Cover letter/resume question part 1,304,403

I understand what to do with clips and cover letters for reporting jobs. My question is, what about for a position that doesn't ask for clips?
Should me resume go longer than one page? Should my cover letter go more than one page?
PS Do I double space cover letters?

It's been a while since I've applied for a job somewhere, so that's why I didn't add this to the recent grad posts.

Thanks

 

I don't know if it is every a good idea to go with a two page resume, unless you've switched jobs alot or been in the profession forever.

 

If they don't ask for clips, if I was applying via email, I told them I could send them clips upon request. Your resume can go longer than a page, but for recent graduates, unless you have a lot of journalism work experience, you're resume should be probably about a page. Your cover letter should be ONLY one page long and never double-space it.

Your cover letter should briefly describe your abilities and goals and is designed to get your foot in the door and to tell the employer as to why you want to work with the company.

http://www.jobwerx.com/resources/ResumeHelp.html

Check that out or just type in "Resume/Cover Letter Tips" into a search engine and you'll find countless tips for designing your resume and cover letter.

 

1) If they don't ask for clips, send them anyway. If someone is going to hire you for a reporting job, they're probably going to want to know what your writing looks like. If they don't, do you really want to work there anyway?

2) I've heard a lot of things about resume length, but I've always preferred the one page look. It's neater and less cluttered, I guess.

3) Same with cover letters. No real need to write an entire novel. Use it as a lede to your packet, and then let your clips (provided they ask for them) do the majority of the talking.

4) I've always single-spaced paragraphs and double-spaced between them.

But hey, I'm far from an expert. Take what you will.

 

One page resume works best. Think about it this way, an employer could receive 100 resumes. So does said employer read every word on all 100 resumes? Probably not. That's why you should keep your resume short, sweet and to the point. Don't make a future employer search for the highlights. That only decreases your odds.

 

this is what I've done and what I look for when hiring now ... one page for each, neat, simple and clean. one thing I learned over time, though, just as a subtle thing, was to not write in your letter how the job would be perfect for you. really, they don't care what's perfect for you. tell them why you'd be perfect for their job.

 

Now here's a question:

I'm helping my brother put together his resume for his first real career-type job. He played baseball professionally after college for a few years, so he doesn't have real experience in the work force, but they were his jobs. And the position he's applying for has some sports related stuff, so it's relevant. So how do you list the teams he played for? Do you list his stats? I mean, the job description will be "I played baseball" otherwise.

 

um, no stats. just list it as a job. 2000-02 -- your position here, your team here. if he bounced around, rather than listing a dozen teams, I might just say 2000-02, your position here, your league here.
in the job description, then, you probably don't need to be all that detailed ... I assume the potential employer understands what baseball is. maybe there a list of teams, positions, etc.

 

That's what I thought, but never had dealt with it before.

Thanks!