Two Ways Computers Have Changed Employment and Job Searching: Research and Telecommuting

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2020

Images from the Internet

Of course, computer use has had a drastic impact on both the workplace and home, especially since the 1990s; in some cases, both at the same time.

Research:

For most people, an increasing amount of what is done online is considered research. Here is an example of how research has changed with the Internet:

I have a friend who, in the 1990s, worked for a major law office near Rockefeller Center in Midtown, New York City. The company’s files were kept in a warehouse in New Jersey, just over the Hudson River, probably no more than 10 miles away. When a lawyer needed some information from a file box, he would contact my friend, who was the company’s Records Manager. My friend would then look up the box number and call the warehouse. They would locate the box, put it on the back of a truck, and bring it into the city where it would be delivered to him, and he would have it brought to the lawyer. After the lawyer was done, the lawyer would phone my friend, who would have the box brought back to his office. He would then call the warehouse who would send the truck back into the city to pick up the box, and it would be stored in its place on a shelf. This was a three-day process from beginning to end. Now, the lawyer would type onto the computer, and retrieve the .pdf scanned file in seconds.

Introduction of a technology does not change any singular thing; it changes everything in a culture. This is incredibly true for methods of research. If you are looking for a job, that’s research. Until recently, you would explore the newspapers’ Employment section for the Want Ads; now there are dedicated websites which fall into three categories that are much more efficient.

The first category is known as a clearing house, where a company needing to fill a position will contact the website and ask (or pay) to have the job posted on their site. The second is a search engine, where the website looks for jobs on company websites by using key words, such as Construction, Administrative, or Purchasing Manager. An example of a Search Engine is Indeed. The third is more direct, such as Craigs List or Kijiji, where the employer directly puts the ad on the site. With the latter, however, there is no oversight so be sure to research the companies asking for employees.

Research can also be getting directions such as before an interview, the schedule of the mass transit from your house to the organization where you are going, and using Google Street Maps to see what the front of the company looks like beforehand when you go there.

An especially important aspect of research is finding out about the company, especially when you are called in for an interview. It’s good to know where various offices are located if it’s a large national or multi-national corporation, the name of the CEO, who your boss may be if it is listed, what the company does, and especially its Values and Mission Statement, which can usually be found on the company website. It is not necessary to memorize the Values and Mission Statement, but it is a good idea to be able to paraphrase it, at least. It is becoming more common during an interview to be asked, “What is our Mission Statement?”

Researching a company through their website or social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Wikipedia can be helpful to learning the company’s corporate culture and footprint.

Telecommuting:

First of all, a bit of clarification: telecommuting is when your place of employment is in one location, and where you physically do the job online in another, such as at home. This has both good points and less favorable, but which is which may depend more on your own personality as much as the logistics.

One of the benefits is that when it is a stormy or bitterly cold day outside, you do not have to leave the comfort of your own personal space. It also means that there is no footprint left behind from your commute, such as exhaust from your car or money for gas or public transportation. You also do not have to spend the time commuting. When I lived in Brooklyn, it was 70 minutes to work in Manhattan and the same back. Sure, I used that time for reading, but with telecommuting, one does not need to rush around due to transportation schedules, as one is already “at work.”

Here is the part that is more of a personal choice and work style. For some people, working from home is a boon in that there are less people trying to take up your time chatting, and with less external distractions, it is easier to work without interruption. For example, hearing other people make phone calls from the same room in an office is a major distraction for me.

For others, it is the opposite: When at home, it can also be easier to be distracted by that pile of dishes that need washing, the dog that needs walking or the cat that crawls on your lap while you are at the computer. Also, if you’re more of a social animal, it can get a bit lonely staying at home all the time (just look at what the spring of 2020 taught us about the possible loneliness of self-isolating).

Here is another aspect to telecommuting. While you don’t have to go out in bad weather, it also means that there are no snow days, or transit strikes to impede your work. Most people find themselves working even when they are sick since they are already at home and there is no coworkers to affect. Historically, it has been shown that people also tend to work past the hours they would normally do so. For most, work starts at 9 AM and then you leave the it all behind at 5 PM. But when you are working from home, people tend to turn on the computer when they wake, and work past supper. For those that get paid a flat yearly fee, that decreases the amount per hour you are paid, as there is no overtime. Even with an hourly wage, people tend to want to finish projects if it’s an hour or two longer, though they don’t get paid for it.

Depending on your personality type, being an introvert or extrovert, telecommuting can be a  great boon, or not. It is, however, becoming more the norm. A company I worked for used to have 15 employees in the office. Now they still have the same work staff, but only three on location, with the others scattered over the United States. They all do the exact same job, but they do it in the relative ease of where they want to live, including Seattle, Minneapolis, Southern New Jersey, Delaware, and so forth.

Telecommuting can be an excellent way to get work done and get into a zone of production, and you could find yourself being more productive and efficient. 

Five Quick and Easy Ways to Use PowerPoint Effectively

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2020

Images from the Internet

The Microsoft Office tool PowerPoint has been around for quite a while, and now there are other software as well, but currently, PowerPoint is still the main platform used by most companies for meetings, lectures and presentations.

As someone who has used PowerPoint extensively for years and has seen numerous presentations, I have learned that there are a few key factors that can make or break a successful slideshow.

1. Keep it Big:

Whether the slideshow consists of projecting an image on a computer screen, across the room, or in a large auditorium, it is important to remember that the further back someone is sitting, the harder it is to read smaller text. If you take your chair and move it six feet back from the screen right now, you will probably have trouble reading the writing. This is especially true in a large setting where the image is projected.

While you cannot fit as much as you may want on a slide, that is okay because you are there to present information, and if the text is too small to be read by the entire group, then the slideshow is not effective. Be big, be loud, be “heard.”

The suggested size for a title is 44 pts, and for text, try not to go below 20 pts.

2. Keep it Simple:

The biggest mistake people make when it comes to PowerPoint slides is trying to put too much on a single page. The more text that is put on the page, the denser it is and the harder it is to read. A better approach is to use the slides as “chapter titles” rather than printing all the information. For example, if you are discussing meals, you might have a bullet point that says “Breakfast,” for which you will verbally fill in the information. Then “Lunch,” etc.

One way to handle this is as follows: if you have ten bullet points for example, rather than putting them all on one slide, have five on the first one, and continue it onto a second page.

You should not put all the information on the slide, because you want the people listening to you, not reading what’s behind you. The audience cannot read and listen at the same time. Remember, you can put all that information into the notes section, and then print it as a hand-out at the end.

The best and most effective slideshow I have ever seen was presented by a surgeon and art philosopher named Leonard Schlain (d. 2009) at a conference that consisted of no text except for the title slide. The rest were close-ups of sections of classical paintings, which expressed exactly the points he was making.

3. Keep it Consistent:

Because of its high visual aspect, presenters naturally may want to show some kind of artistic leaning to keep the viewers attention, which is correct. However, it is important to keep much of the document consistent within the presentation. For example, keep the typeface somewhat consistent, rather than switching around from a Serif font to a Sans Serif one either on the slide or even within the presentation. This distracts away from what is being said. It may work somewhat if staying close, such as using Arial for the title and Calibri for the text. They are both Sans Serif, so the eye will accept it easier. However, using, say, Arial (Sans Serif) for the title and Times New Roman (Serif) for the text is dissonant, and will take away from your message.

Getting back to Simple for the moment, I would recommend staying away from Serif fonts generally in a slideshow if you can, and continue with the easier-on-the-eye Sans Serif. Again, you want to make the text easy to read for those in the back of the room.

Consistency can be subtle. For example, I saw a presentation that consisted of twenty-five slides, and nearly all were three bullet points, a bolded subtitle, followed by a colon, and some descriptive text. It was simple and easy. However, on the twenty-third slide only, rather than the subtitle being bold, it was underlined. I talked to members of the audience later, and no one seemed to have noticed it consciously, but I observed that on that particular slide people coughed and chairs squeaked as the audience shifted. They did notice it subconsciously and it caused them to squirm in their seats.

4. Keep it Oral (at first):

One of the most common errors in a presentation is when the moderator merely reads what is on the slide that is being projected. If you are just going to repeat the slide, why are you even there?

As I said earlier, it is more effective to use your slides as emphasis, such as a guide or chapter heads rather than having all the information presented, which can be given out in handouts with the extra text in the Notes section.

An exception to this rule is for quotes, which is part of the larger presentation point being made.

5. Keep the Title Un-orphaned:

Having an “orphan” in a title is common practice, but it is unattractive. An orphan is an old newspaper term for when you have a single word in a title that hangs down onto a second line, as follows:

Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your
Life

This is easily fixed by placing the Insertion Point (cursor) where you want the break to be, such as before the word “Rest,” and then holding down the CTRL key and hitting the Enter key. This places what is known as a “soft return,” meaning you are forcing a break in the text, but retaining the information within the paragraph:

Today is the First Day of the
Rest of Your Life

This give the page a more balanced look and will enhance the slide.

A Brief and Different Perspective on LinkedIn

Text By Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2019
Images from the Internet

LindedIn.com has become the Top Dog when it comes to job search enhancing tools, even when you are not using it for job searching directly. Here are three additional perspectives on how to maximize LinkedIn when looking for a job.

Your Profile

Rather than just repeating your resume on LinkedIn’s Profile page, remember that there is a good chance that the employer is searching your name on the Internet because you have sent in a resume and they have come across your LinkedIn profile. Rather than just putting in the same information that they probably already have, you can add more to boost your story. Rather than three bullet points of information, you can add as many as you like, giving a more complete picture of your skill set and experience.

Also, you can add historical insights that would not have been placed on your resume or cover letter that will enhance your chances. For example, did you win a prize for volunteering in a totally different area than in which you are looking for a job? Did you take any courses that are not directly affiliated with your line of employment? Did you finish any public projects that are artistic? While it would not fit into your resume or cover letter, it is perfect here because it shows you go above and beyond.

Research

While your potential employer may Google search you, you can likewise use LinkedIn to search the company. Most corporations will have their own dedicated page with information about the company, and any of its employees that have a profile on LinkedIn.

For example, if you are asked to send a resume to the email of jwentworth@thecoffeecup.com, the salutation could be confusing: Mr. Wentworth? Ms. Wentworth? You may find that person under your search of The Coffee Cup Company on LinkedIn, as it will show you who is affiliated with the organization. You search and find it is Joan Wentworth who is head of HR, so you can address it as “Dear Ms. Wentworth.” If you run into her in the elevator, forget the elevator speech because odds you will just annoy her. Instead, say something like, “Sure is a nice day today; I’m feeling really positive,” and then look straight ahead. You’ve given a positive message and she won’t feel pressured. I certainly would not say, “Hey! You’re Joan Wentworth! I looked you up on LinkedIn!” That can come across as uncomfortable.

Networking

One of the positives of living in a small or big city is that the odds of you knowing someone who knows someone is quite good. When you look up Joan Wentworth, you may see you have some mutual connections to her. At this point, you can ask those people if they would be willing to be your references, if they could put in a good word for you, and/or ask what information would help you during the interview, such as common interests.

Using these tools alone may not get you a job, but they may just give you the edge to rise above the others with similar skill sets and experiences.

Bring Yourself to a Job

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2018

Images from the Internet

For most people, employment is a job: something to do to get money to pay for the things one likes to do in the personal sphere; unlike the “Seinfeld” episode, world do not collide. This, of course, can be a mistake in the larger picture.

The more of yourself one bring to a job, not only the more experience be more enjoyable, but the more enthusiasm and positivity the employers will see in you. Here are some examples from my own life.

In just about every job I’ve had, I have managed to bring along my photography with me, though it’s never been part of my job description. Company functions such as big and small events and parties, be it for the whole organization or just for the Department, are the perfect places to take some pictures of your co-workers having fun. The trick is to share it with the group on the company’s intranet. This is especially easy now with digital pictures.

Have them posted on a bulletin board somewhere, put them into a collage or PowerPoint slide show, or merely put the photos in a folder to which everyone has access, and you’ll find yourself possibly invited to events outside your own group. Everyone in the company knows who I am, and sees me in a positive light, especially the management.  I started doing this as a tool to help me remember everybody, but it has definitely blossomed. Again, it’s never been part of my position’s job description, but it certainly gets mentioned as a plus on nearly every performance evaluation.

Another example is my experience in PowerPoint. I worked for a major corporation for many years designing slideshows for presentations. When I started working at another position, I noticed that the new company’s informational program slides were inconsistent or not appealing to the eye (too much text, not big enough, inconsistences in style). I pointed this out to my supervisor a few times in a very gentle way, and over time, more slideshows started pass through my hands before reaching the public. Again, these program slides are not in my job purview, but they are in my knowledge wheelhouse, as it were. Now I have made myself more valuable to the company. Yes, it’s a bit more work that I have made for myself, but the outcome is extremely positive to the job, and my evaluations.

When I was hired for a particular position, I volunteered to supply a blog once a month to the local corporate website that relies more on what the company does as a whole, rather than just what my job entails. Most blogs, especially ones for a major company, tend not to be more than 100 words, which is just a few paragraphs. About three times a year, I wrote four at a time, and then posted them on the company blogsite with a time setting. Again, this is not something that is on my job description, and it also makes a bit more work for me, but I truly enjoy it and I’m getting paid to do research on the Internet about topics that I find interesting.

Even my love of obscure music has made its presence felt in a positive light. For example, at one place I worked they had an annual Christmas party, and somewhere during the event there was a contest: people were broken into groups and then a supervisor in another department would play a Christmas song, and whichever group knew who had performed it, they won points. I helped the person in charge organize his song list by providing some material he was unfamiliar with, such as the Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” and Jona Lewie’s “Stop the Cavalry.” This made my co-worker’s life easier, and he spoke positively about me to my own supervisor. Also, it was fun for me, and again, raised my value in the corporate management side of the company beyond my own section.

                                                                 

The point is, I have taken steps to make myself more valuable to a company by expanding my role beyond what is expected of me, which fits into the “Going Beyond” section of yearly evaluations, but I’m also doing something that I find fun, which does nothing but add value. By doing this extra work beyond my scope, it also keeps the job from becoming stale and feeling like I’m in a rut.  It’s a definite win-win situation for all involved.

Four Job Searching Hints You May Not Have Heard Before

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2018

Images from the Internet

When searching for a job it’s good to realize that the way forward is not black and white, nor one sided. There are many ways to look at your approach, and further steps. To paraphrase what they say in Twelve Step programs, not all of it is in your power, which leads me to my first point:

1.

When you go on a job interview, and the person behind the desk seems a bit tense, if they answer the phone in the middle of your speaking, or you feel like they are trying to rush you, do not take that personally. Odds are, as they probably manage a department or section, they are also under a lot of stress and probably have meetings to attend or need to get immediate business done. This does not include if you are asked something inappropriate, such as age, religion, orientation, etc.; I’m referring more towards mood. During one interview I had, the person doing the hiring was unconsciously moving their finger in a circular pattern, as if to say, “Move it along.” Some might have felt they did not care about me and wanted me out of there to get to the next candidate. Well, I was hired at that company.

For another, more recent interview, it was for a large financial firm. The conference felt like it was going great: I was there for half an hour, and we were smiling and it seemed very positive. Then I was asked where I saw myself in five years. My answer was, “It would be nice to move up at some point,” indicating I am a hard worker and intend to stay at the job rather than move on. The response I received from one of the two people in the room doing the interviewing was, “The only place to move up is my job.” Two more quick questions and I was out the door.

After that, I took a couple of computer classes to update my skills, and towards the end of the second and final course, the instructor asked everyone what their plans were for their new-found skills. When it was my turn, I responded, “I’ve worked in an office for most of my life, and I assume I’ll continue to do that, but I think teaching a class like this would be fun.” Two days later I was given the opportunity to be the instructor for a three-hours-a-week night class for by that instructor. Having never taught before, I naturally said, “Yes.” I received decent evaluations from the class, so I was given all the night classes for three months. Then the instructor left, and I applied for the job. Being the inside candidate, I was hired on permanently.

In both cases, of the financial firm and the computer class, I pretty much gave the same answer, but the responses were polar opposites: one received my comment as a threat, the other as an opportunity. As all things are subjective, this was how they heard it, which had little to do with me. Therefore, it is pointless to take it personally.

2.

When talking about part-time, temporary or casual positions, most people do not take them seriously. I find this to be a mistake. Nearly all the employment I have had in my life had started out that way. I maintain that working hard at these kinds of positions are important and can lead to much better things for a few reasons.

In today’s work culture, it’s getting harder to find full-time jobs that are permanent right from the start. When a worker is hired as a part-time, temp or casual, it gives the employer a chance to see what kind of worker you are, which can lead to something more permanent. For example, I once worked for a media company where I was hired for one week as a temp. For those 5 days, all I did was call radio stations across the United States and asked them if they covered medical topic stories, checking yes or no on a spreadsheet. A silly job, but I worked hard at it, and a couple of months afterwards, I was called by the company and offered a position as a Data Processer, because they were happy with what I did with the radio stations.

Just because you are hired as a part-time, temp or casual for a certain position, does not mean that is where you will end up. You have heard about the Hidden Job Market? Those are jobs that never make it to the public sphere, and are usually filled internally. When you work as a part-time, temp or casual, you still have access to the internal listings, and if you make a good impression, that puts you in a good position as the inside candidate.

3.

When you look at a job listing, it may be quite long. Do not panic; do not get discouraged. Other than certifications (e.g., a truck driver’s license, Food Safety, Fall Protection), it is important to think of the ad as a wish list. The longer the notification, the better the odds are that anyone applying will not have all of the requirements requested. In fact, if there are ten items listed and you can do the core three, they will probably take you over the person who has only the other seven.

For example, let’s say the ad requires knowledge of Word, Excel and Access. Odds are they will hire someone who knows Word and Excel over someone who knows Word and Access. It all comes down to the needs of the company, and since that probably will not be known beforehand, you have nothing to lose by trying. Another example is if the ad states “five years’ experience.” If you have a good record of keeping jobs for long periods, there is a good chance they will take you with three years’ experience over someone with five years’, but had seven jobs over that time period.

This is also a good time to look at transferable skills. For instance, if the ad states the candidate must organize events, you may think, “I’ve never done that.” However, if you have put together a wedding, a child’s birthday, a parent’s anniversary, then you have probably worked harder organizing an event than the company will require, since those who came before you will have already set up the procedures. All you would be required is to fill in the blanks. They probably reuse the same hall, the same caterer, etc., so you will have all the contacts pre-set.

4.

If you come across any company that offers to find you a job for a fee, tread carefully and think before you respond. The standard is that fees are paid by an employer, not the employee. As an example, there is a company, whose name I will not mention because they are just one of many, who offer to help you find employment in a particular field for $75. If you send them the money, they send you a list of companies in that line of work, which you can get online for free. Period. They have technically aided your search as promised so they have met their bare legal obligation, but it is still a rip-off.

* * *

Searching for a job is time consuming, and it is a job in itself, but there are ways to look at it that can increase your odds, lower your anxiety level, and help you keep a cool perspective. Thinking outside the box is not just a commonly used phrase; it can aid you in securing employment.

Making Computer Use a Bit Easier to Learn

You start here...

Text © Robert Barry Francos/FFanzeen, 2017
Images from the Internet

In my daily job, I help train people on how to use computers, mostly using the Microsoft Suite, but I also do a class on Basic Computing and using the Internet and Email.

For the latter, many of the people who come in are nervous because the computing world is new for them. Many are also well over 30 years old, and this is a whole new world. It is part of my job to reassure them, and give them confidence.

Though it seems like it is anti-intuitive, one of the first thing I let them know is that it is okay to be frustrated. In truth, no matter how beginner you are, or how proficient on computers, odds are a couple of times a week you are going to want to throw the machine out a window. This is normal, and it’s not just you, it’s everyone. I once said this to my class while a new intern was at a computer in the room, looking at the screen. He is a coder at a high level, and he even built his own computer from scratch. When I uttered those words, without even looking at me, he nodded his head in agreement. The fact of the matter is, even though this is true, the end results are worth it.

I’ve had a number of older students who get frustrated and complain that their kids can use the computer with ease, and the younger ones lose patience with them. What I do is remind them that they are now the age their own parents were when they had to be taught the VCR. I say, “Remember how mad that made you feel? ‘All you have to do is hold down Play and Record at the same time!’ That’s what their kids are feeling now.” Computers are more complex than the video player/recorder, so that amps up the anxiety. But a new user doesn’t need to feel that.

The biggest mistake in learning any software is to only follow the instructions. To explain, I’d like to present a true story: when I was eight years old, my mother brought home a portable Royal brand typewriter she had bought at work. The thing weighed nearly as much as I did at the time. When I showed interest in the machine, she gave me an official practice book to type from, that stood up on its own, so you could flip the pages. It had the usual “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” and “The meeting with Mr. Johnson will be held at 1:00 PM” kinds of exercises.

Being a mere wisp of a lad, I found this to be quite boring, so instead, I started to type out song lyrics. I found that no matter how much I slowed it down in my head as I was typing, I could keep some sense of rhythm. I used Simon & Garfunkel, the Temptations, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and whatever songs were either on the radio or the few Broadway show tunes LPs my parents had that I grew up on. This made it fun. When I was 10, I typed out the entire, “The Tell-tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, still one of my favorite short stories to this day.

This exercise helped to make the task enjoyable enough for me to keep doing it, until I was typing at 55 words per minute, which is not an easy feat on a manual typewriter when one is a mere child.

It is not, however, just in typing that this can be employed as a learning tool. For example, if you need to improve your Microsoft Word skills, create something of your own. I suggest building a letter to your friends and family to let them know how you are doing (sometimes known as a “year-end letter”). Then add a photo, some borders, play with the fonts and spacing, and make it “pop.”

One student was having trouble with Excel, so over the summer, he made a list of every fish he caught, which lake it was snagged, what lure was used, and the weight of the fish. By this process he figured out which lure in what lake caught the biggest fish. He personalized it and made it interesting for himself, and then understood the process.

This is also true for the Internet. While you’re looking for jobs, for example, check out the location of the company. Figure out the best route using a Maps program (e.g., Google Maps), go to the Street View and see what the front of the building looks like. If you want to start even easier, go to a search engine and type in the name of your favorite musician/band, or actor.  When you find what you are looking for, try the different tabs, such as Images, News and Videos. Try searching for your own name and see what comes up. This is actually important to see what is displayed if you are looking for a job, because in today’s technological culture, there is an ever better chance that the possible employer will search your name than not.

Once you start getting comfortable with the computer, you can think more on what you’re searching for than how you got there. Much like a flashy guitarist does not think about what is being playing note-by-note but rather the hands “know” instinctively where to go to get the next note, typing and searching becomes more natural and reflexive. This will transfer over to when you do a task for a job, and make your life a bit easier and gain you more confidence.

I have done this myself, as well. The way I figured out how to use Absolute References in an Excel formula (e.g., $B$4), I applied it to my time sheet while I was still technically on contract per class. Now I use a timesheet (not mine) to explain how the formula works to my classes. I did a similar thing with Pivot Tables. I was trying to figure out what goes into which of the four boxes, so I made a list of every record review I’ve had published from 1977 through 2011 (came to over 2500), by listing (a) the Band, (b) the Name of Record, (c) the Type, such as 12”, 7”, Cas, digi, (d) the Record Label, (e) which magazine/fanzine/website published it, and (f) the date of publication. Then I was able to make lists, for example, of every band from a particular label I reviewed, and the name of the releases. To learn Word’s Mail Merge feature? I created a list for sending out my Year-End letter, and I figured out how to do it quickly, and then personalize any one I wanted.

Once a user can understand how it works on a personal level, it makes it easier to use in a more professional setting, or explain it to others, not just to do it yourself. It truly is a use-it-or-lose-it situation, so it is also helpful to remember that teaching others is a good way to aid learning and remembering the steps for yourself.

 

...And end here!

Applying for Jobs by Computer or by Mobile.

Text (c) Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2017

Image from the Internet

It is bound to come, where applying for jobs by cell phone will be the common procedure. The level of technology at present day, however, makes that possible, but is it the most efficient?

Of course, the biggest attraction to using the mobile over the desktop or laptop is ease, and yes, being able to blast out your information to a large number of companies covers more ground. Having your resume and/or cover letter in your email and forwarding it is a snap. Even with that, there are more functional and possibly successful ways to proceed in your job applications.

When you send your resume and cover letter to a prospective employer, the email will indicate that it was sent from a mobile device. This tells the Hiring Manager some assumptive information. For example, it says that you are sending out resumes that are not directed to the company’s individual needs, but as a “pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey,” cover-all template.  They want to know you are willing to put in the work and research before you apply, and that you are self-motivated and proactive. If you want to stand out, it is better to individualize your resume and cover letter rather than sending a come one-come all version.

This is especially true for cover letters. Some people will type in a version of a cover letter into the actual email, but this is not as efficient in attracting positive attention as attaching a document that is easy to print out.

A proper cover letter should be dated, addressed to the company connected to the advertisement even if you have to look up the actual physical address in a search engine, and mention the position exactly as it is mentioned in the ad, including competition number if one is attached. Sending out a cover letter that is undated and unaddressed does not garner as much attention as one that is directed to the person and company requesting your information.

Many companies also have online applications, where the person looking for a job needs to attach a resume after you create a sign-in with that website. These cannot be sent from an email as of yet, so there is still a need for the physical presence rather than just a click on a phone.

Microsoft Word or other word processing software are not easily navigated on a mobile device, so it is better at this stage of the technology development to actually work on the application on a desktop or laptop.