Cover Letter Resource Packet (Page 4 of 15) in pdf

SOME G ENERAL B EST P RACTICE T IPS

STAY E MPLOYER-‐FOCUSED

A c over l etter t hat i s “ I” f ocused i s a t urn o ff. T hat’s w hat y our r esume i s, “ I” f ocused. T he c over l etter

should s ell y our a bilities a s t he s olution t o t he e mployer. D on’t t ell t he e mployer a ll t he w onderful

things y ou d id, b ut r ather h ow a ll t he s kills a nd a bilities y ou h ave w ill f ulfill t heir n eeds. T o d o t his m ost

effectively s tudy t he j ob d escription o r j ob p osting c arefully a nd u se t he l anguage y ou s ee t o c reate t he

action s tatements t hat r epresent w hat t he j ob e ntails.

RESEARCH T HE O RGANIZATION

Do y our h omework b y r esearching t he c ompany d on’t j ust r ead t he j ob p osting, r esearch t he c ompany.

Find o ut w ho t hey a re a nd t ell t hem h ow y ou f it i nto t he c ompany b y f illing t he j ob t hey’ve p osted.

Make s ure y ou i dentify t he p osition f or w hich y ou a re a pplying a nd h ow y ou l earned a bout i t. I ndicate

specific q ualifications t hat r eflect t he t op t hree t hings y ou s aw h ighlighted i n t he j ob d escription.

Generate s ome i nterest a nd e nthusiasm w ith y our c ontent a nd b e s ure t o c onvey y our e xcitement a bout

working f or t he c ompany a nd b riefly w hy y ou w ant t o w ork t here. F inally, r equest a n a ction t hat w ill

prompt t hem t o f ollow-‐up o n y our c over l etter. M ake s ure t he a ddresses, e mail, a nd p hone n umbers

are c orrect f or y ou; d on’t l eave a c ommunication g ap o n y our e nd!

ADDRESSING T HE L ETTER

How d o y ou f ind t he n ame o f t he h iring m anager w hen n one i s l isted i n t he j ob d escription o r y ou a re

required t o a ddress t he l etter t o a n e mail, s uch a s:

obposting@greatcompany.com? T here a re s everal

ways t o f erret o ut t hat i nformation. T he s implest i s t o s imply c all t he c ompany a nd a sk. Y ou m ight c all

the f ront d esk a nd j ust i nquire w ho m anages t he s pecific d epartment o r c all t he H uman R esources o ffice

and a sk w hom t o a ddress t he c over l etter. Y ou m ight g o t o L inkedIn a nd r esearch t he c ompany t o s ee i f

any o f t he e xecutives o r m anagers h as p rofiles. I f y ou k now s omeone w ho w orks a t t he c ompany c all

and a sk i f t hey c an f ind o ut f or y ou.

If t he w ords N O P HONE C ALLS a ppear i n t he a d, i t i s b est t o r espect t hose t hree v ery i mportant w ords. I f

no h iring m anager i s l isted, t he H R d epartment m ay b e p rotecting t hat p erson f rom r eceiving c alls f rom

prospective e mployees. C ompany p rotocols m ay d ictate t hat a ll j ob a pplications a re s creened b y H R

before h iring m anagers s ee a pplications. I t m ay a lso m ean t hat t he p osition m ay n ot h ave a n i dentified

supervisor a s y et. T hat i s r are, b ut i t d oes h appen.

In e ach o f t hese c ases, a void u sing T O W HOM I T M AY C ONCERN. T his i s c onsidered o utdated a nd o verly

formal. Y ou m ight o pen t he l etter w ith a s imple “ Hello” o r a void a s alutation a ll t ogether a nd p ut i n a

SUBJECT L INE P HRASE O R J OB N UMBER/TITLE, t hen b egin y our c orrespondence b y g etting r ight t o t he

point o f w hy y ou a re w riting.

ONLINE A PPLICATIONS

What s hould y ou d o w hen y ou h ave t o s ubmit y our r esume o n l ine? T here m ay b e n o w ay t o i nclude a

cover l etter. I f y ou a re a ble t o s end a n e mail y ou m ay i nclude a v ery b rief s napshot o f y our q ualifications

in t he e mail. N o m ore t han t hree o r f our l ines a re s ufficient. H it t he h igh p oints o f y our q ualifications

based o n t he j ob d escription n eeds. S ome o nline a pplication s ystems a llow y ou t o i nclude s upporting

Cover Letter Resource Packet Page 4