MISSION POSSIBLE: Land a Great Job Fast - Increase Your Interview Opportunities, Write a Killer Cover Letter

Job seeker:

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a captivating cover letter—one that grabs your future employer by the shirt collar and compels him or her to pick up the phone, dial your number, and offer you an interview!

Your primary objectives are to:

• Uncover hidden job markets.
  

• Differentiate yourself from the crowd of applicants. 
  

• Write a one-of-a-kind, situation-specific cover letter. 
  (Vague, generic letters land in the trash!)

• Demonstrate your knowledge of the employer’s needs.
  and why you are the right candidate to hire.
• Increase your odds of gaining an interview and, ultimately, the job. 

Five easy steps to write a killer cover letter:

1.   Investigate companies of interest.
Conduct online research. Read articles in newspapers, business journals, and trade magazines to uncover hidden job markets. Where are companies expanding? Will they be hiring new employees?

• Familiarize yourself with each company's products and services, as well as its business philosophy. How could you contribute to this company's success?
• Narrow your list to your top 10 companies. Keep meticulous files with hiring managers' contact information and your notes about each company. 
• Address your letter to the hiring manager, by name. In making a personal appeal, you build an instant rapport with the reader—your future employer.

2.   Hook the reader from the start.
Use the first two sentences of your cover letter to:

• identify yourself
• state the position you are seeking, and 
• provide a brief overview of your qualifications.

Put yourself in the prospective employer’s shoes. What would the hiring manager want to know about you? What aspects of the company particularly intrigue you? 

Example:
“I read with interest an article in ABC Medical Journal of your plans to expand your pharmaceutical sales team in the Mid-South.  I've lived in Memphis for the past 10 years while working for a surgical supply company and maintain daily contact with healthcare providers in the area. I hold an M.S. in Pharmacology.”

3.   Be a name dropper.
If you had a referral from a friend or business associate, disclose your contact’s name in the first sentence of your cover letter. 

Example:
“Karen Smith, Director of Operations for XYZ Packaging Corporation, suggested I contact you regarding the position of Logistics Manager.” 

4.   Zero in on your strengths. 
Your cover letter will hit the mark if it focuses on the top three or four skills you have to offer the company. 

Example:
“I’d like to become your newest Key Accounts Executive. With that goal in mind, I have enclosed a résumé that outlines my demonstrated success as a consistent top performer, team player, and skilled communicator.” 

What you can do for the company better than anyone else? What is your niche, your area of specialty?

A candidate for an operations management position in an industry adversely affected by the recent economic downturn simply wrote:

“With over 15 years of business management experience, I am known for turning around under-performing operations, even in difficult economic times.”  

In the second paragraph of your cover letter, create a bulleted list describing your core competencies. Describe how your knowledge, skills, and abilities could benefit your future employer.

5.   Ask for the interview in the closing paragraph. 
Your primary objective in writing a cover letter is to gain an interview. Don’t dance around the issue.
Be polite and assertive. Ask for the interview. 

Example:
“I am confident that I could contribute to increasing sales, profit margins, and customer satisfaction at XYZ Corporation. May I have an appointment to discuss the possibilities?”  

Another approach for writing a closing statement is to restate the position for which you want to be considered and the best time to reach you by phone. It is a subtle call-to-action for the reader—your future employer to contact you for an interview.

Example:
“I look forward meeting with you regarding the position of Nursing Administrator.  The best time to reach me is between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon Central Standard Time at 123-456-7891.”

Once you've drafted your cover letter:

• Ask several friends to read it, and act upon their feedback. Was their overall impression a good one, or does your letter still need more work?
• Proofread your cover letter to be absolutely certain that your letter is free of typographical and grammatical errors before sending it to a prospective employer.
• If you run into difficulty, enlist the help of a professional résumé writer to improve the content and presentation of your job search documents.

Job seeker, this concludes the instructions for your mission to write a captivating cover letter. Commit this information to memory. This article will self-destruct in 30 seconds … 29 … 28 … 27 … 26 … 25 … 24 … 23 … 22 … 21 ….


Copyright © 2002, 2014 by Sharla Taylor All rights reserved.