July 2008 - Page 2 of 3 - Palladian Career Resources

Interview Assessment

In the recording I posted yesterday, you heard me ask a transitioning military office the ice breaker question that kicks off most interviews – "Tell me about yourself."

The answer included the officer’s military career in chronological order and concluded with some information about hobbies.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad answer and is typical of a lot of job seekers. There were several areas where this could be improved.

First, the individual focused on the career stops they made, and not the overall progression. For example, the listing of the locations of their postings didn’t help the answer. This information is on the resume. There’s no need to repeat.

Second, the individual listed very little in the way of accomplishments. When you start an interview, you should discuss some of the high points of your career.

Third, the individual didn’t discuss the reason he transitioned from Infantry to Strategic Plans. This would have a great talking point. A lot of job seekers fail to discuss why they made important career moves. Explaining the motivation behind their career moves gives a great opportunity to highlight skills and abilities. For example, this individual might have said something like this:

"I really enjoyed serving as an infantry officer was able to develop my leadership skills in this role. Despite this, I had a significant desire to utilize my analytical skills in a more strategic role. Moving into Strategic Plans allowed me to focus on developing these skills. In particular, I was successful at… <insert short description of an accomplishment> …This experience helped me become a much more well rounded leader."

My example sheds some light on what motivates and interests the individual, it highlights a couple skills and it provides a specific accomplishment.

Fourth, the discussion of hobbies did nothing for the answer. In a short answer like this, you only have a few minutes to discuss your entire career. You should not run out of professional information to discuss in that time.

Transitioning Military Officers: Interview Example

Recently, I conducted a practice interview a military officer preparing to transition into the civilian workforce.

As with most interviews, the first question I asked was “Tell Me About Yourself.” Many interviews start with this and it’s a question many job seekers find challenging. Listen to this individual’s answer and assess it for the following:

Did the individual answer the question asked?
Was the answer clear and easy to follow?
Was the answer concise?
Was the content appropriate, too detailed or not detailed enough?
Did the answer create a professional image?
What do you think the individual should have done differently?

Listen to the Answer

Tomorrow’s posting will have my assessment of job seeker’s answer.

Behavior Based Interviews

An increasingly common interview style is the behavioral interview. With this interview, hiring managers attempt to assess candidates based on how they behaved in a variety of circumstances.

The rationale is to determine how an individual would perform by assessing how they have performed in similar situations in the past.

To interview effectively in a behavior based interview, job seekers need to be able to discuss, very specifically, what they have done. An essential first step in preparing is to develop a selection of stories that you can adapt to any question.

Behavior based questions typically follow the “Tell about a time when you…” format. Each question will address one or more attributes that are important for the job. The question is designed to help the hiring manager determine how you measure up with the attributes.

Many firms that utilize behavior based interviews will use the same or similar questions with every candidate. They do this to make is much easier to compare candidates.

To be successful, the most important thing is to have clear, concise and organized answers. Having interviewed a large number of job seekers, I’ve seen numerous individuals give answers that are difficult to follow. This makes a very poor impression. Another important factor is having a good grasp of you strengths and weaknesses. Many job seekers have difficulty assessing themselves and even more trouble communicating their assessment. If you want to make a positive impression, knowing what makes you attractive to an employer is critical.

Remember, you are competing against job seekers that have a similar background and the same level of experience (and perhaps more experience). The fact that you can do the job got you the interview. To land the job, you need to stand out.

Get our book on behavioral interviewing.

Other Great Books to help you prepare for Behavioral Interviews:

Military to Civilian Transition: 50 Objective Statements

Yesterday, I listed 50 objectives from resumes of managers and executives. Today, I have 50 more objectives, but all of these are from military officers transitioning into the civilian workforce.

For transitioning military officers, it’s improtant to have an objective statement. Transitioning from the military is a significant career change. Defining what type of position they are seeking is important.

OBJECTIVE: Logistician / Analyst
Objective: To be an asset to the company with my experience in the U.S. Army
Objective: To obtain a position that will allow me to display my rapid adaptation and troubleshooting skills. My ideal position would allow me to make use of my talent for rapidly learning new systems and technology and integrating new, old, and international equipment to further my education and career. This position would let my ambition lead the way giving me open space to excel and move upwards to the best of my abilities.
Objective: To acquire a professional position of the Customer Service focus to further develop myself as well as enhance an established work force.
OBJECTIVE: TO OBTAIN EMPLOYMENT AS A WASTE/WATER PLANT OPERATOR
Objective: Obtain a position with an established company to utilize my experience, technical knowledge, and skills in administration, logistics, computer systems and software, office equipment, people, and organization that will contribute to efficient business operations.
OBJECTIVE Seeking a position as Generator Technician where experience and motivational skills will enhance the company.
CAREER OBJECTIVE: Recently retired active-duty service member seeking a position in the U.S. Government sector to include the Logistics, Transportation and Security industries that will certainly capitalize on my military training, leadership and management skills. Team oriented, well organized individual, with 20 years experience in the U.S. Army’s Transportation Logistics arena.
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a management position with a progressive organization that will effectively utilize my acquired expertise and experience.
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a position with an organization where I can maximize my multilayer of management skills, quality assurance, program development, training experience and administrative skills.
Objective: A challenging position as an Administrative Office / Human Resources Manager
OBJECTIVE: Corporate position which capitalizes on a 15-year career leading senior level financial operations and managing “turn around” operations supporting an organization’s new direction and strategy. Senior level experience managing financial transformation plans integrating program and project management initiatives, oversight of multi-million dollar budgets, and acquisitions. Extensive experience in multinational markets.
Objective Seek a position in Administration Services or Human Resources.
OBJECTIVE: Seeking an Information Technology position
OBJECTIVE: A position as Logistics Analyst in an organization where an extensive knowledge in Acquisition and Logistics Management is utilized to ensure accurate logistics and customer support for the Warfighter.
Objective: Information Technology Management
OBJECTIVE: Seeking a career utilizing my management, leadership and instructional skills.
OBJECTIVE: To secure a position that will provide a challenging and respectable career as well as room for advancement
Objective: A Production/Distribution Supervisor position
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a challenging position as Program Manager.
Objective: Senior Maintenance Supervisor
OBJECTIVE: Desire a career in Project or Operational Management.
OBJECTIVE: A position as a Network Switching Systems Technician/Installer with full range of responsibilities and possibilities for advancement.
OBJECTIVE: A position as a Safety Manager/Director.
OBJECTIVE: A POSITION IN SENIOR MANAGEMENT where I can leverage my experience in operations, Human Resources, security and intelligence.
Objective: Seeking a position as a logistician
OBJECTIVE: Seeking a challenging opportunity in Project/Facility Management, that will utilize my skills in overseeing total project development from start to finish, including maintaining quality and cost control.
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE: A challenging Director of Logistics or Supply Chain Management position utilizing leadership, coordination, operations, logistics and communication skills to improve team building and focus on customer service and profit margins for a company in the Government Infrastructure, Oil and Gas or Industrial supplies/products industry.
Objective: To seek career opportunities and provide my knowledge and expertise in knowledge management and communications planning using my extensive skills to an innovative and adaptive detail and results oriented company.
OBJECTIVE: Seeking an analytical position in management or administration that allows me to use and apply over 34 years of progressively responsible experience in both the Department of the Army and public education. Skills and experience include extensive knowledge of workforce (manpower) management, Army programming and budgeting, human resource management, training and development, and logistics.
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE: I am seeking to join a team of dedicated and highly skilled professionals as a Senior Logistics Planner/ Manager/ Analyst/ Trainer/ Project Manager or Supply Chain Manager.
OBJECTIVE: Full or part time position within the field of Loss Prevention/Security or investigations
Objective: A Human Resources Opportunity where I can utilize my professional, technical and leadership skills in a company with a long-standing reputation for a great customer service and strong business partnerships.
OBJECTIVE: To secure a position as a Manger with an established organization utilizing my technical knowledge in Human Resources and experience gained from 25 years as a Leader, Trainer and Manager with the army.
OBJECTIVE: Work in a leadership position committed to customer service, developing employees, and achieving organization goals.
Objective: To secure a Manufacturing Production Superintendent position where my past experience and educational experiences would be fully utilized in a career opportunity.
Objective: Seeking a position within a company where I can contribute my efforts and use my acquired skills to complete a mission.
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE: A senior position involved in all aspects of managing and reporting in financial terms the results of an enterprise’s operations to its internal and external stakeholders or a senior position involved in all aspects of logistics/production.
OBJECTIVE: Seeking a challenging management position with a dynamic company that will utilize my solid logistics, operations and program management background to the fullest capacity.
OBJECTIVE: I would like a responsible management position in a challenging environment, which will utilize my expertise in aviation logistics in marketing and foreign military sales.
Objective: To obtain a professional position where my experience, initiative, leadership and management Skills will be strongly utilized.
OBJECTIVE: Seeking a challenging and rewarding position in Human Resource Management/Strategic Planning where my skills and experience will be utilized to enhance organizational goals.
JOB OBJECTIVE: Seeking a challenging IT software development position to leverage and expand my full-life cycle technical leadership, team building and software development skills
OBJECTIVE: To obtain an Administrative Services Manager or Security Management position in the Colorado Springs Area.
OBJECTIVE: Seeking a challenging management position with a dynamic company that will utilize my solid logistics, operations and program management background to the fullest capacity.
OBJECTIVE: Seeking a challenging and rewarding position in Human Resource Management/Strategic Planning where my skills and experience will be utilized to enhance organizational goals.
Objective: A senior program management, operations or consultant position in a firm supporting homeland security or defense related enterprises.
OBJECTIVE: Seeking Distribution/Operations/Logistics Manager’s position.
OBJECTIVE: Senior management position using proven leadership, planning, and problem solving skills that will result in superior accomplishments and achieve organizational goals.
Objective: Executive Management- seeking a senior position to draw on proven results-driven abilities in strategic planning, team building, or organizational needs assessment.

I’m intersted to hear your impression of the objective statements – do you plan on making any changes to the objective on your resume? How would you assess the average objective – good/bad, effective/ineffective?

50 Resume Objective Statements

To help you write a good objective statement, we listed 50 objective statements taken from a random selection of manager and executive resumes. Some are very descriptive and others are extremely vague and generic.

To help you write an effective objective, we have listed 50 objective statements from actual job seekers. You can see what works, and what doesn’t. A hiring manager will often read dozens, if not hundreds of resumes at a time. There is no shortage of job seekers. Reading through the list below can help you see the objective statements from the perspective of a hiring manager screening resumes. These are actual objective statements from resumes and are unedited, and are provided to give you an idea of how a typical resume starts.

An objective statement on a resume can help you get a closer look from a hiring manager. Often, the person screening resumes will have a number of different positions that need to be filled. If it isn’t clear what your goals are, the screener may discard your resume without considering you for the specific job you seek. This is especially important if you are trying to break into a new career field.

The object statements below offer a wide range of styles and content. As you read these, consider a few best practices for objective statements. And check out How to Fix Your Resume Objective: 13 Easy Steps to learn how write an impressive, effective intro to your resume.

Three Keys to an Effective Objective Statement:

Learn how to start your resume effectively

Keep it Short: A hiring manage does not want to read a book on want you want. Make sure your objective is short and concise. Often one short sentence is sufficient. In the worst resumes, we have seen objectives that are in excess of 150 words.
WIIFT: Your objective is “What’s In It For Me,” but your resume is sales pitch to get you hired. It needs to focus on “What’s In It For Them.” Provide just enough information in your objective for a hiring manager to know what job you are seeking, and get back to selling your potential. A good way to do this is by listing a key skill and how you have added value with the skill. Start with a short one line objective, concluding with specific skill you want to utilize. Then, after the objective statement, add three bullet points showing specific accomplishments using the skill. Make sure the accomplishments have specific, quantified results.
Be Specific: Many of the objectives below do not say anything. Almost any job would meet the objective. If you are going to write an objective statement, it needs to be specific. What job and industry do you want? Saying you want to be part of a successful company, where you can utilize your skills and abilities, does not say anything. Who wants to work for a failing company where they are unqualified and can’t do the job? If you are going to take the time to put an objective statement on your resume, make it valuable.

Few of the objective statements below satisfy these best practices, and this is typical of most resumes. Many are short, but that’s about all they have going for them. Look for the ones that are specific. Most are too general. You do not need to pick a single objective that you use for every application. You can and should change your resume to fit every employer and job you apply for.

50 Examples of Objective Statements:

Objective: General Manager in an established and successful business.
Position Targets: Director of Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement Change Agent, Value Stream Manager, Lean Manufacturing Champion, Process Improvement Manager, Continuous Improvement Leader, Operations Manager and Management Process Improvement Consultant.
OBJECTIVE: Obtain a challenging leadership position applying creative problem solving and lean management skills with a growing company to achieve optimum utilization of its resources and maximum profits.
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE: To continue my career with an organization that will utilize my MANAGEMENT, SUPERVISION & ADMINISTRATIVE skills to benefit mutual growth and success.
Objective: I am currently looking for a full time position in an environment that offers a greater challenge, increased benefits for my family, and the opportunity to help the company advance efficiently and productively
Objective Director of Operations/General Manager
JOB TARGET: My goal is to become associated with a company where I can utilize my skills and gain further experience while enhancing the company’s productivity and reputation.
Objective: To secure a position with a stable and profitable organization, where I can be a member of a team and utilize my business experience to the fullest.
Objective: To further my professional career with an executive level management position in a world class company. Seek to diversify my skills in another industry and as part of a larger organization. Relocation desirable.
Employment Objective: long term consulting project or Permanent Position.
OBJECTIVE: I am pursuing a career as an account manager with limited overnight travel. I am seeking to deliver my research, analytical, as well as presentation skills that will benefit in volume, growth, brand, and profits.
OBJECTIVE: To contribute superior project and operations management skills and experience in an IT Service Management role.
Objective: My objective is to obtain a position in a professional office environment where my skills are valued and can benefit the organization. Ideally, I wish to have a focus in marketing for a growing organization preferably dealing in commercial real estate and/or land acquisitions.
Objective: Seeking a position as an engineering VP/director/manager in initiatives that utilize state-of-the-art, software and/or hardware components with a creative, technology-driven organization in an environment that encourages innovative thinking, recognition, and career development. Customer interaction is a plus.
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a challenging position in a high quality engineering environment where my resourceful experience and academic skills will add value to organizational operations.
CAREER OBJECTIVE: A challenging and rewarding Logistics / Distribution Center Operations Management position within the private sector where prior experience, personal ability, and a commitment to professionalism would be of value. Position should allow for continued personal and professional growth commensurate with achievements.
Objective: Seeking a fulfilling position in the maintenance industry that offers growth opportunities and allows me to utilize my leadership skills and experience.
Short Objective: Seeking position as System Engineer and support of all IT Needs.
CAREER OBJECTIVE: Position as an engineer or related position which offers key participation, team oriented tasks, immediate challenges, and career opportunity.
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE: Secure a responsible position in account management and serve as an account representative sharing my breadth of experience and abilities effecting mutual employee and employer growth and success.
Objective: To obtain a New Business Development position by adding value through utilizing my superior knowledge, prospecting and selling abilities in the business to business arena.
Objective: to acquire a challenging career with a solid company utilizing the opportunity to offer proven and developing skills within the company.
Objective Expand leadership responsibilities, improve organizational ability to exceed corporate goals, and help honor all long-term commitments made to customers, stockholders, employees and the communities in which we live.
OBJECTIVE: To work as an ophthalmic assistant or administrator in hospitals, or with professionals as surgeons or physicians with a specialty.
Objective: Seeking Position in systems/ or network engineering / Team Lead
OBJECTIVE: Seek to work in an environment that will challenge me further; while allowing me to contribute to the continued growth and success of the organization. Obtain a position that will provide me the ability to apply my sales and work experience to a growing industry. Look forward to working with a company that promotes quality products and services; and provides me with the opportunity to meet and exceed assigned sales goals. Consultative selling approach coupled with the energy and drive as an individual contributor with minimal supervision or team selling environment. Experience with quotas ranging from 15k per month to 800k per year with excellent attainment.
OBJECTIVE: To lead, challenge and be challenged in a marketing strategy or business/market development position. Analyze and improve marketing, sales and operational performance. Develop products, markets and relationships.
Objective: An able, enthusiastic, skilled, and reliable computer technician seeking a position that reflects my experience, skills, and personal attributes including dedication, meeting goals, creativity, and the ability to follow through.
Objective: Seeking a position in Management
OBJECTIVE: To Acquire A Challenging Position In An Environment Where I Can Best Utilize My Skills And Education.
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a management position, in which I am given the opportunity to play a direct role in the unlimited growth and success of solid organization.
OBJECTIVE: My goal is to obtain a dynamic, challenging opportunity that contributes to the outstanding success of the business via 15+ years Information Technology experience from various global industries.
OBJECTIVE: To secure a position as a public relations / marketing professional in order to utilize my administrative, marketing, and interpersonal skills with accuracy and efficiency while maintaining a motivated, productive, and goal oriented environment for the entire professional team on board while maintaining extensive customer loyalty.
OBJECTIVE: Seeking a sales position with a reparable company on a long term basis who is looking for an experienced, hardworking, detail oriented team player.
CAREER OBJECTIVE: Looking at new opportunities to leverage my 20+ years professional experience in a New Business Sales capacity to have an immediate impact on new business revenue while increasing profitability.
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE: To build upon my existing corporate finance skill set in both analytics and transaction execution, leading to increasingly responsible positions in treasury.
OBJECTIVE: VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR. Travel/Relocate Internationally. Operating business philosophy: Amazing things can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.
Objective: To participate as a team member in a dynamic work environment focused on promoting business growth by providing superior value and service
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE: Position in Human Resources, providing opportunity to make a strong contribution by utilizing and expanding upon related education, skills, experiences and capabilities.
OBJECTIVE: To further my experience and knowledge in the field of electronics and warehouse
Objective: Position at a leading organization as a financial analyst or trader and continue my education in the financial field by obtaining the CFA designation.
OBJECTIVE: Obtain a management, analyst or consulting position, in the Healthcare IT industry.
OBJECTIVE: To gain long term employment with a company that is on or looking to be on the cutting edge, a company that puts value on people and the products they are promoting. Honest and Ethical, I am looking to call this company my family.
CAREER OBJECTIVE: Exploring career opportunities in the to utilize Sales, Account Management and Public Interfacing abilities in a challenging Business Development/Senior Sales Management assignment.
OBJECTIVE: To secure a responsible career opportunity, where I can fully utilize my training, human resource and management skills, while making a significant contribution to the success of my employer.
Objective: To apply my expertise as ‘Marketing Director’ for a dynamic organization that encompasses hiring a marketing director is an investment. An investment that is crucial to the success of almost all aspects of the organization: Business Development, Sales, Customer Retention, Public Relations, Recruiting and Database Management.
OBJECTIVE: I AM A CONSISTENT, HARD WORKING, HIGHLY MOTIVATED PERSON. I ENJOY WORKING WITH THE PUBLIC. I FEEL THAT I AM A FRIENDLY, OUTGOING AND DEPENDABLE PERSON. I FEEL IT IS CRUCIAL TO DEMONSTRATE THE IMPORTANCE OF MY JOB DUTIES AND EXPECTATIONS. I AM LOOKING TO IMPROVE MY POSITION IN THE WORK FORCE, EXPAND MY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS. I AM ALSO LOOKING TO ESTABLISH LONG TERM EMPLOYMENT IN A FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT.
Objective: Seeking employment in Transportation Coordination, Equipment Manager, but would enjoy discussing other available positions for which I am qualified.
OBJECTIVE: IT Director – Information Technology Vice President (VP) – Chief Information Officer (CIO) Information Technology senior management, executive position in a leading multinational organization, contributing business value by developing and executing a strategic, long-term vision, while leading the firm to achieve measurable business results and growth, effectively managing the IT portfolio of investments. A strong desire to transform “as-is” organizations into “to-be” market and industry leaders. Additional interest in organizations looking to expand their global presence.
Objectives Summary: My objective is to leverage my experience while continuing to be challenged. I have 20 years of experience working for service providers delivering marketing intelligence products and services. My background in Management, Account Management, Project Management and Technical Process Management represent a unique combination of disciplines. Personally, I have the drive and determination to consistently achieve success as a leader in all of the organizations that I have worked with in the past.

To learn more about writing objective statements, read our article, How to Fix Your Resume Objective: 13 Easy Steps. This gives practical, easy to follow instructions for improving your objective statement.

How to Assess an Objective

Yesterday, we looked at several of the elements of an objective statement. First, the length should be one line, possibly two. Second, the statement should be clear and specific.

Tomorrow and Friday, I’m going to provide 50 objective statements. Each is from a resume I received from a job seeker. I selected the objective statements at random, so they are not examples of what to do, or what not to do. They’re just a selection of what’s out there.

When you look at your objective statement, or the ones that I’m going list, ask the following questions:

Is the statement sufficiently specific?
Do you know what the job seeker is looking for?
Is the statement short and concise?
Would you read the entire statement if you had to screen 200 resumes?
Does the statement create a professional image?
Do you want to learn more about the job seeker?

The key to an effective objective: It must provide information important to a hiring manager and it must create a strong positive impressive.

Objective Statements: Elements of a Good Objective

The key to a good objective is to write a statement that adds value to the hiring manager. Too many objectives are just fluff – nothing specific and nothing of value. If you are going to have an objective statement, describe the position you are seeking. Failing to do this will only make a poor impression on the reader.

In our 2008 Resume Benchmarking Survey, we found the average length of an Objective Statement was between one and two lines, with the majority limited to one sentence. Although it is important to provide a specific objective with sufficient detail, an objective should also be clear and concise. With many hiring managers spending less than a minute reviewing each resume, a lengthy paragraph in an objective statement section is unlikely to be read.

For resumes with Objective Statements, only 29% described the industries preferred by the job seeker and only 54% described the specific job being pursued. This led to only 14% of all objective statements describing both the job and industry being pursued.

Objective Statements: Giving Your Job Search a Purpose

Many resumes start with an objective statement. This can be a great way to start your resume, or it can make a very bad impression. It all depends on what you write. This week, I’m going to look at Objective Statements in detail. Today and tomorrow, I’ll have a couple articles on how to write an objective, and later in the week, I’ll provide examples of actual resumes.

Do You Need an Objective

The first question regarding objective statements is whether you need one. Objective statements are not a required element on a resume. In our 2008 Resume Benchmarking Survey, we found that 56% of resumes have an objective statement.

If you are seeking a position similar to your current role, an objective isn’t important. Most hiring managers will assume you want to do what you are already doing.

If you want to make a shift into a different role or industry, an objective will help. The bigger the change you want to make, the more important an objective statement is. If you want to change careers but don’t have an objective, it’s very unlikely that a hiring manager will see your background as a fit in a different field. You need to get them thinking about suitability in the different role.

Tomorrow, I’m going to look at what makes a good objective statement.

Resume Work Experience

One of the bullets I see on a lot of sales resumes is very similar to what this sales person wrote:

Create relationships with all levels of personnel as well as cultivate relationships in the managed care arena.

The problem with this is that it does nothing to differentiate the job seeker. I would hope that a sales person would create and cultivate relationships. The added detail of “all levels of personnel” doesn’t stand out either.

The big problem is that the text is very general and appears on a lot of resumes.

Now, this is a candidate that received awards for their sales performance and was the leading sales person in their company. A little more detail would make a huge difference. For example, these bullets make a much bigger impact:

Created and developed client relationships resulting in ## new customers totaling $$$K in sales.
Maintained excellent customer relationships, with ##% repeat business.
Negotiated a contract for $$ million with the CEO of a new account

These bullets require a little more data on the job seeker’s performance. This extra information makes a huge impact, though. Not only do they help the job seeker stand out by themselves, they provide the background that validates and reinforces the awards that the job seeker had listed.

Covers Letters Still Important

The following article details a study on cover letters , and shows how important they are. If you want to make a good impression on a hiring manager, a good cover letter is the first step.

UN’COVER’ A NEW JOB
Cover Letters Still Play Valuable Role in Hiring Decisions, Survey Suggests

MENLO PARK, CA — As the job application process increasingly moves online, some job seekers might be tempted to think a formal cover letter is no longer necessary — not so, a new survey shows. Eighty-six percent of executives polled said cover letters are valuable when evaluating job candidates. Moreover, eight out of 10 (80 percent) managers said it is common to receive electronic resumes accompanied by cover letters.

The study was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals. The survey is based on telephone interviews with 150 senior executives from the largest companies in the United States.

Executives were asked, “When evaluating prospective job candidates, how valuable is the cover letter that accompanies the resume?” Their responses:

Very valuable		23%
Somewhat valuable		63%
Not valuable at all		14%
		100%

Executives also were asked, “When you receive a resume electronically from a job candidate, how common is it for that resume to be accompanied by a letter of introduction or cover letter?” Their responses:

Very common		37%
Somewhat common		43%
Not common at all		18%
Don’t know		2%
		100%

“Submitting a resume without a cover letter is like not shaking hands when meeting someone for the first time,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of OfficeTeam. “Those who aren’t including cover letters with their resumes are missing an opportunity to make a good first impression and set themselves apart from other job applicants.”

Willmer added, “A cover letter should demonstrate the applicant’s knowledge of the company, highlight applicable skills and work experience, and explain any resume anomalies, such as extended employment gaps.”

OfficeTeam offers the following seven tips to help job seekers develop strong cover letters:

1. Name names. Address your letter to the specific hiring manager rather than including a generalized introduction. If you don’t know the hiring manager’s name, call the company and ask.

2. Do your homework. Research the company online and demonstrate how your knowledge and skills fit the job and could benefit the organization.

3. Solve any mysteries. If you have any long employment gaps, explain how you filled the time. Mention professional development courses or volunteer activities that show additional efforts to keep your skills current.

4. Leave something for the resume. Limit your cover letter to one page, if printed, or a few paragraphs, if submitted in the body of an e-mail.

5. Make a plan. Demonstrate your excitement for the position and conclude by identifying next steps such as, “I’ll follow up with you next week to discuss meeting in person.”

6. Read and reread. Just as you would scrutinize your resume, take time to review your cover letter for typos and grammatical errors. Have a friend or mentor read it as an added precaution.

7. Be a savvy submitter. When applying through online job boards, always choose the option to add your cover letter to your resume. When e-mailing application materials to a hiring manager, paste your cover letter within the body of your message.

Survey Methodology
The national survey was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals. The survey is based on telephone interviews with 150 randomly selected senior executives at the nation’s 1,000 largest companies.

About OfficeTeam
OfficeTeam provides businesses with the highly skilled administrative talent they need to maximize productivity, achieve cost efficiency and support full-time staff. The staffing firm has more than 300 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.officeteam.com.