Creating a job search cover letter doesn’t need to be a
laborious process. Effective cover letters are short, skimmable and easy to
read (a good rule of thumb no matter where your cover letter is going) – three
to four paragraphs tops.
If you are answering an ad, address the requirements in the
ad and speak to how your experience relates to each. If you are sending the
letter cold, make sure your letter reflects some research on the company, how
your background relates, and why you have an interest in that company.
But instead, what generally happens is this. Bob is looking
for a job. He looks through the paper, finds a bunch of ads that sound interesting,
and circles them all with a red pen. Then he sweats out the cover letter,
personalizes each address, attaches his resume, mails them out, and
congratulates himself on a job well done.
Then nothing happens. He wonders why. He shrugs his
shoulders and starts all over again. On the other hand, Bob could take control
of his career and set out to find his perfect job.
First, he gives some careful thought to his previous jobs:
which ones he's liked and why, which ones he hasn't liked and why, where did he
excel - or not, and why he left each one, what his supervisors were like, what
his job description was in each place. That begins to give him a clue about
what motivates him, who he is, under what circumstances he functions
productively, and what he's looking for in his next job.
Then he begins to look for companies that fit this profile -
whether they have ads in the paper or not. Not all companies advertise their
openings. Frequently openings are still in the contemplative stages, such as an
expansion or confidential replacement. Then he sits down to write his cover letters.
Two would suffice, with a bit of personalization in each: one for companies
actively advertising their openings, and one for companies that he's researched
which sound appealing to him.
In the first paragraph, Bob says why he's writing to that
particular company. Instead of "I am writing because I saw your ad,"
he writes, "I am responding to your ad because...". For the letters
he's sending cold: "I am sending you a copy of my resume because in
researching companies that I feel I could be of benefit to..." (as opposed
to "...companies I think I'd like to work for...") Emphasis goes on
the benefit to the company. Not the benefit to you.
In the second paragraph, Bob personalizes it. This is the
paragraph (or two) that varies with each company or ad. Two or three sentences
will do it if there's one paragraph, or add another paragraph of about the same
length. This part comes from the heart. Why are you writing this company?
What's it got to do with what you do and who you are? It needn't be a long
introspective story - but if there's something specific in the ad or about the
company that appeals to you, speak to it. (And if there isn't, why are you
writing them?)
The third paragraph winds everything up. And don't forget to
be pro-active. Give the person to whom you are writing about 10 days to receive
the letter and contact you (which probably won't happen because things usually
don't move that fast), and then follow up. State the date you will be doing so,
and then do it on that date!
Don't think you can get away with a generic cover letter.
You can't. They're spotted at 100 steps, especially by recruiters and human
resource people. And they don't put you to the top of the pile.
Is all this a lot of trouble? Yes, it is. But that's how you
stay in control of your career: by going those extra steps. A personalized
cover letter gets you remembered. Writing to the person by name gets you
remembered. Saying you'll follow up and then doing so on the date indicated,
gets you remembered.
That gives you much better odds than ending up at the bottom
of some pile on a desk. Because if you're called in to interview, then you are
part of your deciding process. If you go generic, skip the salutation, and wait
around, you blend into the woodwork. You won't even have a chance to reject the
company if they've already rejected you.
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