Free Career and Job Search Advice

[C_Vaughan]

Creating a cover letter that employers find genuinely interesting is no small task. You have a very limited amount of time to arouse enough curiosity (in the mind of the employer) to warrant a look at your resume.

How do you make that happen?

Here are three extremely important considerations that you must firmly understand and incorporate into your cover letter masterpiece if you are to achieve the utmost success possible.

ONE: Be concise.

To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson – Don’t use two words when one will do. When you have limited space to make an impact, choose your words carefully.

TWO: Write to sell.

Every word you use in your cover letter needs to be focused on four things:

1. the position for which you are applying
2. the organization in which you will work
3. your ability to meet (and exceed) the needs of the employer
4. your desire to work for the company

Be personable, professional and persuasive. Address your letter to an individual (the contact person) and use the organization’s name in the text at least one time. If you do not have the name of a person to reference, use the internet or the phone and find out who is handling that vacancy. Get creative if you have to, but never use “To Whom it May Concern”.

Match your accomplishments and abilities with the needs of the company (specifically the expectations for the open position), but do not blast them with everything you are capable of doing. Save some impressive skills and achievements for the interview.

Let the employer know you want to work for them and state specific reasons for your conclusion. Hopefully, you will have done enough research about the organization to know why you would want to be a part of their team.

THREE: Proofread, proofread, and proofread.

Nothing will work against you faster than a typo or a misspelled word. In fact, that is often one of the first screening measures taken in identifying which job candidates make it to the next level. If your materials are not perfect, they may be the first to end up in the trash can.

Writing to generate interest in yourself is much different than writing to your childhood friend or your grandmother. Be accurate, but be bold in selling yourself. If you don’t tell the prospective employer how good you are, no one else will. That is why so much emphasis is placed on creating awesome marketing pieces instead of a short biography.

Make your cover letter a masterpiece and design a resume that praises your accomplishments and you will be well on your way to landing the interview of your dreams.

Best of luck!

C. Vaughan