Legacy Foundation Business and Leadership

Archive for May, 2011

Cover letter writing is almost as important a skill for a job seeker to learn as resume writing.  The cover letter accompanies the resume at all times as the primary support document.  Whether you use traditional mail, email, faxing, or another type of electronic submission, this should always be sent with the resume.  There are, of course, other tools you’ll use when job seeking.  Your cover letter and resume come first of course, followed by follow-up letters, thank-you letters for after the interview, reference sheets, salary histories, and job acceptance letters.  If you have good cover letter writing skills, and good resume writing skills, the other written tools should be a snap to compose.

Your goal in this is to get the attention of the hiring manager, just as it is with resume writing.  The method and format are a little different however.  Your resume will cover all, or most of your professional career, and will be from one to two pages.  Your cover letter will be a very brief page serving as an introduction to the resume.  Cover letter writing style must be direct, to the point, and able to grab the attention of the reader quickly, with a goal of making the reader want to read the attached resume.

Many people, when engaged in this type of writing, have a tendency to say too much.  Good cover letter writing is short and punchy, and will take two or three key points from the resume and emphasize them.  The old adage “tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them” holds true in both resume writing and cover letter writing.

As an example, let’s assume that you are a materials handling manager for a defense contractor, seeking another position.  In your line of work the buzz words are MRP, lean manufacturing, ISO 9000, and cost savings.  Your writing efforts should reflect these buzz words to show your value to your current employer and any future employers.  Your resume will go into more detail about how you accomplished these goals.  The cover letter will simply point out to the hiring manager that you accomplished them.    An example of this would be two bulleted paragraphs in the body of the letter that say….

•    Experienced in  quality assurance and quality control, MRP, ISO 9000, QS 9000, and Lean Manufacturing.

•    Demonstrated results in saving significant money for employers through cost savings, inventory level reductions, and on-time supplier delivery.

The hiring manager, according to many surveys, devotes only about fifteen seconds to each resume and cover letter he or she reviews.  With that in mind your writing skills need to be top notch to get this person to look at your resume.  Your resume writing skills need to be just as good to get the reader to want to grant you an interview.  In turn, your interviewing skills need to be excellent to get the hiring manager to offer you the position.  This long, and hopefully positive chain of events begins with good cover letter writing skills and ends with job satisfaction and a nice paycheck.

Ever been asked to make a presentation? Were your palms wet? Did your knees tremble? Did your stomach start doing somersaults?

Is this how the prospect of making an important presentation affects you? Well, join the club because, for most people, their biggest fear is public speaking or presenting.

If you are shortly going to make an all important presentation and are gripped by FEAR at the very thought of it, reach out and grasp these 7 lifelines to help you overcome your terror and make it a huge success.

Lifeline no. 1

Know your audience! Who are they, why are they listening to you, what do they already know, what do they want from you?

Finding out about your audience means that you can tailor your message to their needs and in a way that appeals to them.

Lifeline no. 2

What is the purpose of your presentation? What outcome do you want? Is it to sell, persuade, influence, inform, educate or inspire?

Create clarity about the reason for the presentation and work back from that. Once you know exactly what result you want you can begin to structure the content so that your goal is achieved.

Lifeline no. 3

Write your script. Just write down anything and everything that is important and relevant to the message you want to get across. Empty your mind on paper.

Now edit your script, highlight key words and phrases, select the right order for the points you want to make. Remember that you have written your script but you will deliver it verbally. Re-write your message so that it comes across well when spoken.

Lifeline no. 4

Create a good structure with a beginning, middle and end that flow logically and easily. Open with impact, grab their attention and build rapport. Ask a thought provoking question, make a bold statement, stir their interest.

Signpost each point towards the next so that you take your audience on a journey. Support each main point with sub points that are easy to follow.

At the end, summarise your key message, wind it down naturally, end on a note of importance that the audience will remember and thank them for their attention.

Lifeline no. 5

Perfect your delivery. Use tone of voice to maintain interest, and bring life into your message. Use short silences to add intrigue and arouse curiosity. Avoid monotone and use your voice harmoniously.

Build rapport and maintain eye contact with your audience, working slowly and subtly around the room, looking at small groups of 3 or 4 people at a time. Be careful of your body language and gestures, avoid fidgeting and pacing. It’s okay to move but don’t become a pacing tiger or a windmill!

Lifeline no. 6

Being nervous before a presentation is perfectly normal. Nerves help you to perform well and get adrenaline running around your body. Overcome excessive nervousness by taking deep breaths.

Stand tall and be proud of who you are and what you are about to do. Create a vision of making the perfect presentation and turn your fear into stimulation.

Lifeline no. 7

Remember the 5 Ps – Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance! Prepare well and practice, Deliver your presentation over and over again to your family, your friends, to yourself (in the mirror). Time it, perfect it, tweak it, know it well and feel confident about your ability to deliver it.

Now visualise yourself making the perfect presentation, with an engaged audience who hang onto your every word.

Picture yourself in the situation, calm, capable, convincing and presenting like you were born to do it!

Play this scene again and again in your mind and notice how your fear subsides and your confidence soars.

Go out there and make a wonderful presentation!

More and more people take debt nowadays because they think it is the solution to overcome their financial problems and needs. But in fact, when they are taking a debt, people are actually risking for their financial in order to pay off the debt that they have taken. Avoiding debt as much as possible is the foremost important thing to do if you want to avoid bankruptcy. But for some people who are forced to take a debt and eventually end to a financial failure, getting debt settlement plans is a possible way that they can do to help them avoiding further damage. There are many debt consolidation services and debt settlement plans that you can get to help you pass through your financial hardship. You can ask for a professional assistance that can help you manage your debt effectively.

Topic of debt has been the major concern nowadays that there are many businesses and personals who are failing because of their debts. Handling debts without firm foundation might be too risky. There are many kinds of debts that people can get easily and this is enabling people to deal with more and more debts. Being responsible and controlled with your own financial might lead you to a healthy financial planning and can avoid you from debt. But if you have already stuck with debt, all you need to do is to remain steady and acquire solution to pass through that moment successfully.

There are unsecured and secured debts that you can get nowadays. The difference between those two debts is that the amount owed by you. Unsecured debt can be acquired really easy and without collateral. You will be able to get flexible deal of debt but in return you will have to pay more due to its high interest rate. While the secured one is rather complicated to apply and require collateral to be submitted, you can guarantee that the amount you pay in the end will be equal with the amount owed by you.