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Q-Tips: Critical Cover Letter Tips
Key Letter Writing Advice -- #4
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.
Here's what John Logan, human resources manager with ZS Associates, had to say
about the importance of cover letters in
our Q&A interview with him:
"Cover letters are the sole way our firm understands why an applicant seeks a position in
our firm and what skills they will add; they are an important component of our application.
The most effective cover letters announce the position the candidate seeks, and highlight up
to three skills from the position listing that the candidate possesses -- augmenting what is
written in the resume. Because resumes are structured in bullet format, the cover letter is
the only avenue for a candidate to provide additional details about skills prior to an interview."
Go to the next tip.
Keywords are crucial in resumes, but use keywords in your cover letters, too.
Many employers don't scan cover letters or include them in resume databases, but some do.
And keywords in cover letters can be important for attracting the "human scanner." If you're
answering an ad, tying specific words in your cover letter as closely as possible to the actual
wording of the ad you're responding to can be a huge plus. In his book, Don't Send a Resume,
Jeffrey Fox calls the best letters written in response to want ads "Boomerang letters" because
they "fly the want ad words -- the copy -- back to the writer of the ad." In employing what Fox
calls "a compelling sales technique," he advises letter writers to: "Flatter the person who
wrote the ad with your response letter. Echo the author's words and intent. Your letter should
be a mirror of the ad." Fox notes that when the recipient reads such a letter, the thought
process will be: "This person seems to fit the description. This person gets it."
Learn more about keywords .
Go to the next tip.
Think of your cover letter as you, on paper -- so you want to look your best and present
a neat, professional package to your prospective employer, advises
Elizabeth Freedman in her article for QuintCareers,
Cover Letters That Count.
For starters, choose a quality paper (such as the kind used for resumes) in a conservative color
(like white or ivory) to send your message, and make sure you use the same paper and font for your
cover letter, resume, and envelope, since they are typically packaged together. Save the pink paper
and funky font for another time, and watch smudges, crinkles, and other sloppy marks. Finally, make
sure your letter is readable. If the font is too small (nothing less than 10 points) or the letter
too long (more than a page), you've probably alienated your audience already.
Go to the next tip.
Unlike correspondence written a decade ago, the tone of letters has changed in
today's job market, notes Teena Rose in her article for QuintCareers,
Optimizing Your
Cold-Contact Cover Letter. Incorporating a conversational tone to your letter will help
readers relate to you. It's difficult to explain what exactly writing in conversational
tone is other than to say it's similar to how you speak. You'll ditch many of
the stuffy, stock fragments that once existed, such as, "Please find my resume
attached in response to the position advertised in the Dayton Daily News." Instead,
start your letter with, for example, "A few months back, I met with John
Brickman at the business exposition in Vancouver. I was stunned by his
knowledge of the robotics industry. I realized, after speaking with him for only a
few minutes, that Jackman Technologies, Inc., was a perfect fit for my skill set --
and let me tell you why."
Go to the next tip.
Request one action you want the employer to take, advises Jimmy Sweeney
in his article for QuintCareers, The 7
Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter. For example: "I would really like the opportunity for
a personal interview this week." (You never know until you ASK!)
Go to the next tip.
Writing a winning cover letter isn't the easiest task, but it's well worth the effort,
especially when you know that it can make the difference between a good first impression
and a bad one, notes Elizabeth Freedman in her article for QuintCareers,
Cover Letters That Count.
After all, taking the time to write a great letter ensures you'll impress
a prospective employer and practically guarantees a wince-free moment.
Go to the next tip.
End your cover letter with enthusiastic and telling verbiage, such as,
"I look forward to being interviewed at your earliest convenience. Thank you so
much for this opportunity. Sincerely, Jane Jobseeker," suggests Jimmy Sweeney in his article for QuintCareers,
The 7
Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter. (Notice how Jane assumes she'll land the interview?
This approach is clever, smart, and it works like a charm.)
Go to the next tip.
Don't design your cover letter to have a heavy or light appearance. You're shooting
for something that is within a "happy medium," advises Teena Rose in her article for QuintCareers,
Optimizing Your Cold-Contact Cover Letter.
When you're finished writing, sit back and examine your words. Let it sit overnight, if necessary. Always analyze
every fragment and sentence you're using to determine if there's a better or
more effective way of presenting yourself. It sounds a bit obsessive-compulsive,
but unfortunately, you REALLY DO have just one
chance to make a great first impression.
Go to the next tip.
Cover letters play a vital role in the job-search process when done correctly, says
the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD. Cover letters should entice the reader,
draw him/her into your story -- enough so to turn the page and review your resume.
Is that all, you may ask? Yes, that's the function of a cover letter -- to get your
resume reviewed a little more carefully than without it, which in turn, ideally, leads
to an invitation to a job interview. For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see our
Cover Letter Tutorial.
Go to the next tip.
Think of your cover letter as a sales letter, advises Jimmy Sweeney in his article for QuintCareers,
The 7 Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter.
The only purpose of your job-search cover letter is to land you job interviews.
That's the bottom line. By using proven marketing strategies, you will land a
greater number of quality job interviews than your competition.
Go to the next tip.
Do your legwork before sending any cold-contact letter, exhorts Teena Rose in her article for QuintCareers,
Optimizing Your Cold-Contact Cover Letter.
Every job-seeker finds himself or herself sending this type of letter from time to time,
so do yourself a favor by cultivating the info you'll need to design a letter that outshines
those used by others. A good rule of thumb is "be innovative, not imitative." To see an explanation
of cold-contact letters and two other types of cover letter, see
The
Basics of a Dynamic Cover Letter.]
Go to the next tip.
In a cover letter, how do you address relocation for personal reasons? Easy. You simply need to say you are
relocating for personal reasons. People move all the time, so changing geographic locations should not be an issue.
What may be more difficult is your strategy for finding a new job before you relocate. Start contacting those
in your network, especially in your new location, and let them know you are relocating and looking for a new job
there. Then, get on the Web and do some research on the types of jobs, companies, industries where you want to work.
Check out our Job-Seeker Relocation Resources.
Go to the next tip.
You must get your foot in the company door first to have any chance at all, notes Jimmy Sweeney in his article for QuintCareers,
The 7 Elements of a Highly Effective Cover Letter.
With the right cover letter, you can blow several doors wide open immediately.
More job interviews translate to a wider range of opportunity and (drum roll, please) ... more job offers.
Go to the next tip.
You've heard the adage in real estate and retailing that success centers on three things: location, location, location.
With cover letters, success is also tied to three things: specifics, specifics, specifics. In our roles as resume and
cover letter writers, we often got requests from customers that went something like this: "Just give me a general cover
letter that I can use for any kind of job." Sorry. No can do. Well, we can do it, but we certainly don't recommend it.
A cover letter needs to be specific in every way. Otherwise, it's a fairly pointless document. Some experts say even
a resume should be specifically tailored for each job. While we feel that a degree of resume tailoring is sometimes
desirable, extensive tailoring is unnecessary if you're specific with your cover letter. Find out how to make your
cover letter specific -- and thus effective -- in our article,
Cover Letter Success Is All About Specifics
Go to the next tip.
"The most effective technique career changers can use in their resumes and cover letters is TRANSFERABLE SKILLS,
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS, TRANSFERABLE SKILLS," writes regular contributor Maureen Crawford Hentz.
"I recently gave a workshop specifically on this topic for career changers at the National Environmental
Careers Conference. I was shocked at the number of competent, successful individuals who kept referring
to themselves as 'totally unqualified for a job in the environment.' These were adults with four to 12 years
of experience as managers, editors, and engineers." Read Hentz's full article on QuintCareers,
Career Changers' Most Powerful
Resume and Cover-Letter Tool: Transferable Skills,
on how you can use transferable skills to portray yourself as qualified for a new career.
Go to the next tip.
Has this ever happened to you? You've been instructed to list your career accomplishments, and you can't think of
any. Or you're asked in a job interview, "What accomplishments are you most proud of?" -- and you freeze up. You
know you have had accomplishments, but you just can't dredge them up. The inability to come up with accomplishments
happens to lots of job-seekers. We know because we ask our resume and cover-letter clients to list accomplishments
as part of the process of preparing their job-search documents. Although we stress that accomplishments are far
more important than duties and responsibilities, a surprising number of clients are unable to articulate beyond
the day-to-day tasks they performed in their jobs. Accomplishments are the points that really help sell you
to an employer -- much more so than everyday job duties, and you can leverage your accomplishments for job-search
success at all stages of the process: resume, cover letter, interview, and more. Find out more about why and
how to use your accomplishments in our article, For
Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments.
Go to the next tip.
Just as certain secrets can help you write a dynamic cover letter, there are also key strategies for sending email
cover letters. Those strategies can be found in our article,
Tips for a Dynamic Email Cover Letter.
Go to the next tip.
Understanding how to portray your skills as transferable is one of the most important concepts you can master
in writing a cover letter. Learn why and how to do it in resumes and cover letters in our article,
Strategic Portrayal of
Transferable Skills is a Vital Job Search Technique.
Go to the next tip.
When you're planning to relocate, submitting your resume with a cover letter to various companies in hopes of
establishing a relationship and inquiring about employment opportunities is a great idea. A cover letter is an
extremely important part of your direct-mail campaign, but also be sure you've devised an overall strategy about
relocating. Research companies in the new location, decide which ones to target, and identify key people to contact.
Our Quintessential Careers Directory of Company Career Centers can help
you reach major targeted companies. And once you've sent out your cover-letter and resume packages, make sure you
follow up and contact these people to try to get some interviews, either by phone or as soon as you arrive at your
new location. For help with your cover letter, visit Cover Letter
Resources for Job-Seekers, which includes
a link to our Cover Letter Tutorial.
Go to the next tip.
A job-search letter technique that can be effective during tough times is what Marky Stein, calls a "Q"
or qualifications letter. "This document is a short letter that compares your qualifications with the
employer's requirements for the job," writes Stein on the Career Journal portion of WSJ.com. "It's brief
and concise enough to catch the reader's eye with highly relevant material within those first crucial seconds.
When you compose a Q letter, list only those qualifications that you meet or exceed. Requirements that you don't
meet or exceed may be omitted from the letter. Q letters can be especially effective for qualified candidates
who haven't succeeded with traditional direct-mail methods," notes Stein.
See our version of a sample "Q letter."
Go to the next tip.
Kevin Donlin offers a number of great cover-letter tips in several chapters in the
e-book, The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find -- and Get -- The Job
or Internship of Your Dreams!. Here's a sampling:
- Cut down on sentences that begin with "I" and adopt a "you" perspective. Note how ad copy is liberally sprinkled with "you." Your cover letter, after all, is an advertisement for your resume.
- Use your cover letter to convey enthusiasm for the job you're applying for. Enthusiasm sells.
- Using a proactive closer in your letter, in which you state that you'll follow up to schedule an interview will set you apart from the crowd with its determination and confidence.
- Instead of just relating what you did in your jobs, tell what the outcomes are. Impress employers by telling them what positive things happened as a result of what you did.
For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.
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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