in Los Angeles, New York, or in any major modeling city is all about gaining experience in your current city. When trying to get into print ads, commercials, and even magazines, it is all about following a simple system to get you started.  Get Headshots The first step is to get headshots taken. There are companies like Bubblegum Casting who can capture quality photos for you. As a model, you really need to get good headshots and also a couple of comp cards as a model. Your headshot is what youll be sending out to casting directors, what you use to attain an agent, and other aspects. Headshots do help you out in a big way, and the key is to consider investing good money for these photos. They do make a big difference as to whether decides to hire you or not.  Take Classes Take acting, modeling, and self image classes. There are countless people who are developing their skills constantly. A good resume is great, but the people you meet at these classes can be even better. You may end up meeting another model who is already with a great agent, and they may recommend you.  Find an Agent The next thing you want to consider is looking for an agent. It takes awhile to be able to get an agent because they really look for people who have serious experience, so they will look for your headshot and try to see if you have experience. This is why classes to put in your resume and also really nice headshots can help you get an agent. Your goal should be to find more than one agent to sign you and to add you in as one of their freelance models. When you are a part of all of these agencies, youll be able to gain more and more access to some more potential job offers and modeling opportunities. Some casting directors go straight to some agencies, so you want to be a part of as many in your area as possible.  Get Those Jobs Once you are with an agency, your goal now should be to continue taking classes, joining seminars, finding other agents, and continuing to learn. The waiting begins at this point because you have to learn how to deal with waiting for opportunities. You really need to make sure that you are prepared to check your email often and to also watch out for more and more offers. Getting job offers means looking in your emails a lot, waiting for phone calls, and having a very open schedule to attend auditions and also be able to do the photo shoots and commercials. The above tips should help outline for you a 4 step system to becoming a good model and break out into this tough industry. A lot of auditions and requirements are needed for you to do the right way, so think about the above steps to achieving your big modeling dreams.

What Should Be In Your Resume?

What Should Be In Your Resume?Resume write-ups should always be correct spelling and grammar errors removed from the documents before they are submitted. The majority of potential employers have these on their resumes. The first impression that you create on a potential employer may mean the difference between you getting an interview or having your application ignored.For example, incorrect spellings like 'associate' as 'associate', 'semester' as 'semester', 'bachelor' as 'beggar' and similar forms should be taken out of your resume. It is possible to search for different words that are required in a resume through the internet and find a large amount of information regarding what is required on your resume. For example, most resume writing software will list some standard spellings for various professional degrees.If you do not want to take the extra time to research what you need to include on your resume you can still use online tools to search for your necessary information. You can also find the correct spellings and correct usage of professional names in the small search box on most websites. A good place to start is Google. Simply type the name of the degree that you would like your resume to contain and the information should come up.You will also want to eliminate any email addresses that you do not wish to include on your resume. Although it is certainly not required, many employers prefer to only get resumes from addresses that they actually know. For example, a potential employer may receive a large number of resumes that are sent from a random email address. This is not a good way to present yourself as a professional.Another tip for writing a resume that is spell correct is to be sure to use correct spelling. Do not make common mistakes like using the wrong word when writing about a job or position. Some companies even require their resumes to contain the proper spelling of their name.When you are trying to write a resume that is spell correct, d o not add any numbers or symbols to your resume. In the past, this was acceptable but not anymore. Writing on a resume is considered to be a professional looking document so many companies will not accept resumes that have such words as 'so', 'there'so to' in the document.The best tip for writing a resume that is spell correct is to make sure that you always use the correct spelling on your resume. You should also avoid a common practice of not including numbers or any type of symbols. Many employers are more familiar with symbols and numbers than they are with actual letters and numbers.If you are worried about how you are going to correct the spelling on your resume, you can try writing with pen and paper. This is one easy way to see how the sentence will read without any spelling errors. Since so many jobs require you to use correct spelling, making sure that your resume is as professional looking as possible is an important part of being successful at the job.

5 Ways to Use Facebook for Your Job Search

5 Ways to Use Facebook for Your Job Search Most people I talk to really enjoy Facebooks interface and spend at least a little bit of time there each day. Most acknowledge its benefits for keeping in touch with friends and family, but few recognize Facebooks implications for job search and its growing relevance as a job search and career management tool. With over 850 million users (a network that is approximately eight times larger than LinkedIn) and a robust demographic of professionals with 10+ years of work experience, the potential to connect with a key business contact via Facebook is enormous. Here are 5 tips for optimizing your job search strategy on Facebook. Like Pages Most major employers have company pages and many even have separate pages with information about careers at the company. By viewing these pages you can learn a great deal about a companys culture and products and their open positions. Just use the search box on Facebook to find some the companies you are targeting in your search. By liking the page yo u can start engaging in the conversations by commenting on the company page and you can also learn more about potential opportunities.Use Job Search Applications BranchOut, BeKnown, and Glassdoor Inside Connections are third party applications that run on the Facebook platform and allow you to connect with recruiters and people from companies you are interested in without sharing all your personal information on Facebook. These applications leverage Facebooks huge network to help you connect with people who may be able to make important introductions for you.Subscribe What if you found someone who was a thought leader in your industry or someone who you wanted to get regular updates from but you dont really know them? By subscribing to their Facebook updates you can receive their updates in your feed without friending them and they will be notified that you are a subscriber. Just key in their name in the search box, go to their profile, and click on subscribe if they have enabled this feature on their page. This is a great way to get on their radar and possibly turn a cold lead into a warm one.Use Timeline The new timeline profile is great for customizing your Facebook page and building your professional and personal brand. Important events and pictures can be highlighted, the pages you like can be prominently displayed, and you can show other interests such as the books you read or the music you like. Timeline is like your visual resume and it gives you many opportunities for building a compelling and engaging message of value.Create Engaging Status Updates Use your status updates to let your network know about professional events you are attending, interesting articles and books you are reading, and volunteer work you are doing to support your professional community. Write about companies and leaders you admire, share industry best practices, and give shout-outs to colleagues when they experience success. If you have a blog or videos to promote your prof essional brand, be sure to re-purpose this information on your Facebook page. These activities keep you and your professional areas of expertise top of mind with your friends and colleagues and this could lead to important career introductions.Adding the professional slant on your Facebook page doesnt mean compromising who you are. Part of the beauty of Facebook is that it gives you a platform for blending personal and professional messaging to show your authentic self and be memorable to friends, family, colleagues, recruiters, and employers.

The Most-annoying Writing Mistakes [INFOGRAPHIC] - CareerEnlightenment.com