Archive for the ‘Cover Letter Articles’ Category

A resume cover letter will accompany your resume and act as an introduction to that resume. It’s the middle ground between your potential employer and the facts about your career. With a resume cover letter, you can accentuate the positive of your resume and get a chance to let your personality show through.

A resume cover letter is basically a letter to the potential employer explaining why you are submitting your resume and what is in it for them if they hire you. Hiring managers are getting tons and tons of resumes each day for every position that is open. By writing a good resume cover letter, you can make your resume stand out and increase your chances for getting an interview.

Since your resume cover letter directly relates to your resume, it’s best to start there for inspiration. Take a look at your complete resume and write down the key points from your resume. What is the over all theme? That you’re a team player? That you are a great sales person? That you always take initiative?

Developing a theme for your resume cover letter is a good way to start positioning yourself in the marketplace. In truth, you might be all of those things but you want to brand yourself as something so that the potential employer can get a snapshot of who you are as a worker. Your theme should be directly related to the job listing that prompted you to contact the company. For example, if they are looking for a self-starter, you should position yourself that way in your resume cover letter.

Once you’ve decided how you are going to position yourself, go back through your resume and look for examples of this in your career. Draw specific instances that you can use in your cover letter to point out that you are really what you say. Look for two to three examples to use in your resume cover letter.

After finding your theme and your examples, it’s time to write your resume cover letter. Start out with stating why you are writing the company and where you found the ad. Then launch into a paragraph about your experience and how it directly relates to their job opening. Here is your chance to use the examples that you found in your resume. Build around this one theme for this paragraph. It will help brand you and set yourself apart from the other applicants.

Next, you’ll want to tell them specifically what you’ll do for them. How will having you on board make a difference in their company? You’ve proven that you have a certain set of skills from your previous paragraph. Now show them how those skills translate into the work place. Finally, you’ll need to communicate the next steps. If you’re going to be following up with the company, let them know how and when. If you are going to wait for their call, state this as well.

All of these elements work together to create a great resume cover letter that will get results.

If you need a resume cover letter but are stumped on how to write one, I’d recommend checking out the Amazing Cover Letter Creator. It will help you automatically create a killer cover letter, without writing. Click here to check it out and stop writing cover letters the hard way (NOTE: I do get a commission on this product, but I recommend it 100%).

Let’s face it – in this job market, you need all the help you can get in standing apart from the crowd of people looking for jobs. It’s estimated that there are 6.3 unemployed people for every job that is available, which means hiring managers are being very selective for interviews and in filling positions. Perfectly qualified candidates are being turned away for minor reasons, so you need to do all that you can to make your cover letter shine.

A good cover letter is a gateway to finding out more about your experience and asking you for an interview. Think about your cover letter as the set up for your resume. If you’ve ever been on a blind date, you know the importance of the set up. If your sibling sets you up with his or her friend, you can tell a lot about the person from the context your sibling gives you. Your sibling will normally play up the good parts of the person’s appearance and personality which makes you want to get to know them better. The same is true for your cover letter. It should play up the good parts of your resume and encourage the hiring manager to call you in for an interview.

A cover letter should be personalized for each and every job that you apply for. This may seem like overkill but it could literally make the difference between getting a job and spending several more months unemployed. The time you spend tweaking and re-writing a cover letter to suit a job can pay off in spades.

Thinking about the needs of the employer first is an excellent way to structure your cover letter. They want an employee who knows what they are talking about, who is enthusiastic about working with the company and who has the experience to be able to complete the job function.

Your potential employer wants to know what you can do for them, and not what you’ve done for someone else. If you start with explaining your knowledge of the industry and your knowledge of the company specifically, you’ll be able to attract the attention of your potential employer. By doing some investigative work, you’ll prove that you know what you’re talking about and you’ll show personal interest in the company.

You can show enthusiasm for the job by devoting part of your letter to sharing details that aren’t part of your resume. You shouldn’t get excessively personal, but the cover letter is an opportunity to translate the nuts and bolts of your resume into real world skills. Give a brief overview of your work skills but, most importantly, show how they are related to the job you are applying for. Showing a little of your personality will make your cover letter more believable and memorable.

You can create a good cover letter by keeping the focus on the needs of the employer and using it as a platform to show off your best side. Make sure to personalize your cover letter for each employer and you’ll be more likely to get the interview.

If you need a good cover letter today, check out the Amazing Cover Letter Creator. It will help you create a killer cover letter quickly, without writing. Click here to check it out and stop writing cover letters the hard way (NOTE: I do get a commission on this product, but I recommend it 100%).

Job cover letters can make you stand out from the rest of the crowd. Most people don’t give any thought to their cover letters and spend all their time on their resumes. Considering the fact that the cover letter is the first impression that your potential employers get of your ability to fulfill the job duties, you should spend the majority of your time working on your cover letter. Here are a few tips that you can add to any cover letter to increase your chances of getting the interview.

Tip #1 – Treat your cover letter like a first date

This may sound a bit weird, but thinking about it this way will help you frame your cover letter in the right way. If you go on a first date and just talk about yourself the whole time, chances are you won’t get a second date. The same is true with your cover letter. Even if you’re desperate to get a new job, you shouldn’t make the cover letter all about you and your wants.

A much better strategy is similar to what you should do on a first date – take interest in the other person. Each job cover letter you submit should be customized to the company to which you are applying. This way you can make specific references to what the company does and how display how much you know about the industry. This way you’re showing the company that you take interest in what they do and you aren’t just sending out a standard cover letter to every company.

Tip # 2 – Use a “passion” paragraph.

Too many cover letters come across as wooden and unfeeling. When an employer asks you to come in for an interview, they want to see you in person and get to know more about your personality. It’s hard to make that determination if you don’t show any of your personality coming through your cover letter. Although you shouldn’t get overly casual in your letter, don’t be afraid to show your passion for their business, this particular job and working in general.

Your passion paragraph can really make your resume memorable. When you think about how many resumes a hiring manager receives for any given job it becomes clear that you need to show some personality through your letter. A passion paragraph does exactly that for you and gives you some personality that your potential employer can remember you by.

Tip #3 – Emphasize the highlights of your resume

Many cover letter writers make the mistake of providing an overview of their entire resume. This isn’t the purpose of the cover letter. Your cover letter should read like a “best of” album and only cover the “hits.” Those “hits” should be directly related to the nature of your potential new job. This means that if you’re applying for a sales job you shouldn’t bring up your experience working as a receptionist, or vice versa.

These tips will help you craft an interesting and memorable job cover letter that shows the employer exactly what you can do for them.

If you need a job cover letter ASAP, I’d recommend checking out the Amazing Cover Letter Creator. It will help you create a killer cover letter in less than 5 minutes, without writing. Click here to check it out and stop writing cover letters the hard way (NOTE: I do get a commission on this product, but I recommend it 100%).