Results tagged “Cover Letter Tutorial” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

Kevin Donlin offers a number of great cover-letter tips in several chapters in the e-book, The Last Job Search Guide You’ll Ever Need: How to Find — and Get — The Job or Internship of Your Dreams! Here’s a sampling:

1. Cut down on sentences that begin with “I” and adopt a “you” perspective. Note how ad copy is liberally sprinkled with “you.” Your cover letter, after all, is an advertisement for your resume.
2. Use your cover letter to convey enthusiasm for the job you’re applying for. Enthusiasm sells.
3. Using a proactive closer in your letter, in which you state that you’ll follow up to schedule an interview will set you apart from the crowd with its determination and confidence.
4. Instead of just relating what you did in your jobs, tell what the outcomes are. Impress employers by telling them what positive things happened as a result of what you did.

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Cover letters play a vital role in the job-search process when done correctly, says the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD. Cover letters should entice the reader, draw him/her into your story — enough so to turn the page and review your resume. Is that all, you may ask? Yes, that’s the function of a cover letter — to get your resume reviewed a little more carefully than without it, which in turn, ideally, leads to an invitation to a job interview. For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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Here’s a quick rundown of what your cover letter should entail, says the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD.

First, the length. Always err on the side of being brief, so no more than one page, and really about four paragraphs total. If it’s an email cover letter, it should be even shorter.

Second, the content. The first paragraph must engage the reader. Make it dynamic. Make it weave the reader into the rest of the letter. Don’t waste it with some boring formulaic sentence.

The second and third paragraphs give specific details that highlight your qualifications and your fit with the position and the organization; if possible, use some of the employer’s own words here. Your last paragraph should thank the reader and request an interview. You should also say you plan to follow-up the letter at a later date — you must be proactive. For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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A cover letter specifically addresses the job you are seeking and how your unique attributes make you the ideal candidate — the ideal fit — for the job and the organization, says the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD. For the complete lowdown on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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Bullet points can break up the text of your cover letter and draw the reader’s eye to your most compelling selling points.

Be sure you don’t re-hash your resume’s bullet points. And unlike bullet points on a resume, those on a cover letter should either be in complete sentences (instead of clipped, “telegraphed” resume language) or should complete the sentence that leads into the bulleted list. See an example of a bulleted cover-letter section and a full cover letter with bullet points.

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The concept of using a cover letter to demonstrate communication skills is reinforced in a column by Kate Wendleton and Dale Dauten. An employer wrote to the career columnists to about his experience in reviewing cover letters during a recent search for technicians:

The most obvious thing that people failed to do was to address the items that were called out in the job advertisements. Applicant packages that got the most attention were those that organized their applications to follow the job ads.

For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

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One of the “Top 5 Reasons Why Job Hunters Fail” is “not writing a cover letter,” Robin Ryan notes in an article in her monthly newsletter.

“Human-resources managers state that cover-letter writing is becoming a lost art,” Ryan writes, “since job hunters think they can skip this step when they apply electronically.”

“A well-written cover letter has great power with employers and should always precede any resume sent. Open the letter with a powerful first paragraph that sums up the background, key strengths, skills and accomplishments you have to offer. Human-resource managers say that a good cover letter demonstrates your communication skills and can capture the interview,” Ryan advises. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

In a Wall Street Journal article, writer Joann S. Lublin reported that, according to career coaches, an estimated 85 percent of cover letters are so flawed that senders never land an interview. Interviewing an entrepreneur who had reviewed several hundred thousand cover letters since founding her business in 1983, Lublin discovered that the business owner found not even 1 percent of those letters acceptable. In response to a recent vacancy at the 150-employee firm, about 100 of the 150 job-seekers sent letters.

“Two-thirds contained mistakes (including a misspelled current job title),” Lublin reported. “Fifteen applicants addressed the female CEO as ‘Dear Sir.’” Only six cover letters specifically addressed qualifications listed in the ad, and the CEO found only three letters interesting enough to inspire her to read the senders’ resumes.

For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

More than two-thirds of human-resource managers view well-written, PERSONALIZED cover letters as advantageous to a job applicant, as reported in Resume Writer’s Digest. Nearly half believe that cover letters are more important — or as important as — resumes. In still another poll, this one from HRnext/BenefitsNext, 7 percent of respondents said the cover letter is so important that it can clinch a job, and nearly 40 percent characterized cover letters as “among the important factors” in the hiring process.” “It depends on the job” was the response of 22 percent, which is important to note for those aspiring to jobs in which they will be judged by how well they express themselves. According to almost 20 percent of respondents, a good cover won’t necessarily land you the job, but an awful one will throw you out of contention. For an overall refresher on cover letters, see our Cover Letter Tutorial.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.