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Cover Letter Strategy: Get to the Point, Get Interviews

Cover Letter Strategy: Get to the Point, Get Interviews

by | Jul 21, 2011 | cover letters, Job Search

Is there a perfect format for writing a cover letter?

I was recently asked this by one of the members of my mailing list. She was wondering if a new approach to writing cover letters might help improve her chances.

First off, I would have to say that there are many different approaches to writing cover letters that might work, and it would be hard to nail down specific problem points without reading some recent letters. But, in general, my preference has always been direct and to-the-point, without a bunch of extraneous “flourish.”

As mentioned in an earlier post, what works for one recruiter might not work for another. Some recruiters love to read cover letters, others slog through them, and others don’t read them at all. I contend it’s best to write one anyway.

If you aren’t getting the responses you hope for, are you writing each toward a specific position or just toward a “type of position? Remember the cover letter has to outline the “What’s In It For Me” from the recruiter’s perspective, so you need to figure out what their needs are, and then write toward how you plan to fill it. It’s okay to outline your general arguments for each type of position, but you should always fill in specifics for each position.

While there is no perfect format, here’s one I like to use. 

Dear (Name):

Paragraph 1: I am writing to apply for the X position which I saw advertised at Y. This position is a strong match for my education, skills and experience.

Paragraph 2: Briefly summarize your education and experience. For example:

Since graduating from X program, I have… or Over the past Y years, I have…

Paragraph 3: Transition into some specific examples of your experience that match the needs of the position. This is a great place to mention accomplishments and awards.

Paragraph 4: Briefly state why you want the job, and show that you are motivated.

Paragraph 5: Ask for the interview, indicate how you may be contacted, put in any brief details about your plan to follow up with the recruiter about your candidacy, and thank the reader for reading.

Sincerely yours,

Name

Let’s go through the logic for each paragraph.

Paragraph 1: It’s simple and direct, and that shows respect for the reader’s time. It also ends with a bold premise: that the job is a strong match for your education, skills and abilities. The reader will want to know why you think that, and will read on to confirm or refute that assertion.

Paragraph 2: Gives your history in broad strokes, to pique the reader’s interest in learning more  (from the letter, and hopefully the résumé.) Again, be brief and encapsulate as much relevant information as you possibly can. If you aren’t sure what to say here, go back to your elevator speech, if you have one.

Paragraph 3: Gives a few specific examples that relate directly to the job you are applying for. This shows that you are not making a generic application, and that you have applicable skills and experience

Paragraph 4: Reinforces the idea that you are motivated toward the specific position. And motivation is a big part of the concept of “fit,” and that is the overriding concern of most hiring agents.

Paragraph 5:  Ties everything together by directly asking for an interview, clarifying how you can be reached, and laying out your plan for following up. (Which again shows you are serious about your application.

This format just lays out a simple structure for putting together an argument. You can write the letter in paragraph form, bullets, or a mixed format. Your unique education, skills, experiences and examples will be what keeps the recruiter reading. You can adjust this if you need to, but resist the temptation to go long with multiple examples or too many bullets. You don’t want your cover letter to read like a laundry list. It will get boring and repetitive and the reader may “lose steam” and move on.

Remember that the cover letter’s job is to make the recruiter’s job easier, by highlighting relevant information about your career and getting the person to read your résumé. Your résumé needs to keep this attention and leave the reader feeling that they want to know more about you, and that results in an interview. So don’t overdo the details on your cover letter. Describe the breadth and depth of your experience and give a few examples that are directly relevant to the position. Show that you are motivated, and ask for an interview. Than promise to follow up. Leave the rest for your actual interviews.

Cover Letter Strategy: Get to the Point, Get Interviews

Cover Letters: 6 Reasons You Should Write One, Even If You Feel It’s a Waste of Time

by | Jul 20, 2011 | cover letters, Job Search, job search tools, Resumes and CVs

writeadviceCover 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:
  1. 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!)
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
Support Hiring for Hope

Support Hiring for Hope

by | Jul 18, 2011 | Coaching, Job Search

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: What You Need to Know About the Second Most Popular Social Network

LinkedIn: What You Need to Know About the Second Most Popular Social Network

by | Jul 15, 2011 | Job Search, job search tools, Social Networking

lewisdesk

Lewis Howes (Photo provided.)

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.

Some of these facts and perspectives can also be found in an interview of LinkedIn expert Lewis Howes that I did a while back on Technorati.
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.
(Please note that this is an affiliate link. This means that if you do purchase the program through this link, I might make some money.)
I hope you will check it out. LinkedInfluence was one of the best investments I made in the last year.
Know Your Network, Grow Your Network: Why You Need to “Get” LinkedIn

Know Your Network, Grow Your Network: Why You Need to “Get” LinkedIn

by | Jul 14, 2011 | Job Search, job search tools, Social Networking

linkedin_128You’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.

A version of this article appeared recently in Chambering, the magazine of the Barrow County (Georgia) Chamber of Commerce.