I think it all boils down on the job you are applying for. If you are applying for a creative position, why not?

But you are right when it comes to employers being neat and picky. A well printed out document does show some form of professionalism though.



I had a friend who did just that. He forgot to change the company name and he sent all of them out. He didn't get any replies at all....

What if you used a handwriting font for your cover letter? A little bit more interesting wouldn't you think so?

But somehow, I would think that it would be rather tacky depending on how the letter is written. To be frank, it would take a lot of time and you would need high quality paper so that the letter isn't too transparent and each time your hand sweats and it spoils the paper it would be difficult.

A handwriting font would be just tacky.

Finding a job is not something like sending out SPAM where you send out as many applications as possible and hope one of them meets success. You must identify a hand ful of companies and focus all your effort on them. That could mean days or weeks worth of effort and not just a few minutes to send a letter. For example if you really want to work for IBM and are not making any inroads there you might try to target their major customers or partners.

If you cannot write a letter in your home without smudging the ink from a sweaty hand you have much bigger issues to worry about.

LOL, I don't really have sweaty palms but I remembered this guy from my school the last time who had a bad case. His exercise books were always wrinkled up due to his sweaty palms when he wrote on them I think it may be a medical condition. As for me, I believe my handwriting sucks haha and I think it would take me rather long to write one out properly. I think I would rather spend the time thinking of what to write rather than spending time writing it nicely haha But of course if I was reading cover letters, I would definitely pay more attention to an applicant who wrote his/her letter personally because it would just stand out.

Yes, I agree that when sending out applications, I don't really believe in having a template for cover letters. I think each one would be tailored to suit the company that I am applying for.

Wow! sweaty palm... herrmm, my case is bad. I sweat a lot, especially when i was nervous or the temperature just doesn't suit me (no matter hot or cold)... weird rite...

I just leave this issue untill now which is I'm goin to grad and it's the time for me to face with interviewers... hahha...
herrmm.. must I use my sweaty palm shake hand with them or...
can I just skip that shake hand part... hahaa ... !!!

Last time I used to have this problem when nervous. What I did was before any hand shake, I would rub my palm lightly against my pants, of course not in a too obvious way.

Try to overcome your nervous with your little movement such as hands movement.

Stitchy®

I guess the gist of the message is to be different when it comes to resumes and cover letters. Here's a few I tried, and so far always worked at getting the interview.

1. Scent the letter (got it of Legally Blonde). Use fruity smells (not durian!) perfume, not heavy musk type. Guarantee u will be interviewed and be asked about it (if the interviewer likes the smell esp)

2. Use different colored papers but make sure its light color so as not to make the fonts unreadable. Light yellow, beige, light blue are good colors and easy on the eye.

The idea here is to show that you're willing to put effort in getting noticed. I once attached a CD filled with my achievements in soft copy and the cover stated 'Various achievements - Will be happy to elaborate further when called'. I sent this to a big company where I know the hirers would have easy access to laptops & computers.

But make sure that the information you put in are not standard MS Office rip-offs like what the rest of the experts in this forum is talking about. Otherwise all you have is just a boring book with a nice cover.

Lol.. if you rubbed your palm too obvious, the interviewer would think you're doing something.. umm.. not ethical.

well, hold on to your handkerchief all the while u arrive till u shake his hand. then u can simpan that handkerchief..

Just use tissue ... handkerchief is a little troublesome. Unless you want to show that your environmental friendly.

Stitchy®

relax...most imporatant sMILE!!! hide ur nervousness...juz act cool and pretends nothing happens..=) dats wat i usually do..

my resume is 3 pages and heck, i only using font 10 only.

is it ok with it?

photo is neccesary or not in the resume? 2 references also needed in the resume right?

i think want to reduce the pages of my resume. can someone explain more about the personal details that needed to include? for previous posts where it mentions the personal details can be put on top of the header, how it arrange?

below are the personal details that i include, pls comment which can be cut out.

Name
NRIC
Date of Birth
Gender
Age
Nationality
Address (Permanent)
Address (Current)
Contact Number (Home)
Contact number(Mobile)
E-mail Address
Marital Status
Health
Height / Weight
Interests
Hobby
Religion


thanks

Usually, you can take out marital status, age, gender, nationality, DOB, religion and either hobby or interest (they are the same) ...

Alot of personal details doesn't add value to your CV so therefore, by all means try to minimize them

However, depending on the job, you may need to include some details such as your weight and your height (if you're applying for a modelling job or something )

Hey guyz out there... herrmmm.. I know this will be quite silly, but pls forgive me I'm just a newbie...

Normally the company which advertised in jobstreet will state this sentence "interested candidate may email your resume to hr@xxx.com"

Here is my question, do I need to apply through their hr email or just apply in jobstreet?? which one is more reliable?

Ya, I think the easiest way is to rub your pants before you shake hand with them (but no so obvious lar)

I used to have the sweaty palm problem like you when I was young. I tried a special treatment and It works....now I don't have sweaty palm anymore.

My special treatment (Forced by my mum when I was young) : Rub our palms by putting few cockroaches in between our palms for few minuites. It works for me....maybe you can try it out.

it seems like a FearFactor challenge to me. LoL

Well, follow the instructions, but to be on the safe side, why don't you do both?

u can apply directly thru jobstreet. ur applications will reach that hr@xxx.com anyway. just that some companies recycle their ad directly from their newspaper adverts.

I had the same fear as you did last time when I was applying for positions especially through JobStreet. The funny thing about JobStreet was that none of the companies which I applied through JobStreet got back to me but all those that I applied straight to their HR email or through snail mail or even both, they got back to me.

I usually find out the address of the company through JobStreet and then I send an email, apply throught JobStreet and send out a hardcopy as well.