Cover Letters and Thank You Letters and Interviews, OH MY!

March 28, 2019 at 3:45 pm (career, communication, Dream Job, Effective Communication, job, Job Hunting, Job Interviews)
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Are you looking for the real reason to use cover letters and send thank you letters? Look no further!

What is the real reason we use cover letters and thank you letters? Well, let me tell you. It definitely has nothing to do with lions and tigers and bears! I have a few good reasons you will want to use a cover letter and follow-up with a thank you letter.

Why a Cover Letter?

  • To show the employer how AWESOME you are
  • And to make them FLIP THE PAGE to your resume
  • This gives you a better chance to get the interview

There are a couple of things to be aware of though. When you’re writing your cover letter be sure not to brag but tell the employer how you can benefit the company. If you’re applying to a few different places, then be sure to change some of your wording in your cover letter for each company. Employers DO NOT have time to read pages about how great you are. It’s important to keep it short and sweet and to the point.

Cover Letter Info

Interview

Now, if everything goes right you’ll get the interview!

Why Send a Thank You Letter?

  • This is for after the interview.
  • It shows you have good manners, of course!
  • This is your last chance to leave a positive impression AND your last chance to get your name in front of them.
  • Did you forget to mention something in your interview? Thank you letters are the perfect chance to say it!

Thank You Letter Info

IMPORTANT

If where you’re applying to specifically asks that you don’t add a cover letter, then don’t. Not following instructions can cause you not to get the interview. So, make sure you know what the employer wants!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

I hope this helps anyone wondering why it’s important to use cover letters and thank you letters. Please let me know what you think! Best of luck to your future endeavors.

Emily Brugh – Business Major @ IUPUC

 

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You on Paper

March 26, 2019 at 1:27 pm (Job Interviews, Uncategorized)
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You as a person are ever changing. Just like yourself, your resume is ever changing as well. A resume is the professional part of yourself that you want to share with potential employers. On your resume you will include your contact information, work experience, and a list or references. A good resume should be concise to one page and appealing to the eye to read.

In the beginning of a career a resume may be a little short with less professional work experience and references. If you’ve never worked a professional job before you may list any experiences such as babysitting, responsibilities at home, or extracurricular activities at school.  References may be teachers, coaches, or family friends who can vouch for how responsible you are. This isn’t the ideal resume to have but everyone knows that you must start somewhere.

After having a career your resume will drastically change. Listing work experience with job responsibilities is a great resume upgrade. Even more important than that is the references you gain. Being able to list previous employers who you’ve done good work for can really set your resume apart. Overall your resume will contain more professional content that better reflects you in the professional world.

When going into the job market no matter how much you can put on your resume it is important to at least construct one. Making it eye appealing by using bullet points and different sized fonts is good for outlining different information. If you put in the effort and make what ever you put on the paper appealing employers will notice the effort you put in.

By Kyla Bessonov, Business Major, IUPUC

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Is miscommunication A”peeling”?

March 14, 2019 at 10:30 am (Uncategorized)

It is impressive what role social media could play in the safety of a company. These days social media has a lot to do with miscommunications in the world or in businesses. One bad post can make or break a company depending on how many views or likes it gets. One social media post caught my eye. It is a twitter post from @awlilnatty. She went to the store Whole Foods. Whole foods is supposed to be about all natural foods and organic foods. Natalie stopped by a section of oranges. She noticed that the oranges were already pre-peeled and in a plastic container. Does that sound like all natural to you? Natalie didn’t think so either. She then went on twitter tagging Whole Foods and said, “If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn’t need to waste so much plastic on them”. Natalie got a lot of likes and views on her post as well as comments. Whole foods ended up commenting “Definitely our mistake. These have been pulled. We hear you, and we will leave them in their natural packaging: the peel”. Whole foods took advantage of going viral and decided to create a post with oranges in jars saying, “ is this more appealing”. Their post went viral because they were able to make light of a silly situation.
This is a great example of how careful we need to be when advertising something. My question is if she wouldn’t have seen the oranges packaged that way would Whole Foods have changed them to match their message? I feel the marketing department was not thinking when they packaged these oranges in plastic. I am glad they could make light of their blunder by their social media post.

https://www.clickz.com/12-times-brands-went-viral-for-the-wrong-reasons/95741/

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6 Steps to an A on Your Presentation

March 7, 2019 at 4:07 pm (communication, Presentations)
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  1. First Impressions Matter

Watch those baby steps! The first thing people notice is your theme. The wrong theme and your PowerPoint already failed. Play to your audience and ask yourself if this is something you would want to sit through. A clever title is a dead giveaway of your work and lets the viewer know what’s in store for them. Don’t drag down your points because your title was “Cow Farts” in a presentation about methane.

  1. Organization, Organization, Organization

Keeping pace with the presentation is what makes you a successful speaker, so don’t forget to organize your points. Make sure to introduce your main ideas before speaking them. Give the audience a simple sentence to prepare for the next section. Something as easy as, that was Organization next is Consistency.

  1. Consistency is Key

No one wants to see a bunch of random nonsense cluttering up your PowerPoint. Watch where you place your pictures and keep them even in every slide. Just keep it simple and stick to set transitions that can still grab attention but don’t distract from the importance. So, it still looks like the same presentation but with all the pizzazz you intended.

  1. Word Count Those Slides!!

Watch the words on your slides no one really wants to sit through a presentation anyway so don’t add an essay on top of it. Stick to main ideas, unless you’re quoting something directly the PowerPoint is to aid your audience, not your script.

  1. Summarize and Conclude

Make it a spectacular finish and summarize your points for your audience. This can help them catch up on details they missed or allow them to review your points for questions at the end. If you want your audience to remember your points repetition is a surefire method of success. It lets your viewers relax and enjoy your presentation instead of working to learn it even after you are done.

  1. Spell Check

Never forget to review your presentation for clear errors when its done. It is always best to have someone else check your work but since we all know you did this an hour before it was due at least spell check your work. There is a big difference between “your” work, and “you’re” work.

There are a few tips to give yourself a shot at an A even if you aren’t a strong presenter. A good presentation doesn’t make quality materials, but it sure does disguise crap.

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