How to Write a Cover Letter

By Kellie Hanna, CPRW, Career Advice ExpertLast
Updated: December 01, 2023Editor: Maria Ratcliff • Contributor: Marla Figueroa

Build my cover letter

A well-written cover letter to accompany your resume can help you stand out to employers and significantly impact a hiring manager’s decision to call you for an interview. 

David Grimes, director of people and talent operations at Taulia LLC, told us, “I sincerely appreciate cover letters, as they signal to me an amplification of interest and offer an additional opportunity to convey that [job candidates] have taken the time to truly review the position or organization and see an alignment.” 

He notes that “when done well, a cover letter can provide a window into the candidate as they picture themselves at our organization.” 

So, if you’re wondering if you need a cover letter for a job, or you’re asking, “what is a cover letter for a resume?” and you want to know how to create a cover letter effectively, look no further! 

In this guide, we’ll address the following:

What is a cover letter?

A cover letter is a one-page business document that should complement a CV or a resume in a job application. Its purpose is to:

• Introduce you to hiring managers.
• Provide details about your qualifications.
• Tell employers why you want to work for them.
• Illustrate why you’re the best match for the job.
• Explain circumstances like job hopping or gaps in employment.

PRO TIP
Did you know? 41% of job seekers replicate their resumes in their cover letters — a huge mistake. Your cover letter should complement your resume, not repeat it.

How to write a cover letter for a resume in 10 steps

Follow the simple steps below to make a cover letter that wows prospective employers.

STEP 1
Prepare to write your cover letter.

Preparation is key to writing a cover letter that stands out. Having your essential information ready will save you time and ensure you put your best foot forward.

First, review the job requirements and compare them to your relevant qualifications. 

Then make a checklist of your:

• Notable accomplishments from previous jobs and volunteer work. 
• Skills that match the required skills in the job ad. Include a mix of hard and soft skills. 
• Educational qualifications, including certificates and licenses.
• Awards and honors. 

Next, if you haven’t already, research the company to:

• Get an idea of the culture and their mission and values so you can tell the hiring manager how well you fit and why. 
• Take note of the company’s news and press releases so you can highlight how you can help them reach their goals or congratulate them on a milestone. 
• Learn the hiring manager’s name, so you can address your cover letter to them.

STEP 2
Choose a cover letter template

Want to know how to write the perfect cover letter? Use a cover letter template. Why? Because cover letter templates ensure your cover letter is in the correct cover letter format, they’re ATS-friendly and they are designed by professionals. 

We have hundreds of templates to help you get started on the right track. Pick from modern, creative, or simple styles to match your CV or  resume template and build a professional cover letter in minutes. Not sure if a template’s right for you? Try one for free!

STEP 3
Add your contact information.

Place your name, city, state, ZIP code, phone number and email address in your cover letter heading. Your email address should be professional like Jdoe@email.com and not personal like soccermom45@email.com. Include links to your LinkedIn profile or professional online portfolio if you have one. 

STEP 4
Add the recipient’s address.

First, write the current date followed by a space. Then include the hiring manager’s name and title, company address and hiring manager’s email address (in that order).

It should look like this:

PRO TIP
Always follow instructions in the job ad. If an ad directs you to address your cover letter to a human resources team member or the HR department, use the information the prospective employer provides for the recipient’s address.

STEP 5
Address the hiring manager (by name).

Here’s a tip for  how to address a cover letter correctly: Use the hiring manager’s name (unless the job ad specifies a department or HR team member), avoiding titles like “Mr.” or “Mrs.” unless you are certain of the person’s gender.  

For example: 

“Dear [hiring manager’s full name],” but if your research doesn’t turn up a name, then use “Dear Hiring Manager” or “Dear Hiring Team.” If you know their title, then write “Dear [Title]. 

Don’t use informal language like “Hello,” or “Hi,” or old-fashioned salutations like“Dear Sir or Madam,” or “To Whom it May Concern,” to greet the person reading your letter. 

PRO TIP
Did you know? 45% of hiring managers read an applicant’s cover letter before their resume.

YES

• Dear Lucy Garcia,
• Dear Ms. Lowe,
• Dear Hiring Manager,
• Dear Vice President of Marketing,

NO

• Hi there!
• Hey Mr. Jones,
• Dear Sir,
• Sam Spade:

STEP 6
Grab the hiring manager’s attention with a powerful cover letter introduction

The opening sentences of a cover letter are like an elevator pitch. They should clearly and concisely tell hiring managers why you’re interested in the job and they’ve got to be compelling. 

But how do you start a cover letter in a way that intrigues hiring managers  and makes them want to read more? 

The following tips and examples can help you write a cover letter opening that gets attention. 

Exude confidence, passion and enthusiasm.

“I was excited to see that Tech Solutions — a company I respect for its innovation — has an opening for an experienced lead producer.”

Talk up your skills and experience.

“With seven years of experience in production for leading start-up companies in Silicon Valley, I have in-depth knowledge of cyber security and cloud computing and know my way around artificial intelligence.”

Show you’ve done some research.

Mention an interesting fact or statistic from an article, news story or the company’s website.

“When I saw that WILCO Services was touted in Business Magazine for being one of the most inclusive companies in the world, I knew I had to apply for the marketing associate position.”

• Highlight an impressive accomplishment, award or honor and use numbers when possible. 

“As director of Visit Mass, I created tourism programs that resulted in a 30% increase in international tourists to Massachusetts in 2019.”

Be creative.

Tell a story about why you are applying.

“When I was a child, I spent my days in the city parks around my neighborhood, listening to birds sing and watching squirrels jump through trees. Those days instilled a passion in me for wildlife that has intensified over the years and, combined with admiration for the animal rehabilitation programs at Prospect Park Nature Conservancy, led me to apply for the Wildlife Technician position at the conservancy.”

Mention a shared contact (if you’re sure it’s a positive connection).

 “Jayne Peck told me you had an opening on your graphics team, and I’m thrilled to apply for the role. You and I know Jayne from Volunteers for the Bay, where I volunteered on the cleanup crew in 2017.”

STEP 7
Explain why you’re the best candidate for the job in your cover letter body paragraphs.

The body of a cover letter should paint an in-depth picture of your professional life while providing insight into your personality. It’s your chance to show the potential employer what you’re made of. 

Here’s what to write in a cover letter body paragraph, no matter your background:

• If you have work experience in your target role or industry, detail your work accomplishments and use numbers to quantify the results of your actions.
• If you’re applying for your first job, connect the new opportunity with a personal or school project, extracurricular activity or internship.
• Highlight your most relevant skills and explain clearly how you can apply them to the job. 
• If you think you’re a shoe-in for the company’s culture, show it! For example, if you enjoy volunteering for social justice causes and you are applying to a nonprofit organization focused on social justice, then explain why the company’s mission is meaningful to you. 
• If you’re changing careers, explain your motivation and emphasize your transferable skills to how you can contribute to the company’s success. Career change cover letters that emphasize transferable skills are more effective because they show prospectives that you can perform the work with little or no experience. 

PRO TIP
Did you know? 83% of hiring managers surveyed said they would hire a candidate who sent a strong cover letter, even if their resume wasn’t up to par.

STEP 8
Write your closing paragraph.

When you write a cover letter closing statement, make it clear that you’re excited about the possibility of working for the employer and that you are confident you have the expertise to be successful at the job.

You must also thank your reader for their time and consideration, and perhaps most importantly, end with a call to action that encourages the reader to follow up with you. 

Remember that you’re writing a cover letter to a specific person, so thank them for their time and consideration. You should also encourage the recipient to follow up (e.g., “I look forward to further discussing my qualifications with you.”).

Here are a few examples of how to create a cover letter closing paragraph.

I have attached my resume and creative portfolio to my application for further review of my credentials. I am eager to speak with you about this role and greatly appreciate your consideration. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss my background in more detail.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I’m excited about the prospect of working for the Museum of Ancient History. I look forward to discussing what I learned in my year abroad as an English teacher and how I can apply those lessons to the docent role. Feel free to contact me any time during the week.

I’m confident that a review of my resume and portfolio will convince you that I have the technical skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in the lead designer role at Creative Ads, LLC. I’m excited about the opportunity and would be thrilled to meet with you and your team next week to discuss my ideas for your next campaign. Please contact me this week to schedule a convenient date and time.

PRO TIP
A “call to action” in your cover letter closing paragraph shows hiring managers that you’re serious about the job and confident in your qualifications.

STEP 9 Sign off.

What goes in a cover letter ending isn’t complicated, but you have to get it right if you want a chance at the job. 

That means you must be respectful, polite, professional and formal. 

YES

• Sincerely,
• Best regards,
• Kind regards,
• Thank you,

NO

• Yours,
• Take Care,
• Cheers,
• Thanks!

STEP 10 Proofread your cover letter

Knowing how to write a cover letter for a job  isn’t all there is to making a cover letter. You have to proofread it at least once before sending your job application letter to a potential employer. Typos and cover letter formatting mistakes can reduce your chances of getting hired. When you’ve finished proofreading, have someone else read it for you too, just to be sure it’s job application-ready. 

And there you go! That’s how to write a good cover letter.

What should a cover letter look like?

All cover letters follow a basic business letter structure that looks like this.

Cover letter writing checklist

• Template
  • Did you choose a cover letter design that matches your resume?
• Contact information
  • Are your name, location, phone number and email address up to date and displayed at the top of your cover letter?
  • Did you add a link to your professional portfolio or website and your current LinkedIn profile (if you have them)?
• Date
  • Did you add the current date at the top of your cover letter?
• Company information
  • Did you address your letter to the hiring manager by name and include their title, email address and the correct company address?
• Salutation
  • Did you greet the hiring manager, recruiter or HR associate by name or title?
  • Did you use a polite but formal greeting?
• Opening paragraph
  • Are the first few sentences of your cover letter clear and compelling?
  • Do you convey enthusiasm for the job?
• Body paragraphs
  • Did you effectively express how you can apply your skills, experience and achievements to the target job to help the company achieve its goals?
  • Did you highlight one or two things you like about the company, such as their values or culture, and why?
• Closing paragraph
  • Did you thank the reader for their time?
  • Did you end your cover letter with a call to action?
• Sign-off
  • Did you use a proper, formal closure to end your letter?

How to make a cover letter fast

A professional cover letter template is the best place to start a cover letter. 

Job-specific phrases and skills: No matter the job you’re applying for, we give you the right words and relevant skills you can incorporate with just one click.

• Step-by-step guidance: Get expert advice at every step to help you present your best self and get the job.
• Easy customization: Write a cover letter for every job application and save as many versions of it as you need.
• Multiple download formats: Save and export your cover letter as a PDF, DOCX or plain text.

PRO TIP
Always match your cover letter template to your resume template for a polished job application.

Cover letter tips

We’ve given you almost all the advice for writing a good cover letter  that you’ll need to start creating a cover letter, but we’ve saved a few pointers for last.

Here are our top five tips for how to make a cover letter effectively.

• TIP #1
  Follow instructions. This is probably the most important tip for writing a cover letter. Read the job description carefully and do what it says. If the job posting says to send your letter as a PDF, don’t send a Word document. If it tells you to send your cover letter as an email attachment, then do so. If the job posting says to write your cover letter in the body of an email, then do that. If you fail to follow all instructions in a job ad, you will likely not be considered for the position.
• TIP #2
  Tailor your cover letter to the job. Hiring managers know a generic cover letter when they see one — and they usually ignore them. That’s why it’s critical to customize your cover letter to show your enthusiasm for the specific job and company you’re applying to. To do this, use keywords from the job description when they apply to you. Doing so also ensures ATS software can find you and signals to hiring managers that you meet their requirements. Our Cover Letter Builder makes it fast easy to customize a cover letter for every  job you target.
• TIP #3
  Don’t apologize. Never point out the skills and experience you lack. If you are qualified for the job but don’t have much experience in the field, don’t apologize. Instead, focus on experiences like volunteering, school projects and community service you’ve done that make you a good fit and play up your transferable skills.
• TIP #4
  Don’t overshare. While writing a cover letter to explain a career change or job gap is a good idea, sharing every detail about your life or career is not. Keep away from the following topics every time you create a cover letter:
  • Political views.
  • Current or past salary or salary expectations for the target job.
  • Exaggerations and lies (about anything).
  • Personal details such as marital status, family background, financial situation, ethnicity or religious beliefs
  • Negative thoughts about your former boss, company or coworkers.
  • Irrelevant personal hobbies.
  • Details about work from more than three years ago that doesn’t pertain to your target job.
• TIP #5
  It’s possible to be too enthusiastic. We stress the importance of conveying enthusiasm when you write a cover letter because you should. However, use caution when displaying your zeal. Keep your tone professional, be genuine and never present yourself as desperate.

How to write a cover letter: important takeaways

Let’s recap the basics of what to include in a cover letter one more time:

• A cover letter is a one-page document that complements your resume without repeating it.
• Address the cover letter to the hiring manager. If you don’t know who to address the cover letter to or can’t find their name, then address them as “Hiring Manager,” by their title, or address the department.
• Write a cover letter introduction that immediately grabs the hiring manager’s attention and compels them to keep reading. 
• It’s a good idea to use a professionally designed cover letter template to ensure your cover letter is formatted correctly.
• A good cover letter is a custom cover letter. Tailor yours to your target job and use keywords from the job description if they fit your abilities.

How long should a cover letter be?

A cover letter should cover one half-a page minimum and it should never be more than one-page long. Aim to concisely express your points in about 250-500 words.

Editor: Maria Ratcliff • Contributor: Marla Figueroa

Kellie Hanna, CPRW

CAREER ADVICE EXPERT

Kellie is a Certified Professional Resume Writer with 20+ years of experience in digital media and is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She earned a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.

9 WAYS TO BE MORE GENEROUS AT WORK AND GET FURTHER IN YOUR CAREER

Generosity is often an overlooked characteristic in a list of desirable traits for the workplace. Most people consider hard work, strong leadership, and team cohesion as more important when determining an employee or employer. But it all comes back to generosity and a workplace won’t function without it. In any job that involves working with others (essentially all of them), there is a level of give-and-take, making generosity absolutely essential.

Picture thanks to wisebread.com

In order to be a stand-out team member and get further in your career, consider generosity. Are you generous in the workplace? What does workplace generosity even look like? Here are nine steps to becoming more generous at work. We suggest implementing them and then watching your career take off.

1.   Make your boss’s life easier.

Your boss is most likely not only supervising you but a slew of other employees as well. Improve your generosity by trying to make their work life easier. You can achieve this by completing tasks ahead of schedule and picking up the slack before even being asked.

2.   Plan ahead.

Most offices are a tightly run ship; there just isn’t enough room in the deadlines to fall behind. Be generous with your fellow co-workers by planning ahead and staying on top of your specific tasks. If you’ve accomplished your to-dos ahead of time, ask if anyone needs help completing theirs.

3.   Give credit.

One of the easiest ways to increase workplace generosity is to give credit where credit is due. If you are praised for a completed  team project, make sure others receive recognition as well.

4.   Assume responsibility.

On the flip side, if your team dropped the ball or made a mistake, be sure to assume collective responsibility for it. Don’t let the rest of your team take the fall for something you all had a part to play in.

5.   Provide guidance.

If you are in a position of seniority with employees beneath you, be generous with them by providing guidance. Always ask if you can help them with something or if they have questions.

6.   Be a mentor.

Mentorship is key to successful businesses. You should always be looking to both give and receive mentorship. Help cultivate a generous place of learning by making yourself available to mentor another.

7.   Share information.

Some employees view the knowledge they possess as their key to job security. But in order to be truly generous and effective in the workplace, you must share that expertise with others to create cohesion in your office.

8.   Be happy.

The workplace is often stressful and chaotic, but when you keep a positive attitude, you build an environment of calm and peace that helps improve workflow.

9.   Be kind.

The golden rule of treating others as you would like to be treated applies in the workplace as well. By building each other up, you become a more effective team that gets noticed for its great work. Each person should feel valued and you can help cement that through kindness.

Being generous at work is important. It helps get things done as a team and catapults your own career toward success. In order to collaborate with others, every person should strive to improve their own generosity. We hope these tips help!

Source: written by Ariix editor Ariix

5 Tips to Improve Your Career Development: You Owe Yourself a Career Development Action Plan

This is an excerpt of an article that was last updated on August 22, 2016, on the balance.com 

Image courtesy of the thebalance.com

Career management isn’t just a nice-to, it’s a must do if you expect to gain maximum success and happiness from the hours you invest in work. Face it, you are likely going to work 40 hours a week for your adult life. Why not make it the best 40 hours that you can create?

Career management in which you plan and work to obtain new skills, capabilities, and experiences, is the answer. Share your goals with your boss and you have a partner who can help you broaden your experience.

When most employees think about their careers, they have not thought past their current job or the next promotion that they’d like to receive. They need to broaden their short term thinking. As employees are promoted up the organization chart, fewer jobs become available, yet continuing to grow skills and experience should still be a priority for people obtaining value from their career.

Here are a few ways in which you can collaborate with your boss to manage your career.

• Job shadow other employees in your company to learn about different jobs.
• Explore lateral moves to broaden and deepen your experience.
• Attend classes and training sessions to increase your knowledge.
• Hold book clubs at work to develop knowledge, and share terminology, concepts, and team building with coworkers.
• Seek a mentor from a different department that you’d like to explore.

Don’t Make These 3 Social Media Mistakes

by Simon Reynolds

The buzz about the importance of social media is at crazy levels.

It seems everyone is obsessed with the desire to build out a powerful social media platform and campaign.

Certainly social media marketing is important. But it sure ain’t new. For centuries word of mouth has been both the most effective and the cheapest way to get customers, and social media is just a digital version of word of mouth marketing.

Now of course, it’s incredibly easy to put up a Facebook page, write a few posts and actually get some followers. This ease of creation and swift results has led to a passion for social media that is at massive levels and is increasing at an exponential pace.

But be careful. As the map makers of 500 hundred years ago used to say, ‘There be dragons here’.

There are three big mistakes that the majority of entrepreneurs are making with their social media that can endanger not just your company’s marketing, but the future profits of your organization.

Mistake 1: Spending Too Much Time Posting and Monitoring

Social media can be a huge time suck for entrepreneurs. Firstly, it’s always moving- every few hours someone has commented, complained or replied to what you’ve posted. This ever changing nature of social media is very,very seductive. It makes you feel like you have to always respond, always react. Pretty soon you’ve lost 90 minutes of your day handling it.

That’s a huge error. Social media is in the end just another marketing medium. It’s not the holy grail. It’s not a magic solution to your revenue woes. It’s merely another channel by which you can make contact with customers, deepen your relationship with them and hopefully inspire them to buy from you.

It’s important you don’t spend too much time on it. I suggest no more than 20 minutes each work day. Putting a time limit on your posting and monitoring will force you to be efficient and also leave enough time for you to work on the other vital marketing areas. Like email, print, your brochures, finessing your sales presentation,testing online ads, training sales staff, making your website more responsive, etc.

Spending any more time than that is in my view giving social media too much importance, for the reason that i’ll address next.

Mistake 2: Expecting Social Media to Generate Revenue

The world is littered with companies that went under while they were working on getting their sales from social media marketing.

Now don’t get me wrong: social media can be a highly potent marketing weapon. But here’s the cold, hard reality: I mentor many, many entrepreneurs and virtually none of them have been able to get people on their social media lists to actually write them checks.

Sure they’ll follow you, like you, even comment enthusiastically about how wonderful your products are, but getting them to buy from you as a direct result of what you post on social media is damn hard.

Now I’m generalising of course. I also work with entrepreneurs that are making a fortune from social media. But take it from me, they are a very small minority. Almost all entrepreneurs will find it way easier getting people to pay them money using other media, like email, telephone marketing,online ads, direct mail and website design.

So I advocate doing social media, for sure, just don’t expect your revenue to rise greatly because you are.

Mistake 3: Not Moving Your Followers To Your Email List

Here’s what most entrepreneurs don’t realize: If you have say 5000 people following you on your social media, you don’t own that list. Facebook, Pinterest or Linked In do. That can be dangerous.Your list may get deleted because of their error or as a result of cyber crime (it’s increasing at a worrying rate). Or the owners of those social media sites may change their policies, and start limiting your ability to post. (This has already happened. Did you know that when you do a business post on Facebook now, often only around 16% of your followers see it?). So leaving those precious names on social media sites is very risky indeed.

But there’s another reason you need to move them onto your own email list. Research shows that when you try to sell something to people who are on your email list, you usually get a better response than when you make the same offer on social media. There are all sorts of possible reasons why, but the fact is that email marketing is usually much more effective. How do you move them onto your email list? Just post a free report or offer some benefit to your followers – if they click on a link and leave their email address. If your offer is strong, you’ll get loads of people doing so, and voila, your email list will grow. Do this several times a quarter, and you’ll have the email addresses of many of your social media followers.

So in conclusion, yes social media is a fabulous marketing medium – it’s cheap, it’s fast and it’s highly engaging. But unless you avoid making the three mistakes mentioned above, it could also end up being a huge waste of time.

How to Build a Meaningful Career

by Amy Gallo

Everyone aspires to have purpose or meaning in their career but how do you actually do that? What practical steps can you take today or this month to make sure you’re not just toiling away at your desk but you’re doing something you genuinely care about?

What the Experts Say
Unfortunately, most of us don’t know how to make the job decisions that lead to satisfaction. Nathaniel Koloc, the CEO of ReWork, which provides recruiting services to companies that offer purposeful work, says that’s because no one really ever teaches us how: “Very few parents, teachers, and mentors urge us to think about this or give us mental models to use,” he says. “We tend to only get nibbles of what meaningful work is in our twenties.” As a result, we often pick jobs for the wrong reasons, says Karen Dillon, coauthor of How Will You Measure Your Life. “We look for things that we’re proud to talk about at a cocktail party or look good on a resume.” But rarely are those the things that translate to satisfaction. Here are principles you can follow to find a career — and a specific job —­ you don’t just enjoy, but love.

Know what “meaningful” means to you
Am I respected by my colleagues? Am I being challenged? Am I growing? Do I believe in the mission? “These are the things that are going to make the difference between being ok with your job and being truly happy,” says Dillon. But “meaningful” means something different for each individual. “Don’t just look to obvious things, like salary, title, or prestige of the company,” says Dillon. Koloc identifies four categories to consider:

Legacy
This is about the concrete outcomes of your work. What do you want to achieve? Sure, you may spend a lot of your day responding to emails or attending meetings — most jobs entail at least some of that ­— but what evidence do you want of your work? You might find it rewarding to advance the math skills of 80 students in one year, or build six desalination plants over the course of your career. This is often a question of how close to the frontlines you want to be. Some people want to help sick people directly while others aspire to help pass the Affordable Care Act.

Mastery
These are the strengths that you want to improve. For example, if you enjoy connecting with people, you could use that skill to be a psychologist or a marketer. Similarly, if you’re a strong writer, you could use that skill to write fiction or copy for advertisements. The key is that you are using these strengths in a way that you find rewarding. “Being good at something you don’t enjoy doesn’t count,” says Koloc. “It has to be something you love to do.”

Freedom
This is about the salary, benefits, and flexibility you need to live the life you want. For some people, this may mean a high paycheck that allows you to take exotic vacations. For others, it could be the freedom to work when and where you choose. Here you need to know the lifestyle you want and ask whether your job is helping you fulfill that.

Alignment
This last category covers the culture and values of the place you work. This is not the same as mission, warns Koloc, but is about whether you feel like you belong. What are the beliefs and priorities of the company and the people you work with? How do people treat each other? Do they hug? Have lunch together? “It’s important to enjoy spending time with your colleagues and your manager,” says Dillon.

The content of these categories will vary by person. Dillon suggests making a list of all the things you value, and then prioritizing them. This list will help guide your decisions and can be used to evaluate specific opportunities like a new assignment in your current role, a job at a different company, or a new career path.

Form hypotheses
If you’re unsure what matters most to you, think through a given day or week at work. Ask yourself: what made me most happy? What did I find most frustrating? Then, Koloc suggests, come up with a few hypotheses about what is most meaningful to you. I want a job where I create something that people can use everyday. I want a job that allows me enough flexibility to pick up my kids from school. I want a job where I’m directly interacting with people in need. “Be careful not to overcorrect for a particularly bad job experience,” says Dillon. “When you have a micromanaging boss, for example, it’s easy to think that your biggest priority is to work for a manager who doesn’t smother you, but if you seek out that one thing, you may end up being unhappy for slightly different reasons.”

Run experiments
Once you’ve nailed down your hypotheses, it’s time to test them. There are a variety of ways to do this. First, you can try things out within an existing job. “You might try to convince your manager to let you work remotely for a month,” he says. Take on a new assignment that allows you to try out new skills. “Look for opportunities to enhance your job. Sign up for a new cross-company initiative or propose taking something off your boss’s plate,” suggests Dillon. “I’ve never known many managers to say no to people offering to help out.” If you can’t run experiments within the constraints of your job, look outside the company. “Join industry groups, go to conferences, volunteer for a nonprofit,” advises Dillon. The third way to test your hypotheses is to have conversations. Find people who are doing what you think you want to do and ask them lots of questions. Listen carefully and critically, so that you don’t just hear what you want to hear.

Form a personal board of directors

Don’t go it alone. Work with others to kick the tires on your hypotheses and share the results of your experiments. Invite four or five people to serve as your informal board of directors. You might tell them, “I’m doing some exploring about what I want from work and I’d love to talk with you on occasion to get your feedback on my direction.” Include any mentors and trusted professional peers. And if your manager is receptive include her as well. “Not all bosses may be supportive,” says Dillon, “but if you have a manager who you can bounce career ideas off of, take advantage of that.

There are a few people you shouldn’t include, says Koloc. “Family members can be tough,” says Koloc. “Spouses, for example, need to know what you’re doing but they may not be best positioned to help you figure it out.” And don’t be afraid to dig deep into your past, Dillon says: “I have people who I haven’t talked with in years who call me when they’re considering a job change or a career transition.” Check in with this board of directors on a regular basis to update them on your thinking and ask for input.

Think long term
This work shouldn’t just be in service of getting your next job. “Career design is different than a job-search strategy,” says Koloc, and the question you should be asking yourself, he advises, is not “What job do I want?” but “What life do I want?” Think about where you want to be in five, ten, 20 years. Of course, you have to answer more immediate questions about what you want in your current job or your next, but do so only in the context of your longer, larger career goals.

When you’re already deep into a career
Even mid-career professionals can and do make big changes. “Your ability to turn the ship is no different but the speed at which you turn it is going to be slower,” says Koloc.“If you’re 35 and have two kids, it’s going to take longer to explore.” There’s good news though, he says: “You have more clues as to what you want and enjoy.” The important thing is to not feel stuck. “You may feel locked into a job, a higher salary, a higher title because you have more responsibilities, like a mortgage and kids, and sure, you may need to take fewer risks, but you don’t want to settle for a job or career you’re not happy with,” says Dillon.

Buckle down on your finances
One of the main reasons people give for staying in a job or career they don’t love is money. “Take steps to give yourself a financial cushion and a little psychological freedom,” says Dillon. Make a budget if you don’t have one. Look for ways to lower the amount of money you need each month: downsize your house, move to one car, and be more disciplined about saving. Having a financial buffer will make it more likely that when you find something meaningful, you’ll be able to act on it.

Make the time
“I have yet to meet anybody who wouldn’t benefit from setting aside dedicated time to sit down and think about what they want from work,” says Koloc. Schedule a time in your calendar to reflect on your career. Even if it’s just an hour every other week, you’re going to make some progress. “Sometimes just thinking about it will get the ball rolling, and then, often, the change becomes inevitable,” says Koloc.

Principles to Remember

Do:

• Make a prioritized list of what a meaningful career would look like to you
• Invite four or five people to serve as a board of advisors as you explore what you want
• Experiment with different elements of a job that you’d want either in your current job, outside work, or by talking with people

Don’t:

• Focus on your next role — think about what you want from work over the long term
• Let the stage of your career hold you back — even those deep into their careers can make changes
• Neglect your finances so that when you want to make a change, you don’t feel able to

Case study #1: Turn to those who know you
Deirdre Coyle had reached a point in her career where she knew she needed a change. She has been the SVP of communications at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City for eight years and while she believed in the mission of the nonprofit, she just couldn’t picture herself in the role forever. “There was something else out there for me. I have high expectations of myself and wanted to push forward into new territory,” she says.

Still, the question was: What did she want to do instead? “I started by thinking options through and vetting ideas in my mind.” Did she want to go back to school? Did she want to pursue her passion for landscape architecture? Did she want to take her one-of-a-kind fashion accessory business to the next level?

She also got advice from a small group of people she knew well. “There are about six people in my life that I consider my advisors. They come from all different aspects of my life. They don’t know me equally well but they know important parts of me and I cherish their opinions,” she explains. With their help she eliminated a lot of options, such as starting her own business. While being an entrepreneur greatly appealed to her she was afraid of ruining the pleasure she took in her hobby by turning it into a job.

Deirdre told her boss that she was getting ready to move on. “We had worked very well together for close to ten years and I felt like I owed him that respect,” she explains. Soon after that conversation, a former executive director of the ICIC came to her and her boss with an opportunity: she wanted to start a company that would encourage entrepreneurism and job growth in Middle Eastern countries, starting with Saudi Arabia. “Even though the idea wasn’t yet fully formed, I knew right away that this is what I wanted to do,” Deirdre says. It fit many of the criteria she was looking for — it allowed her to travel internationally, work in emerging markets and build an organization from the ground up. She became the co-founder of the AllWorld Network and while “there are certainly moments of angst,” she is thrilled to be doing a job she loves.

Case study #2: Get your finances in order
Tim Groves liked his job at a civil litigation law firm. But he didn’t love it. “I didn’t get up in the morning excited to go to work,” he says. “And I knew if I continued on that career path, it wasn’t going to get better either.” He was interested in mission-driven work so he started by talking to people in the nonprofit world and signed up for automated job listings. “I volunteered and served on boards, and I had friends and relatives who worked in nonprofits so I had an inkling of what I could do with a law degree in a nonprofit setting,” he says.

He also did a few informational interviews with people he respected who had made similar transitions. He was careful in how he set up these conversations. “I told people that I wasn’t miserable at my current job, but that I was looking around and would love their perspective,” he explains. “I also mentioned that I had a mortgage and a family so didn’t want to broadcast this.”

To broaden his network, he became more active in his volunteer and board work and upped the pro bono law work he was doing. “I put myself in contact with people who could connect me to an opportunity or who could vouch for me when an opportunity came up.”

Tim and his wife had supported each other through several career transitions but this time, as he says, “the stakes were higher because we had kids, school tuitions, and college looming on the horizon.” Given that Tim was going to almost certainly take a pay cut, he and his wife came up with a budget and the lowest salary figure he could take. To give themselves more financial flexibility, they downsized and moved from a one-family to a two-family house where rent from tenants could help pay the mortgage.

About a year and a half after starting the process, Tim took a job as a development officer at the Rhode Island Foundation. “The process wasn’t always easy but I feel good about where I ended up,” he says.

How to Stay Super Motivated

by Simon Reynolds

There are two elements needed to succeed in business.

The first is a good strategy – making sure you’re heading in the right direction and focusing on the most valuable opportunities.

The second is how well you do your work. You must perform with speed, positivity, efficiency and drive to achieve great things.
You need to get your mind right. You need to maintain a high level of personal motivation to win.

If you’ve been finding it hard to stay motivated, here are some techniques that can really help you.

1. Make a Genuine Commitment To Personal Excellence.

If you look at how most people work, they certainly have a commitment to getting the job done, but not necessarily to doing things in an excellent manner.

I have found that by simply making the decision to do everything as well as you can (in the time available), you not only get better results but your self respect, self image and personal motivation skyrockets.

This commitment to excellence must be adhered to regardless of the mediocrity of the people around you. You are choosing to be outstanding no matter what.

2. Remind Yourself Daily Of Your Strong Points.

Ambitious people often have a major personality flaw. They beat themselves up for their weak points. In fact in my experience coaching business executives from all over the world I would say that many say at least 5 negative things to themselves for every 1 positive. The result? You often feel defeated and not good enough.

This has to stop. Today. And one of the best ways to do that is spend 2 minutes every morning reminding yourself of why you are (or can become) superb at your career. Get a pad and pen and just write all the reasons why you’re damn good – your experience, your training, any positive personality attributes, etc. Simply focusing on your strong points every day will forge a far more powerful sense of self, which will lead to dramatically higher motivation.

3. See Yourself As Unstoppable.

What I am suggesting here is a subtle variation of how many business people see themselves. In my experiencing mentoring I’ve found that lots of business leaders work hard to envision themselves as successful, but then find they fail often in the course of their daily work. This gives them a conflicted self image.
I believe that by changing your view of yourself to ‘unstoppable’, then when you experience the inevitable obstacles of life you remain positive and effective. It may seem a minor change but try it for a month and you’ll see a huge lift in your motivation.

Literally write the word ‘Unstoppable’ on a Post It note and put it where you can see it every day, so that it remains in your conscious mind. (If you work with others you may choose to just put the letter ‘U’ on the Post It, so that nobody knows what you’re doing).

4. Congratulate Yourself Every Evening.

In my recent book, ‘Why People Fail’ I pointed out that ambitious people rarely give themselves a pat on their back for the good things they’ve achieved. Instead they tend to focus on the 1 or 2 things that haven’t been completed or weren’t done superbly. Obviously over time this will lead to a loss of motivation. Performance will soon suffer as a result.

But there’s a simple way to counter this negative tendency and that is to remind yourself every evening of all the good stuff you got done. Just take 2 minutes before you go to sleep and list your achievements of the day, however minor. You’ll be surprised how many you come up with.

When you get into the habit of doing this every evening your sense of achievement will escalate rapidly, your self image will improve and your drive and motivation to do well the next day will be powerful.

It’s important to realize that motivation doesn’t just happen. You need to work at it. I’ve used these 4 techniques often to help business people become super motivated and if you try them they will certainly work for you too.

Evolve Your Beliefs and Evolve Your Career

Sometimes it’s necessary to see where we are in order to be able to move forward.  Have you thought about what holds you back from reaching your career goals?  All we really have to offer the world is our attitude (this is my belief).  I believe it’s useful to examine my attitude and adjust it as needed on a daily basis.  As I do this, my belief structure naturally evolves as I learn what’s important to me, what I can do to contribute to the health and well fair of my community and how my contribution might be translated into an income.

Geoffrey James has described some beliefs he has identified as henderances to successful careers.  He has written this under the title: 5 Toxic Beliefs That Ruin Careers.  As you read his post perhaps you will see where your beliefs are holding you back from living and working they way you would like….

5 Toxic Beliefs That Ruin Careers

The Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament is, in my opinion, one of the best business books ever published.  One passage, in particular, contains a world of business wisdom: “As a man believes so is he.” (23:7)

In the past, I’ve written in this blog about the beliefs that make people more successful.  However, I’ve observed that there are five other beliefs that consistently make people less successful. Make sure you don’t subscribe to any of these

1. My self-worth is based on what others think of me.

Some people define themselves based upon how they guess their boss, co-workers, relatives and friends see them. When they are convinced that others think poorly of them, such people lack the self-confidence necessary to consistently take action.

2. My past equals my future.

When some people experience a series of setbacks, they assume that their goals are not achievable. Over time, they become dispirited and discouraged, and avoid situations where failure is a risk.  Because any significant effort entails risk, such people are then unable to make significant achievements.

3. My destiny is controlled by the supernatural.

Some people believe that their status in life–or even their potential as a human being–is determined by luck, fate, or divine intervention.  This all-too-common (and ultimately silly) belief robs such people of initiative, making them passive as they wait for their “luck” to change.

4. My emotions accurately reflect objective reality.

Some people believe that their emotions are caused by external events. In truth, though emotions are determined by the perception of those events, combined with preconceptions about what those events mean. Such people find it difficult or impossible to “get out of their own heads” and see situations from another person’s viewpoint.

5. My goal is to be perfect or do something perfectly. 

Because perfection is unattainable, the people who seek it are simply setting themselves up for disappointment. Perfectionists blame the world (and everything in it) rather than doing what’s necessary to accomplish extraordinary results.  That’s why “successful perfectionist” is an oxymoron.

If you’re suffering from any of these five beliefs, I strongly recommend expunging them in favor of better beliefs. I explain how to do this in this post “How to Be Happy at Work” (in the post, I call them “rules”, but that’s the same thing as “beliefs.”)

 Geoffrey James writes the “Sales Source” column on Inc.com, the world’s most-visited sales-oriented blog. His newly published book is Business to Business Selling: Power Words and Strategies From the World’s Top Sales Experts. @Sales_Source

Create A Supportive Work Environment with Your Ears

Greetings Temptime Readers,

I love this article as I have put it into practice at work and at home over and over again.  Listening has become an important tool in my relationship treasure chest.  People often just need a safe place to vent frustrations and we all need to feel safe with the people with whom we work and live.

Michelle

“Sometimes Listening Well is All the Action Needed”
Peter H. Schmidt, Lifting Mind Inc.

During the early days at Midnight Networks, when four of us shared one 10’x15′ office, we hashed out our decisions as a group. We were committed to reaching the best decision we could, so we stuck with the discussions until we had reached a satisfactory conclusion, even when it would have been easier to just throw in the towel. Because we were all engineers, it was important to us that our decisions be soundly reasoned and the logic agreed upon.

Likewise, as engineers we also were prone to occasionally sharing our opinions in the form of sweeping generalizations. “That compiler is total garbage!” “Only a complete idiot could have designed this protocol!” Now, this was usually a harmless indulgence, and in a cooler moment we would have readily admitted that sweeping generalizations are logically suspect. The trouble happened when one of these statements recommended that an action be taken.

One day one of my co-founders said, “We should never do business with those incompetent cretins again!” after a particularly frustrating incident of non-service from a service provider. He approached me with a full head of steam, swept out his generalization, and waited for me to concur.

Problem was, I didn’t concur. Being the cooler head at that moment, I felt that this incident was no worse than you might expect to experience periodically with them or any of their competitors, and therefore switching our business would cost us time and effort for no real gain. So I started in to put these points across, and I wasn’t going to be satisfied until he saw the soundness of my logic. In the end, I believe he did concede that their incompetence could not be wholly complete, and that they were not, in fact, cretinous 100% of the time, and hence perhaps we should continue to do some business with them. But neither of us came out of the discussion feeling very good, even though we’d abided by our principles, talked it out, tested the logic and reached consensus. What was the problem?

Eventually, I learned the lesson: often in decision-making situations where emotions are running high, what people need most is to be carefully listened to by the decision-makers. That’s all.

At first, this felt dishonest to me. If someone presents their views on a topic and I disagree, shouldn’t I surface that disagreement so we can examine our differences and resolve them? Furthermore, if someone recommends a course of action, and I decide on the opposite, don’t I need to close the loop with them, explain my reasoning and make sure they concur?

Surprisingly, I have concluded that often the correct answer to both questions is “no.” In these situations, what people are looking for is the respect of being heard. You give them that by listening carefully, repeating back to them what you’ve heard to make sure you got it right, and promise to take their input into account. You earn their trust this way, so if you do decide to go in a different direction, they will follow you without complaint.

Should you try to go back and “close the loop,” explaining why you didn’t follow their recommendation, you will find you have reopened the can of worms. You may be able to effectively articulate the logic for your decision, but since they don’t share your authority, responsibilities or all of your information, they are unlikely to get the same gut-feeling of correctness at the end of the logic chain. You will have taken an employee or co-worker who was pleased to have given his/her input and made them uneasy at best, ticked off at worst.

It still surprises me in a way, but listening to one thing and doing another – without closure – is sometimes the best thing to do.

8 Ways to Make Yourself More Marketable

Margaret Steen of Yahoo! Hot Jobs found eight helpful ways for professionals to market themselves. To get back into the swing of the job market, these may be tips that can ultimately get you noticed. Here are some highlights from the article:

1.         “Use Your Name as Your Brand, Especially Email”

Stick with one version of your name that is consistent from your signature to your resume to your email name. Don’t mix up your nickname from college with your maiden name. If you’re going to be “Kate” as the heading on your resume, be Kate when you sign off on your emails, too.

2.         “Meet an Employer’s Need”

From the employer’s perspective, a job seeker looking to stretch their skill set or switch careers isn’t an attractive option. They are asking for the right puzzle piece to fill their need. It’s hard to stretch a person having “transferable skills” to be the best one for the job against someone with recent hands-on experience.

3.         “Maintain a Smart Online Profile”

Be mindful of your privacy settings or the content you upload to social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn or blogs you might follow. Start contributing smart feedback to industry blogs or professional forums. Google yourself and see what’s out there on you as a start.

4.         “Ask For Help”

Ask and be open to suggestions of other professionals. There are always ideas you haven’t thought of.

5.         “Become Active in a Professional Association”

Be an active member helping out on various aspects of the group. You would be surprised at who recognizes you simply because you are up at the front of the room helping out or organizing a special event. It’s a great way to build a long professional relationship.

6.         “Take a Class or get a Certificate”

With technology evolving by leaps and bounds, it would only benefit you and your resume if the most recent enterprise software, for example, becomes “old hat” to you. Think about sharpening or adding to your skills during downtime.

7.         “Take on a New Project at Work”

Think of the finished accomplishment you could add to your resume upon completing a project at work, in addition to your regular job duties.

8.         “Be Flexible”

Whether it relates to your commute, the job responsibilities or your salary range, flexibility opens you up to possibilities you might not otherwise have a chance to contemplate. It’ll make you a team player as well.