Do you
remember the story of the little red hen who could? Surrounded by all her barnyard friends, she
in all her resourcefulness was put to a task of planting some grains of wheat
she had found. She asked the pig, the
cat, and the duck to help. But all were too
busy to bother. So putting forth great
effort, she did it herself.
The
wheat grew and eventually needed harvesting, then grinding into flour, and finally
baking into bread. With each laborious step,
the little red hen asked her friends to help.
But always they were too busy to bother.
“Fine,” she determined. “Then I’ll
do it myself.” When the sweet smell of fresh,
hot
bread filled the air, suddenly her friends were happy to join in.
“Only
I was willing to put forth the effort,” she said. “Now I alone shall eat this delicious, hot
bread.” And she did. You see the moral of the story?
Perhaps
you feel like no matter how hard you try, you’re lost in the great sea of
job-seekers. These days, obtaining an
interview, even just getting your resume read, is a daunting challenge. We may feel there is no way to stand out
above the others. And only one will win
the job (or eat the bread). Who will it
be? The answer – the one who puts forth the
effort to plant, harvest, grind and bake the bread - oops, I mean, to get
noticed.
The
first step to getting noticed over other job applicants is an attractive,
concisely-written cover letter. Mind
you, a form letter is never the answer.
They may be easy, but they are not impressive, and hiring agents can
spot them a mile away. She may have
literally dozens or even hundreds of applicants to consider. Taking the time to write a personalized,
custom-written letter will pique her interest and encourage her to move on to
your resume.
An Amazing Cover Letter Is As Simple as A-B-C
A. Start with your Header. It should be the same as what is on your
resume. Simply copy and paste your name
& contact information to the blank page which will become your cover letter.
B. After the current date, list the company name,
individual’s name (yes, it is worth the effort to get a real person’s name if
you can), address, city, state, zip.
C. Then compose your paragraphs. Try to maintain a upbeat tone throughout, and
avoid talking about age, ethnic background, or religion.
Paragraph
#1: Introduce yourself and highlight your skills,
education, & background pertinent to the position. Include the name of the company in the first
paragraph of the letter, as well as the position that you are applying
for. You can even mention where you
found the job listing, i.e. “… the position of administrative secretary as
advertised at www.SnagAJob.com” This is one reason why form letters
are not good. It is best to target only one
company and one position per letter.
Paragraph #2: Tell them clearly and concisely who you are
and what you have to offer them by focusing on some of your key accomplishments
and strengths. Convince them why you are
the one for the job – what you can do to fill their needs. If they can see
right off that you might be a good fit for their job, they will be encouraged
to also read the resume.
Paragraph #3: Reference the resume that you have attached or
enclosed. If salary requirements or
re-location preferences are asked for, list them here.
Paragraph #4: Your closing.
Show your appreciation for their time and consideration, and that you
would be interested in a face-to-face meeting.
Let them know you will follow up with a call in a week or so. (And then do so.)
We all want to avoid the
rejection pile. Putting forth the extra
effort to compose a really great cover letter to accompany a well-written resume
will get you noticed every time – so that you will be the one to enjoy the
delicious, hot bread.
Cover Letters
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