What's the word I'm looking for?
I had been tossing an idea back and forth in my head about applying for a job with DirecTV. This job is a Customer Service Position at their call center. After debating the merits of how this gig would be different than any retail experience I’ve had in the past I decided to go for it. I logged onto DirecTV’s site and began the application process.
At one point I came to a section where you are allowed to upload attachments to your application – resume, cover letter, things of that nature. My resume I felt comfortable with but what of my cover letter? I took another look at it and saw that it needed some polishing – if not a complete overhaul! As I was at a loss as to what I should say I came to the conclusion that I needed some help.
For months now I have had ads for different products up on this site to give people an “unfair advantage” towards securing a job or at least an interview. I decided that I would take advantage of one of these guides myself, and I settled on the Amazing Cover Letter Creator created by Jimmy Sweeney. In going to his site I saw that the initial price was $39.95 and I decided that I would think it over for a couple of hours and talk to wifey about it. When I tried backing out of his home page I got a pop-up that asked me to hold on for a special offer. This came in the form of a “Tough Times” offer which allowed me to purchase the program at a 51% discount – $19.95! Well now, that’s more like it!
I talked it over with wifey and she said go for it, so I did – and got an even better offer. I was able to get not only the Cover Letter Creator but I got his Amazing Resume Creator thrown in for an additional $9.99 for a total of $29.94 – for products that would normally cost $89.90. Not only that but I was able to get three other products -”Top 3 Award-Winning Cover Letters”, “Amazing Job Interview Success”, and “BIG 3 Salary Negotiation Secrets” thrown in for free.
I apologize if I’m sounding like an infomercial right now, but I’m still geeked out about the deal I got as well as what I was able to do with this stuff.
Once I got it all downloaded to my computer I started in on the cover letter right away. When you open the e-book you are faced with an Introduction that takes a few minutes to read – and it is well worth the time to read it. It describes what kind of jobs are out there and how they are classified so that you can easier tailor your letter to the specific job. It does this by giving you three different guidelines to use to consider the job pool, your experience and your audience. You are also given an opportunity to conduct a “Career Reality Check” so that you can determine the correct number of Attention Getting Ingredients, or AGI’s to use so that you will get the interview.
Then comes the part where you actually construct your cover letter, here you simply have to select the right categories for the job or industry you are going for to be taken to a sample letter. It is easier if you copy and paste this sample letter into a program like MSWord so that you may edit it and personalize it to fit your qualifications. You can also replace some of the text in the letter by copying and pasting several AGI’s which are provided for you. These can also be personalized to fit your specific situation, just go through them and see which ones you like and paste them into your letter.
I found this part of the process to be challenging at first as there were so many choices, but once I was able to zero in on what I wanted to say I found it to be quite easy. I also used parts of my old cover letter and incorporated them into my new letter. Once I was done with my new letter I printed it out and asked Wifey to take a look. Now understand that Wifey, at one point, worked for a job placement agency herself so she knows what does and does not look good in a letter or in a resume.
When she saw this new letter that I was able to put together in 20 minutes she was blown away. She had a quibble with a couple of grammatical errors (her late Mother was an English major and a Teacher) but other than that she was very impressed with what this product was able to produce.
That makes two of us.
Once I got it saved I uploaded my new cover letter to my DirecTV application, finished the application process and submitted it. A couple of hours later I got an auto-responder e-mail saying that they received my application and they were reviewing it to see if I would be a fit for them. I have Customer Service experience from when I worked retail and Outside sales, and I have Computer experience from when I was an Admin Assistant and from when I worked in Database Management Support so somewhere in there I should have what they are looking for.
So, would I recommend this to any of you who are looking to get a leg up in your job search? I have to say a wholehearted YES!!! I am normally skeptical about buying products like this because I have been burned more than a few times before, however this one really is different. I don’t know if my letter will get me an interview at DirecTV or not, but it certainly showed me that I can improve my chances.
I am willing to bet that the Amazing Cover Letter Creator could do the same for you.
