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The
Internet has created many new opportunities for job
seekers to find, apply, and obtain a work-at-home
job online. But simplified job searching
capabilities and the ability to e-mail a prospective
employer in an instant do not change the basic rules
and etiquette of applying for jobs. A quick e-mail
note to an employer letting him know you are
interested in a posted job is not going to get you
hired.
In
the cyber-world as in the real world, your resume
and cover letter are the first chance you have to
make an impression on a potential employer. A
well-written resume shows that you are professional
and will help you proceed to the next step in the
job hiring process. A resume that falls short in
terms of providing relevant information or a sense
of professionalism will be discarded. Do not let
your work-at-home resume end up in the reject pile.
Cyber resumes differ only slightly from traditional
resumes. You should prepare a text-only resume that
can be copied and pasted into an email, as most
companies will not open an attachment. Nevertheless,
you should have a formatted or "scannable" resume
that you can send via snail mail or as an attachment
if the company asks for one.
Before sending your resume and cover letter to a
potential employer, check to make sure you follow
the guidelines below:
Do:
-
Follow the job announcement's instructions for
applying to the job.
-
Limit your resume to one page.
-
-
Avoid fancy style fonts and formats. Not all
computers can accurately decipher special fonts and
formatting (i.e. bold, italics).
-
Spell out all abbreviations; even those that should
be obvious.
-
Include your full name, address, telephone number
and e-mail in all documents.
-
Outline relevant work experience using your most
recent occupation first.
-
If you are a recent graduate, consider listing your
education before your work experience.
-
List other relevant experience such as volunteer
work, certifications, course work, etc.
-
Address your cover or introductory letter to a
specific person. You can get this from the job
announcement or the company's website.
-
Your letter of introduction should include the
position to which you are applying to and where you
saw the position advertised.
-
Highlight your skills and experience that are
specific to the job in the body of your letter.
-
Proofread, proofread, and proofread your resume and
letter of introduction (cover letter). It doesn't
matter how qualified you are for the job if your
resume has typos and grammatical errors.
Don't:
-
List skills or experience that are unrelated to the
position offered in your resume or cover letter.
-
Exaggerate or falsify anything.
-
Give personal information such as marital status,
age, etc.
-
Have any grammatical or typographical errors.
-
Use a personal or buddy-like tone in your cover
letter.
-
Send bulk, generic resumes and cover letters.
-
Sound desperate. Companies want the best person for
the job. Your financial situation will not sway a
decision one way or another.
-
Be over enthusiastic. 'Salesmen' type hypes do not
impress employers.
-
Refer to yourself in the third person in your cover
letter. Instead, use "I", and "me", etc.
-
Send your resume as an attachment unless you are
told specifically to do so. Most companies delete
e-mails with attachments for security purposes.
Finding a work-at-home job has become much easier
with the growth of the Internet. Nevertheless, you
must maintain the same professional manner that you
would in applying for a job in the traditional work
world. You can avoid getting a rejection letter by
following the rules and etiquette of applying to
jobs that have endured since the invention of the
resume.
Leslie Truex has telecommuted in a variety of jobs
since 1990. She shares her secrets to finding and
obtaining work-at-home jobs in her book Jobs At
Home: A Complete Guide to Finding or Creating a
Work-At-Home Job. Sign up for her free 5-day "Jobs
At Home" e-course at
http://www.jobsathomesuccess.com.
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