How to Write a Cover Letter and Resume without Mistakes CareerMetis.com

How to Write a Cover Letter and Resume without Mistakes As we all know, all employers and recruiters are confronted with more job applicants than ever before. So, if you want to ensure that your application isn’t quickly discarded I believe my experience â€" Be concrete. Use accomplishment statements that start with active verbs and indicate results, and let the reader decide for him/her self that your experience is a good fit.Duties included â€" Listing your duties does little to sell you. Again, be more specific and mention accomplishments, or at the very least use active verbs that indicate what you doIrregardless â€" This is not actually a word, though it sounds like a very important one.Knowledgeableâ€" This is another vague term. If you know a certain software for instance, it’s a good idea to say what you can do using that software. Being knowledgeableis wide open to interpretation. That reminds me of a time when I applied to a newspaper in Montreal, Canada where French is required. I said I had some knowledge of French. I got an answer back, saying, “you either know French or you don’t”. Being knowledgeable about French wasn’t good enough. Perhaps writing my cover letter in French might have proved the point a bit better. Now-a-days we have to walk our talk.Over usedevalThere are always words that are fashionable to use, and then we hear or see them too much and it’s time to stop using them.Robustâ€" This one is a throw-back to the 80s, and was often used when talking about technology.Leading edge â€" Everything is leading edge. Today’s technology is obsolete tomorrow. That wasn’t the case when upgrades were every few years rather than every few months.Out of the box â€" This one has lost its meaning. It used be fashionable to refer to someone who was unusual or creative as an “out of the box” thinker. It’s not so unusual to be creative anymore.Over the topâ€" This is one of those corporate buzzwords that has also been over used and no one knows what it means any more. It is somewhat vague.Science fiction type wordsMission criticalâ€" Are you applying for a job in the space program? If not, then use another term.Morph-This is probably OK if you are writing an email to a comic book company to pitch a story.Clinical and stuffy wordsNecessitateâ€" Sounds very stiff. Using this word necessitates the need for another word.Orchestrateâ€" This one is Ok if you are a conductor.Rectifyâ€" Why not just use the word “fix”Maximizeâ€" Avoid any “ize” form of a noun which makes your writing sound stuffy and less friendly.Tips to Use Action Verbs in Writing Cover Letter Resume for Postdoctoral/Research Scientist PositionsWriting compelling cover letter and resume is a daunting task for candidates who wish to apply for a doctoral, postdoctoral or research scientist position in industry and academia.Numerous applicants from all over the world will be applying for any advertised research or scientist positions. Employers in both academia and industry select few potential aspirants from the pool of applicants for the next step of the hiring processes; that is, telephone or personal interview. This selection is purely based on the cover letter and CV of the candidate.Contents in the cover letter or resume of a research scholarevalThe cover letter and resume of a research scholar describe the past and present research accomplishments, employment history, teaching experience, technical expertise, publication, conference attendance/presentation, reviewer and fellowships/grants.Almost all applicants will be stating these attributes in their cover letter and resume. However, only few of them are picked for the next round of interviews because their cover letter and resume persuade the employers about their academic and research activities.How to write an appealing cover letter and resume?One way to make your cover letter and resume attractive is to use appropriate action verbs to describe your achievements in the field. Applying suitable verb phrases will make your cover letter and resume stronger and compelling. Moreover, the action verbs will help to catch your employer’s attention.For instance, you may write your research work as follows: I have investigated the role of nerve growth factor protein in Alzheimer disease.evalAnother example, I discovered that vitamin A rich food improves memory and cognition.No doubt, these sentences sound good. However, these sentences also indicate that you are the sole researcher for making this discovery.At the postdoctoral level, most of the research work is performed under supervision. Most of the publications in the science field are multi-authored. Therefore, this sentence may not be appropriate to style your achievement.Let us write it as; I have contributedin investigating the role of nerve growth factor protein in Alzheimer disease.Here the verb contributed suggests that you have played a critical role in this project, and the discovery made is a team work. Most of the research projects in both industry and academia involve expertise from several scientists. Employers expect a postdoctoral fellow to be a team player. Likewise, you should use right action verbs to state all your accomplishments.Tips to use action verbs in your cover letter and resumeAs a first step, prepare a separate list of all your activities that you want to put in your cover letter and resume.evalUsually, in the cover letter, you may want to state briefly about your present job, duties, education, technical expertise, teaching experience and number of publications. It depends on individual’s achievements in his/her own field. Start constructing sentence for each of your skills using appropriate action verbs (see below table for examples). You may find such an action verb list by Google search.For example, if you are describing your research skills, you can use the action verbs such as collected, investigated, identified, examined, clarified, etc. Similarly, to describe your technical skills use verbs: designed, trained, assembled, computed, etc. For teaching experience you can use verbs â€" set goal, coached, explained, etc.