Find a NEW JOB in North America: Cover Letter & Resume Advice

Looking for a job? You will need to create a resume and a cover letter. But the rules on what to include and what NOT to include are different from country to country. To get you started, I've put together this lesson on writing cover letters and resumes, where I will give you all of my key tips. I will also talk about the reasons why we write cover letters and resumes and give you some important points on formatting. Watch my other job skill videos to learn about job interviews and for specific vocabulary you should use on your resume.

Take the quiz: https://www.engvid.com/north-america-jobs-cover-letter-resume-advice/

Download a sample resume here: https://www.engvid.com/english-resource/resume-sample-tips/

TRANSCRIPT

Hello. My name is Emma, and in today's video I am going to talk to you about cover letters and resumes. So, if you are going to be looking for a job soon... Maybe you're new to Canada, or England, or the USA, or new to an English-speaking country and you're looking for a job or you will be looking for a job soon, this video can really help you with that. Cover letters and resumes really are different in different parts of the world. Okay? So there's a lot of different cultural parts that you need to know when you're writing a cover letter or resume, and in this video I'm going to talk about the cultural aspects of both. So, this video you're going to learn more of an overview about cover letters and resumes, what their purpose is, and the type of information we include on them. Okay, so let's get started.

Okay, so a cover letter and a resume are two different documents that have very different formats. They look very differently from one another. A cover letter is a letter format, whereas a resume has its own special format, but there are certain things that are common or the same for both. One of the things that's common for both a cover letter and a resume is their purpose. The purpose of a cover letter and resume is to help you get an interview for a job, or help you get the job. Okay? So, when you think about a cover letter or a resume, imagine a company is asking you: "Why should we hire you? What makes you special? What makes you right for this job?" Your cover letter and your resume are the answer to this. They tell employers about your amazing skills. Okay? Maybe you know CPR, maybe you're great when it comes to computers, maybe you speak four languages. Okay? So they tell your employer... Your future employers this. They talk about your abilities, they talk about your experience, your education experience, your work experience, you know, maybe some other organizations you're a part of and the experiences you had there, and they also talk about your accomplishments, your successes. Okay? Maybe at this company you increased sales, maybe you won a customer service award because you're so great when it comes to talking to customers. Okay? So your resume and cover letter show all these great things about you, and they answer the question: Why should we hire you? Okay?

So, a lot of people want to know: "Do I need both a cover letter and a resume? Can I just give my resume or just my cover letter?" For most jobs you will need at the very least a resume. Okay? This is one of the most important things you give when you're applying for a job, and then for a lot of jobs they also will want a cover letter. So, how do you know if you need both? Well, when you apply to the job, look at the job advertisement. Usually in the advertisement they say if they want just a resume, or if they want a cover letter and a resume. If you don't know and you can't find the information, it's a good idea to send both.

A lot of people want to know: "Can I reuse my resume and cover letter for each job I apply for? Writing cover letters and resumes are a lot of work, so can I just give the same cover letter and resume to everybody, and every job I apply for?" In general, that's not a good idea, and the reason is usually companies can tell that they're getting the same resume and cover letter as other companies, because you're not saying specific things about how your skills match this company's skills or this company's... What this company wants. So as a result, it's always the best idea to write a different cover letter for each job you apply for. Okay? I know that's a lot of work, but you will be more likely... You're more likely to get the job if you do a good job on your cover letter instead of just sending everyone the same ones, and it's the same with resumes. You know, different jobs you might want to highlight or talk about different things on your resume. If you're applying to this company, maybe you'll talk about a certain work experience, whereas this company maybe you'll talk about a different work experience. Okay? So very important to write your cover letter and your resume for each job. […]