Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Work and Employment
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-26-2013, 01:32 AM
 
Location: KC, MO
856 posts, read 1,048,297 times
Reputation: 699

Advertisements

....so much bad information out there about what constitutes an effective Cover Letter.

Yes, true, keep it to one page.

You actually only require about half that page.

This is the outline I use:

Address the HA by name, company name and title;

...show a reference to the job position/job title/requisition number;

Opening sentence thanks that person for taking the time to review your correspondence**;

You then assert your being the 'best choice' candidate by then inserting two, three at most bullets of accomplishments that tie into the job.

Accomplishments that show the HA clearly that if you got 'those kind' of numbers for your current/past employer you can easily accomplish the same thing for that HA.

................

The next part is NOT what I do:

Thank the HA again, letting that person know you will be sitting by the phone, waiting for their call.

Good Luck with that.

......................

The problem I have here is that you do not indicate you had previously spoken with those HA's prior to sending your CL and rezoom.

Which is why you and everyone else ends up on the short end of the stick....

....because you did not seek out that HA and make your bones with that person before sending her/him your rezoom, complete with CL.

Everyone who knows me (not here -no one knows me here) knows I emphatically assert it is mandatory to ID and speak with that HA before you send anything.

My intent here is that you need to have control of the hiring process by taking the initiative in establishing a first-time relationship with that HA with a phone call.

That means using social engineering, the 'net, LinkedIn or whatever other tools required for you to identify the HA for the position of interest.

Then call that HA, bypassing the gatekeeper. (There are ways to do this, some of you already know how to do this. A simplest example is calling the HA prior to the arrival of their gatekeeper or calling after the gatekeeper has left for the day.....the idea is that invariably the HA is still at her/his desk and will pick up the phone themselves.)

Anyway,....

Having spoken with the HA, you are then in a better position to write that CL since the HA already knows you and **you can refer to that by starting that CL with thanks for their having taken your call ['yesterday', today, last week, whatever].

Same structure to the CL as I said above- pull two or three bullets FROM YOUR RESUME and use them as examples of how you can be as effective for them as you have been with your current/past employer(s).

...being sure those examples match the possibilities of the job description.

As an introduction as to 'who you are', use an abbreviated version of your Profile Paragraph.

Then the Accomplishments.

A sentence then that emphasizes your capacity to provide Excellence (as described in your bullets of accomplishments);

And then a Close, indicating YOU WILL BE CALLING THAT PERSON BACK the next day.

Call -avoiding the gatekeeper- and sell yourself, using the principles of an Elevator Pitch.

Close by suggesting you can be there 'Thursday' and would the morning or afternoon be a better time to 'stop by' 'for a short visit'.

DON'T say 'interview'. That will trigger the HA into remembering you are 'supposed' to be talking to HR, causing that HA to shake you, indicating that either you should be talking to HR or that HA will tell you they will forward your rezoom to HR.

.............

My point is that too many people send resumes in response to a posted job ad without any realistic guarantees their doc will be looked at by the relevant HA.

So people send emailed resumes to a black hole.

Above I've covered what a CL should look like but the bigger issue that is paramount is that WE NEED TO SPEAK WITH THE HA before sending anything.


Think about it- employment agencies call first and so do headhunters.

Everyone here should be doing the same.

Ignore the HR staff who will suggest you 'need' to follow procedure.

Most of us already know what that will [not] get us.


Taking the time to ID and speak with a HA is quite time consuming but remember that each time you speak with a HA and THEN send a resume you have increased the likelihood of being called back by five hundred percent.



Paul
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-26-2013, 06:17 AM
 
7,380 posts, read 15,648,207 times
Reputation: 4975
stalking people and bothering them at work is a fantastic way to really get noticed in a job search! a hiring manager doesn't "know you" because you hassled them with a phone call. one in a hundred might be impressed by your tenacity but most are going to be creeped out and annoyed.

imagine if everyone took that advice. the lives of hiring managers would be a living hell of people constantly calling and pitching to them and trying to weasel their way into an interview. imagine if that was happening to you at work. would you regard those people well, or wish they would leave you alone and let you review their applications in your own time, when it was convenient to YOU, not THEM? i would throw out the resume of anyone who not only called me, but also said they would be calling back and trying to schedule their own interview instead of letting me make that decision. how obnoxious. i guess if you want to find a boss who's a total idiot and pushover, this would be a good way to weed out the ones who aren't, because a competent manager would laugh in your face and hang up on you. or tell you to chill out stop calling them and laugh about you afterward

Last edited by groar; 04-26-2013 at 06:34 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2013, 06:25 AM
 
7,380 posts, read 15,648,207 times
Reputation: 4975
oh and just the facts, have you considered combining your last 2 paragraphs into one? Generally my last paragraph is just briefly reiterating that i am well qualified for the job, stating that x, y and z is attached, stating how i can be contacted, and thanking them for their consideration. i don't see why you need an entire paragraph to explain your attachments.

if you haven't, i'd have a friend who you know is a good writer look over your letter. they might be able to suggest ways to make it more concise. even better if they know cover letters in particular.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2013, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Colorado
4,306 posts, read 13,448,442 times
Reputation: 4476
Bullet points are your friend! Use them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2013, 07:47 AM
 
8,076 posts, read 10,035,259 times
Reputation: 22658
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadhunterPaul View Post
....so much bad information out there about what constitutes an effective Cover Letter.

Yes, true, keep it to one page.

You actually only require about half that page.

This is the outline I use:

Address the HA by name, company name and title;

...show a reference to the job position/job title/requisition number;

Opening sentence thanks that person for taking the time to review your correspondence**;

You then assert your being the 'best choice' candidate by then inserting two, three at most bullets of accomplishments that tie into the job.

Accomplishments that show the HA clearly that if you got 'those kind' of numbers for your current/past employer you can easily accomplish the same thing for that HA.

................

The next part is NOT what I do:

Thank the HA again, letting that person know you will be sitting by the phone, waiting for their call.

Good Luck with that.

......................

The problem I have here is that you do not indicate you had previously spoken with those HA's prior to sending your CL and rezoom.

Which is why you and everyone else ends up on the short end of the stick....

....because you did not seek out that HA and make your bones with that person before sending her/him your rezoom, complete with CL.

Everyone who knows me (not here -no one knows me here) knows I emphatically assert it is mandatory to ID and speak with that HA before you send anything.

My intent here is that you need to have control of the hiring process by taking the initiative in establishing a first-time relationship with that HA with a phone call.

That means using social engineering, the 'net, LinkedIn or whatever other tools required for you to identify the HA for the position of interest.

Then call that HA, bypassing the gatekeeper. (There are ways to do this, some of you already know how to do this. A simplest example is calling the HA prior to the arrival of their gatekeeper or calling after the gatekeeper has left for the day.....the idea is that invariably the HA is still at her/his desk and will pick up the phone themselves.)

Anyway,....

Having spoken with the HA, you are then in a better position to write that CL since the HA already knows you and **you can refer to that by starting that CL with thanks for their having taken your call ['yesterday', today, last week, whatever].

Same structure to the CL as I said above- pull two or three bullets FROM YOUR RESUME and use them as examples of how you can be as effective for them as you have been with your current/past employer(s).

...being sure those examples match the possibilities of the job description.

As an introduction as to 'who you are', use an abbreviated version of your Profile Paragraph.

Then the Accomplishments.

A sentence then that emphasizes your capacity to provide Excellence (as described in your bullets of accomplishments);

And then a Close, indicating YOU WILL BE CALLING THAT PERSON BACK the next day.

Call -avoiding the gatekeeper- and sell yourself, using the principles of an Elevator Pitch.

Close by suggesting you can be there 'Thursday' and would the morning or afternoon be a better time to 'stop by' 'for a short visit'.

DON'T say 'interview'. That will trigger the HA into remembering you are 'supposed' to be talking to HR, causing that HA to shake you, indicating that either you should be talking to HR or that HA will tell you they will forward your rezoom to HR.

.............

My point is that too many people send resumes in response to a posted job ad without any realistic guarantees their doc will be looked at by the relevant HA.

So people send emailed resumes to a black hole.

Above I've covered what a CL should look like but the bigger issue that is paramount is that WE NEED TO SPEAK WITH THE HA before sending anything.


Think about it- employment agencies call first and so do headhunters.

Everyone here should be doing the same.

Ignore the HR staff who will suggest you 'need' to follow procedure.

Most of us already know what that will [not] get us.


Taking the time to ID and speak with a HA is quite time consuming but remember that each time you speak with a HA and THEN send a resume you have increased the likelihood of being called back by five hundred percent.



Paul

Nothing personal Paul, but this post highlights the point: Keep it short. Did anyome read this entire post? Doubtful. Same goes for your cover letter.

Brief intro. Set the hook. Link you to the job....qualifications, background, relationships...try to get something in there which makes you the insider for the job. Thanks and good bye.

As one who reads a kazillion resumes and cover letters, brief is good. I can tell VERY quickly whether you have someting i am interested in.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2013, 09:40 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
13,520 posts, read 22,064,834 times
Reputation: 20234
I don't often read CL's, but when I do, I only read one paragraph.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2013, 09:42 AM
 
Location: New York City
4,035 posts, read 10,276,057 times
Reputation: 3753
Depending upon where you are, it’s not unusual for an employer to get 300 to 600 resumes for a position. Even if it’s only 100, that’s a lot of letters to read and each is glanced at for a few seconds in the first round.

Cut out all of the pro forma language. Everyone assumes that your resume is attached or references are available, etc. You don’t need to waste space (or a reader’s time) writing that.

Here is my trick for writing cover letters: (1) copy and paste the job advertisement into a Word document, (2) rewrite the ad sentence-by-sentence (in the order they appear in the ad) inserting your experience for the skills requested. This way you provide exactly the information they want in the order that they want it. It should never be more than two paragraphs.

Incidentally, I always paste the body of my cover letter into the email and include it as an attachment. You want to make it easy for a reader to scan the information.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2013, 09:52 AM
 
Location: East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area
23,394 posts, read 23,819,817 times
Reputation: 23818
One page for the cover letter.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2013, 11:19 AM
 
Location: Funkotron, MA
1,203 posts, read 4,070,180 times
Reputation: 1821
Quote:
Originally Posted by Just_the_facts View Post
I find I need to write at least four paragraphs. The first is introductory paragraph where I briefly introduce myself and what position I'm applying for. After that, is the meat of my cover letter where I discuss my qualifications and why I would be a good fit. Then I have a brief paragraph informing the reader of my attached resume, application, work samples, letter of recommendation, references, and other attached documents. My final paragraph is the closing where i thank the hiring manager, say I look forward to hearing from them, and give them my phone and e-mail.
I'd suggest getting rid of the bolded part. Consider making the cover page and resume a single file & attachment to the email.

I bring work samples and references with me to interviews. I don't think hiring managers want to shift through all that information.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Bear View Post
Nothing personal Paul, but this post highlights the point: Keep it short. Did anyome read this entire post? Doubtful. Same goes for your cover letter.

Brief intro. Set the hook. Link you to the job....qualifications, background, relationships...try to get something in there which makes you the insider for the job. Thanks and good bye.

As one who reads a kazillion resumes and cover letters, brief is good. I can tell VERY quickly whether you have someting i am interested in.
Very true! I started reading, noticed how long is was and skipped over it. Did I miss anything good?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2013, 11:40 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
13,520 posts, read 22,064,834 times
Reputation: 20234
Quote:
Originally Posted by raveabouttoast View Post
Very true! I started reading, noticed how long is was and skipped over it. Did I miss anything good?
Not really. The part about the spaceship and the aliens were exciting, though.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Work and Employment
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:04 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top