Cover letters come in all different styles, and it’s not always easy to figure out the best way to outline your arguments for a job and keep the reader interested. So it’s not surprising to know that many job-seekers obsess over their cover letters. Others spend more time on the résumé, and barely any time at all on the cover letter. Others skip writing cover letters altogether.
The advice you’ll get on cover letters is likely to be mixed, too. You’re likely to hear any or all of the following:
Write a new letter for each position and try to show your potential match for a company’s current needs;
Write a generic letter for each type of position, but worry more about the résumé; and
Forget about the cover letter–nobody reads them anyway, so you’ll be wasting your time.
Given the different approaches candidates take, and the dubious assertion that you always need to write a cover letter, should you bother to write one? And if you do, what approach should you take?
It’s true that some recruiters are avid cover letter readers, others barely skim them, and some skip them until reviewing the resume. But none of these truths justify leaving a cover letter out of your application materials.
Here are 6 reasons why you should write one anyway:
You are not a mind reader.* As such, you can’t be sure about the preferences of the person(s) screening the applications. (*apologies if you are indeed, a mind reader!)
If a committee is handling the screening, people on the committee might have different thoughts on the value of a cover letter. Better to cover your bases.
The recruiter(s) are not mind readers, either. Cover letters provide context about your education, experience, motivation, and possible fit. Your résumé should include plenty of information about education and experience, but the cover letter lets you tie all the pieces together into a coherent whole. Essentially, the job of the cover letter is to make the screener’s job easier, by helping the reader see how your motivation rounds out your education and experience, and molds you into someone who will fit their needs.
Not sending in a cover letter will make you look lazy. Basically, it sends the message that the recruiter needs to do the work to figure out why you are interested in a job, and then to sell you on the value of working for their organization. And the recruiter probably has enough work to deal with already.
The recruiter may interpret the lack of a cover letter as an indication that you are desperately applying for anything and everything, and that you haven’t really taken the time to determine why you are interested in the specific position.
Some recruiters will consider your application incomplete and remove you from further consideration.
What do you think about cover letters? Do you write them for any of the jobs you apply for? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Have you heard about Hiring for Hope? It’s a grassroots, nationally recognized 501(c)3 public charity, conceptualized as a Life Management Community (LMC) designed to help people manage and overcome all the obstacles associated with family building and/or career management challenges.
I heard about this group a while back from Johann Lohrmann, who wrote a guest post on mind-mapping your job search. He put me in touch with Tegan Acree, Hiring for Hope’s Founder and President.
Hiring for Hope offers assistance with:
Career and Family Building Management
Financial Assistance
Online Networking/Support
Workforce Solutions
Hiring for Hope is made up almost entirely of volunteers committed to their mission. I’m excited to be volunteering for a Career Connection Forum event on July 26th in Marietta, GA. This is my first time volunteering for the group, and I am really excited.
Unemployment is such a huge problem in Georgia these days, and I see the impacts of this almost every day. I live in a neighborhood with a mix of rental properties and single-family homes, and many of my neighbors are unemployed. I’ve offered to help a few of my neighbors with coaching and résumés but some of them have been out of work so long they have given up.
Groups like Hiring for Hope combat the very real problems of unemployment and that lost sense of hope that sometimes goes along with it. I’m glad to be doing what I can to contribute. And I’d like to challenge you to do the same.
I’ve signed up to be an online fundraiser for Hiring for Hope and have set a $1000 goal. Please donate what you can, and help give hope and practical assistance to those in need. Click on the badge below to go to my fundraising page. Thanks for helping in whatever way you can.
LinkedIn is growing in importance as a tool for professional and small business networking. Here are a few things worth knowing about the world’s second most popular social network.
According to Howes, making money, expanding their businesses, networking, and finding a job are probably the most important reasons the average consumer creates a profile and connects with others through LinkedIn.
He also notes that, compared to the way businesses have networked and promoted their services in the past, LinkedIn is more efficient and less expensive.
A while back, I enrolled in LinkedInfluence, an online training course by Howes’s and his business partner Sean Malarkey. I have personally gotten a lot out of this course, and I think you will, too. Sean and Lewis are two really well-respected experts on Twitter and LinkedIn. I connected with them on the Third Tribe Marketing group a while back, and had an opportunity not long ago to interview Lewis for a Technorati article on LinkedIn’s recent IPO.
LinkedInfluence will help you really understand how to use LinkedIn to expand your professional network and gain career and business leads. I personally joined this program and have seen the benefits. I’ve gained new followers, expanded my network, and been offered new business opportunities based on what I learned. At this point, I can easily say that I have experienced at least a ten-fold return on my investment.
More importantly, I finally understand the power of this great tool, and can share my knowledge with others. I’ve already shared tips and tricks with my clients that have helped them with business and job leads.
But there is more…Sean and Lewis have figured out some incredible new techniques for increasing your Twitter following and you’ll get those as a bonus for purchasing this course. I haven’t tried many of these techniques, but will soon.
Click the link below for a sneak peek at LinkedInfluence.
You’ve probably heard of LinkedIn. With over 100 million users, it is the world’s largest online professional network, and has captured the attention of professionals and businesspersons who see the potential value of online networking to move forward in their careers and their businesses. But when it comes to “getting LinkedIn,” many don’t understand the how to use it effectively.
So let’s get down to business, and up to speed, with what you need to know about LinkedIn to move forward in your business and career.
The first thing you need to know is that LinkedIn is not simply an online replacement for your résumé. If you only use it that way, you are doing it wrong!
Many of us grew up and started our careers when computers were making their way into businesses and homes, and though we are very competent users of e-mail and office productivity applications like Word, Excel, and Access, it’s hard for us to understand the point of “getting social.” We use our computers to do work!
Using a social network to get work is a separate, but related, skill set. It comes easily to those raised as “digital natives,” who have always been connected to their peers online. For their generation, it’s a basic skill, not a luxury to be learned if you have time. And it does require a lot of work, a lot of consistency, and a lot of “long-haul” thinking.
Let’s dig into some terms now, so we’re all talking the same language.
Social Networking is different from Social Media. Social Media is a publishing medium. You can construct a message and deliver it where it can be found online. It’s a great way to get your one-sided, carefully constructed messages out, in a way that increases brand awareness. Social Networking, on the other hand, is an engagement medium. Like joining the Chamber of Commerce or any other network, it can reap great benefits for your business, but only if you know your network, the people in it, and where your common interests converge.
Social Networking is a very special kind of professional networking, in that it allows “shy networking”-content and competence-based conversations around subjects of common interest. It can be a great equalizer for those who aren’t as comfortable with in-person networking, because it gives them a global platform for showing their “chops,” and get connected to others based on their knowledge, skills and interests.
To get the most out of LinkedIn, you need to put some time and energy into using it effectively. Here are Five Quick Tips for Getting Started:
Make sure your profile is complete.
Put a professional photo on your profile. People want to connect with other people, so having a face as well as a name will make you seem more approachable.
Be sure your headline is keyword-rich. For example, “B2B Sales Leader Specializing in Food Service and Hospitality Marketing” is better than “Sales Manager for Aramark.”
Import your contacts from your e-mail program. LinkedIn will tell you which contacts are on their network, and you should invite all of these to connect.
Join groups related to your region, industry and niche. Follow the conversations until you are ready to add something, and when ready, jump in! It’s okay to “lurk and learn” for a while, but effective social networking requires that you add to the conversation. Speak up!
Ask and answer questions. It lets others connect with you as mentors, and people like that. It’s natural to be drawn to people who could use your help. Let other people be your expert mentors every once in a while, too. You’ll be surprised at how answering a few questions or offering support and encouragement can pay off. As in real-world networking, the gains can be exponential and long-lasting!
Add applications to help you share your knowledge and increase the interactivity of your profile. You can add SlideShare presentations, Behance portfolios, your blog feed, a recommended reading list, and many other utilities. Only add those that you are willing to learn to use fully. Otherwise, you may seem foolish or inexperienced with the technology.
If you don’t know where to start, just start! Be brave, try new things and ask questions. Those who don’t try new things won’t reap benefits from emerging technology and social networks, while others who do will move forward, onward and outward, toward the new frontiers of business.
My name is Sean Cook, and I am a Career Coach, Organizational Consultant, Writer and Speaker, based in Athens, Georgia. Through my company, Cook Coaching & Consulting, LLC., I help professionals design intelligent strategies for moving forward in their careers and businesses. For more information, connect with me on LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, e-mail me at sean@higheredcareercoach.com, or just pick up the phone and call me at 706-363-0539.
LinkedIn has passed Myspace to become the second-most popular online social network in the U.S., behind Facebook. According to an article this week on CNN, comScore, an Internet analytics firm reported that LinkedIn had 33.9 million unique visitors in June, approximately 500,000 more than the month before.
By contrast, Myspace experienced a drop of about 1.4 million U.S. visitors from May, and Facebook smashes all of them soundly with 160.8 million unique visitors in June.
This doesn’t really surprise me, because I have been using LinkedIn more and more for professional networking, and have been helping clients understand how to use the network effectively. A couple of months ago, I did my first local seminar here in Athens, a half-day workshop on LinkedIn, coupled with an opportunity to get a professional headshot from one of my local clients, Ann Yarbrough.
The seminar went well, and resulted in a few opportunities for me to get my name out in the area. One of the attendees was the publisher of the Chamber of Commerce magazine for the next county over (Barrow), and she offered me a chance to contribute an article. Two representatives of one of the local phone book publishers and they really enjoyed the seminar, and offered me a free ad in next year’s phonebook. And Ann got a free ad and an offer to possibly have her photos on the cover of the phone book, as well. I’ll be offering an online seminar soon on LinkedIn, based on the format of this presentation. In the meantime, I’ll be running articles this week on how to get the most out of LinkedIn.
Tomorrow: Why you need to “get” LinkedIn.
Don’t forget! If you are still looking for a job, I am running a coaching special until July 15! For $300, participants will get 4 coaching sessions, access to online activities, and brief e-mail and phone check-ins for 6 months. The special price for this offer will expire July 15, or when enrollment reaches 20, whichever comes first.
This is the lowest rate I expect to offer on individual coaching this year, and I am planning to raise my regular rates on August 1st, and to change the structure of packages I offer individual clients.
So, if you are still looking for a job, and could use a strategic partner to help you move forward in your career, act now!
If you are still looking for a job, July and August can be tough times. You may see your friends and colleagues moving into new positions, starting trainings, and getting ready to teach classes. Search processes can move quickly at some institutions, and come to a standstill at others.
Staying motivated during this phase of your job search is essential, but it can be really hard to do on your own. But this phase is not a time to give up or back-burner your search. Filling essential positions is a priority for most institutions, and being in the right place, at the right time, and in the right frame of mind can make all the difference.
To help you keep going, I’m offering a coaching special again, and it will feature 4 1-on-1 sessions over 3 months, brief e-mail and phone check-ins for 6 months, and access to online activities and select webinars. And, after talking with a few potential clients about what they would find attractive, I’ve kept the price the same as last year’s “8 Weeks to August” coaching program ($300) but set up a payment plan for it, to allow clients who join the program to stretch out the payments.
And, like last year’s coaching special (and like I offer for all of my coaching services), I am offering a money-back guarantee. If you participate in all the coaching and are not satisfied with your progress, you can ask for your money back (some of it or all of it!) If I can’t help you, then I don’t want your money.
If you are still looking for a job, don’t wait!The special price for this offer will expire July 15, or when enrollment reaches 20, whichever comes first. At this point, I have a few clients already lined up, and based on early feedback, I’m expecting a good response.
This is the lowest rate I expect to offer on individual coaching this year, and I am planning to raise my regular rates on August 1st, and to change the structure of packages I offer individual clients.
So, if you are still looking for a job, and could use a strategic partner to help you move forward in your career, act now!
Work with Sean. I help higher ed professionals take control of their careers with tailored services including resume and CV development, LinkedIn profile optimization and networking strategy, interview coaching, and one-on-one career guidance.
Cover letters come in all different styles, and it’s not always easy to figure out the best way to outline your arguments for a job and keep the reader interested. So it’s not surprising to know that many job-seekers obsess over their cover letters. Others spend more time on the résumé, and barely any time at all on the cover letter. Others skip writing cover letters altogether.
