How to Write a Resume Cover Letter

Are you looking for a new job? Do you need a new place to earn your income because you are ready for a change? There are two things you probably already know when you start to look for a job. One, is you will be going for a change. Two, you will have to know how to write a resume cover letter so that you can get your foot in the door. Here is how to write your cover letter.

First, you need to start with your address and phone number at the top. Contact information is very important and you can even include your email address here if you would like.

Second, you need to address the person that will be reading it directly. Do no use Mrs. unless you are absolutely sure that the person reading it is married. If you do not know who will be reading it you can use Sir or Madam, but if you know the name you should always use it.

Third, open with the job position you are applying for. You can also include a reference number is necessary and you should include where you found the listing. This tells the potential employer exactly what you are looking for right off the bad.

Fourth, you should talk about why you want to work for the company you are applying for and what you will bring to the table. This is your chance to impress, brag, and give the reader the information they need to be convinced to read your resume and invite you in for an interview.

Last, always make sure that your cover letter is on the same type of paper as your resume and that you sign it in either black or blue ink. It should also be typed and should be centered in the page. These are very important tips to how to write a resume cover letter.

Seeking for a job in SG, you can get a list of available jobs at wda job bank.

A recruiting article by Dougles Chan - A recruitment mentor that speciliased in recruitment training and recruitment mentoring in Singapore and globally.

Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for your recruitment training and mentoring needs.

Tax Relief - Job Search and Job Deductions

In trying to find a job that is similar if not identical to your last one, at the same level of responsibility and similar duties, your expenses may be tax deductible. Even if your job was an internship while in college or you worked while a college student and searched for a similar job, you can claim the deductions.

But if you had no job for sometime, or just out of college but didn't work while studying, your search will be considered for a new trade or business and you cannot claim the deductions.

Eligible deductions are:

1. Fees for the employment agency. If your employer later reimburses the fees, include the amount in your income. If paid directly to the agency, you may not add it to your income.


2. Resume preparation costs. Production costs, postage, long-distance phone bills, advertising, photographs needed in the resume


3. Travels. Airfare, mileage, meals and lodging


4. Legal fees to preserve status.

The deductions can be claimed only if the total expenses exceed 2% of the adjusted gross income, but subject to the deduction limits in income thresholds.

While in the job, you can claim deductions for expenses that are necessary and ordinary and not reimbursed by your employer. Necessary means it helps the business and is appropriate. Ordinary expenses are those accepted and common in the business.

The expenses may be for physical examination, office supplies not provided by the employer, profession, union or trade dues, research or lecture expenses, safety clothes and gear, personal tools or equipment, mobile phones and computers.

The expense of commuting to work is not deductible, but travels to other locations ---in-city or outside-- as part of the job, if not reimbursed by the office, are deductible. Also for traveling to and from a second job.

Looking for a Singapore Jobs, you can always check out the latest jobs in Singapore WDA job bank where thousands of jobs are available.

Preparing For Your Job Search

There are a variety of things that people need to do when they are ready to do a job search. The challenge is that most people don't prepare ahead of time and they are using the same old and tired techniques.

In today's world employers are looking for people who can show how they can help the company. They want to know how your expertise and education can improve their bottom line.

What many people don't realize is that you have to put time and energy into a job search. It's not something that will happen overnight but if you work at it you can find the exact job you want.

Here are a few tips to help you in preparing for your job search:

Do Your Research
If you are preparing for a new career, changing careers or looking for work for the first time it is important to do research about the types of jobs that are available. It is a good idea to go online and just look at careers. There are several career sites that explain what a career is, how it works, what people do in it and so forth. You will need to understand the jobs that are available before you find one you want.

Write Down Your Skills And Abilities
A very important skill is to know your strengths and abilities. You should also know your accomplishments to date. Employers are looking for employees who have accomplished something on their other jobs or in their college courses.
If you can show your strengths in your job search you can have a better interview. This information translates into your competencies that the employer will be looking for when they read your resume and ask for an interview.

Write a Solid Resume
Although most people would argue that your résumé is what gets you a job, this is not true. Your resume is only there to get you to an interview; after the interview it is a moot point. Do not listen to people who say you have to do an old fashioned resume that looks like a grocery list of places you've been and names your job.

Instead, employers want to know your accomplishments. As an example, a sales job would want to know how much you've sold in the past. A detective agency would want to know how many cases you successfully solved.

Your resume is your first impression. It should be clean, neat, and free of typo errors and on a crisp white or off-white paper.

Always write a cover letter
You can compose cover letters ahead of time but the most important aspect of this document is to create a snapshot of your resume. Each time you do a cover letter, look at the job posting. Write your cover letter to show how you have accomplished the requirements of the job posting. This will get you into the interview fast because most people do not follow this step.

Searching for a Singapore job, you can always check out the updated jobs in Singapore WDA job bank where thousands of jobs are available.

How to Shorten the Odds For Job Search Success

Your job search can feel like a numbers game with the odds stacked against you. You know what I mean? You send out 300 job application letters and get maybe six invitations to interview.

If you're lucky, you might be rewarded with one job offer. And you are grateful, after all it's a job. But if you don't get that offer, you start your job search again...

You send out three hundred job application cover letters with your resume etc. etc.

What you need is to find a way to shorten the odds and that can be easier than you think.

Most people still work the numbers and with the unemployment rate increasing across all economies, the competition is just getting bigger. It means more people are sending out those application letters as their main job search activity and any organization that IS hiring is becoming more overwhelmed with job seekers who are desperate.

This is where you have the opportunity to shorten the odds.

Even a small improvement in your job search skills will put you way in front of most other people in the market; if you can make small improvements in each of the key areas that really matter, you can give yourself a MASSIVE ADVANTAGE and win more job offers.

What Skills Really Matter?

1. Understand Your Own Job Skills Transferable skills, those skills that can be utilized in numerous fields, are the key to a successful career change.


2. Know Where You're Going Career Planning is an important part of your career management process as it involves being totally honest with yourself about where your career is going.


3. Practice Talking About Yourself The preparation of some self-marketing, personal "Presentation" statements can give you a real edge when it comes to your turn to talk about yourself.


4. Write A Resume That Works To write a resume from scratch when facing a blank page can be very scary, but please don't let that put you off. Basic resume writing is quite easy if you approach it methodically and use information freely available to you.


5. Learn Cover Letter Writing Skills Including a cover letter with your resume is not a plus anymore, it's a must.


6. Prepare Answers To Top Interview Questions Although interview preparation is everything, as many as half of all interviewers you're going to meet will be unprepared or incompetent. You can take charge if you prepare well.


7. Learn How To Find Unadvertised Jobs FAST Lots of people will tell you not to waste your time trying for a new job if there are no advertised jobs; yet I say the opposite. The truth of the matter is that thousands of jobs are being filled every day, people are being hired, all the time without any job being ever advertised!


8. Do Things Differently If you are finding things difficult at present, then YOU HAVE TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY! As the saying goes: "if you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got. Or perhaps even more pointedly: "IF YOU ALWAYS DO WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE DOES, YOU'LL PROBABLY END UP BEING DISAPPOINTED".

The differences that you create, however small, in lots of important areas will mean a major and distinct advantage to your success rate and your job search success will respond to shorter odds!

Looking for a job in Singapore, you can always check out the updated jobs in Singapore WDA job bank where thousands of jobs are available.

How to Find Hidden Jobs Or Unadvertised Jobs

When you learn how to find hidden jobs or unadvertised jobs that no-one else knows about you give yourself an immediate and massive advantage in the jobs market. By applying the principles which I explain below, you eliminate the competition for jobs, especially now when statistics tell us that recruitment is falling rapidly.

Did you know that for every advertised vacancy in the 'help wanted' columns or in job banks on the internet, it is reckoned that there are at least two unadvertised jobs?

When you think about it, organizations prefer to recruit as cheaply as possible so if they can avoid advertising, so much the better. If their own people can introduce new recruits, or if a well targeted resume and cover letter arrive at the right moment, they save money.

Of course that sounds fine in theory, but if these jobs are not publicly advertised, how do you get to know about them?

You can easily learn how to find hidden jobs, which include unadvertised or unannounced jobs using these 4 key ideas below. The great thing is that once you understand how to apply these techniques, you can soon identify jobs that no-one else knows about and create a shortlist of just one - you!

1: Identify companies that are of interest to you:
Look at current advertised jobs that interest you, and then think of some other companies that might offer similar work.

You could focus on companies that operate in your industry. You could also find out about trends in the labor market, so that you can focus on growth areas or companies undergoing expansion, or other change, this will help you to find hidden jobs.

All change can produce opportunities.

2: Make a short-list
By now you have a long list of industries or companies that are possible employers. The next step is to select the companies that best match your interests, skills and values, and make a short-list of target companies. Focusing on a few companies is more effective than targeting too many, as you can prepare more comprehensively.

You can make a short-list by comparing your interests, skills and values with the information you've collected about each industry or company. Then consider additional factors like location and travel, work hours and company culture.

3: Additional research to find hidden jobs.
Now that you've identified your target companies, the next step is to do some more detailed research.

For example:

• What does the company do and how is it structured?


• How big is it?


• What are its future prospects? Is it tendering for major contracts or attracting new clients?

4. What To Do Next To Find Hidden Jobs.
Work through the contacts on your network list so you can find or create a link with the firm that you are interested in, then arrange to talk with your personal contact who will be able to provide information and advice, NOT offer you a job; tell you whether it would be fruitful to pursue the company; and put you in contact with a decision-maker.

Arrange to meet but don't expect or ask for anything other than advice. The secret to finding unadvertised jobs is to tread very carefully. Don't put anyone on the spot so that they think you are expecting THEM to find you a job!!

What you must be aware of is that not all jobs get advertised, but they all start somewhere - if only in the mind of a manager who has a problem that needs a solution.

You can be the solution if you follow my approach to finding unadvertised jobs.

This approach to find hidden jobs is a very important part of your career change activity.

Seeking for a job in Singapore, you can always check out the latest jobs in Singapore WDA job bank where thousands of jobs are available.