What Makes a Cover Letter Stand out
Developing your cover letter is one of the most important success tools you can have available for conducting your job search. Whatever time and effort you spend in developing your cover letter and preparing it is time well spent.
In your job campaign, letters are first in importance in obtaining an interview. It is doubtful that one standard will suffice. Several versions may be needed for mailing to different kinds of potential employers. There was a time when this was quite a tedious prospect but with the state of technology today, preparing and storing letters is an easy task on our home PCS. For starters, perfect two versions of your cover letter. These versions will serve as the basis for your TARGET and BROADCAST campaigns.
Your letters should be in short paragraphs and read in a smooth staccato. Each sentence should be 10 to 15 words in length and the paragraphs should be three to five lines each. Avoid stringing together too many polysyllabic words.
The Opening
Your natural tendency is to start your cover letter by introducing yourself that is, summarizing your background. DO NOT DO THIS! Your reader probably has received scores of letters in the past few months that started just that way. His or her likely reaction is to say "ho-hum," stop reading and go on to more pressing business.
There are three criteria to meet with the opening of your cover letter:1. Catch the reader's attention.2. Tell how special you are.3. Relate to the job you are after.
OPENING ACCOMPLISHMENT One of your strongest accomplishments, re-written into opening sentence form. For example:1. "I saved $1-million in penalties by solving scheduling delays. With over 10 years experience in engineering construction, I have proven ability to prevent or solve a wide variety of problems."2. "I saved $80.000 by implementing changes in my company's employee benefits program, while maintaining the previous quality of benefits actually received by theworkers."
OPENING CHARACTERISTIC
Some special ability or characteristic that makes you outstanding. For example:1. "My former boss called me his "tiger" because I tackled problems with zest and solved them with dispatch. Like that company, there may be aspects of your financial operations that could be made more efficient, accurate, timely and profitable."2. "My campus president called me amazing' because I took on an incredible work load and then came back for more. Like him, you may have some institutional projects and growth-related problems than your present staff cannot comfortably handle."
Note that the opening sentence, of whatever type, rarely stands alone. It needs to be amplified, broadened and/or related to the reader's needs. It takes a great deal of thought and many trials and errors to get your opener exactly right. Make it work for you. Did you ever amaze' your boss? Why? Did you win an award for something? What for? Did you achieve the impossible? What was it? AND, whenever possible, follow-up your first sentence with another one relating what you did to the needs of the reader. Try to build a "me....you" link right from the beginning.
Stay TunedYou want the reader to have a reason for learning more about you. You need to give the impression that the reader's needs and problems are the focus of your concern (not just' getting a job for yourself).
This stay tuned paragraph will keep the reader's interest and make the transition into accomplishments. Here, the sequence should be "You...me". Try to mention:
1. "Your company"2. The job you want3. "My accomplishments"
For example:
1. "Your company may need a financial officer with my experience. If so, you will be interested in some of my other accomplishments."2. "Your company may need a financial officer who has experience in both foreign and domestic operations. If so, you will..."
Accomplishments
This is where you must strut your stuff! List six or eight accomplishments that relate to the job you are seeking. (When you target, the accomplishments you select and the order in which you list them will change for each company.)
The order in which you list your accomplishments IS important. You will have to put yourself in the reader's shoes to figure out what accomplishments are most impressive from that reader's point of view.
1. List your strongest accomplishment FIRST.2. Your next strongest accomplishments should be listed LAST. (End with a solid note.)3. The third strongest is second on your list; fourth strongest is next to last, etc.
The "I am a Pro" Paragraph!
This paragraph is optional but many persons over forty in the job market find that in some instances it may be to their advantage to include it. It is your chance to indicate something about your professional training, certification, licensing, etc.
For example:1. "I am a Certified Public Accountant."2. "I hold a MBA degree."3. "I am a Registered Professional Engineer."
WARNING: Only include things that are relevant to that job. Do not add anything that is extraneous. Where your degree is from may or may not help you. If you do not know for a fact that it will help, leave it out. The same advice applies to your specific major.
The Hook
This is the place where you ask for an interview. Remember your goal: GET AN INTERVIEW! Be positive. Be polite. DO NOT BEG. For example:
1. "I will be happy to discuss further details of my experience with you in a personal interview. I will call you in a few days to arrange a mutually convenient time."2. "I will be glad to discuss your needs and my qualifications in a personal interview. I will call you..." Admittedly, you are going to have to work at it.
Evaluating your Cover Letter
1. Does your opening paragraph:Capture the reader's attention?Tell how special you are?Relate to the job you are after?
2. Does your stay tuned paragraph:Mention the reader's needs?Mention the job you want?Make a transition to your accomplishments?
3. Concerning your accomplishments:Are they in the most effective order?Are they strong and crisp?Do they relate to the job you are after?
4. In your "I am a Pro" paragraph:Do you have any extraneous information?Does the information add to your attractiveness for the position?
5. Does your last paragraph:Ask for an interview?Reflect a courteous attitude?
Printing your cover letter for Broadcast Mailing
If you intend to broadcast a letter, you might decide to have numerous copies printed. Yet, when the address and greeting (Dear...) are typed in, you want the result to look like an original letter. Sending out copies of an original cover letter is a no-no!
Type one version with a complete address and greeting into your computer. Print the letter. Then go back and type over the address and greeting with the new one and print it. It takes only a few minutes more and you have an original cover letter each time.
TIP: If you are replying to an ad that is certain to generate a huge response and you want to make absolutely certain your cover letter gets read, here is a tip that has worked for others. Use Monarch-size paper instead of the standard 8.5 x 11 inch. Monarch is 7.25 x 10.5 inches with a slightly smaller envelope.
The objective is to use stationery that will be stacked according to size and your cover letter will be on top of the #10 envelope stack that generally contains the hundreds of resumes. If you choose a Monarch-size paper for your target letter, be sure to do the draft of your resume on Monarch-size paper as an attachment.
