Page 73 - 201 Killer Cover Letters

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STEP 1: GET ATTENTION
Your Ad Response or Resume Cover Letter arrives on your prospective employ-
er’s desk in one of two ways. Either it arrives unsolicited, such as when you send
your resume after hearing about an opening or through a referral; or it arrives
with hundreds of other resumes from your competition, as when you answer an
employment advertisement.
Once it does arrive on that desk, it’s fighting for attention against all those
other resumes and letters, plus the usual reports, memos, mail, and e-mail. The
person to whom you are writing may give your correspondence a full half-
minute, perhaps only 5 or 10 seconds, for a quick scan. As a result, you’ve got to
win that reader’s concentration immediately, like direct mail advertisers do when
they print enticing messages called “legends” on a mailer’s outer envelope and a
headline at the top of the letter. You can do the same.
Forget the standard openings you used to use—you know the ones that are
used by the vast majority of jobhunters such as, “In response to your ad in the
Daily Times, I enclose my resume for your consideration.” While this opening may
be appropriate for use with some highly formalized firms and industries, or when
writing to foreign organizations, a line like this is a wasted opportunity for most
people jobhunting in a competitive economy.
Instead, begin your letter with a strong opening line that suggests to the
reader, “Hey, read me!” Or, even better, “Don’t hire anyone until we’ve met, and
I’ll tell you why.”
The first line of your letter should ac-
RECRUITER’S TIP complish one of three objectives. The first
is to promise a benefit to the reader. Tell
RE: THE RE: your next employer what advantages
Recruiters often place ads for you’ll bring to him, such as any unique
more than one job opening at a skills you possess, a rare perspective you
time. Rather than sacrificing a offer, or a proven track record. If your flu-
strong opening line to refer to ency in a second language is pertinent,
the ad you’re answering and mention it. If you are familiar with new
where it appeared, incorporate systems or equipment, say so. Just be cer-
this information into your let- tain that what you offer is meaningful to
ter. (See Letter 5-1.) Or, simply the firm and to the position you seek—
add an “RE:” at the top of your and that you can really deliver what you
letter, as in Letters 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, promise.
and like this: A second way to open your letter is to
identify a need that your reader has. For
example, your reader may be searching
RE: Your ad in the October 3 for someone who knows a specific pro-
Daily Times for an Office duction process or piece of equipment.
Manager Perhaps the need is for someone already
familiar with the ins and outs of the busi-

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