As a recipient of countless resumes and cover letters, I get the first hand privilege of reading through and evaluating the way people present themselves. I concern myself most in this segment with two groups. The people that write a cover letter and the people that copy a cover letter. The first group will see the majority of success in their interview processes, gaining more time from the hiring manager reviewing their resume and taking interest in the content of their profile. The latter will be added to an ever increasing pile of rising paper headed for the trash or recycle bin.
The cover letter is the introduction to the hiring manager. It is given as a summary of information showing interest, profile matching, and skills you think the manager will want to see. All companies are different, offering cultural and objective differences, much less the technical challenges that are present in all environments. With that, a generic or copied cover letter offers little more than an easy excuse for a hiring manager to throw your resume to the side, or better yet in the trash can. The cover letter for each role is unique. It is filled with the resulting words that come from your research on the prospective company and job, as well as any intimate information that can be garnered about the evaluating manager. The letter offers you a quick chance to separate yourself from others with your personal communication style and place yourself in the small group of candidates that show what it takes to be successful.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of cover letters are generic. Starting with "To whom it may concern" or "Dear HR" or no addressee at all, the letters immediately reflect their writers lack of invested time in learning about the role or the decision makers in the hiring process. The best are those that introduce themselves, offering no value at all or addressing the job they are applying for specifically. These are the carbon copy letters that are attached to boring resumes that simply regurgitate responsibilities are former jobs. If you want to continue to not get the interview, continue to send these out. You will be certain to raise your postage bill and alienate potential employers.
The key to a cover letter is to make it personal. Endow it with something that makes it your own. Fill it with communication style that allows your personality to shine forth, bringing a point of distinction and life to your resume that others do not possess. Address the job at hand. Speak of your skills and address what you know of the job and potential solutions you can provide. Bring value. I know that is overstated but it needs to be addressed. People need to perceive value and you need to speak to it. You are not there in person so the impact needs to be immediate and lasting, one that cannot be denied and requires an in face meeting. Get yourself in front of the manager, remember that is the key of the cover letter/resume. Selling yourself from there is easy.
Cover letters are personal. They speak a great deal of yourself as well as the job you are looking at. Most hiring managers hire with a sense of emotion, so do not think they are bionicle folks with no feelings. They are people like you and want to see people with interest and taking their hiring very seriously. Show that you respect their time and they will respect you. Shake the trees and see what works. Write different things to different people, trying different approaches and figure out what works for you and your writing style. Communication comes in all forms and sizes, and most people do not write the way they speak. So be sure you are getting the message across.
Leave with this, have fun and be relaxed. Most professionals are not professional interviewers. If they are, that is not a good sign. So feel comfortable that this is not what you do all the time. But relax, remember what makes you who you are. Play to your strengths and them speak candidly about it on paper. You will find that your cover letters take a mind of their own and stand out amongst the reams of paper.
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Jason Monastra is a 10 year veteran in the recruiting industry and current partner with United Global Technologies, http://www.ugtechnologies.com, a leading recruiting and consulting firm serving the IT and engineering vertical based out of Charlotte NC.
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