07 Jan 10 Structure of a Cover Letter

In the last post, we talked about the importance of a cover letter, and how much it can assist in getting an interview call. In this short article, I will talk about anatomy of a cover letter; about how one should go about crafting a cover letter.

Anatomy of a cover letter

Step 1: length of a cover letter

A cover letter should not be more than one page long, and when I say “page” I mean “A4 size page”. Subdivide your cover letter into 3 paragraphs, and try to keep the cover letter within 350-400 words. The goal of your cover letter is to generate interest in the reader not to chock him to death with your uncontrolled biographical rattling.

Step 2: Name and address

Put name and address of recipient at the top on the left-hand side of the cover letter, and fold the cover letter putting names and address at the top.

Step 3: Use proper salutation

Do not begin your cover letter with “To Whom It May Concern” as it will not concern anyone. Find the name of the person you are sending your résumé, and use his second name (family name) as salutation as in Dear Mr. Jones, or Dear Ms. Lloyd. If you fail to get name of the person who will read your cover letter than you can simply write Dear Sir/Madam.

Step 4: 1st paragraph

Being this paragraph with writing why you want to work with the company followed by giving a brief introduction about yourself and talk about the academic qualification you have in brief (of course, I am assuming here that you fresher looking for your first job). Do not tell the reader everything you know. Say only as much as required to garner interest.

Step 5: 2nd paragraph

The second paragraph of your cover letter should consist of the things you learned while pursuing your highest degree, the degree on the basis of which you are applying for the job. Mention 5 to 7 key concepts that are relevant to the industry. Talk about cutting edge things that you learned.

Step 6: 3rd paragraph

Write how you can add value to the organization if you are hired. Just use 2-3 sentences to explain this.

Conclusion

You should sound confident while writing a cover letter, but avoid sound overconfident. You should sound sincere in seeking employment but never sound begging. It’s not good for health and morale. Be professional and sound like one. No one cares how you got that stain on your shoes. They just do not like stains.

Tags: Academic Qualification, Anatomy, Cover Letter, Cutting Edge, Dear Mr, Find Person, First Job, Key Concepts, Left Hand Side, Lloyd, Madam, Name And Address, Names, Paragraph, Paragraphs, Proper Salutation, Recipient, Step 1, Step 2, Step 6

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03 Jan 10 How to Use Twitter to Get Clients

Twitter is an amazing tool. It can be put to any number of uses. People use it to make friends, to know about the topics they care, to get job alerts, to stay on top of any topic, to get recommendation, to read funny jokes, and to get influenced by memorable quotations, etc. This 140-character wonder can even be used to get clients for your business, regardless of your size, be it for your one-person startup, or for a 1000-people big company.

In this article, we will see what you need to do to get clients from twitter.

Step 1: Use real name

Will you like to do business with sexykitten, or hotrode? I am sure you won’t, regardless of how smart hotrode or sexykitten is. This is the power of name. A good name creates a positive image, whereas, a bad name ruins the party. Use your real name or business name for the twitter profile. If your name or business name is already taken then use something close to that, but spare yourself the horror of bad names.

Step 2: Use real picture

Like a real name, a real picture helps create a positive image in the mind of onlookers. Do not go for cool looking cartoons, or any other thing. Let your prospect know that you are a real person behind the twitter profile by giving a real picture.

Step 3: Brand your background

If you do not know this then let me break the good news that you can brand your twitter profile the way you want. I will suggest you customize the background of your twitter profile with your corporate brand identity.

Step 4: Use compelling bio

Your one-line twitter bio says a lot about you. People get influenced reading that, so it better be good. Make your twitter bio forceful and SEO-friendly.

Step 5: Add URL

Many people leave URL field empty. Do not commit this mistake. Use a proper working URL in your profile. This will work as a door to your website.

Step 6: Create a list

Create a list of the tweets from your industry and make it publicly available. This will give your prospect an idea about how closely you follow the changes in your industry. He may regard you as a leader of the pack, which will mean more business for you.

Tags: Background, Brand Identity, Business Name, Friends, Funny Jokes, Horror, Hotrode, Many People, Memorable Quotations, Mistake, Names, Onlookers, Positive Image, Real Person, Sexykitten, Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Step 6, Tweets

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19 Oct 09 Secure Your Gmail

If web provides us with opportunities, it also provides us with threats, and at times the threats are more dangerous than we suppose. There are many people on the net who earn their livelihood by making our life miserable. People who fall prey to the burglars’ attack are those who are most innocent and do not suspect anyone.

This brief post will help you secure your Gmail account from the burglars who are out there to steal your mail IDs and other information. Securing Gmail is an easy task. Just follow the things written below and your Gmail will become secure.

Forcing Gmail to use https connection

The very first thing you need to do is to force Gmail to open a secure channel for all your online communication by using https instead of http. Using https is free. To use it, all you need to do is make a slight change in the settings. Follow the following steps

Step 1: Log in to your Gmail account as you regularly do.
Step 2: Click on the “settings” that appears at the top of the page.
Step 3: Make sure you are on the General Tab under settings.
Step 4: On fifth position from top, you will find “Browser connection”.
Step 5: Check the Radio button beside “Always use https”.
Step 6: Click save changes at the bottom of the page.
Step 7: Restart your Gmail. Now you will notice that your Gmail has https prefix in place of http.

Sign out all other sessions

How many times did it happen to you that you logged in our office or home PC and forgot to log out when leaving office or home? And how many times we asked our family or colleague to log you from your Gmail? And do you remember where all you logged in: Cell phones, cybercafé, friends’ PC, your bosses’ laptop?

There is no need to panic. There is a way in Gmail to log you out from all the devices you logged in at other places. Follow the following steps and you can easily do that.

Step 1: Log in to your Gmail account.
Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the page.
Step 3: Find “Last account activity: X minutes ago on this computer. Details” written at the bottom. You may or may not find “This account is open in 1 other location at this IP (122.162.225.247)”this written before the “last login” text.
Step 4: Click the “Details” link.
Step 5: A window will pop up.
Step 6: Go to the window and click “Sign out all other sessions” button.

That’s it. You are done. Your Gmail is secure now.

Tags: 2 Step, Burglars, Cell Phones, Colleague, Fifth Position, Friends, Gmail Account, Laptop, Livelihood, Mail Ids, Miserable People, Prefix, Prey, Radio Button Beside, Secure Channel, Sessions, Step 1, Step 2, Step 6

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