Cover Letter Resource Packet (Page 11 of 15) in pdf

Cover Letter Resource Packet Page 11

This l etter w orks b ecause i t i s c oncise, i ncorporates t he s tory i nto t he t heme o f t he l etter a nd t ies i t

together b y b riefly r eferring b ack t o t he s tory i n t he l ast p aragraph. O ther a spects o f a n e ffective s tory

themed c over l etter s hould i nclude s tories t hat r elate s pecific a nd q uantifiable r esults. E mployers l ike t o

see f acts a nd f igures. B eing a ble t o p aint a p icture o f y ou s ucceeding o n t he j ob a llows t hem t o “ see”

you a ctually d oing t he j ob. M ake s ure t he s tories a re r elevant t o t he e mployers n eeds b y i dentifying t he

problems y ou c an s olve a nd t he o utcomes y ou c an a chieve. T ell s tories t hat a re r elevant a nd c oncisely

make c onnections b etween t he s kills a nd q ualifications t he s tory i llustrates.

The j ob p osting w ill p rovide y ou t he n ecessary s tory c ues. E nsure t hat y our c over l etter’s s tory r esponds

to t he j ob p osting i ntent. Y ou’ll d o t his b est w hen y ou i ncorporate t he j ob p osting’s k eywords a nd t he

tasks/responsibilities y ou m ention i n y our c over l etter. R esearch t he a ppropriate l anguage o f t he

prospective e mployer b y s tudying t he e mployer’s w ebsite a nd p rint p ublications a bout t he c ompany.

Find t he b uzz w ords o r k eywords a nd p hrases y ou s ee m ost a nd w rite t hose “ back” t o t he e mployer i n

your c over l etter. T his i s c alled l anguage-‐mirroring. E mployers w ho “ hear” t heir w ords m irrored b ack t o

them a ssume y ou “ get i t” a nd m ore e asily s ee y ou a s a p otential t eam m ember. I n s ummary m ake s ure

your s tory b ased c over l etters a re:

• Concise

• Integrate t he s tory t heme t hroughout

• Provide s pecific a nd q uantifiable r esults

• Relevant t o t he e mployers r equirements a nd t he r esults y ou c an a chieve

• Effectively u ses t he e mployers l anguage a nd m essage

Cover Letter Resource Packet Page 11