English 420: Business Writing

After reading "Junk Cover Letters Kill Good Resumes", and "Kairos and the Cover Letter," I have learned how important it is to have a good cover letter. "Junk Cover Letters Kill Good Resumes" although not an entertaining read, explained things needed to write a good cover letter. A few things like being personable and using key words I knew, but I would of never thought it was better to talk in Layman's Terms. The cover letters I have written have always been very structured and I use words that I hardly ever spoken.

After reading two articles, "Kairos and the cover letter" and "A glimpse and a hook" I feel a little more at ease when thinking about cover letters and resumes. Before reading these articles, I wasn't aware of the importance each addition to your resume was. Both of these articles articulated the importance of going through each aspect of your cover letter and resume and strategically adding important information that will help you stand out. A glimpse and a hook helped me see first hand how a reader would skim through a resume and the thoughts that would cross their mind.

I read 'Kairos and the Cover Letter" and "A glimpse and a hook", the latter was the one I enjoyed the most. First, because I felt it gave me a better understanding of what the real thought process of the employer is while reading this document. Second, because I felt the writer was being really honest so I really learned what to expect and what should stand out in my resume.
Kairos and the cover letter was also nice, I thought it lacked constructive information but the examples at the end were kind of funny, although good examples.

I read the articles “Kairos and the Cover Letter” as well as “Answering 6 Common Interview Questions”. The first article, although slightly exaggerated, was almost humorous from how unprofessional the cover letters sounded. The approaches sampled in the article ranged in ridiculousness from the “rhetorical question” method which sounded like a cheesy infomercial to the “in your face” method which seemed down right rude. Another method, the “me approach” seemed very egotistical and over-confident.

I learned quite a few things from reading two of the selected articles out of the many that were available. First, I read "Kairos and the Cover Letter" by David Blakesley. I was bedazzled with some of the examples that were given in such poor condition. I could not believe that some people would throw things together so quickly especially with something that is going to reflect their entire personality and character on one sheet of paper. I guess that they do not realize how these one or two sheets are the only things that represent you to the employer.

The two articles I read were "A Glimpse and a Hook" and "Kairos and the Cover Letter.” Out of the two I really enjoyed reading “A Glimpse and a Hook” because the writer made me really think about what sections to focus on in my resume. I learned that it’s so important to distinguish myself from the other hundreds of people that are applying for the same job. This means that I need to focus on really telling the reader about my job experience and interests. I also found it interesting that the author skips the skills and summary of qualification sections.

Junk Cover Letters Kill Good Resumes:

The most important advice that I got from this article was the current outlook on hiring in this day and age. The article talks about how in the 90s, it seemed as if you could write a cover letter using crayon and still get a job. However, in today's job market, employers have a much larger number of people applying for positions and can be very picky about who they choose.

I thought that the article "Kairos and the Cover Letter" was very interesting. I had never thought or heard about the different styles of a cover letter, such as the "I know what you need". I, personally, would never do something like that. The second article I read was "Build the Resume Employers Want". This article was good, but very similar to the content of MGMT 301. Overall, the articles are helpful and will be a good resource when refining my resume or cover letter.

The articles I read were "Kairos and the Cover Letter" and "A Glimpse and a Hook". I thought they were interesting and they made me think about how I write my resume and cover letter. From the first article i read (Kairos and the Cover Letter) I thought it was interesting that they showed a few ways you shouldn't write a cover letter. The way the cover letters sounded were a little ridiculous sometimes. I'm glad I read that article so I could see some examples of what not to do. The second article I read was "A Glimpse and a Hook".

For my two articles I read "A Glimpse and a Hook" and "Kairos and the Cover Letter." The "Glimpse" article is clearly written by an executive who reads through many resumes. In the article, the writer discusses how a resume is most likely read in the "real world." The writer's main objective is to inform those composing resumes that those who read most resumes will not look, at least initially, at all the material listed in a resume.