17 Tips to Write a Cover Letter that Will Get You Noticed! Mr. Endicott Job Search Class

Tip 1: Get into the Right Mindset - What is the purpose of a Cover Letter? It’s not just a structure you need to follow, like an “ABC” formula – it’s a mindset you need to get into. These tips will help you get into that mindset Cover letter should be simple BUT remember this is probably your first introduction to the employer

Tip 2: Sell, Sell, Sell Yourself to a Hiring Manager, Recruiter or Human Resources You are the product you're trying to sell, the resume is your marketing brochure that tells the buyer about the product and the cover letter is your “commercial” Cover letter is a “teaser” for your resume. It says “look here!” It’s demonstrates your professionalism, your personality and your communication skills, right off the bat.

Tip 3: Don’t Make Your Cover Letter Generic….Target the Position You are Applying For Get your point across quickly It is very easy to skim and still get the most important facts from it easily

Tip 4: Make the Letter Addressed to Someone not Something Never “to whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir/Ms.” Make an effort to find out the actual name, with the right spelling of the person who’s going to be reading it.

Tip 5 -Write the Cover Letter to the Job What job are you interested in? Make it clear!! Each cover letter you write is going to be written for a particular job

Tip 6 -Address Their Challenges and Your Solutions How can you help the employer? What's in it for them? What are you bringing to the table?

Tip 7: Support Your Solutions In the body of the letter, you can go into a few details that support what you just told the reader DON’T just copy and paste items from your resume! Don’t tell them what they are going to read on the next page!

Tip 8: Use Their Job Description and Requirements List a few of them and note how you fit If you don’t have a specific job description you’re applying for, feel free to just pull the stats that sell you Why are you good at what you do? And where's your proof?

Tip 9: Quantify, Qualify and Measure Numbers are what really get the attention of most hiring managers It proves you are just not talk! Offer an objective measure of your achievement, in whatever form that takes for your industry

Tip 10: Do Not Copy and Paste Parts of Your Resume into Your Cover Letter Your cover letter should complement your resume! You can direct the hiring manager’s attention to the parts of your resume he would be most interested in

Tip 11: You Can Use Bullet Points You can use them but it is your choice Good to point out a list of activities They are easy to read Be cautious it does not turn into your resume

Tip 12: Close With a Call to Action Sum up why they should see you, and let them know when you intend to follow up with a phone call “I am very excited about the potential for the company and this position, and know that my skills in x, y, z will advance your goals for the division. I look forward to discussing it with you, and I will call within a few days to set up a time to meet. Thank you for your consideration.”

Tip 13: Be Yourself and Reflect that in Your Cover Letter You want your cover letter to stand out, and be unique! “I became interested in the management field ever since I was a young age. My father owned a small business in WV and at age 10 I was expected to work weekends for him. After years of working there I understood what a strong work ethic meant because my father gave it to me and I firmly believe this value is a number 1 requirement for any business. I hope to bring my work ethic to your organization.”

Tip 14: Spell check and proofread again and again Spell-check doesn’t catch everything, so you need an actual person to go over it

Tip 15: One Page Only! Never go over 1 one page If you do you take a chance on losing the reader They have hundreds of letters and resumes to read

Tip 16: Overcoming Follow-up Issues If they don’t respond and you already tried calling/ leaving a message and they didn’t call back: Wait a few weeks, write a new one, and sent it again Include some new piece of information you’ve learned about the company

Tip 17: Get Ready to Sell Even if You are not a Salesperson