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Q-Tips: Critical Cover Letter Tips
Key Letter Writing Advice -- #3
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.
For an ultra-quick guide to cover-letter format, you can't beat this
instruction from career counselor Louise Giordano: Be brief,
appropriate, and professional. In her article for QuintCareers,
Cover
Letters Count!, Giordano also offers this formatting advice:
- Length: No more than one page; generally no more than four paragraphs.
- Tone: Professional, not too stuffy or too casual. Read the letter aloud or to someone else to check for tone.
- Appropriateness: Avoid extraneous cliches, fillers, and superfluous information -- but be honest and sincere.
Go to the next tip.
Address your cover letter to a REAL PERSON! Do your best to find out to whom
you should address your cover letter. "Dear Manager" is lifeless, exhorts Jimmy Sweeney in his article
for QuintCareers, The 7
Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter.
Go to the next tip.
In a 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.
For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our
Cover Letter Tutorial.
Go to the next tip.
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.
For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.
Go to the next tip.
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."
For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our
Cover Letter Tutorial.
Go to the next tip.
Bullet points can break up the text of your cover letter
and draw the reader's eye to your most compelling selling points.
Be sure you don't re-hash your resume's bullet points. And unlike
bullet points on a resume, those on a cover letter should either be
in complete sentences (instead of clipped, "telegraphed" resume language)
or should complete the sentence that leads into the bulleted list. See an example of a
bulleted cover-letter section
and a full cover letter with bullet
points.
Go to the next tip.
Open your cover letter with an attention-grabbing first sentence to really grip the reader, advises Jimmy Sweeney
in his articlefor QuintCareers, The 7 Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter.
This approach will almost guarantee your cover letter and resume get a much closer look.
Go to the next tip.
Word bullets (which can be used with regular bullets),
also break up the text in a cover letter and are excellent for spotlighting words or phrases
from the ad or job posting you're responding to. By pulling these words out
of the ad, you can focus your letter sharply on how you meet the requirements
that relate to those words. See an example of a cover
letter that uses word bullets.
Go to the next tip.
A particularly effective way to deploy the specifics
of an ad or job posting to your advantage is to use a two-column format (also
known as a "T-formation" letter) 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 lack one or
more qualification. The format so clearly demonstrates that you are qualified
in so many areas that the employer may be willing to overlook the areas in which
your exact qualifications are deficient. One of our former students describes her
success in using the two-column format:
"Several months ago, you referred me to your Website where there was a sample of a cover letter using a 'you require/I offer' table format. Believe it or not, I sent in my resume along with a cover letter in this format to a job that was posted on Monster.com, and I actually got an interview!! The position is with [name of company], and I can't even imagine how many applicants they had. When I went in for the interview, the person that I met with complimented me on the cover letter and actually said that that's what got me in the door ahead of so many others!"
You can see three sample letters in a two-column format: Cover Letter Two-Column Sample 1, Cover Letter Two-Column Sample 2, and Cover Letter Two-Column Sample 3.
Go to the next tip.
Adding a Postscript - a PS - to your cover letter -- especially one that's
handwritten -- is a great way to grab the employer's attention.
Ideally, your postscript should encapsulate your Unique Selling
Proposition -- the one quality that you feel will inspire employers
to hire you above all other candidates. See examples of cover-letter
postscripts.
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Ensure that you're not wasting your time, or more importantly, the employer's
time, suggests Teena Rose in her article for QuintCareers,
Optimizing Your Cold-Contact Cover Letter.
If you're a software engineer and the company you're targeting outsources
its entire system needs, then you're wasting time vying for employment with
that company. Know your viability factor before adding any company to your target
list. Make a courtesy phone call, if necessary. If you place a call, ask for
a contact name too. Why not kill two birds with one stone?
Go to the next tip.
For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our
Cover Letter Tutorial.
Go to the next tip.
Remember -- less is MORE, cautions Jimmy Sweeney
in his article for QuintCareers, The 7
Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter.
The best cover letters have plenty of white space. Clear, focused, short and sweet gets the interview every time.
Go to the next tip.
As the saying goes, we get only one chance to make a first impression, explains
Elizabeth Freedman in her article for QuintCareers,
Cover Letters That Count.
In a competitive job market where human resources departments are flooded with applicants,
a first impression may be your only opportunity to make an impact. When trying to land a first
job or internship, a strong, succinct cover letter is one of the best tools you can use to get
noticed. And unlike other first impressions, the cover letter puts the opportunity to succeed
largely in your hands.
Go to the next tip.
A cover letter sent to a company that may not have publicly advertised positions
is called a cold-contact letter, explains Teena Rose in her article for QuintCareers,
Optimizing Your Cold-Contact Cover Letter.
You're contacting the employer to introduce yourself
with the hope that it may spark an interest and result in a warm lead (also known
as an interview). For obvious reasons, a cold-contact letter will generate the
fewest leads, so paying special attention to the content and adding a couple
unique elements will increase your return rate. [To see an explanation
of cold-contact letters and two other types of cover letter, see The
Basics of a Dynamic Cover Letter.]
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A cover letter specifically addresses the job you are seeking and how your
unique attributes make you the ideal candidate -- the ideal fit -- for the job
and the organization, says the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD. For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see our
Cover Letter Tutorial.
Go to the next tip.
Focus in your cover letter on what you can do for the employer, suggests Jimmy Sweeney
in his article for QuintCareers, The 7
Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter. How can you benefit the company specifically?
Do a little research and relate this value-added simply and clearly in your letter.
Go to the next tip.
A strong cover letter doesn't just create a good impression -- it helps you sell yourself, declares
Elizabeth Freedman in her article for QuintCareers,
Cover Letters That Count.
But selling yourself isn't always easy. So use a technique that marketers use to sell us stuff: the convince ... that ... because
method. When drafting your cover letter, think about the following:
Whom do you want to convince?
For instance, you might be writing to a hiring manager who needs somebody with strong writing skills. By knowing your audience, you'll have the opportunity to specifically address the concerns or needs of your readers in your persuasive cover letter. One caveat: You may find job announcements that instruct applicants to send a letter to human resources, rather than provide a specific name of an individual. In these instances, you can try to track down, through company sources or networking, the name and title of a specific individual to whom you can address your letter. Otherwise, use the job description and knowledge of the company to best gauge your audience's needs.
What are you trying to convince them of?
Using the example above, you are trying to convince a hiring manager that you have terrific writing skills. You may also want the hiring manager to know about your ability to speak French and your mastery of PowerPoint, if these are skills that are relevant to the job for which you're applying. Be specific here: If you want to talk about your skills as a leader, be sure to mention a situation in which you demonstrated leadership skills. And remember to discuss the same skills that appear on your resume, providing additional information and detail in your letter
Why should you be hired over someone else?
Here's your opportunity to make a persuasive, convincing argument and sell your unique abilities. Using the previous example, you want to convince a hiring manager that you have terrific writing skills because you've consistently written on a wide range of topics for your school's newspaper, providing valuable information to more than 500 students weekly for the past three years. Whatever your example, make sure you point out how your work made a positive difference, quantifying this difference whenever possible.
Go to the next tip.
It seems cliched or redundant to mention researching the company before forwarding
your documents, but it's amazing on how many job-seekers fail to do just that.
It's pivotal that you take a "quality, not quantity" approach to your job search, declares
Teena Rose in her article for QuintCareers,
Optimizing Your Cold-Contact Cover Letter.
Focusing your efforts on targeting, researching, and applying to a small and
specific, targeted list of employers will generate a higher return from your efforts. By
researching potential employers, you're reflecting to the company that you're
serious about joining its team -- so much so, that you're willing to dedicate
your personal time to learning about the company.
Go to the next tip.
Here's a quick rundown of what your cover letter should entail, says
the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD.
First, the length. Always err on the side of being brief, so no more than one page, and really about four paragraphs total. If it's an email cover letter, it should be even shorter.
Second, the content. The first paragraph must engage the reader. Make it dynamic. Make it weave the reader into the rest of the letter. Don't waste it with some boring formulaic sentence.
The second and third paragraphs give specific details that highlight your qualifications and your fit with the position and the organization; if possible, use some of the employers own words here. Your last paragraph should thank the reader and request an interview. You should also say you plan to follow-up the letter at a later date -- you must be proactive.
For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.
Go to the next tip.
In your cover letter, choose words that show enthusiasm and passion for the position you seek
... (big, big secret!), suggests Jimmy Sweeney in his article for QuintCareers,
The 7
Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter. Then, carry this passion into the interview with you.
Find even more cover letter writing tips in Critical Cover Letter Tips: Key Letter Writing Advice #4.
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.
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