Avoiding repetition in your resume and cover letter

When you write your resume and cover letter, the same words keep cropping up.

I know for me, I always want to have several "excellents" and "effectives", and a few other of my favorites.

So how to avoid them?

There are several ways.

One of the most obvious is to use a Thesaurus, which is a list of other words to use to mean the same as the one you are searching.

Microsoft Word has one in the "Tools, Langauge" menu. If you highlight the word you are concerened about, it will automatically show you alternatives. Likewise, you can "Google" for an online thesaurus.

Alternatively, almost every job search book has word lists to help you. These word lists will give you other descriptive words, and also suggest action verbs to make your resume more dynamic. They can be very useful.

Again, using Google, search for "word list for resume." I just did it as I write this and a great variety of helpful sites came up.

The other time you need "new" words, is when you want to show that you have whatever a job ad is asking for.

You can't just take what the ad says and copy it into your resume and cover letter, no matter how close a match it is for you. Or at least, you can't do that if you want to be taken seriously as a job candidate.

Instead, go back to the thesaurus and find other ways to express that you have everything the ad is seeking.

That of course is not the total content of either your resume or cover letter, but it's something to bear in mind as you "tweak" your carefully prepared material for each individual position.

Your job is to show that you are an excellent fit for this position.

More help with resumes and cover letters...

Resume writing for computer jobs is a bit different than for other jobs. Find help here...

Other articles on this blog to help you are:

Cover letters to suit each job

Questions about resumes and cover letters

Resumes need action verbs

What does the employer want?

Never mention negatives in your resume or cover letter

In a nutshell: It's your job to tell the employer what you DO bring to the job. It's the employer's job to work out what you DON'T bring!

So, let's say computer skills are required. You have great computer skills, but there is one piece of software listed in the job ad that you have no experience on.

Your resume and cover letter should tell in great detail what glorious experience and expertise you have with the software you use. They could also mention (assuming it's true) that you are a quick learner on new and company-specific software.

If the employers looks closely enough at your written material to work out you don't have one experience with one specific piece of software he needs you to use, this mention of learning quickly can help.

However, you then have to be prepared to support that in the interview, with a story of how you learnt some software very quickly, and perhaps, without formal training.

But, to get back to the point, your job on cover letter and resume, is just to list the skills you DO have. Do not mention anything you lack.

After all if you we introduced to someone and they were asking about your work history. You would tell them what you had done only. You would not be likely to say "I am a computer programmer. I have not been a rocket scientist, an astonaut, a personal trainer........" They can work that out from what you tell them you HAVE done.

The same goes for the resume and cover letter. Give all the benefits of what you have done and can do, and leave it at that.

I assist job seekers with resumes and cover letters (USA & Canada).

Cover letters to suit each job

A cover letter should be unique to each job. A generic cover letter cannot possibly represent you fully for any given position.

Here are two formats to consider, depending upon how well you believe you fit the advertised job.

If you think you are a great fit for this one, and really want to have the employer zero in on that instantly, write a cover letter that has bullet points in the middle paragraph.

* with bullets you will draw attention to this text
* you can just list the main skills or experience you bring
* and make sure to include at least some of the skills requested in the ad

Your list of bulleted items can be as long as 5, but no longer. Then return to normal paragraph style of writing.

The other format is to be used if you either think you are just an OK fit for the job, or if you realize that you don't have one requirement.

Then you will just write a cover letter in paragraphs, highlighting what you think is most likely to win you an interview.

But don't forget the bullets when you see a job that a great fit. They really draw the eye and get read.

Write great cover letters with the help you can find here.

Need help with a professional resume and cover letter?
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Do you need a cover letter?

Do you need a cover letter? The short answer is yes.

About 50% of employers don't even look at a cover letter, but for the other 50% who do, it's imperative that you have a powerful letter to go with your resume.

Why do 50% not read your cover letter? Imagine you are an employer, advertising a job. You get 300 responses. That is 600 pages, if the resumes are generally one page long, 900 pages if they are two pages long. If you ditch all the cover letters you have just saved yourself reading 300 pages. Quite a time saving.

But back to those who do: what do they want to find in your cover letter?

Firstly say where you found the advertisement and the position title.

Then highlight the main strengths and experience you have that the employers seems to want the most. This can take one or two paragraphs.

Next, visit the employers website, or look them up in the yellow pages, and to your cover letter add a short statement about something you find interesting or exciting about the company.

Lastly is the call to action. This is where you tell the employer what you expect to happen next.

With an advertised job, this will mean just stating that you look forward to hearing from him/ her, and hope they will interview you.

With an undavertised job, you state that you will call in a few days, or a week, in the hope of setting up an interview. (And then make sure you do call!)

Thank the employer for taking the time to read your material, and close with "Sincerely", and your name.

One page, no more and lots of white space.

That's your cover letter. It's job is not to get you the job. It's job it to get the employers to read your resume so take time and put some thought into what you write, just in case you hit one of the 50% of employers who read cover letters.

Need more help and detail on writing a powerful, result-driven cover letter?

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