Q TIPS:
Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Job-hunting tips from the October 25, 2004 issue of
QuintZine.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, writer Joann S. Lublin reported that, according to career
coaches, an estimated 85 percent of cover letters are so flawed that senders never land an interview.
Interviewing an entrepreneur who had reviewed several hundred thousand cover letters since founding
her business in 1983, Lublin discovered that the business owner found not even 1 percent
of those letters acceptable. In response to a recent vacancy at the 150-employee firm, about 100
of the 150 job-seekers sent letters. "Two-thirds contained mistakes (including a misspelled current job title)," Lublin
reported. "Fifteen applicants addressed the female CEO as 'Dear Sir.'" Only six cover letters
specifically addressed qualifications listed in the ad, and the CEO found only three letters interesting enough
to inspire her to read the senders' resumes.
One of the "Top 5 Reasons Why Job Hunters Fail" is "not writing a cover letter,"
Robin Ryan notes in an
article in her monthly newsletter.
"Human-resources managers state that cover-letter writing is becoming a lost art," Ryan writes, "since job hunters
think they can skip this step when they apply electronically."
"A well-written cover letter has great power with employers and should always precede any resume sent. Open the letter
with a powerful first paragraph that sums up the background, key strengths, skills and accomplishments you have to offer.
Human-resource managers say that a good cover letter demonstrates your communication skills and can capture
the interview," Ryan advises.
The concept of using a cover letter to demonstrate communication
skills is reinforced in a column by Kate Wendleton and Dale Dauten.
An employer wrote to the career columnists to about his
experience in reviewing cover letters during a recent search
for technicians: "The most obvious thing that people failed to do,"
wrote the employer, "was to address the items that were called
out in the job advertisements. Applicant packages that got
the most attention were those that organized their applications
to follow the job ads."
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, writer Joann S. Lublin reported that, according to career
coaches, an estimated 85 percent of cover letters are so flawed that senders never land an interview.
