How to Use Keywords in Your Cover Letters

How to Use Keywords in Your Cover LettersHow to Use Keywords in Your Cover LettersWhen you are writing acover letterto accompany your resume as part of a job application, its important to make sure that every word counts. Your cover letter should enhance the employersviewof your qualifications,so you can move frombeinganapplicant toaninterviewee. Types of Keywords Keywords are a vital elementofa persuasive cover letter,astheyrecapable of portraying a candidate as a highly qualified applicant forajob. behauptung words fall into three general categories skill words, results-oriented words, and words which show recognition for achievements. Keywords work in a couple of different ways. First, the keywords you include in your resume and cover letter will be used to match your application with the skills required by the employer in the job advertisement. This matching process is often performed by automatedapplicant tracking systems(ATSs), programmed to identify specific keywords and t o rank all resumes accordingly before they even reach a hiring manager. If your cover letter and/or resume lack these keywords, they may be automatically cut from consideration at this stage oftheevaluation. Secondly, keywords that are incorporated into a cover letterwill show the hiring managerhow andwhy you are highly qualifiedfor the job, allowing them to rank you among your competition and, ideally, to offer one of their interview slots to you. Skill Keywords Job seekers should carefully analyze the skills required to excel in their target job and incorporate them into their cover letter. Those keywords should also beincluded in your resume. It will be more genuine if you deskription the skills mentioned in job ads,as opposed to listing them verbatim. Skill words are most effective when connected to a specific role or project where the skills were crucial to success. Examples ofskillkeywordsincludewrote, analyzed, quantified, planned, programmed, designed, created, built, ta ught, and trained. For example, instead of saying Quantitative stock analysis is an asset which I would bring to your firm, you could say I utilized quantitative stock valuation techniques to create a portfolio for high net worth clients, which beat the market for three consecutive years. ExpandTheskills keywordsincluded in your cover letters (and your resume) will help your application get selected by the software employers use to select candidates for further consideration. They will also show the hiring manager, at first glance, what skills you have that are related to the jobforwhichhe or she is hiring. Results-Oriented Keywords All employers are looking for employees who will add value and generate positive results for their organizations. Thats why its critical to integrate results-oriented language into your cover letters. Think about the bottom line for each job on your resume and how you might have made things better in your role. Your cover letter should showcase your accomplishments, not just your skills or personal qualities. Providing these details will help to set your letter apart from those of other candidates who dont highlight their professional achievements. Examples of results-oriented keywords includeincreased, reduced, redesigned, upgraded, initiated, implemented, reformulated, generated, and produced. Results-oriented words are most effective when coupled with some numbers which quantify your impact, as in I reduced turnover among first-year hires by 20% by implementing a untersttzung system. ExpandBy using these types of keywords, you are clearly showing what you accomplished in your previous roles. Recognition Keywords Hiring managerswill be more likely to believe that you will be an outstanding performer if it is clear that previous employers have viewed you in this way. One way to do this is to incorporate language which demonstrates that employers have recognized your contributions. Examples of recognition related keywordsin cludehonored, awarded, promoted, selected, lauded for, received a bonus for, recognized, chosen, and credited. Ideally, recognition phrases will include the type of individual who noted your achievement and the basis for your recognition. For example, you might say I was designated as the team leader for the budget reduction task force by my Division Vice President, based on my previous record of accruing cost savings. ExpandRecognition keywords attest to how you have excelled in your previous jobs and how you have accomplished more than was required. Take the Time to Make a Match When youre choosing keywords to include in your cover letter, an easy way to find the best words to use is to match your qualifications to those listed in the job listing. Highlight your strongest assets, so you can show the employer why youre well-qualified for the job and deserving of an interview.

My 2018 annual review (and looking forward to 2019)

My 2018 annual review (and looking forward to 2019)My 2018 annual review (and looking forward to 2019)For the first time ever, Im writing an Annual Review to share whats gone well, what hasnt and lessons learned, during the previous year.The purpose of the Annual Review isnt about looking back at the past, its about integrity, accountability and most importantly, transparency on how well I live up to the values that I write about.There are 4 key questions that Im going to answer in my Annual Review.1. What went well this year?2. What didnt go so well this year?3. What did I learn?4. What changes will I make moving forward?Feel free to use any of these questions for your own Annual Review.1. What went well this year?Heres what went well for me this year Writing.In 2018, I stuck to the habit of writing at least one article each week (aside from two short sabbatical).Whilst this may seem straightforward, writing and publishing articles on a weekly basis has been hands down the most diff icult habit Ive ever built.To put this into context, heres a quick overview of the average time it takes to produce each articleResearch 8 hrsWriting (drafts) 4 hrsEditing 2 hrsPublishing 1 hrsThats an average of 15 hours per article, and that doesnt include hours spent promoting and marketing each article.But theres something else which has made this writing process much more difficult in 2018.During the year, I experienced major setbacks and transitions in my living and work situation, relationships and geschftliches miteinander, that destabilized my mental state of mind.Despite these challenges, here are the highlights of 201839 articles published (you can browsethe best articles of 2018 here)6,172 new email subscribers239,571 unique visitors to the websiteWriting featured on Quartz, New York Times, Life Hack and The Good Men Project.Reading.In 2018, I read a total of 25 books.Here are the top five books Ive read in 2018Fight Club (PrintAudiobook)Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck ( PrintAudiobook)Influence The Psychology of Persuasion (PrintAudiobook)Sapiens A Brief History of Mankind (PrintAudiobook)Zen in the Art of Archery (PrintAudiobook)A powerful strategy Ive discovered for reading more books, is to simply hold a book during my commute and travels.This simple change in myenvironmenthas made it much easier for me to build the habit of reading more books, and break the bad the habit of wasting time on my mobile phone during my commute.Exercise.In 2018, I completed a total of 105 workouts.My workout routine was primarily split into weight training and sprinting sessions that lasted about 45 minutes.The focus of my training wasnt necessarily to improve strength or lose weight, more so it was to improve my anaerobic and muscle endurance.Heres a breakdown of my weekly workout routine (including rest days)Monday Squats, Bench Press, Shoulder Press and Dips (3 sets of 8-12 reps per exercise)Tuesday Sprint workout (3 sets of 20-50% intensity, 6 sets of 70-100% in tensity)Wednesday RestThursday Sprint and boxing workout combinedFriday RestSaturday Squats, Barbell Row and Pull ups (5 sets of 5-8 reps per exercise)Sunday RestNoteIn November 2018, I pulled a hamstring muscle whilst sprinting outdoors.This injury knocked me out of my workout routine for almost 6 weeks.2. What didnt go so well this year?Charity.One of my core values is giving back to people who live in poverty. Specifically, in 2018, Id set out on a mission to sponsor the primary school education of at least 10 impoverished children, and I failed miserably.Zero children were sponsored (although I had sponsored school supplies like backpacks, clothing and so on, for 20 children).Theres no good excuse for this truth is, Id gotten so engrossed in my writing, business and personal life, that I had lost touch with my mission.Reading for spiritual purposes.At the center of my lifes mission and core values, is my faith as a Christian.Although I read many books in 2018, I didnt spend much time reading the most important book that matters to me the bible.Once again theres no good excuse for this, and there is a lot of room for improvement in this area.Last minute work.Although I wrote and published 39 articles in 2018, more than half of these were completed on the same day as the due date for publication.Even though I sgeschiebemergel managed to get things done, this bad habit of waiting till the last-minute to finish important work, created a lot of stress and overwhelm in my life, and inadvertently reduced the quality of my work.Going to bed early.Although I managed to sleep at least 8 hours on average each night, my average bedtime in 2018 was 1 a.m, which is some distance away from my target of an 11 a.m bedtime.To piggyback off the previous point on last minute work, my evenings were spent meeting writing deadlines, instead of sleeping.Music and Drawing.A huge part of how I choose to inspire people is through creative expression, specifically writing, music and drawing.This year I had set out to learn 10 jazz standards on the guitar and draw 20 motivational cartoons, but Id only learnt 1 jazz standard and drawn 3motivational cartoons.Lack of gratitude.Despite the good amount of progress Id made in 2018, I hardly celebrated my achievements along the way and often beat myself up for making little mistakes.For the most part, I struggled with perfectionism and voices in my head that led me to doubt the quality of my work.Team Building.In 2018, I seriously suffered from the curse of Superman syndrome a.k.a doing everything by myself.I wrote the articles, managed my website and technical issues, managed the social media accounts, handled customer services, marketing and sales.In short, I tried to be superman. And I failed.In order for me to raise the quality of my work, I need to build a team thatll handle the daily operations, so that I can spend more time on strategy and writing.3. What did I learn?Here are the top five lessons Ive learned in 20181. Solitude is no longer an option.In todays digital world, were constantly bombarded by advertising, social media distractions and ingestaltation on the web. Theres never been any other time in history than today, when alone time is required to regain clarity, focus and peace of mind.My biggest breakthroughs and best ideas for my work just so happened to emerge during periods of solitude. And thats why I believe its themost important productivity strategy.2. Decision-making driven purely by emotions is extremely dangerous.Emotions are an essential part of the human experience, but over reliance on emotions can lead to costly mistakes and irrational decisions in life and work.A better approach to decision-making is to find a balance of emotions and logic before making crucial decisions.For example, searching for evidence that contradicts and challenges your emotions and beliefs will help you to make a better-informed decision.3. Beware of the law of reciprocity.In his book,Influ ence, renown psychologist, Dr. Cialdini, explains that the law of reciprocity is the universal tendency of human beings to feel compelled to repay or reciprocate when given a gift whether it has come in the form of a material object, a kind deed, or an act of generosity.Whilst this may seem harmless- and it is, when in the hands of good people- the law of reciprocity is being used by ill-intentioned advertisers, salespeopleand marketers who manipulate us to spend our hard earned money on bad products and services.In 2018, I fell victim to the law of reciprocity and wasted a ton of money on impulse purchases, immediately after I was offered a free sample by a marketer.Long story short, Ive learned to be extremely cautious when offered a gift or gesture for free, because theres no such thing as a free lunch.4. Listen, make your point and apologize (even if youre not completely wrong).Our natural tendency during a misunderstanding with another person is to argue for why our point of vi ew is right, and why the other persons ideas are wrong.The problem with this approach is that it often leads to a heated exchange of words as both parties talk past one another, and after the argument, the relationship between both people is left worse off than before.A better approach to a disagreement is to communicate in three parts first, listen to the other persons point of view, second, make your point and third, apologize for any misunderstandings and heated words exchanged.This strategy alone has helped me to avoid wasting valuable time and energy on pointless arguments, whilst protecting my most valuable relationships.5. Forget goals, identity and systems matter more.I have a lot more to say about this in my upcoming articles in 2019, but long story short, goals by themselves arent enough.A goal is simply a hopeful guess of what the futuremightlook like. But since the future doesnt exist right now, the only thing that we can control is the actions we take in the present mom ent.More specifically, our future reality is created by our identity (beliefs and worldview) and our systems (the exact present actions that will naturally produce our desired results in the future).Its the combination of our identity and systems that create our future, not our goals.4. What changes will I make moving forward?Here are the top five changes I plan to make in 20191. Double my writing frequency.Last year, I wrote and published one article each week, but I believe I can add more value to themembers of the newsletterby publishing two articles each week this year.2. At least one hour spent in solitude each day.This year I plan to spend much more time re-energizing and reflecting.3. Performance driven charity.Rather than make vague promises to give back, I plan to keep myself accountable to milestones thatll track my progress in this area.4. Keeping a gratitude journal.Unlike the previous year, in 2019 I plan to celebrate mini-wins and achievements during the year, and remi nd myself of 10 things Im grateful for, as soon as I wake up and just before I go to bed.5. Boxing.Even though I maintained a consistent workout routine last year, it lacked a clear, tangible direction for what exactly I was training for i.e. strength, aesthetics, anaerobic.In 2019, I plan to refocus my training efforts towards improving my boxing skills and building that up to amateur level.Thats my Annual Review done for 2018.Wishing you the best of luck with your plans in 2019.Id like to say a quick thank you toChris Guillebeau and James Clear for inspiring parts of the structure of an Annual Review.Mayo Oshin writes atMayoOshin.Com, where he shares the best practical ideas based on proven science and the habits of highly successful people for stress-free productivity and improved mental performance. To get these strategies to stop procrastinating, get more things by doing less and improve your focus,join his free weekly newsletter.

10 Strategies for Improving Work Life Balance for Dads

10 Strategies for Improving Work Life Balance for Dads10 Strategies for Improving Work Life Balance for DadsMany fathers struggle with the concept and the practice of work-life balance.The many demands that work, family, life in general and personal needs place on our time and attention can cause us to feel significantly out of balance. The National Partnership for Women and Families tells us that 64% of American families report that the time pressures on working families are growing, not shrinking, despite all of our efforts to find better work-life balance.And a recent Aon Consulting study suggests that almost 9 out of 10 employees have a hard time balancing work and family. Fathers who have been able to make changes and reach a greater work-life balance status can attribute much of their success to a few key strategies that help them prioritize and manage their time and find ways to keep the many demands on their time in dynamic equilibrium.The ten strategies listed here can help any father do a better job of creating a better work-life balance for his own life and for his family. Create a Personal Purpose Statement It can be hard to know what and how to change when life feels out of balance if a person doesnt know what parts of life need the greatest emphasis.The process of creating a personal purpose ansicht can help a man figure out the important things he needs to be and do.Writing, revising and re-reading a personal purpose statement is a key element in intentionally creating a work-life balance strategy. Complete an Activity Log Almost every time management guru recommends that people create an activity log from time to time to see, in real life, how people use their time.The idea of an activity log is to track on 15 or 30-minute intervals during an entire day how we spend our time and seeing whether our practices align with our priorities.It can seem tedious and like a time waster, but it is an important investment in seeing how we are doing a nd preparing us for a needed change in how we program our time. Think in Terms of Roles Every man has a number of roles that, in total, merge into his life story.Roles might include things like a husband, father, son, employee, volunteer, and money manager.When we see life in terms of our various roles, it is easier to determine how effective our life balance is.Planning your time with an emphasis on balancing the many roles you have can become a big part of finding that elusive ideal of work-life balance. Set Effective Boundaries With the ever-increasing pervasiveness of technology in our lives, it can be hard to distinguish between work time, family time and personal time.In many families, handheld devices have come to dominate family time.Setting some boundaries for the use of technology can be really helpful in finding greater balance.One family I know has a shelf near the front door where all smartphones are placed for the time between arriving home and the end of the f amily dinner.This allows family members to interact and talk without the distractions of text messages and phone calls. Once dinner is over - and until bedtime - the devices can be on and used. Make Time for You Many men suffer from empty bucket syndrome.The feel like they are constantly asked to give more and more of themselves and have less and less personal time that allows them to fill their own buckets.Men can benefit from having a self-care and personal development plan that helps them eat smarter, integrate exercise into their schedules, read and study on personal improvement topics, and making time to refresh their relationships with things like weekly date nights and periodic retreats. Create a Personal Morning Routine Part of the bucket-filling effort for many men includes a daily morning bung.One of the best known morning ritual programs is called The Miracle Morning, taken after the title of a book by Hal Elrod.The Miracle Morning suggests an ideal routine of get ting up an hour before the rest of the family is up and engaging in 6 daily practices - silence (meditation or prayer), affirmations, visualizations, exercise, reading, and journaling.Many men have found The Miracle Morning or other morning routine efforts to be a great way to build themselves and to not neglect the importance of their own personal development. Plan Times Weekly and Schedule Them Many men plan time on Sundays to create and schedule their week, balancing their work appointments and schedule with the schedule of the family and programming in needed time for appropriate balance. Getting the family on the same scheduling page and then including family activities on Dads work calendar can help keep all of the important items in their place. Multitask With the Family Multitasking is widely recognized as a failed concept.Granted, it can be hard to prepare a work report while talking on the phone and sitting at a soccer game.But there are some activities fathers can do where two activities can blend together.For example, if you are needing some exercise, take one of the kids with you on a walk.If you need to run to the hardware store, load one of the kids in the car and talk while you drive.Look for opportunities to do tasks in which you can involve your family members. Use Rituals When you Get Home Many dads work to create a coming home ritual so that when they walk through the door at home, work gets left behind.One dad commented that he listens to his favorite music in the car on the way home so that when he pulls in the driveway, he is relaxed and ready to interact with the kids.Another dad has a large oak tree outside of his front door and on the way in from the car after work, he touches a low branch of the tree where he figuratively leaves his work problems on the branch.The following morning as he leaves for work, he touches the branch again and takes up his work mindset again. Rituals that help with work-life balance are important and can make a difference in how we interact when we get home. Evaluate Your Progress with the Family There is no better way to assess the time and attention you give to your family than to ask them.Try at least monthly to spend time with the family and ask some questions about whether they feel loved, supported and appreciated.Assess as a family how the entire family is doing with work-life balance and family relationships.It may be painful on occasion, but feedback is good and changes can be made when you know how you are doing.