There are many times during the implementation of your full search campaign where you'll rely on a cover letter to speak for you. The way you present yourself on paper can make or break your success during any phase of the job search process. Think about all of the different situations in which cover letters might be useful in opening doors, making a strong first impression, and keeping your candidacy on the front burner in the eyes of employers:
Cover letters (including e-mails) are the delivery method for most of your career communications, and they will almost always accompany the career documents in your Job Search Survival Toolkit.
Note
Writing cold approach letters (when you don't know anyone at the Target Company) is very ineffective.
There may be some instances when it will be necessary to send a cold letter, but you should try to avoid these cases. Experience has shown repeatedly that the results of cold letter campaigns are extremely disappointing. Frankly, I think these types of letters are a waste of time, energy, and money. Even worse, the low response rate makes jobseekers feel terribly disappointed and frustrated.
So, of course you should learn how to write a great cold approach letter, but I urge you to use this type of document as infrequently as you can. Instead, focus on warm job search letters, written to the people to whom you have been referred through your network. And be sure to mention the name of the referring party in the first paragraph of your letter. You'll find that these warm referral letters garner a much higher response rate, and can actually move your search forward.
No matter what the purpose of your written communication, a good cover letter should:
Direct the reader's attention toward the strongest aspects of your background and qualifications (and away from any weaknesses).
Customize and personalize your message to each specific company and recipient.
Highlight and expand upon the most relevant facts on your resume.
Give new, relevant, customized information that is not included anywhere on your resume.
Show that you know the company well, that you've done your homework, and that you're familiar with the challenges and opportunities in their industry — or better yet, at their organization in particular.
A cover letter can be broken down into three basic parts:
Part 1: Introduction. Explain why you're writing to the employer. Did you see an advertisement? Were you referred by a friend or current employee? Have you seen one of their executives present at a conference or meeting? Did you read something in the business press about the company? Be specific and use your research. Give the recipient of your correspondence a sense of your knowledge by referring to industry trends, specific events, or media coverage. This is the best way to demonstrate your interest in the organization and your preparedness.
Part 2: The Sales Presentation. Tosell yourself effectively, tell the employer your qualifications and give examples of your related experience. The same elements that make your resume effective will work in your cover letter — use action words; be brief; be specific. Write about your relevant accomplishments, and use facts and numbers to back up your claims.
Part 3: Wrap Up and Close. Be sure to conclude in one sentence what you can do for the organization. Wrap up your letter as strongly as you opened it. Restate your interest in working with the company and why. Genuine interest and enthusiasm, combined with your knowledge of the company, are hard to resist. Close the letter by directly requesting a meeting or interview. Take charge of the process by stating a time frame in which you'll call. Then follow up precisely as promised, to demonstrate how responsible and professional you are.
Here's a typical cover letter for your reference:
Sample: Cover Letter
NOTE: Attach or enclose your Professional Biography, not your resume, unless there is a specific job opening at the company that matches your qualifications.
When responding to an advertised opening, following up after a meeting or interview, or expressing an interest in pursuing a specific opportunity arising out of your networking activities, the ideal format for your cover letter is called a perfect match letter. All three of these situations are great opportunities to sell yourself by matching your experience, strengths, and contributions to their problems, needs, and challenges.
The perfect match letter gets its name from the fact that your letter is formatted into two columns with two headings across the top, giving the body text an overall appearance of a side-by-side matching exercise. The reason this format is so effective is that you're making it very easy for the recipient to see that you're a match for every criteria the employer is looking for. This means that your resume will be placed into the "yes" pile.
Another compelling reason to master this type of letter is the fact that, in my experience, perfect match letters have a 75 percent response rate — even when no one's hiring. That's right — 75 percent of the time you send this type of letter, you'll receive a positive response, whether that's a phone call, a meeting with a recruiter, or a screening interview with the hiring manager. The perfect match letter is even more powerful when no one's hiring, because it focuses so strongly on tangible results. When the job market is extremely tight, you can't afford not to use this type of cover letter.
Note
Perfect match letters have a 75 percent response rate — even when no one's hiring.
On the following pages, you'll find some good examples of perfect match letters. The way to create these is to use either tabs, tables, or columns in your favorite word processing program, and format the letter according to the examples you see on the following pages. For the slightly computer-challenged, an alternative format, called the vertical match letter, accomplishes the same goals in an easier-to-create format. The final example in this collection of letters demonstrates the vertical match layout.
Sample: Perfect Match Letter #1
Sample: Perfect Match Letter #2
