I am thoroughly exhausted. I have been working on the same resume and cover letter for two full days. I have asked two different people to critique, and while it IS really helpful, I keep feeling like they are never going to be good enough to send out.
I thought I had tailored my resume enough, but I have not. My work experience is all in there, but I am learning how to make what I've done sound exactly like what the job description is asking for. Close is not good enough. If they want someone who knows how to TOW-MAY-TOW, you can't say that you know how to TOE-MAH-TOE. I thought I had a powerful cover letter, but it turns out that my language smacks of overcompensation.
There is no way to know what they want, either. The only way I learned what I was doing wrong this week is that I have 1.) an in-law who does the work I am trying to establish a career in, and 2.) a family friend who works for the entity that I am applying to. It’s kind of funny trying to satisfy both critiquers; there is one part of my cover letter that person number 2 keeps deleting that person number 1 insists I should leave in. I think I will take person number 2’s word as the last because she is the one who is working where I want to work.
Which leads into the importance of SUBTEXT. If I want to be an editor, I cannot, under any circumstances, have any errors in my resume or cover—they must be impeccable. And if I say I am organized, my formats must be visually and logically organized. My cover and resume must be mirrors of each other in terms of subject order and flow of ideas. I am under a lot of pressure here. When I do finally get a job, it had better be worth the effort!
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