What Color Is Your Parachute 2018 by Richard N. Bolles copy

Alternatives to the Classic Resume
A cover letter was, for decades, something you sent along with your
resume. Now, many employers prefer a cover letter instead of your
resume. That brief cover letter can summarize all that a longer resume
might have covered. I get this kind of report all the time, from successful
job-hunters: “Cover letter. Make it personal and specific to THAT job. I
was directly told in two interviews that my unique cover letter got me in
the door. I researched the companies….”
If you don’t know what a cover letter is, or how to write it, the Internet
can rescue you handily. Look especially for Susan Ireland’s Cover Letter
Guide at http://susanireland.​com/​letter/​how-to/. It’s good, and it’s free.
You can also consult the cover letter chapter in my little book, What Color
Is Your Parachute? Guide to Rethinking Resumes (Ten Speed Press,
2014).
Another alternative to a classic resume is a Job or Career Portfolio. A
portfolio may be electronic (posted on the Internet) or on paper/in a
notebook/in a large display case (as with artists), demonstrating your
accomplishments, experience, training, commendations, or awards, from
the past. Artists have a portfolio, with samples of their work. You probably
knew that. But portfolios are equally apt in other fields.
Instead of “portfolio” we might just call them, “Evidence of What I Can
Do and Have Done,” or “Proof of Performance.” For guidance on how to
prepare a job portfolio, and what to include, simply type “job or career
portfolio” into Google; you’ll get a wealth of tips and information, such as
www.​livecareer.​com/​quintessential/​job_search_portfolio.