Cover Letter Tips: Sell Yourself Effectively

Cover Letter Tips: Sell Yourself Effectively by Mary Markella

What is the purpose of a cover letter? It's to capture the human resources guy's attention so that he/she will call you and schedule an interview or appointment. That means you really have to make a compelling sales letter instead of a boring cover letter. A sales letter to sell yourself effectively.

Here are some tips to transform a boring old-fashioned cover letter to a fresh sales letter.

When you write a cover letter be sure to point out all your skills and experiences, biggest career successes. A cover letter is the best place to show your personality. You know that already. But you have to do it in a way that your skills and experiences match the requirements of the job you are after. In order to do that you have to research the company you want to work for. There's nothing more compelling to a hiring manager than to show him/her that you've made a research for the company and you know what you're looking for. You are not just looking for a job, but you are after that particular job and company.

Another important factor that a lot of job-seekers miss out when writing cover letters is typos and punctuation errors. Relax and take your time while you're preparing your cover letter. Proofread your letter twice before getting it out. This is critical. Try not to use the same words all over your letter. This would distract the human resources manager.

Remember you are not playing scrabble here. Use simple words and be concise. The hiring manager will not approve your cover letter just because you are wordy. Stick to the point. Outline your skills, abilities and interests on the job, in a bulleted list using simple words and phrases. Do not use acronyms. Not all people are familiar with acronyms. A hiring manager reading a cover letter full of acronyms or abbreviations will get confused.

Do not try to be humorous or cute. This is a really bad technique that many people use. Be serious. You will not impress a hiring manager by showcasing your wit, but by highlighting your skills, education and experience.

This will sound a bit stupid but do not write cover letters for jobs which you haven't got the skills or qualifications. Instead filter job openings/offers. You don't have to send hundreds of cover letters to companies which you are not ready to work for. Make groups of job offerings, categorize them. Prepare your cover letters and send them to a few selected departments or companies. Make sure you follow-up. A few days later call the companies to schedule an appointment. If you have no results go for another group of job openings/offer.

Use a professional e-mail address. A lot of hiring managers get tons of cover letters for a particular job. They certainly use some filters to keep the best candidates and then read the letters and make a choice. A lot of them pay attention to details like the first part of an email address. For example if you where a hiring manager and had two candidates with the following email addresses:

candidate 1: john@hottmail.com
candidate 2: gangmaster@hottmail.com

which email address you think has more chances to be rejected? Definitely the second one! So try to protect your image by paying attention to small details like your email address. Remember that when you write a cover letter you show your personality.

About the Author
There's got be an effective way to sell yourself in a cover letter and you know that. Stop writing cover letters the hard way! Here's a winning cover letter formula that will get your phone ringing with more quality job interviews than you've ever imagined.

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=331714