Virtually every career professional, recruiter or human resources staffing professional agrees that under normal circumstances, you must have a stand-out resume and LinkedIn presence to introduce yourself to a perspective employer.
Conventional wisdom (for what it’s worth) suggests that cover letters are ignored altogether about half the time. The problem for the job hunter is that you never know in advance when it is carefully evaluated by an employer, and when it is simply ignored.
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You should assume, at a minimum, that this introductory communication remains important for roles which will require you to compose varied forms of communications, such as reports and correspondence.
Think of your cover letter as a writing sample which demonstrates the excellent communications skills which are among the job requirements. Grammatical mistakes or poor articulation of ideas can be the kiss of death for a candidate. But a carefully crafted and reasoned one-page letter can easily distinguish you from your competition.
Use your cover letter to demonstrate why you are the answer to the employer’s prayers. Remember that the cover letter isn’t just about why you want the job, but rather to convince the employer that you meet its foremost desires for a successful candidate. While your resume should indicate that you have the requisite skills and experience, your cover letter should relate them to the particular job.
Turn the job description on its head. Virtually every job posting will have a section dealing with the requirements associated with the job. Pay careful attention, and address at least a couple of them in your cover letter. Don’t just claim to be able to do such and such, but rather describe how or why it is a passion of yours and how you’ve mastered it.
For example, a posting might say something like:
— Experience supervising teams and mentoring individuals.
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In your cover letter, you can say something to the effect of: “In my last two positions at Company A and Company B, the teams that I led all excelled and earned recognition in the form of corporate awards and promotions for key players. I’m particularly proud that people I’ve mentored have demonstrated improved performance in the areas of x, y and z. In turn, they’ve taken it upon themselves to mentor other more junior members of our team.”
An ad for an office manager could have a bullet like this:
— Seeking proactive office manager able to juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities in a fast-paced environment.
And, in response to the employer’s need, you might respond specifically in your cover letter:
“In my last office manager role I upgraded the record keeping and billing systems gaining faster reimbursement from insurance companies, while at the same time I prepared departmental payroll, oversaw the grant writer and scheduler and prepared financial, statistical and other reports for the department head. This kind of environment exhilarates me because I’m not tied to a specific routine and can utilize my wide-ranging skills.”
In short, don’t just claim that you’ve been successful in your career. Instead, show your specific talents and achievements that best relate to your hoped-for next job.
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Marry your resume to the job description. One key mistake made by many is to think that the cover letter is all about the job seeker, highlighting one’s whole story and then assuming that the reader will ponder how that relates to the company’s needs. Instead, you should show that you understand something about the role of the job, and explain how and why your background relates to it.
Don’t make judgments about your fitness for the role. Often, stock cover letters will somehow assert judgments that the author is in no position to make. For example, you will never know who your competition is, or how their accomplishments and background stack up against yours. It’s ludicrous, therefore, to claim that you are the “best” or “most well-suited” for the job. Get rid of the clichés, and devote your limited space to sharing the facts that will inevitably draw the reader to the conclusion for which you hope.
Show your passion. It is important to show how some aspect of the job, or the company, is appealing to you. It might be that you enjoy your role in making the company’s widgets, or you understand how the widgets the company produces will somehow improve people’s lives or the world in which we live.
If you can’t figure out how to show that you’ve thought about the position and company and why you would be psyched with this particular challenge, chances are someone who might be less well-qualified than you, but with greater passion, will wind up with the paycheck you seek for yourself!
You can argue that to compose a solid cover letter takes time and decreases the number of positions to which you can apply in a given day or week. And you can feel resentful that all that time is wasted if it is never even read. Still, it can boost your chances of gaining an interview if you demonstrate clarity of thought, the right set of skills and accomplishments and the enthusiasm required of all who truly excel at whatever they do.
Happy hunting!
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5 Tips for a Winning Cover Letter originally appeared on usnews.com
