Cover Letter Etiquette

 

Cover Letter Etiquette

by Kim Isaacs
Monster Resume Expert

 

Job seekers often spend countless hours developing their resumes and then treat their cover letters as an afterthought. This can be a critical mistake; the cover letter can help your resume get noticed.

Think of the cover letter as your resume's cheerleading section. To make the best impression, follow these etiquette rules:

Say No to the Cover Letter Cop-Out

The first rule of cover letter etiquette is to send a cover letter -- always. It doesn't matter if the hiring manager didn't ask for it or you're too busy to write one. It's proper business etiquette to accompany a resume with a cover letter, and it gives you the opportunity to help sell yourself for the position.

Be Concise

Busy hiring managers don't have time to wade through letters that could pass for dissertations. Get to the point as expeditiously as possible, and break any paragraphs seven lines or longer into short, easily digestible ones.

When emailing your cover letter, brevity is even more important. The nature of email calls for concise communication, in part because it's harder to read on screen than on paper. However, don't fall prey to the one-line cover letter that some job seekers try to pass off. It goes something like this: "Please see attached resume, and thank you for your time and consideration." You should be able to write a convincing cover letter in a few brief paragraphs.

Keep It Professional But Friendly

While a resume is generally a formal document, cover letters give you a chance to reveal your personality. Not only do you want to show that you're a good fit for the position, but you also want the reader to like you. Appropriate use of humor, combined with a friendly and professional tone, can help endear you to the hiring manager.

Get Personal

Whenever possible, address your letter to a specific person. If a job posting doesn't include a person's name, do some research to find out who the correct person is. Try calling the employer (but do respect ads that state "no phone calls"), and ask a receptionist for the hiring manager's name. Keep the salutation professional by using "Dear Mr. Jones," not "Dear Jim."

Focus on the Employer's Needs

If every other sentence of your letter begins with "I" or "my," you need to change the focus. Research the employer and find out what types of problems managers there are facing, qualities they look for in employees and their future goals. Then use your letter to prove that you are the answer to their problems. The most compelling letters demonstrate what you can do for the employer, not what the employer can do for you.

Be Original

Your cover letter will stand out if you employ some creativity. For example, you could include a brief summary of your toughest sale or most challenging project.

You could incorporate excerpts of performance reviews to highlight your record of success. Or, you could create two columns in your letter to demonstrate precisely how you meet the employer's requirements:

Your ad specifies: Five years' experience in IT.

And I deliver: Six years of superior-rated performance in network design and administration.

Proofread

Cover letters should be free of errors, so thoroughly proofread them before sending. If proofreading is not your strong suit, get help from someone with meticulous proofreading skills. If you're customizing a cover letter that you use for many positions, remove any placeholders; this will prevent embarrassing errors such as "I would be delighted to be your next ." And one last tip: whatever you do, please spell the hiring manager's name correctly.

Following cover letter etiquette can be time intensive, but the reward is worth it: More calls for interviews and a greater chance of securing a new position.

 

Entry-Level Salary (Probably) Isn't as Negotiable as You Think

Entry-Level Salary (Probably) Isn’t as Negotiable as You Think

by Peter Vogt
MonsterTRAK Career Coach

 

Even in the best of economic times, salary negotiation is a risky proposition for most new college graduates pursuing entry-level positions.

Sure, you might have some bargaining leverage these days if you’ve majored in a hot field like accounting or engineering, or if you’ve developed some rare skill that is very much in demand among prospective employers. But in more cases than you probably care to acknowledge, starting salaries are basically set, and you just don’t have enough to offer at this stage in your career to make employers budge.

“You can negotiate if you have something extra special to negotiate with,” says Terese Corey Blanck, director of recruitment and placement for Corporate Interns, an internship and entry-level placement firm.

But a college degree and a couple of internships aren’t enough, Corey Blanck emphasizes. “If you’re bringing some special experience or expertise to the table, then give [negotiation] a try,” she says. “But nine times out of 10, the company has to invest more money just to get you up to speed, so negotiating an entry-level salary really shouldn’t be your first priority.”

Use Your Head

That doesn’t mean you can’t attempt to negotiate an offer you’ve received, especially if you really do think you have something above and beyond to offer a prospective employer. But be careful -- very careful.

“You’ve got to have a rationale for why you believe you should be paid more,” says Sheila Curran, Fannie Mitchell Executive Director of the career center at Duke University and coauthor of Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads.

Moreover, you need to use your head when it comes to how you approach the negotiation itself, says Brad Karsh, president of JobBound and author of Confessions of a Recruiting Director.

“Try once, and only once,” Karsh says. “If they say, ‘We don’t negotiate,’ then end it right there. You run the risk of damaging your reputation -- and risking your offer -- if you go too far.”

Do Your Homework

If, on the other hand, the employer you’re dealing with appears to be open to some negotiation when it comes to your salary and/or other benefits (e.g., bonuses, relocation allowance, tuition reimbursement), feel free to take a shot at it. Know in advance, though, that you’ll need to have completed some pretty extensive research ahead of time to make a compelling case for yourself.

“The key to any negotiation is to do your homework,” Karsh says. That means tapping your school’s career center, professional associations in your field and Internet salary sites to get an accurate sense of starting salaries in your industry, in your geographic area and at your level of education and experience.

“Know the market and whether you have the skills or experience that might warrant being paid differently than your peers,” Curran says.

It’s also important to pursue your negotiation activities respectfully, employing thoughtful, strategic questions and not overbearing “show me the money” types of demands.

“You can’t go in with an attitude of ‘I’m entitled,’” says Corey Blanck, “But, rather, ‘I have this specific experience and expertise -- is this something that’s worthwhile to you and, if so, are you open to negotiating a higher starting salary?’”

You may not get what you want. But at least you won’t lose what you already have.

Courtesy : Monster

 

Recession-proof outsourcing?

Recession-proof outsourcing?

Technology companies face being hit by the "credit crunch" and a downturn in business in 2009, according to leading analyst Richard Holway in an interview with Computer Weekly magazine. He predicted that revenue across the IT sector will decline in 2009, a recession for the industry of up to 2% because technology companies are dependent on discretionary spending.

This means trouble for the industry, he reckoned. "Their outlook is looking much less healthy than they were a year ago, even six months ago,” he said.  "I would suggest that the real problem with technology is not in the first six months of this year, maybe it is not going to come in even the second half of this year, but I really do believe that 2009 could be the year when all of this finally catches up with the technology sector."

But not every sector is being squeezed. Connect, the IT support company for SMEs, has revealed new figures that show IT outsourcing in the recruitment sector is gathering pace as a direct result of the credit crunch.

“Since the start of the year, we have seen a 75% increase in the number of enquiries for IT support, with companies in sectors most affected by the credit crunch – notably recruitment companies – leading the way.” said Mark MacGregor, Chief Executive of Connect. “The increase in enquiries is particularly marked in mid-sized companies with 50-500 employees, where the cost of their own internal IT department is seen as an overhead they can reduce or eliminate speedily.”

MacGregor believes that the main driver for this surge in interest is a desire to reduce headcount, but that the greater flexibility available from outsourcing is also an important factor. “Outsourcing is an obvious way to save money quickly - but many FDs are also interested in finding ways to increase or reduce IT support to match the growth or reduction in their own employee numbers,” he said. “For some clients who want to retain some capacity inhouse, we have designed specific packages that allow us to take over, for example, server or third line support, leaving the customer to continue with the simple fixes.

“We have also seen increased interest in any service where recruitment companies pay a monthly fee - rather than having incur to large upfront capital expenditure. Connect’s online backup service is a classic example – instead of having to find large sums to pay for mirrored servers, firms can back up all their data for a fixed monthly fee, starting at just £83 per month.”

But he added that the old rules about outsourcing had to be observed. “Outsourcing can be an attractive option but companies need to be careful,” he said. “It is an old truism that you should not outsource a problem and expect it to be magically solved. It is vital to spend the time at the start of any contract getting your IT strategy and processes right – only then can you have any confidence in successfully transferring your IT function to a third party.”

 

Courtesy :

India 3 set to take on giants

India 3 set to take on giants

Large Indian outsourcing providers will need to cut down on staff numbers if they want to maintain their unprecedented business success, analyst firm Gartner has warned. But three Indian firms are likely to pose a serious challenge to global champions IBM, Accenture and EDS.

The "India-3" are growing three times as fast as the world’s current “mega vendors”. Partha Iyengar, regional research director at Gartner, said : "The emerging mega-vendors have made dramatic progress in the past few years and have more than doubled their revenue in a four-year period, with the 2007 revenue being 2.6 times the 2004 revenue. This level of growth differential has continued even as these vendors have become multibillion dollar enterprises. To put this in context, there are just 100 service enterprises globally with more than $1 billion in revenue.”

According to Gartner, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro Technologies are increasingly considered for service deals over today’s global "mega vendors" but demonstrate much lower levels of productivity which needs to be addressed if they are to "truly achieve mega vendor status".

"The Indian providers will have to address the issue of moving away from resource-intensive revenue growth to a model that provides higher leverage and increase revenue without a linear relationship to head count," said Iyengar.  "Revamping and continually reinventing their delivery capabilities, even as they address the challenges of managing their growth opportunities, will determine how and when these emerging mega vendors will actually achieve mega vendor status."
 
Gartner attributes the success of India-3 to four critical competencies: process excellence, world-class HR practices, provision of high quality services at a low cost and achievement of significant and disproportionate ‘mind share’ compared to their actual size. A statistical analysis done by Gartner shows that market capitalization of India-3 is much higher than that of EDS, and almost on par with Accenture.
 
“By combining process excellence to deliver higher quality with the less expensive (and larger) workforce available in India, the India-3 providers were able to create the combination of low-cost, high-quality services, which has proved to be the most alluring factor for clients,” Iyengar said. “These qualities have resulted in a higher level of mindshare among clients and prospects globally that is significantly disproportionate to their revenue and overall size, as compared with the incumbent megavendors.”

Job Description : Manager - Transitions & Solution Design

We have an urgent opening with one of our client in Mumbai, please find below the job description for the requirement.

The successful candidate would have overall responsibility of successfully migrating the processes from the client’s site and achieving metrics defined in the project brief.

Job Description:
· Will be responsible to understand the client requirements and prepare a detailed project plan.

· Will be responsible for creating the basic design based on which the solutions will be defined.

· Will require working with various stakeholders in implementing the plan.

· Will act as the single point of contact for the project for client and internal stakeholders and works closely with all the support functions and operations within the organization.

· Will be responsible for communicating & negotiating with clients as well as all other stakeholders and support functions for project related communication.

· Will require using project management methodologies to manage transitions.

· Will be responsible to create process maps and measurement metrics as per requirement.

· Will need to creatively come out with the best solution for implementation

· Will also be involved, as per requirement, in defining solutions for prospective clients.

· Will be responsible to ensure strict adherence to timelines committed to the client.

· Will be responsible to providing timely and accurate reporting and feedback of results both prior, during and after Transition implementation, escalating issues where necessary.

· Will be responsible for impact analysis for a change request and implementation of an approved change request.

· Will be responsible for tracking and ensuring projects are implemented within the signed off cost frame.


Desired Profile:

· Should have good oral and written communication.

· Should have good interpersonal, influencing and negotiation skills (stakeholder management, client interaction).

· Should have strong planning, problem solving and analytical skills.

· Should be creative and have an innovative mindset

· Should be able to effectively handle crisis, conflict management and issues management skills.

· Should have an eye for detail as well as understanding of the big picture, project/transition management, appreciate and understand client business.

· Should have good team management skills and people management skills.

· Should have basic understanding of technology.

· Should have flexibility in meeting changing business needs.

· Should be a Post graduate from a reputed institute.

· Should have 5-6 years relevant experience of which over 2 years should be with relevant experience in an IT enabled services industry.

· Should have substantial client experience.

· Should be able to understand proposal and project costing.

· Should be PMI certified


If you would like to explore this opportunity, please revert with your updated resume at sahil_kapoor@kellyservices.co.in or else you can reach me at 9890833233 & 020-66034172.

 

 

BRANCH MANAGER OPENING... CHENNAI

Our client is a global firm providing specialized management consultancy and innovative enabled services for logistics service providers (LSPs). We are looking Branch Managers for our client’s BPO service execution. Candidates should fulfill the below criteria’s:

DESIGNATION: BRANCH MANAGER

QUALIFICATION: ANY DEGREE

EXPERIENCE: 7 – 10

JOB LOCATION: CHENNAI

WORK TIMINGS: 6 PM to 3.30 AM (NIGHT SHIFT)

Interested candidates forward your updated resume in word document with the below details:

CTC:
EXP CTC:
MIN.JOIN.DAYS:

Thanks & Best Regards
Prem Kumar N (+91-9791266055)
HR.Consultant

Millennium"s | Management & Executive Search Consultants |
"Bhabas"#32,3rd Cross Street,AGS colony(SEA SIDE),Kottivakkam,

Chennai-60041.
Phone : (44)24511977/ 24512070 |T/F (44) 24511992 | M. 97912 66055 prem@jobspoint.com | website:http://www.jobspoint.com

 

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Good job opening with IBM for SAP FICO in Bangalore/Gurgaon/Hyderabad/ Kolkata

This is Bindu, IT Recruiter from Daedalus Consulting Pvt. Ltd., would like to inform you that we have an opening for SAP FICO position at (Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata) with the client IBM. Please find the job description mention below for your reference.

Job description
Candidates must have CA, ICWA, CFA or full-time MBA Finance background ( full time)
Candidates must have minimum 3 and maximum 8 years of finance domain experience in any reputed organization
Candidates must be SAP FI/CO certified OR have minimum of 6 months of extensive hands-on SAP FI/CO experience as SAP core team member (not end-user experience)

Required
Bachelor"s Degree in Other
Domain Knowledge in Production,Sales,HR : Mastered
Domain Knowledge in Material Management,Finance : Mastered
English: Fluent
Work Location : Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata

If this opportunity sounds good then please forward me your updated resume along with your follwing details -

Overall Exp (Relevant Exp) :
Current Company :
Notice Period :
Current CTC :
Expected CTC :
Current Location :
Preffered Location :
Contact No. :
Email ID :
No. of implementation :

Also please let me know the best time to reach you, so that I can discuss about the position in detail.

If you have any references or friends looking for the job in the same field then please forward the job description to them.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Best regards,

Bindu
IT Recruiter,
Daedalus Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
#303, "Shah Sultan"
17, Cunningham Road,
Bangalore 560 052, INDIA
Direct: +91-80-40558016
Fax: +91-80-4113-8155
Email: recruit@daedalus.co.in
Website: www.daedalus.co.in
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Position: SAP FICO Fresher with Accounting Experience.

Mobesoft Technologies Pvt Ltd., is to be recognized as a trusted service partner by our clients that provided world class manpower services which includes HR Services & HR Outsourcing Solutions that meets or exceeds our client needs and expectations served by our intellectual network. Our Clients are Four Soft, Mindteck, HCL, Sutherland, ISS Technologies, Texport Technologies, BASIX, Quislex etc

Below is the position. If interested please send me your updated resume ASAP.


Position: SAP FICO Fresher.

Should have 16 years of full-time education. Education from open universities and Distance education shall not be considered.


Should have 4-8 years of experience in domain purely as an Accountant. Auditing experience shall not be considered.


Along with Points 1 and 2 the resource should have SAP FICO Certification.


IF the resource doesn't has SAP FICO Certification then the resource should have a minimum of 6 months of experience in SAP FICO as SAP Core team member. Profiles like End users/Power Users/Super Users in SAP shall not be considered.


Education Qualification:

Only ICWA, CA and MBA -Finance shall be considered...M. Com qualification shall not be considered.

The shortlisted resources has to go for Weekend Walkin on 24th August i.e. this Sunday... any resources who is not willing to go for a Walk-in in the given locations below please drop.

Walk-in Locations:

Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai and Noida only... No Telephonic interviews shall be conducted.

Joining Locations:

As this is for fersher requirement/Domain hire the resource should be open to join any IBM location that IBM provides. Mainly the joining locations shall be Gurgaon, Pune, Kolkata.


Vijay..

HR Team - Recruitments
040-30782553 * 206

Mobesoft Technologies Pvt Ltd.,
Venkat Plaza II
3rd Floor, Punjagutta,
Hyderabad - 82


www.mobetechnologies.com
recruiter@mobetechnologies.com
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SAP-FICO or Domain-FICO professionals required across India withIBM ; inperson daily across India of only shortlisted candidates for SAP-FICO& also on Sunday only_for_Domain-FICO

Pls ignore this if you have already attended IBM interview in last 3 months.

Note : Pls. send the CV & Confirmations only on ( it@bestinfosystems.com, bestinfo@vsnl.net,bestinfo@bol.net.in ) e-mail id's
. Also pls keep the subject matter intact .

Hi ,

SAP-FICO or Domain-FICO professionals required across India with IBM .

For SAP-FICO / SAP-SEM / SAP-FI / SAP-CO , They're doing inperson daily across India of only shortlisted candidates .
&
For Domain FICO , They're going to have inperson this Sunday ( 24 _ 08 _ 08 ) .

Pls. forward your cv if you have not forwarded in the last one month & do contact on the below mentioned numbers for an
urgent action on our part .
Hiring Criteria for DOMAIN-FICO Module
1) 16 years of minimum education with graduation is mandatory
2) Industry experience after qualifying degree( CA / ICWA / CFA / MBA ) should be between 3 - 8 years
&
SAP Certification from authorized SAP training partner will be preferred with ZERO Exp. in SAP
OR
SAP work exp (core team member, support, implementation) about 6 months plus ( No end user pls )
OR
Only FICO Domain experience of 3-8 yrs post CA / ICWA / CFA / MBA(Full time)
JOB LOCATION FOR DOMAIN-FICO 1) Kolkata 2) Pune & Gurgaon

Hiring Criteria for SAP-FICO Module
1) 16 years of minimum education with graduation is mandatory
2) SAP-FICO experience after qualifying degree( CA / ICWA / CFA / MBA ) should be between 3 - 10 years
3) Minimum one end to end implementation must
4) Preference to those who're working with Tier 1 / Tier 2 companies on their payroll
JOB LOCATION FOR SAP-FICO Bangalore , Chennai , Gurgaon , Hyderabad , Kolkata & Pune


If interested Pls send us your updated CV for an urgent action on our part .

PS: Please forward this e-mail to your colleagues or friends who might be interested in these openings.

# We specialize in IT & Telecom recruitment in India & Overseas #

With Regards,
Ravi / RK / Anamika / Surbhi / Deepti
for
Ashok Sachan
Director
Best InfoSystems Ltd.
Cell : 9953736289,9810333895,9811626895,9811677895
E-mail :cv@bestinfosystems.com, bestinfo@vsnl.net,bestinfo@bol.net.in

 

URGENTLY REQUIRE MAINFRAME PROFESSIONALS IN CHENNAI WITH GOOD OFFER

We Valuewing is a moderate & innovative service group in the service sector and it provides fully integrated services to clients (In US, UK, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Denmark, Australia) across different industries based on their business needs. ONE OF OUR LEADING PRESTIGEOUS CLIENT REQUIRES MAINFRAME LEADS IN CHENNAI.

So please find the details and send across your updated CV along with the following details to ensue.

Contact number:
Alternative Contact number:
Current CTC:
Expected CTC:
Notice period:
Current Location:
Possibility to join in short Notice (15-days):

ROLE: Module Lead/Team Lead/Tech Lead
Rel.Exp: 5 - 9 yrs,
Base Location: CHENNAI

Skills specification:
Should have hands on experience on JCL,VSAM,COBOL,DB2
Should have hands on experience on Production Support/Development projects
Should have hands on experience on Leading the team
Should have excellent experience on Client interaction
Should have good communication skill
Should have valid passport
Should be ready to travel
Thanks and regards
Ram
Recruitment Staffing COE
Valuewing Consultancy Services (P) Ltd
Mob: 94452-63509; Mail to: - ram.prabhakaran@valuewingcoe.com
Visit us at: www.valuewingcoe.com

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