Page 256 - Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume

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Part 4 ➤ Letters That Work

Confidently Spoken

You might be surprised at how your choice of words can imply either
confidence or insecurity. Many folks confuse politeness with insecu-
rity. They write words such as if, might, could, and maybe in an effort to
be polite when those words often ring of insecurity. Instead, choose
words that send signals of confidence: when, will, would, and certainly.
Career Casualty It’s important that employers get the sense from your letter that you
Don’t use multisyllable words as believe in yourself. After all, if you don’t, why should they?
a gimmick to impress the reader The following examples contrast insecure and confident writing styles:
when a shorter word will work.
For instance, write use instead of Insecure: If I don’t hear from you, I’ll call to see if we can meet.
utilize.
Confident: I’ll call you next week to see when we can meet.
Insecure: I hope that you will find my qualifications suitable for
the job.
Confident: I’m confident that I can do the job.
Insecure: I might be a good candidate for the job.

Confident: I’m the one for the job.
Insecure: Hopefully we can get together to talk.
Job-Hunt Hint
Confident: Let’s get together to talk.
Although exclamation marks can
be effective in giving your writing Insecure: Perhaps I might meet with you.
dynamism, use them sparingly in
Confident: I’d like to meet with you.
your letter! One or two per let-
ter is plenty! Too many are dis- Insecure: Maybe sometime next week we could find time to
tracting and create an overly
meet.
excited tone! (See what I mean?)
Confident: Next week is a good time for me to meet with you.
Insecure: I was wondering if you have any job openings in
sales.
Confident: I understand that you need a good salesperson.

Get the point? If you’re tempted to write a word or phrase that rings of insecurity, resist
and opt for the confident approach.

Most Sincerely

Showing sincerity can be a tricky thing. You want to use words and phrases that imply
sincerity without your letter sounding contrived. These seven tips will help you express
sincerity in your letter:

1. It’s okay to start a few sentences of your letter with I, but don’t overdo it. A letter that
becomes too I-focused (especially by having I at the beginning of each paragraph), is
apt to draw a response like, “I, I, I! Doesn’t this guy ever think of anyone except him-
self?”

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