Critical Cover Letter Tips: Key Letter Writing Advice #2

Q-Tips: Critical Cover Letter Tips
Key Letter Writing Advice -- #2

These job-search cover letter related tips -- writing with a dynamic style, tips for highlighting career accomplishments, and more -- have been gathered from numerous sources throughout Quintessential Careers and organized here for your convenience.

Test your cover-letter knowledge about cover letters with our quiz. Here's one quiz where it's OK to "cheat;" feel free to refer to the Quintessential Careers Cover Letter Tutorial to find answers.

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Always send a cover letter with your resume. Sure, there are some employers that don't read them or place much importance on them. But since you don't know whether the employer you're writing to reads and values cover letters or not, you must include a letter. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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Try to avoid addressing your cover letter to "Dear Personnel Director/HR Director," "To Whom It May Concern," "Dear Sir or Madam" (or worse, "Dear Sirs") instead of a named individual -- all lazy approaches that show the employer that you were not concerned enough to find out the name of the person with the hiring power. It's not always easy to find the name of the specific hiring manager, but try to do so if at all possible. Usually, you can just call the company and ask who the hiring manager is for a given position. Tap into your personal network to learn the names of hiring managers. Let's say a company post an opening online. You know someone who works at the company. Ask your contact to find out the name of the person hiring for that position. Also use the library, phone book, our Guide to Researching Companies, Industries, and Countries, annd article, Sleuthing Out Hiring Managers Is Key to Job-Search Follow-up, to track down names of hiring managers. The worst-case scenario is that your letter will begin "Dear Hiring Manager for [name of position]:" It's not the best approach, but if you absolutely cannot find a name, this salutation does at least provide some specificity.

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Don't tell the employer in your cover letter what the company can do for you instead of what you can do for the company. This mistake is particularly common among new college graduates and other inexperienced job-seekers. In most cases, employers are in business to make a profit. They want to know what you can do for their bottom line, not what they can do to fulfill your career dreams. Tell the employer how you can meet his or her needs and contribute to the company. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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Don't close your cover letter by leaving the ball in the employer's court. Too many cover letters end with a line like this: "I look forward to hearing from you." Proactive cover letters, in which the job-seeker requests an interview and promises to follow up with a phone call, are far more effective. Don't be vague about your desire to be interviewed. Come right out and ask for an interview. Then, take your specific action a step farther and tell the recipient that you will contact him or her in a specified period of time to arrange an interview appointment. Obviously, if you say you will follow up, you have to do so. If you take this proactive approach and follow up, you will be much more likely to get interviews than if you did not follow up. This follow-up aspect is another good reason to obtain the specific name of the hiring manager. Here's a sample closing paragraph requesting specific action and describing the writer's planned follow-up:

I would like to be considered for a sales position in which someone of my background could make a contribution. I will contact you soon to arrange for an interview. Should you require any additional information, I can be contacted at the phone numbers listed above.

For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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Avoid being boring and formulaic in your cover letters. Don't waste your first paragraph by writing a boring introduction. Use the first paragraph to grab the employer's attention. Tell the employer why you are writing and summarize the reasons you are qualified for the position, expanding on your qualifications in later paragraphs. Read more about dynamic first paragraphs. Don't use such cliches as "Enclosed please find my resume" or "As you can see on my resume enclosed herewith." Employers can see that your resume is enclosed; they don't need you to tell them. Such trite phrases just waste precious space. Write a letter that will make the employer want to get to know you better.

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Typos, misspellings, and incorrect grammar/punctuation can be fatal in a cover letter (resume, too). Your letter reflects your ability to write and communicate. Be sure your document is letter-perfect before sending it out. Proofread your letter. Put it down and proof it again a few hours later with a fresh eye. Then enlist a friend to review it for errors. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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Don't rehash your resume in your cover letter. You can use your cover letter to highlight the aspects of your resume that are relevant to the position, but you're wasting precious space -- and the potential employer's time -- if you simply repeat your resume. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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A particularly effective way to deploy the specifics of a want ad or Internet job posting to your advantage is to use a two-column cover-letter format in which you quote in the left-hand column specific qualifications that come right from the employer's want ad and in the right-hand column, your attributes that meet those qualifications. The two-column format is extremely effective when you possess all the qualifications for a job, but it can even sell you when you are lacking one or more qualification. The format so clearly demonstrates that you are qualified in so many areas that the employer may overlook the areas in which you lack the exact qualifications. See a sample letter in a two-column format.

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Avoid rambling on too long in your cover letter or telling the story of your life/career. Keep you letter as brief as possible. Never, never more than one page. Keeping to four or five paragraphs of no more than three sentences each is a good guideline. Using bullet points in the letter is a good way to break up blocks of text and interest the reader. Some job-seekers tend to use their cover letters to provide a narrative of their life or career. That's not what the letter is all about; it's a marketing tool that should focus on the qualifications that will sell you to the employer. Your letter should answer the question that the employer will be asking while reading the words you've written: "Why should I hire this person?" Answer with your Unique Selling Proposition . Use simple language and uncomplicated sentence structure. Ruthlessly eliminate all unnecessary words.

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Avoid wimpy language in your cover letter. Avoid such phrases as "I feel" and "I believe." Your statements will be much stronger without them. It's best to either leave off the qualifier or use a stronger qualifier, such as "I am confident," I am convinced," or "I am positive." Read more.

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Do you know the 7 Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter? Find out.

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You can critique every aspect of your cover letter and follow links for additional information, using our Cover Letter Checklist.

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Although resumes and cover letters should be accomplishments-driven (and should NOT focus on duties and responsibilities), many job-seekers have difficulty pinpointing their accomplishments. We offer a free worksheet to help you brainstorm the accomplishments that will help sell you to your next employer. A special section of the worksheet helps college students and new graduates identify their accomplishments.

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Each cover letter you send out should be a little different according to the intended recipient and strategy. Cover letters should be customized according to each of the four basic job-search strategies:

Responding to job postings.
Resume distribution to employers of your target market.
Contacting recruiters or headhunters.
Networking among your professional contacts.

Learn more in Deborah Walker's article, Four Cover Letters for Four Job-Search Strategies.

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It is the well-written cover letter -- not the resume -- that can single-handedly land you more job interviews, asserts Jimmy Sweeney in his article for Quint Careers, the 7 Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter. The cover letter is your one chance to really market yourself to an employer using proven marketing strategies rarely found in the typical cover letter.

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As a cover-letter writer and job-seeker -- you must give employers what counts: a letter that complements your resume, serves as your first writing sample, and focuses the reader on what you have to offer, what you bring to the position, and why you are a suitable candidate. So says career counselor Louise Giordano in her article for QuintCareers, Cover Letters Count!. Giordano notes that the cover letter elaborates, clarifies, or adds material in clear language that is compelling and sharp. A terrific resume might never get read if the cover letter doesn't hook the reader. Make a strong case for why you are a good fit for the job, providing specific examples matched to the employer's needs as stated in the job description. Point the reader to qualifications and experiences that clearly show your fit.

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"I ... think a personal approach in the search process is always the best," said Norine Dagliano in the Q&A interview she did with QuintCareers. "The cover letter provides job-seekers an opportunity to 'speak' to the employer in their own words; to give the employer a little 'window into their personality;' to address the employer's needs by describing specific contributions they are prepared to make. We don't want to rewrite the resume for each job, but a well-constructed cover letter can expand upon the resume and bring to the employer's attention the key selling points to be considered."

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Think most hiring managers don't read cover letters? The perception that cover letters aren't important anymore is likely fed by the fact that some online job boards don't have a mechanism for submitting cover letters. But a study by CareerBuilder.com of 290 hiring managers across the U.S. revealed that 66 percent prefer an appropriate cover letter with the resume. Since you don't know which two-thirds of hiring managers like cover letters and which third don't, you need to always include a cover letter with your resume. Further breaking down that 66 percent, Wendy Enelow, founder of Career Masters Institute points out that 33 percent of all recipients ALWAYS read the cover letter first; the other 33 percent glance at the cover letter after they've read the resume. Therefore, says Enelow, "Your letter must immediately communicate your value to an organization, for you never know which 33 percent will receive it." For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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More than two-thirds of human-resource managers view well-written, PERSONALIZED cover letters as advantageous to a job applicant, as reported in Resume Writer's Digest. Nearly half believe that cover letters are more important -- or as important as -- resumes. In still another poll, this one from HRnext/BenefitsNext, 7 percent of respondents said the cover letter is so important that it can clinch a job, and nearly 40 percent characterized cover letters as "among the important factors" in the hiring process." "It depends on the job" was the response of 22 percent, which is important to note for those aspiring to jobs in which they will be judged by how well they express themselves. According to almost 20 percent of respondents, a good cover won't necessarily land you the job, but an awful one will throw you out of contention. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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We recently performed a Google search on our Quintessential Careers fax number to prove a point. We advise job-seekers to follow up with employers after sending out their resume and cover letter, but sometimes ads and job postings provide only a fax number, so you don't even know what company you're writing to, let alone the name of the hiring manager. But if you try entering the fax number into Google, as we did, there's a good chance the name of the company will come up (as it did for the QuintCareers fax number), enabling you to further research the name of the hiring manager. You can also try reverse phone lookup feature at a site such as AnyWho. Employers will likely admire your resourcefulness if you can tailor the letter to their organization when only a fax number appeared in the job posting.

Find even more cover letter writing tips in Critical Cover Letter Tips: Key Letter Writing Advice #3.

Check out all of our Quick and Quintessential Critical Cover Letter Tips.

Review all our Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search and Work Life.

Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.

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Q-Tips: Critical Cover Letter Tips Key Letter Writing Advice -- #2

These job-search cover letter related tips -- writing with a dynamic style, tips for highlighting career accomplishments, and more -- have been gathered from numerous sources throughout Quintessential Careers and organized here for your convenience.

Check out all of our Quick and Quintessential Critical Cover Letter Tips.

Review all our Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search and Work Life.

Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.

Q-Tips: Critical Cover Letter Tips
Key Letter Writing Advice -- #2