NWR: coverletter help!

golden1215

So I'm applying for a job in finance.  I have a degree in economics and have experience in finance so I'm not worried about my resume but I've been unemployed since last December (when I was laid off).  In my cover letter for this new job, is it appropriate to put that over the last year I've remained active in the finance industry by being a principle member of my church's stewardship committee?  There's 3 of us that hand all the finances/accounting/data entry/letter mailing etc for a pretty big church (550 families), so it's a good 5-6 hours every week I put in but the job I'm applying to is in the public sector so I feel weird talking about "non-PC" things like religion...

thoughts....

also, when I was first laid off- for about 4 months- I thought I could be re-called to my old public sector job but it ended up not happening due to re-org (my old title that I could have been re-called to was completely eliminated) so how (or do I) address the 12 months of unemployment really being more like 8 months?  If that makes sense...

NotPersephone

Cover letters on a Sunday night - yuck! I think writing cover letters is my least favorite thing to do.  I'm in law so it's wholly possible that there are other norms in your field but here is what I would do:

If the work that you are doing for your church is close to the same skill level as the work that you hope to do in the new position then I would just put it on your resume as experiece since it really is comparable experience.  If you are applying for an accounting position, I don't think the fact that you volunteered or that you did the work for a church makes the experience any less valuable.  By fitting this onto your resume, you can make your unemployment less prominent. 

If the work at your church is not close to the same level, then I would still throw it somewhere on your resume (just because so many employers don't read cover letters in the fist couple of rounds of screening) but I would not mention it in the cover letter.  Instead, I would spend the cover letter talking about how perfect your skills are for the position as opposed to drawing attention to why they might not be.  At this point in the economy, I don't think you need to explain why you have been unemployed.  If you are not in a sector where your skills atrophy then I don't think you need to explain how you have been maintining your skills in your cover letter since maintenance does not tell the employer why you are a good fit for them.

I would not worry about the fact that you have been working for your church.  It's the experience that matters more than who you worked for.  It should not prompt questions about your faith as long as you stress the experience over the identity of the employer.

I'm not really sure how to get the recall option on either doc.  I might save it for an interview but I really have no idea.

Good Luck!

susanmhamilton

Put the church work on your resume as though it were any other job.  Volunteer work counts just like any other professional experience.  Don't refer to it as 'your' church...position it as work you're doing for 'such-and-such church'.  I'm not suggesting that you misrepresent the situation...merely that you position it differently.  I'm a professional resume writer, if that makes you feel better about the advice.  Good luck!

JadziaDax

I agree with adding your Church position to your resume.

Calypso1977

(just because so many employers don't read cover letters in the fist couple of rounds of screening)

what??  i am in HR.  i ALWAYS read the cover letter.  that's the first thing i see and read.  if you cant produce a well written, cohesive cover letter i'm not going to give much thought to yoru resume.  i cant tell you how many people end up in the "no" pile because they have a cover letter laden with type-os or addressed incorrectly and not tailored to the position for which they are applying.

in this market, your cover letter is almost like your first interview.  it needs to be solid, and it needs to tell me why i want to take you to the next level.