Heard @ Career Transition-Dallas 5/3/10

Session 4 Communication Connection: How to Write Right

Best to have a well-written compelling material

Difference between good and great is commitment to the little things

How you write discloses your competency and character

Keys to Writing Right-a few to remember

• remember reader's frame of reference
• flavor the format
• check your spell checker with a swell checker
• quit the qualifiers
• avoid a vagueness

WIIFT – What's In It For Them

"You can have everything you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want" Zig Ziglar

Avoid the first-person pronoun in cover letters

1982 launch of USA Today changed the landscape of printed material

White space is your friend in written communication to draw eye to text

Bullets draw the eye when not overused

Clip the Cliches & Junk the Jargon

Screen out for Sexist Slang

Make your life as a job seeker a statement not an apology

One is never going to bad mouth a previous employer

After a certain number of years your education is important but not relevant in job search

If I had more time I would have written less

Sentences should be <>

Simple letters = Single page

Cover letter is to arouse interest curiosity to get an interview not a job

The most important word in the English language is a person's name

Solicited letter is to convince hiring authority that what you do best is what they need most

• Use T-table format
• Their needs = Your Achievements

When asked for salary info prefer to defer

Thank you note 3 elements

• Thanks
• Listened
• Next time

Luke 17:11-19 (New International Version)

Ten Healed of Leprosy- A Lesson in writing Thank You notes

¹¹Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[a]met him. They stood at a distance ¹³and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

¹⁴When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" ¹⁹Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Be the 1 of 10 who writes the thank you note

References always available when requested

When asked for references ask: how many & what kind

Networking is not just a job transition tool but a life management tool

Next week Monday, 5/10/10 Session 5 Inter-Galactic International Resume Skeet Shoot. Bring four copies of resume for this session