Amazing Cover Letters/Jimmy Sweeney Cover Letters
Learn to write a high-quality cover letter, and receive copies of his
award-winning cover letter templates. View
the Amazing Cover Letter Creator and resources to help with your job-search;
i.e. 10 secrets to acing your job interview and salary negotiation tips.
Interview Questions & Strategies
Interview with these interview tips, career Q&A's, and resources.
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5 Ways to Improve
Your Cover Letters
AT&T gets over a thousand resumes
everyday, so Jim, who is a human resource manager there, shared this insight
with us. "Today, so many people can't communicate well. That's why a well-composed
cover letter is influential. In fact, a well-written letter can grab an
interview just on its own merit. It's too bad many job hunters are so lazy
they don't write one."
That's a mistake no savvy job candidate
wants to make.
In the Winning Cover Letters
book we published a survey of over 600 hiring managers, outlining the proven
formula for writing an effective cover letter and detailing key mistakes
to avoid. Here are five ways to get you started today on improving your
letter writing skills.
- Don't lose them with your first sentence.
Typical opening sentences such as, "I'm applying for the job I saw on
your website." OR "I really want to work for your company." are
ineffective according to our survey results. The cover letter and resume
only get a 15-second glance, so your first line either grabs the reader's
attention or loses it. Hiring managers overwhelmingly report that you
must use a powerful first sentence that summarizes the top skills and
experience you can bring to the job. For example, Five years experience
as project manager, with a proven track record of being on time and within
budget, is the background I would bring to your position.
- Sell! Sell! SELL! 97% of the
hiring managers surveyed agreed that they want to see SPECIFICS -- not
generic form letters. Mike, a vice-president of human resources, said,
"Candidates that stand out for us provide evidence of their past achievements
and their talents, and with concise sentences support the kinds of contributions
they would bring to our company. To me, the cover letter is more influential
than the resume, because it is a truer sample of the candidate's communication
skills, assuming they most likely wrote it themselves." When you write
your cover letter, be sure to stress your applicable background experience
and highlight your accomplishments in a few bullet points to capture the
interviewer's interest immediately.
- TELL them you CAN do it. "Applicants
who do not address the qualifications requested in the job listing make
a huge mistake. And it seems that many don't address the employer's needs
at all, they just upload their standard cover letter and resume file and
hit SEND without thinking," said Kelly, a CFO with extensive hiring experience.
The better strategy is to address each specific qualification and state
the related experience and skills you possess to perform that task or
function so the interviewer has no doubt that you can do the job.
- Format and layout matter. Your
letter must be easy to read -- that is essential! Microscopic type is
a bad choice -- small font sizes can make addresses, phone numbers and
emails illegible. Arial is a good font choice, size 12-point, especially
when faxing since the type often is blurred in the faxing process. One
human resource specialist sent us a real cover letter that had no address
or phone number on it. She sarcastically wrote, "Don't you just love this?
We couldn't contact this person even if we wanted to."
- Don't let careless errors destroy
your chances to land that dream job. Stephanie, a human resource manager,
who has hired over 500 people revealed, "Once I see a typo I know that
this is NOT a person we want to hire into our organization. People can
avoid this fatal mistake if they very carefully proofread everything before
they send."
Copyright 2007
Robin Ryan.
All rights reserved. America's most popular career counselor, Robin Ryan,
is the author of four bestselling books: 60 Seconds & You're Hired!, Winning
Resume, Winning Cover Letters, and What to Do with the Rest of Your Life.
She's appeared on over a thousand TV & radio shows including Oprah, Dr.
Phil, and has been published in most major newspapers and magazines including
USA Today & the Wall Street journal.
Sample Letters
Example Cover Letter, Research & Development Professional
Example Cover Letter, Administrative/Accounting Professional
Example Cover Letter, Commercial Property
Example Cover Letter, Desktop Support and Network
Admin Professional
Example Cover Letter, IT Director
Example Cover Letter, Insurance
Claims Professional
Example Cover Letter, Supervisor/
Management Position
Example Cover Letter, Project
Leader
Example Cover Letter, Hospitality
Position
Related
Articles
7 Secrets of a Highly Effective Resume Cover Letter
written by Jimmy Sweeney
How to Write a Job-Winning Cover Letter
Write Winning Cover Letters; Tips That Can Help You
Land an Interview
Sending a thank you letter is as important as interview
preparation.
How to Start Your Cover Letter Off With a BANG!
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