- Cover letters - are people really asking for signed cover letters in a time where most if not all applications are submitted digitally? Why do you need a signed cover letter? I've never seen this mentioned nor seen articles about writing cover letters that mention signing them. If I'm submitting via e-mail, I type my cover letter in the e-mail and attach a resume unless instructed to do otherwise.

- Resume databases - if you are submitting through a huge resume database system like with government jobs, you really need to hit keywords. It won't matter how crafty your cover letter is or if it is signed if you don't make it past the keyword search from the system.

Also attach resumes and cover letters in pdf format or at least in rich text or plain text. Do not use fancy formatting because it will just end up as gobbledygook on the other end. PDF format looks the same on every computer and can be scanned for text if you save from Word or other word processing program.  

- Job requirements - what are the core skills of the job that you want someone to have coming into the position? What can be trained on the job? I've really struggled with addressing a laundry list of job qualifications and tasks in my resume and cover letter for some positions that list every aspet of a position. I understand that museum people wear many hats and my resume is a millinery shop. But without a few key skills or requirements to focus on, it makes it hard to write a concise and efficient resume and cover letter. 

- US vs UK vs Canada vs Europe vs elsewhere - know the style of resume and cover letter of the place to where you are applying. Like someone mentioned, use Canadian spellings in Canada. Amerians will think British spellings are cute but the rest of the world doesn't. 

- Qualify everything - WHAT did you do and HOW was it effective? Did you grow an education program, raise x amount of dollars, catalog x number of objects, write policy that improved operations, put on a major exibit that got x visitors, etc. I'll toss impessive sounding resumes that don't qualify job accomplishments. 

Deb Fuller