BUZZ ME IN! (Part 1)
By Barbara Lauter
November 15, 1997
Barbara Lauter highlights the Words that buzz you into a new job!
To an urban dweller buzz me in means open the security door. In the employment
marketplace it means something altogether different and far more subtle. Buzz
is really buzz words and they let you into an interview or a job offer.
Buzz words are triggers. The right ones will trigger the "sounds good, read
on"
response. Hopefully the "call this one" response.
Statistics prove that you have from 8-10 seconds for your cover letter to make
a good enough impression that the reader will be moved to review your attached
resume. You have another 8-10 seconds for the resume to be scanned and for the
reader to put you in the "contact for interview" pile. Not a lot of time, 20
seconds, to prove you should be selected, that you may be the right candidate.
Your cover letter and resume are credentials hammered together with tools, and
the tools with which we work are words. Since you have limited space and
virtually no time to make an impression, the sharper and more well honed the
tools, the better. Your words need to be concise, precise, descriptive and
spelled right.
In your written credentials you should be crisp and succinct. Your document
must
contain specific information about your responsibilities, accomplishments and
your potential benefits to the organization. Depending on your field (and
assuming you are staying in that arena, not changing careers) you certainly
want
to include jargon, short cut language, to show the depth of your knowledge.
You
also want to use this appropriately. Describe certain equipment you used by
name
if it is special. Mention codes or languages or other insider slang or
description. Don't pepper your work like this, use the phrases where they
naturally belong. And if you have excelled in something to the next obvious
level, why waste space saying you also know what came first. It's like listing
your high school when you have attained a college degree.
When you write your resume you want to begin your bullets with strong,
descriptive verbs. You have developed and installed or you have designed and
conducted or created and produced. There are endless lists of words in dozens
of
books and in the built-in Thesaurus on your word processing package. Be
careful,
you want to include details but you don't want to clutter your resume with
minutiae, either. Balance your document, use enough facts and figures to
demonstrate both your knowledge and accomplishments without making the thing
too
difficult or tiresome to read.
When you write your cover letter you need to make it personal and warm in
tone.
A standard enclosed is my resume, thanks, call me" is almost worse then no
cover
letter at all. Rather then thinking of a cover letter as superfluous and
unnecessary your attitude should be that you have now garnered an additional
10
seconds to prove your value and candidacy. It's another opportunity to market
yourself, a place where you can expand somewhat on a particular qualification
you
were only able to touch on in your resume, but which you know is an important
requisite for the position. If the spot you want is pretty much what you have
been doing for a while, say so.
"M"My last position entailed many of the qualifications you desire of your new
employee. My duties required.................. I have developed the skills
necessary to.........................."
Understand this: technical skills and knowledge are of great importance, but
also is your ability to be a team player. TEAM PLAYER. Buzz words.
Motivated,
results-driven, versatile, adaptable, innovative, dedicated............buzz
words.
Combinations of the words are also important. You want to select the best,
most
compelling features and make a string. "Dedicated, organized, hard working."
Barbara Lauter is a career counselor and placement professional at a highly regarded school in Atlanta which offers labor intensive courses in business administration and training in software applications from introduction to advanced levels. Her skill in teaching, through lecture and practical applications, has consistently turned out employment ready people represented by creative, hard-hitting resumes, thoughtful cover letters and the ability to verbally express their skills and their potential to significantly contribute to a company's bottom line. In September, Barbara was awarded an "Excellence in Placement" award by the Metro Atlanta Private Industry Council of the Atlanta Regional Commission. Barbara does individual consulting and will apply her skills and knowledge to reviewing (and revising) your resume, cover letters and interviewing skills. Reach her at 770 640-6689.
Copyright © 1997, Barbara Lauter, All Rights Reserved.
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