B#2. A Cover Letter this Delicious? It Can't Be True!

Welcome to part two of my job prep blog series!

So you have a beautiful resume in front of you that lists all your skills and accomplishments. Great job! Now it's time to tell your new bosses why you're so awesome, because let's face it, they probably aren't going to dissect your resume like we did when we worked on it.

Like we've discussed, landing your new job has three steps:

A#1: The Resume
B#2: The Cover Letter
C#3: The Interview

So let's talk about that cover letter. Google will advise you to write three boring paragraphs that emphasize your skills, accomplishments, and enthusiasm. And while those are all good elements of a cover letter, they aren't the whole enchilada.

Cover letters are your chance to express your professionalism and personality in writing. Employers expect you to tell them why they should hire you. This is your chance to brag.

Set yourself up with a nice header including your address, the address of the company, and a "Dear So-and-So." If you know the name of the person receiving the letter, use it. If not, try to find the name of anyone in the company who sounds like they're involved.

Cover letters should begin by briefly introducing yourself and the job you want:
   
     In response to your advertisement for a new judge on America's Got Cookies, I express my sincere interest in the role of "judge." As an cookie enthusiast for forty-five years, I have extensive cookie baking, eating, and enjoying experience."

Choose a tone that matches their company. Read their website content, Tweets, and Facebook updates to see if they are super serious, casual, or obnoxiously excited. Match that tone in your cover letter from the very beginning. You want to show them you'll fit in just great, thankyouverymuch.
__________________________________

Next, it's time to reflect on your skills and why they make you not only eligible for the position, but superior to all other candidates:

     After years of eating cookies, I have devised many social experiments to calculate just how significant the cookie is as a part of American culture. Between testing friends' recipes to measuring the re-pin rate of yummy-looking cookies, I have discovered that the visual impact of a cookie can severely alter one's impression of the cookie's taste. This has led me to understand not only the importance of cookie decorating, but also the importance of separating decor from taste via the "blind taste."

In this, the second paragraph of your cover letter, you need to expand on your experience with the job's field. Acknowledge your experience, as it is listed in your resume. Be sure to explain what made you successful in that job and what you've gained from the job. Note how you've interpreted these lessons to be helpful for your future.
___________________________________

Finally, blow them away with your final paragraph. This is the time to offer specifics as to how you will be the best employee they've ever had--either because of your acquired skills or your readiness to learn:

     My ability to judge a cookie not only for it's decor but also for it's taste summarizes my skill in judging cookies. I can offer feedback in an entertaining way, as seen in my Youtube videos. Due to my extensive knowledge in the anatomy of a cookie along with my ability to provide fun, dramatic, and emotional feedback to bakers, I hope to participate in America's Got Cookies as the next favorite judge!

Be sensitive in this paragraph. The trick is to highlight your strengths without becoming bossy. You don't want to tell the reader what he's looking for in a candidate (since that's already been noted in the job posting). Instead, refer to those qualities in the job posting as qualities you possess and tell the reader why their company will benefit from your ability to use them.
____________________________________

Then, wrap it up with a follow-up action and a signature,
   
     I look forward to discussing this position with you soon. Please let me know if you have any questions or desire more information from me at this time.
                                                                                         Respectfully,
                                                                                                    Cookie Monster


REMEMBER: Put yourself in the employers' shoes. Mimic their tone and match their level of professionalism. (Don't be afraid to be more creative if you're applying to a creative field.) And lastly, send me your cover letter at LizMcLaneEditing@gmail.com for an edit and proof read!

Stick around for C#3: The Interview, coming at ya next week.

**These are not Cookie Monster's real words. PBS, please don't sue me.
***If anyone creates a show using the name America's Got Cookies or similar, or creates a show with the same or similar premise, please please please let me be a judge. And pay me lots of money for using my idea. Kthnxbye.

A#1: The Brilliant Hint You Need to Know to Write the Best Resume Ever.

I keep stats. Not on sports or on running times or even on money in my budget. I keep stats in jobs. So far, I'm six-for-six. That is, six interviews for six job offers.

And I majored in French.

So how does one land six jobs--some lame, some awesome--with a dead-end major ("merde!") and no real work experience?

It's all about how you sell yourself both on paper and face-to-face. In this blog series, we're going to talk about the three ways to sell yourself:

A#1: The Resume

B#2: The Cover Letter

C#3: The Interview

For today, let's talk about the resume:

Google will provide you plenty of sources on how to write a great resume. But the truth is, it's common sense, and common sense follows these five simple steps (Don't worry, I'll get to the brilliant hint!):

1. Formatting:

• Do keep it simple. Simple. Simple. 
• Do pick a template that is sleek, clean, and readable. 
• Do use bold sparingly. 
• Don't clutter the page with words.
• Don't leave too much white space. 
• Don't get crazy with the font sizes.

2. Length:

• Do keep it 1-2 pages.
• Don't go over 2 pages (A CV, on the other hand, can be longer).

3. Content:

• Do put your professional experience first, starting with the most recent. 
• Do include your educational experience (if you're graduating from college, you can delete all your high school info).
• Do give quantifiable tasks and accomplishments ("increased sales by 15% in 2010").
• Do list tasks according to their significance.
• Do include buzz words found on the job posting (this will help software pick you out as a good candidate).
• Don't use fluffy language ("growth marked by equitable increases in efficiency during leadership substance experiment").
• Don't use the first person (I, me).
• Don't use complete sentences.
• Don't list your GPA unless it's worth bragging about (generally about 3.5+ ...no offense).

4. Sections:

• Do give a "professional summary" at the beginning.
• Do list work experience, education, community activities, and skills that increase your marketability for the job.
• Don't include high school stuff (unless you're applying to college).
• Don't include skills/jobs that are irrelevant to the tasks of the new job.

5. Before you hit Send:

• Do send your resume to LizMcLaneEditing@gmail.com for a thorough edit and proofread :)
• Do print it on stiff paper for impact (if submitting in person).
• Don't let your dog eat your only copy.

And there you have it. By heeding these five steps, you're on your way to a successful interview process. How do I know? Because I'm six-for-six. Because I've been that person reading your resume and deciding whether or not to hire you. And because I've helped countless others land jobs after a resume renovation as well.

BRILLIANT HINT: Put yourself in the shoes of the employer when designing your resume. What would you want to see if you were the one hiring? How would you interpret the resume? Is it easy to read on a smart phone/tablet? Be as harsh as this guy would be:

The more critical you are of yourself, the less critical your boss can be. By anticipating your employer's expectations, you'll be one step closer to being a good fit for your new boss.

BONUS BRILLIANT HINT: I offer full resume/cover letter/interview prep work at Liz McLane Editing. Just shoot me an email (LizMcLaneEditing@gmail.com) or catch me on FB for more information!)

Coming up next week: B#2: A Cover Letter this Delicious? It Can't Be True!

Stay tuned!

The Editor

www.LMEditing.com

It's official. My website has been launched. I'm ready to go!

Give me your tired (manuscripts), your poor (grammar),
Your huddled masses (of words) yearning to breathe free(ly).

I want to edit them all!

Check it out here!

Send me an email at LizMcLaneEditing@gmail.com to say hello! Ask me questions about grammar! Recommend your favorite book of 2013 for me! Send me a great recipe I should try this year!

Like my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lizmclaneediting
Follow me on Twitter: @LMEditing
Check out my website: www.LMEditing.com
E-mail me: LizMcLaneEditing@gmail.com

But most of all, if you like me, pass along this good news! Tell your friends, family, coworkers, and grocery clerks about my site!

Let's get this world to be a little more grammatically correct and help writers accomplish their 2014 resolutions!

www.LMEditing.com: Let's get editing.

2014 Resolutions: AKA, reasons to be more interesting in life.

Have you set your resolutions yet?


WHAT???











(You can take that as either a "What! You did? You go Glen Coco!" or a "What!?! You haven't yet! How dare you fall behind during this weird week of limbo between holidays and the next part of winter-that-has-no-holiday-therefore-is-pointless-and-horrible." *deep breath* Whichever suits your fancy.)

Me, in the meantime, I have set my ten goals for next year. And while I won't share the whole list with you (because you probably don't care), I will share number 3 on my list.

                   Liz's 2014 Goals.

                      3. Try 1 new recipe every month.

(It's about setting achievable goals, people. For more information about setting goals that won't make your friends role their eyes, go here. 

And that is where YOU come in. 

What is your favorite recipe that I should try? Email it to me at LizMcLaneEditing@gmail.com

(Do you see what I did there? I offered a fancy new editing email address. That's right, I'm about to launch my fancy new editing website. So stay tuned and don't act surprised when I spam you for editing jobs in the next few weeks.)

In the meantime send me a recipe that you think is worthy of 2014. Let me know which month I should try it, and what to serve it with. If your recipe is chosen, you'll win a slide show of pictures of me attempting to make that dish (maybe), as well as some leftovers (careful, if you live far away, you may need to plug your nose before opening the Tupperware).

So, you tell me, what's for dinner?

Let's plunge, shall we?

The sign I made at work yesterday.

Growing up at summer camp, I was often met with a clogged toilet in one of the two bathhouses we had in the woods. Encountering these catastrophes as a kid, I would crinkle my nose, back out of the stall, and walk three stalls down to a less smelly, free flowing toilet.

After washing my hands, I'd promptly run away, afraid that if I told a counselor about my findings, they’d try to teach me “responsibility” and “initiative” and other crap like that.

The Waldorf, one of the bathhouses at camp. 

This pattern of discovery/running away continued for several years until I was a counselor myself at this very same summer camp. I skirted through the first few years on staff, avoiding all such clogs. I’d hide from campers when they saw the problem, hoping I wouldn't have to be the one to fix it. This worked great for three summers. Until the fourth. 

I was completely caught off guard. The little girl came right up to me. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.  

I had to plunge.

It’s occurs to me now that throughout my formative years, this was the first of many experiences I would have to plunge. Beyond taking care of far too many literal summer camp plunges since, I have had the opportunity to plunge and fix many uncomfortable situations. Bonding with a girl I had no desire to get to know. Talking down my cable company to get a discount for six months. Managing authors who were doing more damage than good with their writing. Each of these situations (and many others) needed plunging. And it was up to me to do so. 

Hudson, making his own mess that I have to clean up all by my-freaking-self.

As I grew into adulthood, I found myself more often than not unable to find someone else to fix these uncomfortable situations for me. Avoiding the problem was either not an option, or an option that would hold me back from my goal. And so, plunger in hand, I dug in.

And that’s how I found myself willing to drive my new friend to the airport, an hour away.

And how I found myself saving $20 a month on my cable bill.

And how I found myself talking with clients I shouldn't have needed to talk to and taking on projects that led to raises, promotions, and leadership.

And how I've found myself plunging—yes, literally—at work, when no else would. As in, today, thankyouverymuch.

Because in the end, someone has to do the dirty work. And if you can learn to do it yourself, you’ll grow. And you’ll reach. And you'll fail. And you’ll learn. And you'll succeed. And others will notice. And they’ll help you grow. And you’ll feel more powerful. And you’ll be more powerful.

Bring it on, Katniss.

Because life will always need to be plunged. And the sooner you learn to do it, the easier it’ll get.

Practice, practice, practice being uncomfortable. Expand your comfort zone. Repeat the hard challenges until they become routine. Welcome the awkward experiences. Rehearse how you’re going to handle them. Until they become easy and comfortable.

The more you plunge, the more progress you make.

Give it a shot. Because life is worth the shit. 

Livin' the dream.

A Life Full of Life, Not Stuff: On Spending and Saving

Money matters.

You have to pay your bills. Your rent. Your mortgage. Your groceries. Your gas. Then you have to pay for your dog. Your new couch after your dog chewed up your old one. Your new shoes. Your night out. Your cable company. Your mom's Christmas present. Your toothbrush.

There're a lot of things to pay for.

And you're making only enough to cover it. Or maybe you're making plenty to cover it.

Or maybe you don't know.

Either way, you've heard of a budget. And most likely, you've steered far, far away from it because, ugh.

Budgets are hard. They make you work. They make you face the hard facts. They make you walk away from those beautiful pair of hot pink pumps. They make you eat weird food and never go out and hate yourself forever and make you feel guilty for every penny you ever spend and, ugh.

And, actually, they are incredibly freeing.

Let me explain: Last year, in August, I quit my job and moved north to work at a summer camp for three months. I kept my apartment and paid rent even while I was gone. Then I came back home and scrambled to find a job. And then after a few more months I secured a new, more interesting job out of state.

So I whipped out my credit card and bought some movers' time, a truck, a deposit, a fee, two months of double rent, and a dog. And then I had to pay. Loaded up with bills, things to buy for my new place, trips to see my now out-of-state friends, and a new dog who wanted everything in the pet store, I knew I needed to cut back my expenses.

And so I began to budget. Ugh.

Facing those numbers was hard at first. I realized I'd have to stall the purchases for my new apartment. I wouldn't be able to spend any money on myself for, like, ever. And in looking at what costs I could control and cut back, I decided to start couponing. At first, it felt like the most restrictive, limited lifestyle choice I'd ever made. But I wanted those bills paid off as soon as possible, and with that to guide me, I stuck to my plan.

After five months of cutting back my expenses, paying off my bills, and looking forward to a debt-free life again, I've realized that budgeting my lifestyle has been the most freeing experience so far this year. Here's why:

• When I budget I know exactly how much money I have. No surprises. No "how did this happen!" No confusion. Freedom from the unknown.

• When I budget I know exactly what I'm going to spend money on. I can calculate my regular monthly expenses and know just what it costs me to live. Freedom in knowing.

• When I budget, I know what extra costs to expect. Run out of toilet paper? No problem--here's the $10 I set aside this month to purchase it. Buying a wedding gift? Bam! I know exactly what I'm going to get, what it's going to cost, and BONUS: I don't forget to buy it at the last minute. Freedom by planning ahead.

• When I budget, I know how much money I have left over to cover unexpected costs. My dog ate the 5 steaks defrosting on the counter? Ok! I have $X dollars that I guess I'll be spending on steaks. Freedom from worry.

• Okay, this is the BIG one: When I budget, I buy less stuff. A fellow budgeting blogger friend of mine, Amanda, touches on this concept in her post, but I think it's my favorite reason for setting a budget for myself. I've been working hard lately on reminding myself that stuff is wasteful. Amanda says that buying stuff is a habit, and we can stop spending so much money if we break the habit of buying (that was you, Amanda, wasn't it? Now I can't remember...shoot.). But I believe it goes further than this. We are conditioned every day by ads, by our friends, and by our expectations that we should be buying stuff all the time. We need new clothes every season. We need nicer furniture to prove our adulthood. We need a new car cause this one has a scratch on it. But, the truth is: we don't. And by setting a budget for myself, I can keep this thought in the forefront of my mind on a daily basis. So when I see my friends or strangers buying pretty things, instead of feeling jealous, I can remember my decision not to live that lifestyle. That ultimately, this isn't a game I'm too poor to win, but rather a decision that whether I can afford the entrance fee or not, I don't want to play. Freedom from a materialistic life.

And that has been the biggest freedom of all. Choosing a life of freedom from a consumer-based thought pattern and taking back control of what really is important in my spending. I now have the freedom to enjoy spending my cash on life experiences, rather than letting those experiences cause stress because I've spent too much money on stuff.

I've now paid off the last of my credit card bills, I've budgeted all my Christmas-present-buying money, and I'm looking forward to a month of getting to keep all my hard earned cash for myself. I'll be, what most would consider, perfectly well-off.

But I still plan on budgeting. I still plan on couponing. I still plan on writing down every single purchase I make on my spreadsheet so I can keep track of myself. I may let myself slowly purchase a few fun wants, but I like keeping my needs and wants separated on paper. So separated that I can easily turn away from a potential purchase and say, "No, I choose a life full of life, not stuff."

BOOMER.

‘Twas the night before Texas, and all through the state

Not a student was stirring, not any roommate

The buses were parked at Lloyd Noble with care,

Prepared for the team, who would soon be there.

The players were nestled all snug in their seats

While burgers of Bevo were all they could eat

And Bell in his jersey, and Jaz with his grip

Had just settled in for long road trip

When out on the field there arose such a clatter,

Stoops sprang from his chair to see what was the matter.

Away to the press box he flew like a kite,

Turned on the big lights to check on the site

The lights on the breast of the new-painted grass

Gave the luster of mid-day to those who would pass

When, what to his wandering eyes would appear,

But a horse-drawn schooner, with two pony dears

With a little old driver, so lively and marry

He knew in a moment it must be Barry

More determined than soldiers, his faithful they came,

He whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now Millard! Now Shepard! Now Williams and Wade!

On, Nelson! On, Saunders! On Johnson and Clay!

Down I-35 quickly! Straight into Fair Park!

Now touchdown! And field goal! Before it gets dark!

And then, with a bell, Stoops heard from behind

The sounds of his Sooners, like God’s mankind

“There’s a team in Oklahoma, Norman to be exact

Where champions are bred, with the records to back.

“We swear our allegiance to the crimson and cream,

and lay down our efforts to honor this team.

We stand in the shadows of champions past,

And guard every inch of this hallowed grass.”

Stoops bowed down his head, to his team gave a nod,

And knew it was time to win on that sod.

Down to Dallas he’d go, to fight the Longhorns

And to take on Mack Brown, who'd lose all and mourn.

With a first down, a blitz, a touchdown and all,

Stoops watched his team gain winning points for that Fall.

Mack cried his way out, Stoops had won that grand fight. 

"Boomer Sooner to all, and to all a good night!"

*This post was rewritten by me, since I couldn't find the original I read years ago.