Question: How do I market myself online?
Answer: With a stellar cover letter and resume.
Okay, so let's get into the meat of this. You know that you need to market yourself, and you can do that with a stellar cover letter and resume. But, why is that so important? Let's think about this. When you apply offline for a job, you are competing with a handful of people (usually) and right there you have a better chance to get called in for an interview. Online jobs you are often competing with hundreds, if not thousands, of other applicants for the very same position.
In the "real world" you apply in person. Therefore, you can dress for success and put your best foot forward. You can impress them with your presence and personality. Online you can't. What's your "best foot forward" online?
That would be your cover letter and resume ? how you present yourself on paper. Your cover letter and resume have to show your skills and your personality; it has to be your presence.
How do you put your best foot forward with your cover letter and resume? A telecommuting employer (one who hires work at home employees) is looking for different things on cover letters and resumes then those offline. Let's talk about cover letters first. If you're not sending a cover letter with your resume then this might be one of the reasons you're not getting hired. The cover letter is your VERY first impression. Take the time to show you're very serious about the job they have open. See if you can find who the head of HR is, and address it to that person. Tailor your cover letter to that specific position.
This is optional, but I always put where I found the position (for example, "The position I'm applying for is Customer Service, which I found at XYZ.com"). I always did that even with offline jobs, but it's not necessary. I think some employers just like to know where you heard about their job. This is especially helpful online because jobs get passed around and around online. It could have started out on a certain website and then ended up on hundreds of others.
Make sure you pay attention to the job ad. Does it say you need DSL? Does it say you will be working with certain software? Whatever the requirements, if you meet them, put that down on the cover letter. The employer will scan over your cover letter, and you want what's on yours to stand out and grab their eye. If you have what they need, you're going to grab their attention ? and that's what you want!
Overall, you want to pay attention to detail, outline why you're the best person for the job (without going on too long about how great you are), and point out that you have what is required for the job.
Nell Taliercio is the owner of a leading work at home mom resource website packed full of unique information for the telecommuter, business owner and virtual assistant.
Visit http://www.mommysplace.net today!
AP - Democrats are growing impatient with President-elect Barack Obama's refusal to inject himself in the major economic crises confronting the country. Obama has sidestepped some policy questions by saying there is only one president at a time. But the dodge is wearing thin. "He's going to have to be more assertive than he's been," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., told consumer advocates Thursday.
AP - A Pakistani militant group apparently used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets for the elaborate plot against India's financial capital, authorities said Thursday, a blow to Indian officials who have blamed the deadly attacks entirely on Pakistani extremists.
AP - Desperate U.S. automakers ran into fresh obstacles from skeptical lawmakers Thursday as they appealed with rising urgency — and a new dose of humility — for a $34 billion bailout. Without help, said one senator, "we're looking at a death sentence."
AP - Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians could face mandatory 30-year prison sentences under an aggressive anti-drug law being considered as the Justice Department readies indictments, people close to the case said.
AP - With just weeks before President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in, his choice for secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is scrambling to reduce massive campaign debt before federal ethics rules prohibit her from doing so.
AP - Erik Estrada has returned to Muncie to take part in overnight police patrols in the city where he starred in the short-lived reality series "Armed & Famous." The former star of the 1970s motorcycle cop drama "CHiPs" is a reserve officer on the Muncie Police Department.
AP - Antonio Pierce and the doctor who treated his New York Giants teammate Plaxico Burress after he accidentally shot himself at a Manhattan nightclub will talk to investigators Friday.
Reuters - The CEOs of General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC said they would consider restarting talks about a merger during a nearly six-hour congressional grilling on the industry's pleas for $34 billion in government aid.
Reuters - Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc said it will eliminate 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its workforce, in a fresh wave of cuts to cope with an economic downturn that has exacerbated a decline in traditional phone sales.
Reuters - Central banks in Europe slashed their benchmark interest rates by record amounts on Thursday to fight the global economic crisis, while U.S. automakers pleaded for a bailout to avoid collapse.
Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday Pakistan had given assurances of its commitment to root out terrorism and round up anyone connected to last week's attack in the Indian city of Mumbai.
Reuters - Iraq's Presidency Council has approved a security pact with the United States that paves the way for a complete U.S. troop pullout by the end of 2011, a spokesman for the council said on Thursday.
Reuters - The United States will quickly feel a change in attitude from Moscow if President-elect Barack Obama transforms Washington's policies toward Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Reuters - Thailand's revered and influential king missed his traditional birthday eve address due to illness on Thursday, a speech many Thais had hoped would provide short-term relief to the country's intractable political crisis.
Reuters - Hate crimes against Arab Americans have decreased steadily since the September 11 attacks but are still more common than they were before the hijackings, a civil rights group said on Thursday.
AFP - Leading European central banks took historic action Thursday to ward off spreading recessions, slashing their key lending rates to boost businesses and consumers.
AFP - Car bombers killed at least 15 people in a former rebel bastion on Thursday as Iraq's security pact with Washington won final approval before its launch at the end of the month.
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