Do you spend so much time and energy on your resume that you completely ignore your cover letter?
That’s a big mistake!
The well-written cover, not the resume that can single-handedly land you more job interviews. Using proven marketing strategies rarely found in a typical cover letter, you can use the cover letter to really market yourself to an employer.
You can only do so much with the traditional resume. However, the carefully crafted cover letter is more important to your getting a job than any other written document including the resume.
A highly effective job search cover letter consists of seven crucial fundamentals.
1. Address your cover letter to a real person! Do your best to find out TO WHOM you should address your cover letter. “Dear Manager” or “To Whom it May Concern” is both lifeless and causes your letter to float around the office instead of finding the desk of the hiring agent. You must add a personal salutation to your correspondence to increase your chances of its being seen by the right person.
2. Correct Address. Ensure that the address is 100% accurate and complete. Double-check everything even if you pulled the address from the phone book, a classified ad or the company website. Phone the company and verify the mailing address with the receptionist.
3. Begin with an attention-grabbing sentence that makes your reader really sit up and take notice. Just think – - the human resources person may have grown weary from sifting through the resumes of hundreds of people who have applied for the same position as you have. But your engaging first sentence will just make his day! And almost guarantee that your cover letter and resume get a much closer look.
4. Formatting. Your cover letter should be simple and easy to read. Remember, you are applying for a job. So, keep your cover letter professional looking by using a plain font on crisp, white paper.
5. Remember ”Less is more! The best cover letters have plenty of white space. A clear, focused, short and sweet letter gets you the interview every time. (more…)