The best introduction can be ruined by a sweaty handshake. Have you committed a cover-letter sin? A rapidly scribbled note on a flowery pink notepaper, or worse—no cover letter at all?
Cover letters set the scene.
Cover Letters
You can write to your dream employer seeking work. You can respond to an advertisement, approach old employers, friends, colleagues and customers to network for new opportunities, or you can write to follow up a potential lead. Cover letters explain why you are writing and request an opportunity to interview. A resume without a cover letter speaks volumes about a candidate’s lack of interest, lack of courtesy, and slapdash manner.
Introduce Yourself
The cover letter places a human face on your candidacy. It may refer to, but does not repeat, information provided in the resume; instead, the cover letter paints a compelling picture of what you can do and what you hope to achieve for your next employer.
Forget Cliches
Does the introduction below look familiar?
“Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to apply for the position of General Manager as advertised in the Daily Intruder on January 3rd.”
It should look familiar! This is the standard method that’s been taught in high school for eons and used on 98% of all cover letters. Do you want to be one of the pack? Or are you unique?
It should look familiar! This is the standard method that’s been taught in high school for eons and used on 98% of all cover letters. Do you want to be one of the pack? Or are you unique?
The anatomy of a good cover letter
A good cover letter addresses your potential employer’s hot spots. It speaks of you as a problem-solver, reinforces your experience, and ends with a request for an interview.
Brief but powerful is the aim.
A picture painted with words inspires that emotional must-buy response in the reader. Forlorn, clichéd phrases simply don’t make the grade in today’s competitive world, where people with vision, creativity, originality and clarity are hotly pursued.
A good cover letter needs a punchy beginning, needs to focus on your skills in relation to the job in the middle paragraphs, and needs to ask for an interview at the end. Keep the reader in mind throughout the entire process. Continually get back to basics: if I were to receive this, what would I be looking for? What can this person do for me?
A good cover letter needs a punchy beginning, needs to focus on your skills in relation to the job in the middle paragraphs, and needs to ask for an interview at the end. Keep the reader in mind throughout the entire process. Continually get back to basics: if I were to receive this, what would I be looking for? What can this person do for me?
Allow your personality to shine through
Leave personal information out and never be brash or rude. Find the balance!
Gayle can transform mundane to marvelous, as in the example below:
BEFORE:
Dear Sir/Madam:
I would like to apply for the position of Marketing Director advertised in “The Age” newspaper on June 3. To support my credentials, I herewith provide you with a copy of my resume where you will see examples of my excellent interpersonal and communication skills that are evident when you consider that I have worked closely with industry associations, top level executives and boards of directors”.
AFTER:
Dear Hiring Manager:
As a senior marketing executive, strategic consultant, and right-hand advisor to CEOs, boards of directors, and industry associations, I have the experience it takes to build revenues and grow a business through the identification and development of new opportunities.”
Is that something you can do? Maybe it is time to contact Gayle now!
Communicate your unique promise of value with compelling resumes that freeze your successes in time and crystallize them in the mind of the reader. 