Are You Worth an Interview the First Time Around?

As individuals fight for jobs in an economy that is still struggling to gain its footing, it is important for aspiring workers to give themselves the best chance possible to get their foot in the door.

The best way to go about doing that is having a cover letter and resume that stand out from the competition. If your cover letter and/or resume are just average, they are likely to be filtered into a pile of similar pitches that may or may not get a response.

If you are presently job hunting or will be in the near future, keep in mind several factors:

• Companies get literally hundreds and hundreds of applicants with each job ad they post. Unless you want to just be another number, you need to make your pitch stand out from the crowd;
• Pitch your cover letter/resume to the right individual. It is important during the job hunt to make sure you gain the attention of the correct person at the company you’re applying to. If you email a cover letter/resume to a “general” email, there is a good chance it will not make its way to the right individual. Unless the ad specifically asks for it to be sent to a general box, send your resume to the individual in charge of the department at the company you’re applying to;
• Follow up with care. Having broken this rule in the past myself, it is recommended that you follow up a job inquiry with care. If you’re calling or emailing the company every other day, there is a good chance you will never set foot in the door for an interview. That being said, do not be afraid to follow up on occasion if you have not heard back. Companies get countless resumes and sometimes a quick follow up will allow you to stand out more from the crowd;
• By all means make your cover letter and resume have been reviewed by at least one other set of eyes. Given the fact there are countless characters of copy on your cover letter and resume, make sure someone else reviews it before you hit the send button on the computer. It just takes one typo to push your resume further down in the pile. Think about it, if you’ve made a mistake or mistakes on this kind of document, is a company going to trust you with important tasks on their end? The extra time needed to make sure the copy is clean is well worth it;
• Be upfront about your qualifications and skills. While some people like to embellish their talents, there is nothing more embarrassing than saying you have this skill or that skill, then being unable to demonstrate such when you are given a test during the interview process. Stay true to your word and admit if you do not have one or more of the skills listed in the job ad. Some companies may be willing to take the time to train you if you have an overall background and disposition that they feel would be a good fit for them;
• Be as professional as possible should you go on an interview. If you had a bad experience with a previous employer or co-worker, keep it to yourself. Research the company on its Web site ahead of time before the interview, therefore giving you as much information as possible about the company ahead of time. Finally, take a few minutes and send a follow-up thank you to the company for the interview and even if you don’t get the job. You would be surprised how such a small task can work in your favor down the road if the company has another opening.

With the national unemployment rate hovering around 8.5 percent, there are still millions of Americans looking for work.

In the event you are one of them, ask yourself if you are worth an interview.

Dave Thomas, who covers among other items starting a business, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.