Please read my article on putting a CV / Resume together and comment if you agree or disagree with my advice.

In regards to cover letters, I will put my list of Do’s and Don’t's below and add some links to examples of what I think are going to give you a better chance.

Do’s

• Always attach a cover letter to your CV or Resume
• Make sure you address it to the relevant person in the business
• Use key words from the advertisement in your letter
• Address both the Skills and Experience Requirements identified in the Ad
• Put the most convenient and accessible ways to contact you ie Mobile and Email
• Space it out and make it easy to read
• Differentiate between sending it to a recruiter or the company itself
• Make it one page
• Make it unique to you and what you can offer
• Include call to action – Request an Interview, Tell them you will call to follow up in 2-3 days
• Be confident

Don’t's

• Make spelling mistakes
• Address it to a different role or company or person by mistake
• Send a generic cover letter
• Make it more than one page
• Include unnecessary filler such as “Please find my resume enclosed”
• Explain why the role will be good for you
• Waste the first paragraph with filler, make an impact so they keep reading

So here are some example templates I have put together;

Cover Letter No 1

Cover Letter No 2

Please tell me if there are any mistakes and email me any improved versions.

Thanks

Tim

It is plain to see that SEEK has a dominant place in the online Job space with their competitors MyCareer and Career One an increasingly distant 2nd and 3rd.

Joint chief executive Paul Bassat made some interesting comments;

“One thing we are seeing with the downturn in the economy is further acceleration of the migration from print to online, with online now capturing 79 per cent of all job ads.”

As a long term investment, I see some problems with the SEEK business model, primarily, barriers to entry and secondarily, Web 2.0 and 3.0.

These are discussions for another time though.

Tim

So is January just going back to normal, just a slow start as people return to work and put out the fires and will start thinking about HR and recruitment in Feb/March?

I don’t have the answer, but I haven’t seen anything that points towards a great year for the job market. It will be much slower than last year and good candidates will still get good jobs and average candidates will have to work harder and wait longer to secure their next role.

We have seen more companies trying to recruit themselves through SEEK and print advertising in the past 3 months. This may continue but you need resources to do this and the success is more hit and miss than you would think. Remember to do those reference check guys.

Any feedback is most welcome.

Tim

Don’t create a black hole. Communication is a 2 way street. Both candidates and recruiters have a responsibility to keep the channel open. If your recruiter has left a message try to get back to them as soon as possible. Time is of the essence and the market doesn’t always wait. If a recruiter is following up with 3 or 4 candidates and you don’t respond in a reasonable time frame you may just miss out! You can always take the initiative and keep in regular contact to keep informed.

Discretion please. We understand it is not always a convenient time or place. Let us know a suitable time to call to speak with you or say you can call back in 10 minutes or an hour; but make sure you can commit to that. Alternatively send an SMS; most of you should have your recruiter’s mobile.

Watch the clock. We know your time is valuable – and ours is too! Keep your discussions focused. Be specific about why you are calling and the desired outcome whether that’s to arrange a time to meet or to have a more detailed conversation.

Hello, anyone there?   Your recruiter should inform you of the next steps and when they will be able to come back to you. If this hasn’t happened then make the call or send an email. It doesn’t hurt to remind them about the commitment they made to you. Remember you are in charge of your career.

Expectations. Everyone has an opinion about their worth and what the market is paying. Be open about your expectations in relation to salary and benefits. You don’t want to say one thing when you really want another as this could jeopardise negotiations further down the track. A good recruiter will be informative and should set you on the right path.

A fresh start. Before you start your new role try to take some time off; ideally a week will help you re-charge your batteries and allow you to get that well-deserved massage. It’s a good investment and you will be fresh and ready to go.

Any comments?

Tim

But how reliable is the number of individual jobs posted on SEEK and how closely does this number equate to actual individual positions within individual companies?

There are thousands of ads on SEEK that fall into the duplicate or phantom categories;

• Multiple listings of the same role by the same company or recruiter
• One role being listed by the company and a recruiter
• One role being listed by more than one recruiter
• CV collecting general listings ie “Calling all Brand Managers” etc.

Now SEEK loves this because it increases their revenues. As the competition for Talent intensifies and the lack of a strong alternative the candidates will continue to go to SEEK as the first option. Unfortunately they will have to sift through this maze of duplicate roles and opportunities.