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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:
1.
Follow the job announcement's instructions for
applying to the job.
2.
Limit your resume to one page.
3.
Use 12-pt font size.
4.
Avoid fancy style fonts and formats. Not all
computers can accurately decipher special fonts and
formatting (i.e. bold, italics).
5.
Spell out all abbreviations; even those that should
be obvious.
6.
Include your full name, address, telephone number
and e-mail in all documents.
7.
Outline relevant work experience using your most
recent occupation first.
8.
If you are a recent graduate, consider listing your
education before your work experience.
9.
List other relevant experience such as volunteer
work, certifications, course work, etc.
10.
Address your cover or introductory letter to a
specific person. You can get this from the job
announcement or the company's website.
11.
Your letter of introduction should include the
position to which you are applying to and where you
saw the position advertised.
12.
Highlight your skills and experience that are
specific to the job in the body of your letter.
13.
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:
1.
List skills or experience that are unrelated to the
position offered in your resume or cover letter.
2.
Exaggerate or falsify anything.
3.
Give personal information such as marital status,
age, etc.
4.
Have any grammatical or typographical errors.
5.
Use a personal or buddy-like tone in your cover
letter.
6.
Send bulk, generic resumes and cover letters.
7.
Sound desperate. Companies want the best person for
the job. Your financial situation will not sway a
decision one way or another.
8.
Be over enthusiastic. 'Salesmen' type hypes do not
impress employers.
9.
Refer to yourself in the third person in your cover
letter. Instead, use "I", and "me", etc.
10.
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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