Top 5 Common Cover Letter Pitfalls to Avoid

By Dawn Rasmussen
Designated Resume Rockstar

Some people may argue, legitimately, that many human resource managers and hiring directors barely exact a passing glance at the cover letters that job applicants labor so diligently over.

But it never seems to fail that while many qualified candidates have a pretty solid resume, most don’t deliver on the cover letter. So why are writing these documents so darned difficult? The main reason is that the majority of people are extremely uncomfortable with writing in general, and don’t really understand the exact purpose of a cover letter.

Your goal with this document is to interest an employer in you enough to move on to your resume… you capture their interest, demonstrate an understanding of their unique needs/focus, and then demonstrate how you can solve their problems.

I always tell clients that it’s like conducting advertising campaigns… what problem does the target audience have, and how is your product going to fix it? If you shift your thinking to see that you are the product that is going to fix the employer’s problem, then writing a cover letter suddenly becomes much easier.

Keep that purpose in mind, and make sure to follow these tips to avoid some of the most common pitfalls of writing cover letters. You’ll have better luck as a result!

1) Understand that this letter is about THEM, not you. Have you ever been at a cocktail reception, met a new person, and it turns out that all they can talk about is themselves and how awesome they are? Blah, blah, blah, blah! We all tune out when the person we are interacting with shows no interest in us, right? Same goes with the cover letter. CONNECT with the employer – build some rapport and show that you UNDERSTAND their company and needs. If you take a moment to understand your audience, suddenly, a cover letter changes into a whole new document for you. It’s a way to sell yourself to solve their problems, not just blab on and on about things that don’t matter to them. And for Pete’s sake, here’s the biggest tip regarding this point: Don’t outline how this job will help you. The employer doesn’t care about you… they only care about their bottom line!

2) Don’t bury your job target. Quickly identify your targeted position for the reader by putting (after the target contact’s address block) one paragraph return down: “RE: (Name of position for which you are applying)” in bold and underline. If the company is recruiting for several positions concurrently, having this readily identifiable note helps the person or program screening the document place you into the correct pile. Additionally, this streamlines the mechanics of your opening line in the cover letter body to seamlessly deliver a compelling ‘hook’ that entices the reader to continue on into the document.

3) Keep your personal brand consistent. Make sure that you use the same contact information block/format for yourself in your cover letter as you do in your resume. You come across smoother and more polished that way!

4) Be concise – no more than one page. No one wants to plow through a two- or three-page cover letter… the longer you make this document, the more you dilute the impact that it has with the employer. Think short, snappy, and attention grabbing. The resume is the follow up with the facts to back you up.

5) Don’t regurgitate / repeat the resume. Save the technical or job-associated jargon and details about your accomplishments for the resume. I use the formula that the RESUME (facts) + the COVER LETTER (compelling reason to hire you) = THE JOB.

Keeping these tips in mind will help you write to the intended audience and capture a prospective employer’s interest… instead of boring them to tears!

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Dawn Rasmussen – CTP, CMP
President
Pathfinder Writing and Career Services
PO Box 20536
Portland OR 97294
503-539-3954 phone
503-408-4894 fax
http://pathfindercareers.com/

Advance your career with a professionally-written resume!

Proud member of the National Resume Writers Association

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A note from Jenn: You can also visit my resume rockstars page to view my list of approved resume writing experts. :)

What to Do When Your Executive Job Search Stalls

By Heather Eagar

There is often nothing more frustrating than spending many hours each day searching for a job only to find that your hard work doesn’t seem to be paying off. Of course, most people are aware that job searches (and particularly executive job searches) take some time, but sometimes, you just want things to move a bit faster.

While you can’t guarantee a perfect job search, you can certainly refine and renew your approach and your resume to keep it on track. If you find that your executive job search is beginning to stall, keep it going with a few of these tips.

Make Some Unique Adjustments to Your Resume

If your traditional resume isn’t pulling in the attention you want, you may have the wave the red flag at the bull. In other words, you may have to say some things that may get a recruiter or employer’s attention. Your resume’s title is a particularly potent place to change your language in order to get some attention, especially if you’re applying online. Instead of just re-typing the position you’re applying for (i.e. “Executive Sales Director), you might use one that draws people in (i.e. “Executive Sales Director at 123 Trading Led Team to Record $1 Million Revenue in 2008″).

Another unique resume strategy would be to list the logos of past (or current) employers on the left-hand side of your resume. You can also show the logos from universities you’ve attended, including pictures of any awards you’ve received. These images would give quick insight to your background without having to search for words. Also, if you use email to send your resume, you might consider trying regular mail with a well-printed resume–some quality paper can make a big difference.

Add A Personal Touch With A P.S. to your Cover Letter

In a continued effort to stand out among your competition, you might also consider adding a “p.s” to your cover letter. One reason is that in this section you can add one or two tidbits about yourself that the employer may not know. But an even more important reason is that, if nothing else gets read in the cover letter, the “p.s” will – in fact, it may draw the employer in first then intrigue him enough to work backwards and read the entire cover letter.

So what do you say in your “p.s.”? You may take a chance and namedrop. Use some subtlety and engage the hiring manager’s interest with something like “Contact me to find out why Dr. Ted Stephens from Harvard supplied his personal recommendation.” You might simply give a personal call to action for your possible employer by simply telling them of your interest in their industry, but be sure to be personal.

Broaden Your Contact Scope

After years as an executive, you may have a healthy list of contacts to connect with as you seek job opportunities. However, if you haven’t had much success with your contact list in your job search, it’s time to make a few additions. You can find millions of professionals from various areas of expertise by using websites like Linked In and ZoomInfo subtlety.

A dragging executive job search isn’t the end of the world, it just means that you may have to light a fire – better yet, a towering inferno – under your own you-know-what. When you approach your job search as a challenge and work past your limits, you’ll be able to find and land an executive job in no time.

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A note from Jenn: You can also visit my resume rockstars page to view my list of approved resume writing experts. :)

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Executive Cover Letters – 3 Secrets to Cover Letters That WIN Interviews!

By Mary Elizabeth Bradford

Did you know that your cover letter (in the hands of a key decision maker) determines whether or not your resume gets read at all?

Cover letters are so critically important to making the right first impression; you just can’t afford to go wrong here.

It can be tempting to want to skimp on really making sure your cover letter shines if you are applying for multiple jobs each week. But the good news is there are some really powerful tips I am going to share with you that will make this task efficient and highly effective!

These are the same tips I apply to my clients’ cover letters – letters that secure them multiple interviews!

Here are several ways to easily get started crafting highly compelling cover letters that get great results:

Tip #1 Shorter is better

I know a career consultant who writes cover letters for 500k+ executives who never uses more than 100 power-hitting words. I fell in love with this technique the moment I heard of it. It makes total sense!

Here’s how to do it:

Write your letter, then come back in a couple hours and take out all of the superfluous words and phrases you find. Next, highlight all of your BEST words and phrases (you will probably have a couple to add or reword at this point). Finally, revisit your letter in an hour and edit any erroneous words just one more time. Now you are left with a tight, crystal clear letter, brimming with power hitting terminology!

You won’t have to do this with every cover letter you write. After you practice this technique a couple times you will quickly learn to get it right the first time!

Tip #2 Simplify your language

Want to know the mark of a really good cover letter? Give it to someone to read who is in another industry. If they are impressed by your accomplishments and can understand what you are communicating, this is a really good sign you have an effective letter!

Specifically, your letter should be understandable by someone not directly linked to your position of interest. It should be simple and clearly outline your accomplishments.

A big mistake I often see in executive level cover letters is a string of hundred dollar words in a sentence. Check your letter and remove any strings of “eye-glazers” as I like to call them. You will be amazed how this will lighten and brighten up your letter instantly.

Tip #3 Be focused – be clear

You must know why you are writing what you are writing. Either you are writing a general value proposition about your strengths and achievements in a particular role (CEO/COO/VP of Operations etc.) or you are responding to a job opening.

In either case, you want to be completely focused on communicating your maximum value. If you shine in two key areas, write about them and remember to finish your statements with examples of results you have obtained. If you can add a % or $ to those results, that is preferable.

If you are responding to an actual job description, the most important thing you can do is highlight all the key words and phrases in that job description that you match and parrot those key words and phrases back in your cover letter. If you have ever written a job description, you know just how maddening it is to read through a stack of cover letters that mention little, if anything that matches what you are looking for! A resume attached to a cover letter such as this rarely gets read.

Using these three simple, yet powerful, tips will help increase companies’ interest in you as you confidently set the tone and pace for leadership and control, so you can secure more interviews!

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Would you like to learn how to quickly and easily get more interviews, shorten your job search and increase your salary? Check out my website: http://www.maryelizabethbradford.com – for free articles, free resources and to sign up for my free audio mini-seminar “5 Simple Steps To Find, Focus On and WIN Your Dream Job – Starting Today!” Career marketing expert and nationally certified advanced resume writer Mary Elizabeth Bradford is “The Career Artisan.”