As for me, I’m Team Cover Letter 99% of the time. I know it’s not the answer you were hoping to hear. But, before you show yourself to the virtual exit, hear me out. 

It’s not exactly fun to write a cover letter. I get it. However, there are valid reasons to write one for the majority (not all) remote jobs you apply for. Here’s why. 

First Impression Maker

First impressions are important. Chances are, you’ve heard the old phrase, “You don’t get a second chance at a first impression.” Cliche, but true. In fact, even you regularly make snap judgments about people you meet in a matter of seconds, according to the American Psychological Association. 

Unfortunately, remote job seekers don’t get a chance to make an in-person impression. Instead, career marketing materials (cover letter, resume, social profiles, LinkedIn, etc.) are used by recruiters and hiring managers to size you up.

Since one-third of recruiters read cover letters first, it’s likely to be your only first impression maker at some point in your remote job search. Let’s make it a good one. 

Interview Generator 

The majority of hiring personnel use cover letters to make hiring decisions. In fact, 83% state a well written cover letter can make up for a bad resume. 

Clearly, your interview requests will skyrocket with each cover letter you write. Be sure to use this powerful document whenever you can! 

Written Communication on Display

Pop Quiz: What’s one skill employers universally look for in remote job applicants? 

Answer: Written communication ability. 

Think about it, the majority of your remote interactions will be in writing. For example, remote workers will: 

• Collaborate with coworkers in Slack
• Support customers via chat 
• Send status updates and request information in emails

And that’s just a very short list! Sure, you can put “written communication skills” on your remote resume. But, go a step further and demonstrate your ability through a cover letter.  It’s the perfect platform put your effective communication on display.

Direction Follower

Fun fact, just 38% of applicants send a cover letter when a job listing asks for one. Obviously, it’s not a great look (or good first impression) when you opt to leave one out. If you can’t follow basic directions during the hiring process, why would an employer believe you’ll follow them once hired? 

Don’t be lazy and skip over the cover letter step. Instead, do better than the 62% of job seekers by committing to write a cover letter whenever possible, and especially when required! 

Details, Details, Details

Do you read the entire job description before you apply? If not, you’re placing yourself at a disadvantage. For starters, the job listing provides important clues to key skills and abilities to include in your resume and cover letter. But, it’s also a place where employers will slip in a very specific detail to include in your cover letter. 

For example, specific directives could be: 

• “Please include the word ‘watermelon’ in your subject line.” 
• “Use ‘aloha’ to conclude your cover letter.” 

It seems weird, I know. However, employers do this to instantly weed out applicants who fail to thoroughly read listings. After all, hiring managers want potential employees who actually want the job – not applicants who mass apply to every remote listing they see.  

Career Narrative Controller

Finally, a cover letter allows you to control your career narrative. Your career narrative is the professional story detailing your past, present, and future. This is especially important when: 

• Changing careers 
• Explaining employment gaps 

Hiring personnel will inevitably have questions when you apply for positions that don’t align with previous roles like, “Do they know which position they’re applying for?”  Similarly, when employment gaps are present they’ll wonder, “What were they doing during that time?” 

Don’t let recruiters connect the dots themselves. Instead, take control of your career narrative. Your cover letter is the perfect place to answer these questions in your own words. Now, you’ve erased any roadblocks before they became deal breakers. 

Cover Letter Fast Facts and Stats

Clearly, your cover letter is a critical part of your remote job search. If you’re still not convinced consider these stats*:

• 26% of all recruiters look at cover letters to make hiring decisions
• 56% of companies give preference to applicants who include a cover letter
• 49% of hiring managers believe cover letters make resumes better
• 83% of the time a cover letter can secure a job interview, especially when your resume isn’t an exact match for a role 
• 77% of recruiters prefer applicants who took the time to send a cover letter
• 72% of employers still want to see a cover letter (even when its optional)

Writing Cover Letters with Less Stress

The stats in this post clearly illustrate one thing: Most applicants dread writing cover letters. Remember, just 38% include a cover letter – even  when it’s “required.”

As a career coach, I’m here to make your job search simpler and more effective. And, like it or not, an effective job search includes a cover letter. 

But, don’t panic! Your cover letter doesn’t have to stress you out. In fact, writing one is as easy as 1-2-3. 

One: Format

First, you need to know what goes into a cover letter. This is called its format. An effective cover letter is made up of five simple parts: 

1. Contact Information
2. Greeting & Introduction 
3. Body Paragraphs
4. Call to Action
5. Sign Off

Contact Information 

The contact information includes your name, phone number, email address, and location. Even though you’re looking for remote work, make sure to include your city and state. Remember, many companies have location requirements for remote workers. 

Additionally, include your LinkedIn Profile and personal website or portfolio, if you have them. If you don’t, I highly recommend setting them up. Both play an important role in building your personal brand. 

Greeting & Introduction

Rarely, will you know the name and/or title of the person reading your resume and cover letter. After all, job listings typically ask you to submit your cover letter and resume online through a portal or Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). When you don’t know the person’s name, stick with something generic like “Dear Hiring Manager.” 

After the greeting comes the introduction paragraph. Open your cover letter with an attention grabbing hook that reels the reader in. With the right opener, your cover letter is likely to be read in full instead of briefly scanned. 

Body Paragraphs 

The middle of your cover letter includes the body paragraphs. If possible, draw a connection to the company you’re applying to. You can reference an upcoming event, press release, social media posts, or news mentions.

Then, showcase your relevant skills, experience, education and how they will benefit the company’s goals or mission. Remember, keep paragraphs short and use bullet points when possible. Nobody likes to be hit with walls of text! 

Call to Action

Any good salesperson will tell you to always ask for the sale. This is known as a “call to action.” As a job seeker, you’re selling your skills and abilities in hopes of getting an interview. So ,use your final paragraph to ask for an interview. It’s not pushy. You’re being proactive!

Sign Off 

You’re in the home stretch now! Lastly, end your cover letter with a professional closing like “Regards,” “Best Regards,” or “Sincerely.” Then simply type in your name to act as your signature. That’s it. Your cover letter is complete. 

Two: Template 

Remember, do not use a cookie cutter cover letter. A cover letter is only effective when it’s tailored to the company and position you’re applying for. However, this doesn’t mean you have to start a cover letter from scratch every time. Instead, opt for a template that is easily updated for effortless customization. 

With a template, all you have to do is pull it up, make a copy, and change relevant sections, sentences, or statements. Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll be a cover letter pro. 

Three: Content 

So far, you know what the parts of a cover letter are and the importance of using a customizable template every time. Now, what exactly should you say in your cover letter? 

Great question. This is what trips most people up. Fortunately, it’s not complicated. All you need to remember are the three Cs:

1. Credibility
2. Connection
3. Clarity. 

1. Credibility 

Remember, your cover letter can help you get an interview even when your resume isn’t an exact fit for the job. To do this, state what you can do for the company. Then, lend credibility to those statements by sharing relevant examples of previous accomplishments. 

2. Connection

Always create a connection between yourself and the company. This is important for two reasons: 1. It demonstrates your genuine interest in the company 2. Clearly shows a thoughtful cover letter written specifically for that role. 

3. Clarity

Finally, write clearly and concisely. There is no need to be clever, cute, or quirky. Your cover letter’s main mission is to demonstrate ability and enthusiasm. Use short sentences and bullet points to highlight your skills and how they’ll benefit the company.  

Yes, You Should Include A Cover Letter for Remote Jobs

In the end, my answer is “Yes, you should write a cover letter- even if it’s optional.” Honestly, they aren’t difficult to write. In fact, if you use a template, it will take just a matter of minutes to customize it to a particular job. 

Remember, many hiring managers believe cover letters secure interviews when a resume isn’t the best fit. Plus, almost two-thirds of applicants fail to write one even when asked. Writing a cover letter already places you ahead of the majority.

So, open Google Docs right now (yes, right now) and put together your cover letter template. It’s a seriously easy yet effective way to get more interviews. Sign up for my weekly newsletter – Happy Mail – and I’ll send you a free cover letter example template as a thanks.

Happily, 

Ashlee Anderson, CPCC

*Cover letter statistics courtesy of Resume Lab.

P.S. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement to learn more.

The post Do I Need a Cover Letter for Remote Jobs? appeared first on Work from Home Happiness.

Writing a resume is tough. Take it from me. As a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC), I routinely work with remote job seekers who have all but given up on their work from home dreams. 

Many of my clients have applied to dozens and dozens of online job listings but have not received a single interview request. Sound familiar? 

If that’s the case, your resume may be to blame. 

But, fear not! You absolutely can transform your resume from totally unforgettable to completely hireable with this resume writing how to guide. 

Standard Resume Sections To Include 

To start, your resume should (at the very least) contain three core sections:

• Contact Information
• Work Experience
• Education

Contact Information 

Your resume is not doing you any favors if a recruiter can’t contact you. At the very top of your resume, put your contact information. Ideally, you include your name, email address, LinkedIn Profile Page, phone number, and location. 

Does Location Really Matter?

As a remote job seeker, you might wonder why location matters. Even though you want to work remotely, recruiters still need to know your general location. You do not need to put your exact address. Instead, simply put your city and state. That’s it. 

Remember, just because a job hires remotely, does not mean that you can work from anywhere. Many companies hire remote workers in specific countries, time zones, or states.

So, while your exact home address isn’t needed, you should absolutely include your location. If you don’t, your resume may automatically be discarded.

Hiring managers do not want to waste time contacting candidates that don’t meet location requirements. If they can’t determine where you’re at, they’re likely to automatically put you in the ‘no’ pile.

What About My Email Address?

Be sure to use an email address that’s up to date and professional. I have worked with more coaching clients than I can remember who have clung onto their cutesy or dated email addresses because they didn’t deem the effort to create a new email address worth it. But I promise you, it is!

When you apply to a job with an email address like “cuteblonde4u” or “gymgod99” you will not be taken seriously. Period. 

A combination of your first and last name (the exact same one you use on your resume) is a simple and straightforward approach. There’s no need to get clever or creative here. Also, if you’re still using AOL or another dated email service provider, it’s time to move on. 

Google offers free email addresses that you can access via computer or mobile device. With your free Google Email Account, you also get a lot of other neat tools like Google Drive which is an often used web app in professional work environments — especially remote ones!

Do I Really Need To Be On LinkedIn?

Your contact information should also include a link to your LinkedIn Profile. If you’re not on LinkedIn, you absolutely need to be. It’s free to sign up and has tons of must-use job seeker features.

Plus, if you write a powerful LinkedIn profile, it can do a lot of the ‘heavy lifting’ in your work from home job search!

Work Experience

Essentially, your resume is nothing more than a single sheet of paper that highlights your work experience. In fact, your work history will take up most of the page! So, no resume writing how to guide would be complete without a deep dive into work experience.

Start with your most recent position (either the one you’re currently at or most recently left) and work your way backward. This is commonly referred to as a Chronological Resume.

What To Include With Each Work Experience Entry

Each work experience entry should include: 

• Company Name
• Location
• Job Title
• How Long You Worked There

Quantify Your Accomplishments

Now, under each of your work history listings, you need to write down your duties AND accomplishments. Do not simply list your daily tasks. Instead, focus on key duties and major accomplishments. By that, I mean quantify your work. 

For example, instead of saying: 

Helped job seekers create career marketing materials and job search campaigns

You could say: 

Wrote more than 500 resumes and LinkedIn profiles that resulted in increased interviews and remote job offers for 100% of clients

By simply adding concrete numbers to the original statement, it suddenly becomes more impressive.

Hiring managers want to know what you can do for them by looking at what you’ve already accomplished. 

Remember to Optimize Your Resume

Now, in today’s world of remote job searching, your resume needs to impress both robots and recruiters.

You see, the hiring process is a tedious one for employers — especially remote-friendly employers.

Often, companies receive dozens (if not hundreds) of applications for a single job opening. To help streamline the hiring process companies increasingly use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to manage resumes. 

The ATS scans your resume for keywords before it sends it off to a real person. When your resume has the ‘right’ keywords, you move to the ‘yes’ pile. The wrong keywords? Well, you immediately land in the ‘no’ pile.

Resume Writing How To: Keywords

Your Work History Section is an ideal spot to keyword optimize your resume. Simply pull relevant keywords from the job listing you want to apply to and use them to highlight your accomplishments. 

Hint: You can find keywords in job listings under headings like 

• Essential Responsibilities
• Skills Needed
• Preferred Experience
• Responsibilities
• Requirements

As a CPCC, I specialize in creating remote-friendly resumes that are appealing to both human and robots alike. Be sure to check out my career coaching services to learn how I can help.

Education 

If you’ve been in the work world for years, your Education Section should be short and sweet. 

This frees up valuable space for other sections that are often more important to recruiters. 

According to Glassdoor, recruiters spend just 6-7 seconds on your resume at first glance. In this short time, they look at your contact information, job titles, and business impact. 

With that being said, most job seekers can simply add their degree, year graduated, school and location. That’s all you need.

What If I Don’t Have A Degree?

If you don’t have a college degree — don’t panic! You can omit the Education Section altogether. And instead, include certifications, coursework, diplomas, and licenses you possess (or are in progress) that are relevant to your profession in a different section.

Resume Writing How To: Other Common Sections

Professional Summary 

You don’t need an objective statement. Instead, create a professional summary that serves as your short intro or elevator pitch that sets the stage for the person reading your resume. 

Skills Section

Create a skills section to highlight your hard and soft skills that are important to your industry and demonstrate how you work. This is also a great spot to transfer core skills from the job listing into your resume.

Awards

Have you been featured or honored in any way? Toot your own horn here.

Volunteer Work

If you have volunteer work that relates to your profession (or the job you hope to get) don’t be afraid to place it on your resume.

Certifications & Licenses

No degree? No problem! Instead, list any certifications, licenses, or coursework that demonstrates your professional proficiencies.

How Should I Format My Resume?

Don’t overthink the flow of your resume. It doesn’t need to be fancy. Instead, the goal is to make it easy to read for both humans and ATS. This can be achieved by using industry-standard headings and a pretty standard layout. Check out the easy-to-read template below: 

Resume Writing How To: Other Tips To Remember 

According to Jobscan, about 98% of Fortune 500 Companies use ATS. A similar survey by Kelly OCG estimates 66% of large companies use ATS and about 35% of smaller companies rely on them too. 

In other words, your resume is going to be read by ATS and you have to remember that when formatting your resume. 

Some resume writing how tos for getting past ATS: 

• Use ‘standard’ resume headings (i.e., Work History) instead of creative ones like Companies I’ve Helped 
• Go with basic font like Helvetica, Ariel, Times New Roman, Georgia
• Do not use tables, columns, or other ‘fancy’ additions
• Use a chronological resume format instead of a functional one
• Optimize your resume with keywords from the job listing
• Create a custom, keyword optimized resume to EVERY job you apply to 

Most ATS (like those used by remote-friendly company Amazon) parse your resume into a digital profile. This makes every application in their database uniform and more easily searchable.

If your resume is formatted funny or lacks standard structure and terms, much of your information will get lost in translation — literally. 

Career Coaching Services 

Remember, I’m here to help! As a CPCC, one of my most sought-after services is resume writing for remote job seekers. To date, I’ve helped hundreds of job seekers kick their cubicles to the curb. I can help you too. 

With added coaching, I can teach you how to keyword optimize your resume like a pro and make it easy to customize your resume for every job you apply to (without driving yourself insane). The best part? You’ll get greater results in the form of more inquiries and job interviews. 

A little help can go a long way! 

Check out my services when you need more help with resume writing how to. 

Happily, 

Ashlee Anderson, CPCC

The post Resume Writing How To: The Complete Guide For The Clueless & Confused appeared first on Work from Home Happiness.

As a career coach, I often get asked whether work from home cover letters are even important anymore. Do hiring managers actually read them? Are they a waste of time in a world of online applications?

You might not like the answer, but honestly, as a remote job seeker, your cover letter is REALLY important. 

Since remote hiring often takes place virtually via phone calls, online chats, emails, or video meetings, you don’t always get a chance to let your personality shine like you would in real life. That’s where a work from home cover letter can really come in handy. 

A well written work from home cover letter can: 

• Position you as the perfect fit for a posted job 
• Show how you align with the company’s goals, missions, and/or values 
• Highlight experiences that you want to show off 
• Explain any gaps in employment on your resume or any other situations that require an explanation 
• Give you a chance to ask for an interview 

Keep in mind, a cover letter isn’t just a letter saying you want a job you saw online. It’s an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to a hiring manager.

When the first set of eyes find their way to your cover letter, it’s to gain some insight into your personality and way of thinking on the job. This helps them visualize whether or not they can ‘see’ you fitting into the company and particular role you’re applying for.

If they see you as a match, woohoo, you get that interview you’re after. If not, you’re cast into the ‘no’ pile, never to be heard from again. Your cover letter is your first impression. Make it count.

Gather Your Cover Letter Content

I work with a lot of job seekers who simply cannot stand writing a cover letter. It’s time consuming. They second guess what content to include. There’s worry whether they’re writing it too formal or perhaps too casual. 

I get it. Cover letters are tricky. But, that doesn’t mean you should rush through writing one. Remember, a cover letter written in haste is wasted if it doesn’t clearly explain why your skills, experiences, and mindset are the perfect fit for this particular job. 

That’s why, before you get down to writing, you need to review the job ad. As you read it and re-read it, jot down instances where your work experience align with the job responsibilities in the ad. 

Now, it’s time to do a little research. Fire up Google and navigate your way to the company’s website. You’re on a mission to find the company’s mission statement, brand statement, values, vision, and/or goals. 

For example, one of my favorite remote-friendly companies is Buffer. This social media automation company regularly hires telecommuters for various roles. Let’s pretend you’re applying to one of their openings. 

Example Cover Letter for Remote Job Seekers

First things first, navigate to the Buffer website. From there, scroll to the bottom of the homepage. Be on the look out for helpful links that will help you learn more about the company culture. Most companies use their footer to help you find what you’re looking for! Always, always, scroll to the bottom first to see what’s there.

As luck would have it, Buffer has a link titled “Our Values” in the footer. Click on that link. On this page, you can see Buffer’s company core values. There’s even another link to an entire “culture blog” with weekly workplace related articles. Once you’ve read through everything, you’ll get a pretty good feel of what Buffer, as a company, is all about. 

You’ll even develop a sense of what it would be like to work there. With this new insight in mind, jot down a couple of reasons why Buffer’s mission, culture, goals, and values are important to you. Eventually, you’ll use this information to create the content for your cover letter! Easy, right?

Find The Right Information Fast

While Buffer offers a lot of information on their website about their missions and values, not all companies do. That’s okay too. If a company doesn’t readily display their company values and missions statement, you can usually find what you’re looking for in the footer. Links titled “About Us,” “Press,” or “News” can be helpful. 

While these pages may not explicitly spell out a mission statement or company goals, they will help you determine a company’s core business concerns. Again, you can reference this information in your cover letter to illustrate you’re a perfect candidate to join the ranks of the company. As a bonus, you’ll score brownie points for doing your homework! 

Formatting Your Work From Home Cover Letter 

Now that you’ve got your research compiled, it’s time to get down to writing your cover letter. I like to keep it simple and straightforward with a 5-paragraph layout. Each paragraph addresses a specific point and end up working together to create the perfect pitch for you as a remote job seeker. 

Opening Paragraph 

This first paragraph packs a lot of punch. Tell the hiring manager why you want to work for the company in this particular role. Here’s where you’ll put your research to use by emphasizing your personal commitment to the company’s unique vision, goals, missions, and values. Close the paragraph with what you could contribute once you join the team.

Example: 

As a fan of all things social media coupled with my enthusiasm for automation and task management, I want to help others more effectively handle their social queues as a customer service representative at Buffer. Transparency, reflection, and mindfulness are part of my daily routine and practices I appreciate when working remotely with a company. As a customer service representative, I can bring positivity to my teammates while helping Buffer users reach their social media goals, even if it requires some out-of-the-box thinking. I strive to be a lifelong learner and often reflect on particular customer service issues that arise to help improve my responses in the future. 

Second Paragraph 

Here’s where you highlight your previous work experience as they relate to the job at hand. Don’t be afraid to include similar experiences that aren’t an exact match. If you’re an entry-level job seeker, don’t worry. This paragraph can tie your college coursework, volunteer experience, internships, or even a brief training program to the job you’re applying for. Remember, you should have read and re-read the job announcement while jotting down instances where your experience falls in line with the job responsibilities. This is where you will place that information. 

Example: 

In my most recent role as a customer service representative, I worked to resolve email inquiries from users ranging from tech support and troubleshooting to general product questions and sales. Whether I was dealing with current customers or prospective ones, my end goal was to use my product knowledge to educate and inform users until we reached a happy outcome. Sometimes this would require a little more digging or taking the road less traveled, but the extra effort was worth it when the end result was a customer well served. 

Third Paragraph 

Now it’s time to revisit your research about the company missions, values, and goals. In this paragraph, highlight your personal habits and work personality to show how you’ll easily transition into the open role at their company. Make sure to identify how your personality traits will allow you to contribute value to the company from Day 1. 

Example: 

I consider myself a lifelong learner and always strive to make progress in life, both personally and professionally. Like Buffer’s “Improve Consistently” Core Value, I regularly take on a growth mindset to make small improvements every day. While at work, I’m fully engaged in the task at hand and am eager to learn new programs, processes, and procedures through daily practice. 

Fourth Paragraph 

Use this paragraph to explain unique situations like an employment gap. If you’ve been employed consistently, aren’t taking a major pay cut or making a major career change, you don’t need to write a fourth paragraph. Move on ahead to the closing paragraph  

Example: 

Although it’s been several years since I’ve been in the workforce, I’ve used my time as a stay-at-home parent to keep active in my community. My customer service skills have been put to good use as a volunteer coordinator for my local PTA.

Fifth Paragraph 

This is your closer! You’re in the home stretch now. Use this paragraph to summarize what you’ve already talked about. Be sure to explain your commitment to the position AND ask for the interview! Any good sales person will tell you to close with “an ask.” In this case, you’re selling yourself and the ultimate “sale” is an interview. Don’t be shy and ask for it! 

Example: 

As a multi-tasking, stay-at-home parent in recent years combined with my real world corporate customer service experience, I can blend my years of practical and personal experience to jump right into remote work. I’m eager to bring my unique work history to a company, like Buffer, that values teamwork and self-improvement. I welcome the opportunity to interview for this position at your earliest convenience. 

Additional Thoughts On Cover Letter Content 

That’s it. Not so bad, right? Trust me, once you’ve mastered the basic structure of a work from home cover letter, you’ll find it’s easy to write them. In fact, you’ll spend most of your time reading the job ad and researching the company. Once you have that information, the cover letter practically writes itself! 

When you use this basic 5-paragraph organization when writing your work from home cover letters, you can consistently position yourself as the perfect hire. Just remember, never send the same exact cover letter for different jobs you apply to.

Always tweak your letter’s content to highlight your experiences as they relate to the different work from home jobs you apply to. At the end of the day, your cover letter’s purpose should remain the same: Introduce yourself and position yourself as the perfect hire. 

When To Be Formal And When Not To Be 

Another common concern with cover letters is formality. As a career coach, I find the majority of companies respond well to this professional-focused four-to-five paragraph structure we’ve gone over. After all, it’s a pretty straightforward way to outline your experiences as they relate to the job at hand, which is your ultimate goal. Often, there’s no need to get overly creative, quirky, or humorous. But sometimes, you do. 

How do you know? 

The job ad itself is a good clue. If it’s formal, your cover letter needs to be too. If it’s casual and infused with a bit of humor, your work from home cover letter needs to be on the quirkier side. Similarly, your research will give you a good indication whether the company is all business or enjoys word play and a bit of fun. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to get witty. You can write your cover letter in a more conversational tone that comes off as more casual than formal. 

Always remember, your cover letter’s tone should match that of the company’s.

Important Tips For Your Work From Home Cover Letter 

Now that we have a running structure for how to organize your cover letter and what to include, it’s time to talk about must-have tips for all cover letters, whether quirky and clever or straightforward and proper. 

1. Read and re-read your cover letter to make sure you’ve got the company name correct! It’s easy to miss this, especially if you’re rewording the same cover letter over and over again. 
2. Save your cover letter as your First Name, Last Name, and Cover Letter. For me, that would be Ashlee Anderson Cover Letter. Make sure to save it as PDF and not a word or Pages file. 
3. Sign your letter! Use a free esigning service, like Smallpdf, to upload a PDF copy of your cover letter. Then you can sign it electronically before you submit it to a potential employer. This gives it a polished and clean look that is sure to impress. 
4. Make sure your cover letter stays on topic and focuses on your experiences as they relate to the job. Only get personal in paragraph 4, if you need to explain something like a gap in employment! 
5. Don’t ever include information about why you left or are leaving your current or previous position. This is territory best traveled during an interview, not a cover letter. 
6. Make sure to carefully read the job ad! Employers will often include specific instructions for cover letters, follow them to a T. 
7. Try your best to keep your cover letter to a single page. Nobody wants to read a novel. 
8. Keep it clear and concise. Overly long and wordy sentences are distracting and often left unread. 
9. Don’t get fancy with font. Classic choices for cover letters include Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri. 
10. Proofread yourself! There’s nothing worse than submitting a cover letter with an obvious spelling or grammar mistake. Try reading your cover letter out loud or backward to help catch tiny mistakes. Or, better yet, have a fresh set of eyes proofread for you. 

Perfect Your Work From Home Cover Letter 

At the end of the day, your cover letter needs to clearly explain how your work experience and training directly relates to the job you’re applying for. If you can do that, you’re going to give yourself a good chance of getting an interview. The best way to do this is to turn to the job announcement.

Remember, unless the company has a reputation for being quirky or clever, you should avoid using cutesy comments or gimmicks in your writing. Be clear, direct, and concise to get your point across effectively. And, before you send it, give it a re-read. An error in your writing can sink even the best written work from home cover letter. 

Happily, 

Ashlee 

P.S. This post might contain affiliate links. Check out my disclosure statement for more information.

The post Work From Home Cover Letter: The Foolproof Template That Gets Results appeared first on Work from Home Happiness.

If you’re job searching online, and you probably are, you’ve had to upload your resume to job ad after job ad after job ad. Not exactly my idea of fun, but a necessary evil nonetheless.

But just because you upload your resume to a job you want doesn’t mean you’ll actually hear anything. You see, there’s a big difference between a good resume that gets interviews and a bad resume that gets rejected every time.

A good resume gets you noticed by recruiters. It perfectly sums up your work experience, highlights appropriate skills, and shows you’re the perfect person for the job. This gives you a better chance of landing an interview, which (hopefully) leads to job offers.

But what about a bad resume?

A bad resume, on the other hand, sends you into the abyss of applicants, never to be heard from again.

If you’re applying to remote jobs like crazy but aren’t hearing anything back, a bad resume could be the culprit.

Here’s how to tell if your resume is bad and, if so, how to fix it fast.

The Format Is Funny

I’m not talking funny ha-ha but funny odd. Most resumes are sent through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before they ever land in front of a recruiter.

An ATS is designed to filter good resumes from the bad ones. When it finds a ‘good’ one, it forwards it to the recruiter. A bad one? Well, that lands in the virtual garbage pile.

In order to properly ‘read’ your resume, the ATS needs to understand its format. If your resume has borders, columns, divider lines, and other unnecessary formatting it won’t be able to read it. And, if it can’t read it, the ATS will automatically reject it.

Instead, keep your resume clean. Don’t get overly fussy with its format. Stick to simple sentences and basic bullet points. Save it as a PDF or .doc or .docx as these are more easily understood by ATS.

Remember, if you’re applying to a job online, your resume is likely going through an ATS. If the ATS cannot understand your resume, you won’t get in front of a real person let alone a call for an interview request.

The Content Is Lacking

As the ATS browses your resume to figure out if you’re a keeper or not, it’s looking for keywords.

The keywords it’s looking for entirely depends on the position you’re applying for. You can find the appropriate keywords for a particular job by dissecting the job ad itself.

For example, let’s say you come across a remote job post for a customer service rep. Awesome. You have plenty of customer service experience and would love the chance to work from home. Sounds good. But this doesn’t mean you should simply upload your cookie cutter resume and expect it’s going to get you an interview request.

Why not?

Assume that each job you apply for is uniquely different — because it is. A standard one-size-fits-all resume simply doesn’t work, especially where ATS is concerned.

After all, a recruiter or hiring manager uses ATS to filter through resumes that often number in the hundreds for a single position. To end up with a manageable number of the best resumes possible, the recruiter asks the ATS to find those with the right keywords. The ‘right’ keywords are those listed in the job ad itself. Remember, a job advertisement is an employer’s way of spelling out their ideal candidate. You can mirror yourself as the perfect fit by pulling keywords from the ad and placing them in your resume.

A keyword driven resume gets past the ATS and increases your interview chances. A cookie cutter resume likely won’t make the cut, leaving you in the ‘no’ pile.

It’s Poorly Written

Once you get past the ATS, you might think you’re in the clear. You managed to upload a resume that is format-friendly and keyword dense. As a result, your resume is now sitting in front a real recruiter ready to make interview calls. You’ve got this, right?

Not necessarily.

While a recruiter only spends an average of 6 seconds glancing over your resume, it’s still important that you spend time making sure it’s on point. It’s easy to get past ATS with formatting and keywords, it’s not as easy to impress a recruiter in such a short amount of time.

First things first, be sure to proofreader. A bad resume will have spelling and grammar errors. When a recruiter spots a spelling mistake or grammar gaffe, they’re very unlikely to invite you to interview.

Second, a recruiter wants to see (at a glance) how you can make an impact in this position. To do that, your resume needs to have quantifiable qualifications and achievements.

Too often, resumes read like job descriptions of previous positions. That is, you list your daily job duties instead of accomplishments.

For example, let’s say you were a sales agent at a paper company. A good resume would illustrate your specific accomplishments in that position, i.e., increased quarterly sales revenue by 27%, doubled client base in 6 months, etc.

A bad resume lists general tasks you were expected to do as a paper salesman, i.e., made cold calls, up sell goods, etc.

Always, always, always knock the socks off of a recruiter by bragging about your accomplishments in previous positions with hard data. When they see how you were successful in a former role, it’s easy for them to see you as a potential success in the open position. They’ll want to know more about you and your accomplishments by inviting you in for an interview!

Don’t Let A Bad Resume Keep Your From Getting More Interviews

There you have it! If you’ve been applying to remote jobs seemingly nonstop but aren’t getting the callbacks you deserve, you might have a bad resume on your hand.

It’s easy to get complacent in your job search, especially when applying online. You can go from browsing a job ad to application submitted in a matter of minutes when you simply use a standard resume for every job you apply to.

Don’t do it!

Instead, take the time to create a custom resume for every job you apply to. Keep the format ATS friendly and boost visibility by using keywords. And, of course, once you get past ATS, make sure your resume is error-free and demonstrates your achievements. Before you know it, you’ll be getting the callbacks you deserve and be one step closer to kicking your cubicle to the curb.

Happily,

Ashlee

P.S. This post might contain affiliate links. Check out my disclosure statement for more information.

The post How A Bad Resume Could Be Messing With Your Interview Chances appeared first on Work from Home Happiness.

A good resume is a must-have for any job seeker. But for remote job seekers, it becomes an invaluable tool that can make or break your chances of getting hired.

When recruiters and hiring managers look to fill a remote position, they want to make sure they find someone who is as close of a match as possible.

Your resume can prove you ARE that person. This simple hack can be used for anyone no matter what kind of remote job they’re looking for — sales, marketing, design, customer service, etc. — and can greatly increase your chances of getting callbacks and interviews!

The Remote Job Hiring Process

Before we jump into hacking your resume for remote job search success, let’s look at how the hiring process goes, from a recruiter’s perspective. It’s important to understand how your resume is being viewed (or not!) before changing it.

Searching for Candidates

When a hiring manager or recruiter has an open position to fill, they usually turn to one of two ways to find the right hire:

1. Post an ad online and accept resume submissions
2. Search online for potential candidates to interview

Whether recruiters post an ad for open submissions or turn to LinkedIn to track down candidates, they’re weeding out the good from the bad the same way:

Keywords!

Keywords in Your Job Search

We’re in a time when keyword optimization is, well, key to getting noticed online. And since most job searches take place on the Internet as opposed to going in person to drop off a resume and shake hands at the door, you’re going to need to brush up on your keyword know-how if you want recruiters and hiring managers to take notice of you.

Most Resumes Don’t Make it In front of Human Eyes

Did you know most resumes that are submitted online are never seen by humans? It’s true. The majority of companies and recruiting agencies use programs called Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) to screen resumes before they are passed onto a real person.

What is ATS?

Let’s pretend you hop on Indeed and do a quick remote job search. At the top there’s an amazing sounding position you know you’re perfect for. So, you pull up your resume, upload, and hit send.

You’ve got this, you tell yourself. But weeks later, you never hear anything back and you notice the job is now marked “filled.” Bummer. A non-keyword optimized resume may be to blame — not you as a worker!

You see, when you submit your resume to a company that uses ATS, your resume is scanned for relevant keywords. The greater number of keyword matches in your resume, the greater your chances of getting an interview.

Easy, right?

But now you’re probably thinking, “Wait a minute, Ashlee. How the heck do I know what keywords the resume-bot is scanning for?”

I’m glad you asked. This is where the oh-so simple remote resume hack comes into play.

Where to Find the Best Resume Keywords for Remote Job Seekers

The keywords you need to strategically place in your resume can be found — wait for it — in the job ad itself!

It’s true — look no further than the ad to find the relevant keywords to help you get past the ATS so you can wow a recruiter or hiring manager with your telephone interview skills.

A job advertisement isn’t just a company’s cry for help. It’s basically the company’s way of putting their ideal employee into words.

Your job is to scan the job ad, looking for the keywords and put them into your resume. That’s it. It really is a super simple resume hack that can dramatically increase the number of interviews you get.

Job Ad Keyword Example

To show you what I’m talking about, let’s take a look at the example below. I’ve highlighted keywords from the ad for this remote customer service position that should make their way into a resume! 

Do you see why those keywords are relevant? If so, great! You’re one step ahead of the competition. If not, read on to learn how to easily identify what makes a keyword a keyword so you can use them to your advantage.

What Makes a Keyword a Keyword?

There is no exact science when it comes to identifying relevant keywords in remote job advertisements, but there are things to keep in mind. For starters, always be sure to carefully read a listing and take note of hard skills and soft skills that are mentioned. Often, these are the specific traits, characteristics, and skills recruiters are looking for in an ideal candidate.

As a reminder, hard skills include things like Photoshop, Excel, writing, proofreading, Indesign — basically any kind of software, program, or measurable skill you can demonstrate.

Soft skills include innate characteristics unique to us as professionals. Organization, interpersonal skills, being deadline driven, and leadership are all types of soft skills. Your soft skills often serve to complement your hard skills!

Another keyword to lookout for is the job title itself. The majority of the time, recruiters are looking for candidates with past experience related to a current opening. As such, they’ll specifically search for any resumes that mention the current job title.

Hint: Include the job title in your objective statement or professional profile! This lets you include that specific keyword even if you’ve never previously held that title before!

A Handy Tool for Resume Keyword Practice

When first keyword optimizing resumes, it can be tricky. And you might even second guess your efforts, wondering if you’ve placed enough of them into your resume. In fact, you can drive yourself crazy reading and re-reading job descriptions as you pull keywords from them. The good news is, there is a handy online tool you can use to help you become a keyword identifying machine. It’s called Jobscan.

Using Jobscan To Optimize Your Resume

What is Jobscan? In short, it’s an online tool built specifically to help job seekers make the most of their resumes through keyword optimization. And it couldn’t be simpler to use.

Simply copy the text of a job ad and paste it into Jobscan. Then copy and paste the text of your resume like so:

Jobscan will then analyze the content of both to find out how well your resume matches the ad:

On top of the Match Rate score, you’ll receive easy-to-understand advice and tips you can use immediately to improve your resume. This includes specific tips based on the ATS a particular company uses. Jobscan will also let you know when you’re using too many cliche or buzzwords in your resume that may be viewed negatively:

 You’ll even get to see a list of hard skills and soft skills found in the job ad and how many, if any, are found in your resume:

Using Jobscan can help improve your resume, which then can lead to even more remote interviews! You can try Jobscan for free and start optimizing your resume today. Be sure to stop by their blog for even more helpful resume advice and free career resources.

Create a Remote-Friendly Resume

Remember, while it may be easy to upload the same resume to every remote job you apply for, it’s not going to yield the best results. Instead, take the time to keyword optimize every single resume you submit! In the world of remote job searching, it’s not about the quantity of applications you send out but the quality. Ready to put this resume hack into action? Be sure to check out my 22 favorite blogs, websites, and job boards for legitimate work-from-home jobs.

Feeling stuck? Have a question? Hit me with them in the comments below! I’m always happy to help.

Happily,

Ashlee

P.S. This post contains affiliate links for Jobscan. I only recommend products I use and trust. Learn more about my use of affiliate links by reading my disclosure statement! 

The post The One Resume Hack You Need To Get Noticed By Recruiters appeared first on Work from Home Happiness.

The home-based job market can be super competitive. To get ahead of the pack, you need to create a work from home resume that stands out and gets you noticed.

If you’re actively looking for work from home jobs but haven’t had any interviews, your resume may be to blame.

Experts say that, in order to strengthen your candidacy, you should tailor your resume to each individual job you apply to. This is especially true in the work from home realm. Recruiters and hiring managers are looking for special skill sets that translate well to home-based success. 

Most Resumes Don’t Make it in Front of Human Eyes

Thanks to sophisticated hiring software, the resume you submit is searched by an applicant-tracking system first. This hiring search-bot is looking for certain keywords on your resume. Depending on the nature of the job, it could be any number of words or word combinations that indicate you may have the skills and experience needed for the job.

If your resume doesn’t contain these keywords, it’s discarded, never to be seen by that company again (unless you re-apply which will probably yield the same results!).

So, if you’ve been submitting your resume like crazy but have failed to get any callbacks, emails or Skype invites, you may be lacking the right keywords. This means your CV is getting tossed before someone gets a chance to see just how perfect you are for the position. Frustrating, right?

Fortunately, you can give your work from home resume the much-needed boost it needs to get past applicant-tracking software and in front of recruiters’ eyes.

So, Which Keywords Should I Use?

The first place to trackdown keywords to use is the job advertisement itself. The job description, responsibilities and required skills sections are filled with the relevant keywords you should be using in your resume.

Let’s take a look at a popular work-from-home job advertisement from U-Haul. This position is for their E-Customer Service Agent role.

From the Overview Section:

Help us by making a difference and enriching our customer’s experience during stressful moving times. With over 16,000 locations around the nation, we are looking for exciting, self-motivated and enthusiastic Customer Service Agents to assist our customers with rental equipment issues.

The words self-motivated and enthusiastic are important here as they are used to describe the types of people U-Haul is actually looking for. Putting them in your work from home resume illustrates that you are that person.

Plus, these action words are easy to incorporate into any resume, regardless of your background.

Now let’s look at the Candidate Traits section:

• You enjoy helping people during stressful times
• You thrive in a fast paced virtual environment with a focus on quality and attention to detail
• You are enthusiastic and empathetic and love creating an enjoyable experience
• You live for a challenge, are goal oriented, be willing to learn different systems, and easily navigate between multiple screens
• You can work independently delivering practical solutions and you thrive in a collaborative team environment

In this excerpted list, virtual environment, attention to detail, goal oriented, work independently, and team environment are all important keywords used to describe U-Haul’s ideal E-Customer Service Agent.

While you may not be able to incorporate all of them into your own work from home resume, you should try to include the ones which apply to you.For example, if you’ve never worked from home before, it would be tough to incorporate “virtual environment” on your resume.

Make sure to look at the Required Skills section, too. Here’s part of U-Haul’s:

• Experience in Windows-based computer programs with excellent navigational skills is preferred
• At least 6 months of customer service experience is preferred
• Must be motivated with strong work ethic
• Excellent communication and customer service skills

Windows, customer service, motivated, and communication skills are all important descriptive keywords. If you have these skills in your background, find a spot to put them in your work from home resume!

Identify Hard Skills & Soft Skills

In the recruiting world, these different skills and attributes are referred to as hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are things that are taught and measurable like typing speed, degrees, and certifications.

Soft skills are traits someone has like interpersonal and communication skills.

The more hard skills and soft skills keywords you can incorporate from the job description into your work from home resume, the better. These are the traits/attributes/abilities that an applicant needs to be successful in the job!

Use Outside Help

If you find it difficult to locate the most relevant keywords from often lengthy job advertisements, you’re in luck! There’s a really great online tool called JobScan, and it couldn’t be simpler to use. Paste your resume on one side, the job ad on the other, and voila!

JobScan will analyze it for you. The result is an easy-to-read report that lets you know how well your resume matches with the requirements of the ad.

It’s free up to five scans per month. Any more than that and you’ll have to pay $89.95 for the year. You can sign up for a free month.

So, if you’re actively looking for a job, it’s probably worth signing up for the free month. In that time you can do unlimited scans and learn a lot from the results. By the time your free month is up, you should have a solid understanding of how to pull keywords from a job description and place them into your resume.

Where Else to Look for Work from Home Resume Keywords

Sometimes a job advertisement is super short. These micro-posts make it difficult to determine what keywords you should use. This means you will have to populate your resume with relevant keywords without the help of the job ad.

If the company has a website (which they likely will) check out their “About Us,” “Mission Statement,” “Values,” “Beliefs” or other similar areas that discuss the company’s culture and philosophy. Here you’ll find plenty of keywords that describe what the company is all about. Chances are, they will be looking for like-minded people that fit in with these core values and beliefs to join their team. When you put these terms in your resume, you automatically seem like a good fit for the company.

You can also head over to your LinkedIn profile for a little inspiration. You know how you can add new skills under the Skills & Endorsement section?  This is a great spot to turn to when you need help coming up with keywords relevant to the job title you’re applying for.

Say you’re applying for a home-based customer service job. You can type in “Customer” into the Skills & Endorsement section of your LinkedIn profile and get an idea of related keywords:

You can pull from this list to create plenty of industry specific word combinations that are relevant to the job you’re applying to.

Common Work from Home Resume Keywords

I spend a lot of time reading work from home job advertisements tracking down legitimate ones for the job board. I’ve been jotting down keywords that frequently show up in home-based job ads. Here are some of the ones that show up over and over again:

[one_third]Self-motivated

Communication Skills

Analytical

Research Skills

Flexibility

Adaptability

Interpersonal Skills[/one_third]

[one_third]Deadline Driven

Organized

Problem-Solving

Remote

Positive

Dependable

Self-Starter[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Multitask

Independent

Efficient

Word Processor

Time-Management

Reliable

Project Management[/one_third_last]

It’s really not surprising that these are some of the most frequent work from home keywords employers use. After all, when you work remotely, you won’t have someone constantly looming over your shoulder, urging you to get work done. It’s up to you, and you alone, to get your assignments done. It’s no wonder then that terms like, “reliable,” “self-starter,” “self-motivated,” and “dependable” make this list.

Sample Work from Home Resume

Remember, don’t overthink it! While you want to include relevant keywords, you don’t want to overstuff your resume either. Incorporate keywords naturally into your resume. Even though you have to get past applicant-tracking software, your resume will eventually find its ways in front of human eyes.

Always be truthful when detailing your skills, experience, and attributes. If you can strategically place a relevant keyword in place of an existing word choice – great! If not, don’t stress it.

Some ways to easily include keywords into your resume are to include skills, expertise, and profile sections. These are often bulleted lists that quickly layout your abilities. Filling these sections with work from home keywords is really easy and increases your chances of getting an interview.

Check out this sample work from home resume I made filled with popular keywords for inspiration:

Obviously, this resume is completely fictional. But, the layout is reader-friendly and the individual sections makes it super easy to pad it with keywords. You can swap them out and change them in infinite combinations in order to easily create a tailor made resume for each and every work from home job you apply to!

Psst: I used a FREE Canva template to whip up this resume. You can too! Check out their free templates for tons of great options.

If you really want to dig in to what it takes to create a perfect resume, I suggest reading Resume Writing 2016. If you’re ready to apply to work from home jobs with a resume that gets results simply type “Work from Home” in the Indeed Search Box below:

Job Search
job title, keywords, company, location	jobs by

Once you’ve perfected your own work from home resume, be sure to post it to the Resume Dashboard so you can get seen by companies actively looking for remote workers to join their team!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see the disclosure for more information.

The post Create a Work from Home Resume that Gets You Hired appeared first on Work from Home Happiness.