Month: May 2018

A cover letter is your way of introducing yourself to a potential employer. It’s your first–and sometimes last–opportunity to wow them and get your foot in the door. The whole aim of your cover letter is to secure an interview, so you need to make every word count. Here’s how to craft a cover letter that will help you stand out for jobs in construction and engineering:

Projects, projects, projects

Just like your resume, your cover letter should focus on the most important aspects of your career and experience: your projects. Employers in the industry are less interested in your certificates from 15 years ago or your weekend hobbies, and more interested in the projects that you’ve worked on and the ways in which you’ve excelled in your role. You can’t include everything you’ve ever done in a cover letter, so choose a couple of recent projects that summarise what you can do and where you’re at with your career.

Avoid cliches

Companies and recruiting agencies get far more applications that they can look at. Can you imagine how many of the applicants have written the same thing? Even if each and every one of them is ‘team player’ with ‘extensive experience’, your whole aim is to stand out not blend in! Avoid cliches in your cover letter by unpacking these overused phrases. Explain exactly how you work in a team environment and what you’ve achieved with others, elaborate on your experience so that its ‘extensiveness’ speaks for itself.

Check out the cliches to avoid when writing your CV in our previous blog.

Stabs or Slices?

Don’t let the words “cover letter” mislead you. Yes, a cover letter is like an old fashioned letter in the sense that it’s written by you and addressed to someone else. But you don’t want your letter to resemble a great big ‘slab of text.’ Improve the readability of your cover letter by using subheads, bullet points or both. You want your reader to be able to scan the information as quickly and easily as possible. And remember, keep it under one page in length!

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Have you ever applied for a job on a job board? If so, your resume might not have reached human eyes!

Large companies and recruitment agencies use an automated software called an applicant tracking system (APS), or other artificial intelligence to scan the applications before anyone reads them. This way, they can pre-filter the most relevant applicants from the enormous pile, saving time for the hiring staff at the other end.

If you’re applying for a job where an applicant tracking system is being used, read on to find out how you can bypass it…

1. Include The Right Keywords

An applicant tracking system works by scanning for keywords. Applicant tracking systems typically scan for keywords relating to job title, former employers, experience, qualifications and universities. This is why it’s important to rewrite your resume for every individual job you apply for, so that your resume reflects the language used by that employer (and their APS). For example, if the job advertisement is for a ‘senior construction engineer,’ try to have this exact match keyword in your resume, rather than a synonym that the system may not pick up. Another good idea is to read the employer’s website and try to use the same terminology that they do.

2. Use The Right Format

Formatting is important for any CV, regardless of whether it’s being read by an APS or a human, because you want it to be as clear, professional and readable as possible. However, when applying for a job where an APS is being used, there are some special formatting considerations to take into account. Firstly, you want to spell out acronyms in full. That means writing words like ‘APS’ in their complete form, i.e. ‘applicant tracking system’. Some agencies use older systems which struggle with certain fonts, so try to use Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier. Finally, always use straightforward headings like Education, Qualifications, Experience – don’t try to get creative.

3. Avoid Keyword Stuffing 

Although we’ve described some great tips for beating applicant tracking systems, what you ultimately need to remember is that you’re writing for a human. If your resume is chosen by the applicant tracking system, it’s going to reach human eyes in the end, and this human is going to decide whether or not to call you in for an interview. For this reason, include your keywords and format your resume intelligently, but make sure to avoid ‘keyword stuffing.’ Instead, use short simple sentences that are easy to read.

4. Be Proactive

Applicant tracking systems may be here to stay in our modern age, but there are still a number of ways to bypass them altogether. Are you networking regularly with professionals in your industry? Having a contact at the company you’re applying for can be a huge advantage, as they will be able to put in a good word for you and allow you to bypass those pesky applicant tracking systems.

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As search-based recruiters, we deal with CVs on a daily basis. We also encounter a lot of CV cliches. Cliches have been heard so many times by employers that they have lost all meaning and impact. Write a CV and cover letter that stands out by avoiding these all-too-common cliches.

“Solution-focused” and “Results-driven”

An all-too common phrase used in CVs and cover letters, you should definitely avoid these expressions. Everyone claims to be solution and results driven these days, and even if you really feel that this is one of your strengths, the wording communicates almost nothing at all. Instead, improve your CV and stand out from the crowd by being more specific. What are the exact solutions and results you’ve achieved, and how have you done it. The more concrete you are, the more you’ll impress your prospective employers.

“I’m a team player who can work independently…”

It’s a bit like saying your greatest weakness is that you work too hard, isn’t it? This phrase is not only over-used, it’s also hard to believe. The truth is, you probably work independently in some aspects of your role, and do so very well, while at other times you work closely with others and do this equally as well. If this is the case, identify which tasks you do independently and describe the ways in which you have been successful. Then do the same for your fantastic teamwork skills. Include these details in your CV and you’ll surely stand out.

“Extensive experience in …”

Great novelists use a simple trick to write gripping stories, based on the adage “show don’t tell”. Your CV doesn’t have to be as rivetting as the latest New York Times bestseller, but you can draw from this idea to stand out from a pool of cliche-ridden CVs. When writing your CV, don’t speak abstractly about your “extensive experience”, this is known as “telling”. Instead, demonstrate, or “show”, your reader your extensive experience by detailing what roles you’ve done, where, with who, and for how long you’ve done them, and the things you’ve achieved over this time. (Warning: Write your CV and cover letter using bullet points. It shoudln’t look like a Dostoevsky novel!)

Are you “passionate,” “enthusiastic” and “motivated”?

No matter how sincere you are when you use these words, your reader may not take you as seriously as you’d hoped. These expressions are so overused they no longer convey how you actually feel. Instead, try highlighting some of your favourite aspect of your job, or some cherished moments in your career. Describe moments when you accomplished something great or bonded with your team to show your true dedication and love for your role.

 

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