The Cover Letter: Door Opener Par Excellence

Although we are allowed to put more into a cover letter than can appear on a magazine cover, the challenge is still to keep it succinct. In fact, writing something that is powerful and yet short is the single most difficult kind of business writing. You already know that although it's easy to go on and on in a company memorandum, saying the same thing in half the space can make your work twice as powerful.

Jensen, David G. Science (2002). Careers>Resumes>Cover Letters

CVs That Open Industry Doors

Resume and CV writing is a huge subject, and thousands of books have been written about it. My goal in this column is to give you a brief refresher on some of the most common concerns that you may have regarding the preparation of your own personal "marketing materials." And please don't be put off by that description. Despite the low regard you may have for sales and marketing, it is exactly this job that a resume or CV needs to do when it arrives at its destination.

Jensen, David G. Science (2000). Careers>Resumes

Notes From a Recruiter's Diary: A Plethora of CVs

Competition is tight and readers are right to be concerned. But the numbers sound scarier than they really are.

Jensen, David G. Science (2002). Careers>Resumes

Tooling Up: Conducting an Authentic Job Search

Scientists and engineers sometimes reveal how scary the job search feels to them when they talk to recruiters. Often this comes couched in complaints about "how the job market works." It's true that the job search does take us out of our comfort zones. But not all of that fear is justified.

Jensen, David G. Science (2006). Careers>Interviewing

Tooling Up: Résumé Rocket Science 2007

I may sound unorthodox when I say that you really don’t need to be all that concerned about writing the perfect CV or résumé. If you are interested in an industry job, you want your CV to open doors as it gets routed from person to person inside an organization. But you also want it to represent you accurately when you make a good networking connection.

Jensen, David G. Science (2007). Careers>Resumes

Urban Legends of the Job Search

While it is true that employers far prefer electronic submittals to paper CV's, if you rely exclusively on the 'net for your job search, it will tank. Here's the trap: It feels like you are really accomplishing something by filling out online job applications, with very little risk. But you are just scattering seeds, few of which are likely to grow. While there is the possibility that someone will look at that package you've attached and call you for an interview, a great deal of your time is wasted.

Jensen, David G. Science (2005). Careers>Unemployment>Interviewing