Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Job Search Secrets. In just 3 ½ minutes you will have an amazing cover letter guaranteed to cut through YOUR competition like a hot knife through butter!” Download Jimmy’s instant cover letter tool at Cover Letter Central.Dear Job-Seeker:You’ve sent out your resume. You attached a cover letter – eve...

Most job-seekers write their resumes with one thing in mind—themselves! They toot their own horn so loud the interviewer is blown away by the sound. The “I did this” and “I achieved that” approach is important, of course. The hiring manager wants to know what you’ve accomplished in your previous line of work and how you can benefit his or her company in the new position.Reading Between the LinesBUT—he or she is also looking...

Caution People! How Social Media Is Muddying the Waters for Perfectly Good Jobseekers...and How Companies are Letting it Happen.Invited to an interview, you step into the room and unload that heavy photo album you’ve been clinging to onto the conference table. In addition to a resume and brag book, you have pictures on your iPhone of your dogs and the neighbor’s cat stalking the birds enjoying your new bird feeder. The inte...

Job seekers are spending long, grueling hours, hitting the job front from multiple angles, but the stress is becoming unbearable. So, I decided to build a list of de-stressing tips which hopefully provide you with some relief.1. Take stock in what you have. When did our personal worth become indicative upon a j-o-b? No doubt, the loss of income will force us to make some difficult decisions, but never will our income, posse...

Here's an interesting issue to consider: if the job candidate is a woman and the interviewer is a man, is it appropriate for her to cross her legs?It depends.First of all, it's important to understand something about fundamental comfort. Crossing of the legs during an interview is not necessarily a gender thing; men do it as well, and the reason is because it is much easier on the lower back when sitting if at least one kne...

Internships are not just for med students. For those in many fields, they are part of training and education. In this sense, they are similar to the old-time apprenticeship. A Bit of HistoryFor those who don't know their history, apprenticeship is how job and career training was done prior to the Industrial Age; a “master” in a trade (i.e., blacksmithery, carpentry, stonecutting, etc.) would take on an assistant – generally...

All of us have been there at some point. Out of necessity, you are stuck in a job that is unbearable — and as a result, you hate life. This is all-too-common in the U.S., where workers are often treated as commodities and liabilities, and get almost no real respect. Unfortunately, under current conditions few have the luxury of simply quitting, so here are several strategies for coping in a job you just can’t stomach. Six C...

Hands down the use of old resume guidelines for the job-search environment of today hits the top of the list. Jobseekers can no longer afford to utilize outdated resume-writing techniques to compete for top jobs — or any job for that matter. Cookie-cutter intro statements, standard and overused resume layouts, and flat content can all be *resume killers*. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.The Internet is packed fu...

Whether in your personal lives or in business, you only get one chance to make a first impression … we’ve all heard that before, right? So, why do so many jobseekers screw up something so important? The cover letter is your first and best chance to make that impression on a potential employer. Unlike a face-to-face meeting, where your nervousness or bad luck can turn a first impression into a disaster, a cover letter is...

Even when a job description or help-wanted ad doesn’t mention including a cover letter, you should write one and include it in your application or resume mailing. Your prospective employer is expecting to see a cover letter – if they didn’t mention it, it’s either because they assume you know it’s part of the application process, or it’s because they’re using the absence of the letter to quickly screen out the people who ar...