Your First Chance To Impress
For any given job, hiring managers routinely receive responses from hundreds, even thousands of applicants. Even if you have an extremely polished professional resume, you need to take extra steps to ensure that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Your cover letter is similar to the opening paragraphs of a persuasive paper. If you don’t interest your readers right off the bat, they are not going to read on to get the details of your arguments.
Likewise, if your cover letter does not catch the attention of the hiring manager reading it, he or she is not even going to look at your resume. Therefore, it is imperative to write a cover letter that stands out from the crowd and makes a good first impression. It’s a great idea to utilize reputable cover letter writing services as you work to showcase your skills and knowledge in an interesting and effective way.
Using content that highlights your relevant experiences and skills is obviously the backbone of a solid cover letter. However, the five essential rules below will help you create a truly compelling cover letter that will convince a hiring manager to notice you and read your resume.
Rule #1: Appearance. Your resume and cover letter must be aesthetically pleasing and consistent in appearance. This includes:
• Using the same professional heading and font type and size in each.
• Producing both on high-quality paper, using a high-quality printer and black ink (if documents are being “snail-mailed").
• Keeping consistent spacing between headings and paragraphs.
Rule #2: Target your audience. You always want to use the hiring manager’s name in the salutation. If the contact’s name isn’t provided in the job posting, a bit of Internet research or a well-structured phone call can produce results. By using the contact’s name your cover letter becomes personalized, and it shows your interest in the company.
The hiring manager wants to know that your cover letter and resume have been specifically tailored to the open position at his or her company, and that you haven’t sent the same documents in bulk to others in the industry.
**Remember, a letter addressed "Dear Sir or Madam" or worse, "To Whom It May Concern," has the same impact as one addressed "Dear Occupant."
Rule #3: A strong opening. A dynamic opening paragraph is essential to capture and retain a hiring manager’s interest. Think again of a persuasive paper. If your opening paragraph does not have attention-grabbing information, what motivation do people have to continue reading? For a quick and effective read, your opening paragraph should include a:
• Reference to the position sought.
• Reason why the applicant is interested in the position.
• Brief statement as to why the applicant feels qualified to fill the job.
When filling in this information it is important to remember that emphasis should always be placed on what the applicant can do for the targeted company, while also providing quantifiable proof as to why this is true. Keep this paragraph short and to the point, but provide substantial information that shows you are a serious, interested and qualified candidate.
Rule #4: Showcase your accomplishments. You should include a bulleted area or a similarly targeted section that emphasizes which of your accomplishments are pertinent to the job at hand. This serves to:
• Break up large blocks of text that a hiring manager might find daunting or repetitive.
• Draw the eye towards the most important part of the cover letter -- what you have to offer and how your skills will benefit the company.
Rule #5: A proactive closing. Always initiate further action at the end of a cover letter. A proactive closing indicates that you will call within a few days to see if a time might be scheduled to meet. This shows the hiring manager that:
• You are extremely interested in the position
• You are willing to make the extra effort to stay in contact with them and pursue this opportunity
• You are self-motivated and driven
Remember: To wait for a hiring manager to take that first step is to risk losing the opportunity to another more assertive candidate.
ResumeEdge has exceptional cover letter writing services that can help you create an engaging cover letter that will get you noticed. ResumeEdge.com is a leading resume writing and editing service specializing in 40 different industries to provide job-winning resumes and cover letters. ResumeEdge is a proud member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and the National Resume Writers Association.