Even People Who Hate Writing Can Make Their Cover Letter Stand Out

• 2-minute read •
Remember that course you had to take in college? The one in which the professor outlined an “appropriate” way to write a cover letter? Yes, that class. That weekly lecture that taught you how to use perfect sentence structure, one-inch margins (all the way around) and an incredibly stilted tone because all of that was professional. Appropriate. Correct.

Remember that?

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Bosses We Love to Hate

Boss' Day is coming up October 16. Do you love or hate your boss? Almost all of us have worked for bosses that we absolutely hate. Here are 7 of the worst kinds of bosses, along with 5 action steps you can take to get around them.

The Egomaniac: No matter who does the work, this boss takes all the credit! He doesn't support, coach, nurture or grow his employees. It's all about him, and your career path is terminal if you work for him. True leaders know that they need other people to help manifest their dreams-and they acknowledge other people's efforts freely.

The Liar, Cheat, or Thief: This boss just wants to get whatever he can out of the company while offering as little as possible. He milks the company dry if he can (think Enron and Worldcom). One client's boss (a manager at a major retailer) even taught all of his employees to get as much as they could out of "they system" by damaging goods so they couldn't be sold, and taking the goods home. A leader without values is no leader at all. With the advent of financial disasters such as Enron and Worldcom, values have become more important than ever.

The Terminal Lifer: Going to work can be hard enough without having to work for a terminal lifer, a boss who just wants to make it to retirement (or to the end of the day!). These types of bosses have no vision and don't inspire any of their employees. A leader's job is to inspire his people with a dream that makes a real difference in the world.

The Flake: This boss has so many other things going that he can't focus on the business at hand. Whether its romance, other business deals, or personal issues, this boss is so low in the commitment department that he drives employee turnover sky high! One client's boss was so engrossed in the dating scene that she took all the revenue out of the business to go gambling in Las Vegas with her new boyfriend. The result? She bounced everyone's paychecks! Leaders need to be more committed to the organization's vision than anyone else. They need to become a shining example of the sort of commitment they expect from their people.

The Fearful Boss: This boss is so afraid of making mistakes that he's afraid of anything but the status quo-and "change" is a bad word. He might listen to your ideas, but if they're too radical, he'll be sure to squash them so he doesn't make a mistake. One of the most important things a leader does is remove the stigma of mistakes. He knows that bold action sometimes leads to mistakes, and is willing to take calculated risks.

The Fire Fighter: This boss runs around the office putting out fires but never gets anything done. The list of hot new ideas you put on his desk a month ago is buried under paperwork from all the latest crises. This boss thrives on action and excitement, but doesn't make much actual headway toward any goals. One of the most important roles in leadership is that of the visionary. The leader has to be able to see goals that are far into the future, and lead their people to those goals.

The Angry or Moody Boss: This boss stomps around in a fit of rage or slumped in deep moodiness all the time. You can't tell whether he's mad at you, or just hung up on some personal issue. Anything can set him off, so you're afraid to approach him with any news-good or bad. The greatest leaders in the world have peace of mind because they are satisfied with the contribution they are making to their company, the world, and their own lives.

5 Action Steps to Get Around Your Boss

Get another boss either by transferring within your own company or finding a different job altogether.

Cultivate a relationship with your boss' boss. This gives you an extra channel for any new, innovative ideas you might have. Be subtle, though, since this can be a tricky process.

Sign up for extra-curricular tasks within the company that will put you in contact with bosses from other departments.

If you've got innovative ideas that your boss won't listen to, look for some other channel, perhaps outside your department, where you can implement your ideas. Or, suggest a partnership with another department.

Learn what you can where you are. If you can learn something about leadership and management (even if it's what not to do) where you are now, get all the experience you can while cultivating a new position for yourself elsewhere. Sometimes this kind of on-the-job training can give you the experience you need to move up in your career.

Ten Things to Do When You Really, Really Hate Your Job

1. Begin focusing on what you want instead of how much you want to escape. When you find yourself sharing the latest horror story, stop in mid-sentence and say, "What I want to have is..."

2. Create an image that describes you in your job. Are you on a riverbank with no way to get to the other side? Lost in a jungle? Poking through a thorny hedge? When you get comfortable with the image, begin visualizing a change in the obstacle. Imagine building a bridge across the river or finding a path in the forest. Don't force the image or the change. When you're ready it will come.

3. Think of developing skills, not serving time. Take every course that's offered and focus on skills that can lay a foundation for your own business or next job. Can you learn HTML or PowerPoint? Can you use some evenings, weekends and lunch hours to solicit some free lance gigs?

4. Focus on satisfactory, not superior performance. Use the time difference to build your new life. People often say, "I can't do anything -- I work ten hours a day!"

If you are firing yourself or expecting to be fired, your job is finding a new job. Be ethical: you owe your company the minimum you need to earn your salary." But don't be surprised if you start to accomplish more than ever and find yourself getting promoted.

5. What conflict are you escaping? Dishonesty? Corporate greed? Hypocrisy? Allow yourself to wonder if these qualities are mirrored in your own life -- or even in your mind. If everyone around you seems dishonest, are you being dishonest with yourself? With others? After you resolve your own conflict, you may find the workplace has changed or you have been catapulted into a new, more satisfying life.

6. Put on your shield and armor when you enter your workplace. Everyone should learn how to create a psychic shield. Imagine that you are surrounded by an outer shell that is made of a solid material -- so strong that nothing can get through to hurt you. Some people prefer to imagine a protective golden light, but I think the solid shield is stronger. Take two or three minutes to put on your shield, every day, before you enter the workplace.

7. Give yourself a gift every day -- a splurge of time or sensual taste buds. Read a book, talk to a friend, eat your favorite food. Don't deaden your senses with alcohol (although if you're a wine connoisseur, your special wine can be a gift) or spend big bucks at the mall. Think simple.

8. Find at least one thing in your life to appreciate: the softness of your cat's fur, the winter sky, the spontaneous hug from a friend. Appreciate as much as possible about your job: the money, the view from the window, the new computer, friendly conversations with the guy down the hall. Savor the experience. Appreciation is the engine that attracts good things into your life.

9. Tune in to your intuition before deciding what to do next. Meditate and listen to the world around you. The saying "frying pan into the fire" is real. If your goals and desires do not come from a secure place within yourself, you will find yourself paying undue attention to wet blankets ("If you quit you'll never get another job") and false friends ("Just quit! Move to Tahiti! You won't starve!"). Sometimes the same "advisor" proposes both ideas in the same week. A good coach or counselor will give you confidence in your own intuition, not impose their views of what you should do now.

10. Write this down somewhere: After you've left -- and you will -- all that time will seem to have gone in the blink of an eye. You will have trouble remembering what bothered you so much. The rest of your life will still be ahead of you.

Help!! I Hate my Boss!

Please select one of the following. My boss is:

A) A Monster
B) A Cretin
C) Genghis Khan
D) All of the Above

Does this sound familiar? Is this what you face everyday? Do you harbor fantasies of the perfect crime? Do you keep thinking that there must be a way around, up or out of this awful situation, if you could only figure out what it is?

Don't despair. At one time or another we have all faced an impossible boss. Too many people don't realize that "managing up" is not the same thing as "kissing up." Managing your boss is part of your job and a key indicator of your success. In learning how to do this you will master valuable lessons about management, human behavior and how not to perform under pressure. These are skills that can be turned around into survival, and even success, strategies.

How did a nice person like you get stuck in a place like this?

Most people don't willingly sign up to work for a difficult boss. There are a few intrepid souls who think they are "up to the challenge", but the sane among us run in the opposite direction.

Sometimes you accept a new job, and your future boss seems really, really nice. Then the first deadline approaches and he or she turns into a screaming banshee. Sometimes your current boss leaves and senior management selects their replacement. Sometimes you are transferred into a great new position, but a terrible boss manages the department. And sometimes you have had a perfectly fine relationship with your boss and something goes sour, creating a downward spiral that you just can't seem to climb out of.

Pick a Boss, Any Boss…

Let's see if we can peel away the layers of horror here. Exactly what type of problem boss do you have? Here is a far from exhaustive list of some killer-type bosses. Do you recognize yours?

The Patronizing B_____D and The Arrogant B___H

Sister and brother, this type of boss believes that intimidation, sarcasm and fear are key motivators. They seem to derive special pleasure from publicly humiliating subordinates and appear impossible to please.

The Idiot

Yes, he or she really is that stupid. No matter how many times you shake your head in wonder, they do continue to amaze you, don't they? Pick the absolutely dumbest strategy, and they implement it. You wonder how they survive; yet they continue to be promoted over and over again. Why? Because they don't intimidate their own boss and are perfectly content never to rock the boat.

The Politician

Manipulative and self-motivated to the core, this boss will tell everyone exactly what he or she thinks they want to hear. Weeks, months, years later, you realize that they have been lying all along. In fact, they are so good at selling their own version of events that what is common business sense gets lost or forgotten. Their concern is never what's right for the business, but what's right for themselves.

The Serpent

This is the one who says: "I tried to talk them out of it" or "I really fought for you", smiling as they ooze insincerity. A masterful blend of snake oil salesman and actor, she or he is verbally unctuous and inherently untrustworthy. Think of Eve's temptress in the Garden and you get the picture.

The Workaholic

This person has no life. They live to work. Ergo, work is life. They assume that the family photo on the desk is enough quality time with the spouse and kids. Unrealistic deadlines, calls at home, frequent business travel on weekends - these are some of their favorite techniques. Most staff members end up working excessive and late hours without recognition or reward. In fact, the more work they accept, the more they are given, but the money and title never seem to follow.

Hope for the Sick at Heart

We all know it isn't easy to live with a tough boss. You've probably tried a lot of different things - and most of them haven't worked. Have you sighed in resignation, accepting this burden as punishment for sins committed in a former life?

There are ways to make your relationship with your boss if not more successful, than at least more pleasant. Here are some strategies to think through, and some ideas you can begin testing tomorrow.

• Don't push your boss's buttons. What are their pet peeves? What sets them off? Write them all down, and for each pressure point, put an antidote that is the opposite behavior. Now tape this list it in a private but easily accessible place and reread it every day. Be sure to consider the "little" as well as the big things. For example, you may not think it's a big deal to arrive five minutes late to a meeting, but to your boss this frequent tardiness indicates sloppiness, poor planning and a lack of respect for him or her. They may view it as your failure to manage your time, or think that you doubt the meeting's importance. Remember, this is all about your boss's sensitivities, not yours.
  
• Know their favorite communication methods. Do they prefer to communicate via email, phone or memorandum? Do they utilize one medium for themselves but another for their staff? Find out and stick to it! Your adherence to their choice will make them more comfortable, and will make them believe that you are more like them, and that therefore you must be very, very smart.
  
• Know their communication style. Are they formal or informal? Don't be exactly like them; just use it to point yourself in a general direction. For example, if someone uses vulgar language it doesn't mean that you will endear yourself to him or her if you start swearing all the time. But acting shocked won't help you either. Take it as a sign of informality, or perhaps a tactic to embarrass you, and don't react. The same thing is true for their style of dress. Don't mimic it - just use it as working knowledge of who and what they are.
  
• Scrutinize the Successful. I know it hurts, but do it. Turn your gaze to colleagues who are successful with this boss. Who gets promoted? What traits or behaviors do they use in front of your boss? Forget your own attitude, be it envy or disgust, and try to be objective. It doesn't mean that you have to be that way, but it will provide clues as to what your boss really likes. You can decide later if you can emulate your colleagues or not - right now we are still collecting data.
  
• Keep it to Yourself. Button your lip until you are blue in the face, but do not grumble about your boss in the office. It may seem like common sense, but you would be amazed by how many people publicly bad-mouth their boss. Not only do the walls have ears, but they have tentacles and stereo speakers, too. The first nasty remark may not get back to your boss, but the third or fourth one will.
  
• Forget about Human Resources. If you haven't yet learned this painful lesson, please etch these words into your soul: HR exists to serve the needs of the corporation, not the individual employee. If you bring a complaint, no matter how legitimate, to HR they will take it straight to your boss and it will hurt you. Trust me on this - no matter how friendly they seem HR is not your friend.
  
• Document, document, and document. Keep every memo; write down every offensive comment, every broken promise, and every out-of-control outburst. Be sure to include dates and participants, and enough detail to make yourself believable. Then keep this in a very safe place. Because you never know.
  
• Have an Exit Strategy. Think about it, write it down and file it away - you will feel better. This should be a living document, including a current resume, a list of headhunters in your field and the names of three or four good references. If you decide, or it's decided for you, to leave, then the first thing you do is pull out this document. And boy, will you feel better when you do.
  
• Manage your Boss. Be it this job or the next; realize that you need a strategy on how to manage your boss. Be cognizant of when you give them information, what that information is and how you deliver it. Know your boss's weaknesses and objectives, as well as the pressure they are under to perform their job. Be aware of your own working style, and plan how you can balance the two.

"You can't change other people. You can only change yourself"
- H. H. Getter

Mind you, even if you do all of these wonderful things, your boss may still be a jerk. But they'll be a more manageable jerk. Or maybe you'll discover that he or she is not so bad after all. Perhaps they've been misrepresented by jealous colleagues, or have a reputation that you assumed, falsely, were true.

But either way, they'll be easier to live with. And all the people you've been complaining to for so long - they'll think that you're easier to live with, too!