7 Elements Of A Highly Effective Cover Letter

Job Resume Cover Letter Articles : 7 Elements Of A Highly Effective Cover Letter by Mario Churchill

Part of solving the cover letter mystery is understanding the purpose of the cover letter. Its purpose is to land you a job interview. By placing all of your efforts into the perfect resume and then throwing together a plain old cover letter you are sabotaging your resume by landing it into the trash can. Prospective employers pay close attention to how a cover letter is put together. If the cover letter does not grab their attention then they are not going to even mess with looking at your resume. This also do not land you a job interview.

How to properly write an attention grabbing cover letter seems to elude many job seekers. Cover letters start to appear to be a mystery to most who are trying to write an attention grabbing cover letter. Solving the cover letter mystery though is really not as hard as it seems. All job seeker needs to do is put a little thought and time into writing their cover letter.

One area where cover letters become a mystery is in how to address a cover letter. You should not address a cover letter in an impersonal way to where it resembles a piece of junk mail. Impersonal is when you address your cover letter 'dear sir/madam' or 'to whom it may concern'. An attention grabbing cover letter should be addressed to a specific person. If you do not know the person's name then call the company and ask. This will give you an edge over the countless other applicants that addressed their cover letters in an impersonal way.

Another mystery surrounding cover letters seems to be how long the cover letter should be. Many job seekers seem to think that the more they add to their cover letter the better. This is the wrong way to approach a cover letter. A cover letter should never be more than one page long. Prospective employers have dozens of applicants' cover letters and resumes coming across their desk. They are busy trying to get through all the applicants. With how busy they are they do not have time to read a long winded cover letter. It the cover letter is to long to read completely most prospective employers will file your resume with all the other long winded cover letters, right into to the trash can.

Next comes what you should tell the prospective employer about yourself. You should briefly but clearly point out what it is about you that will fill their hiring needs. Tell them about your qualifications and skills that are pertinent to the position in which you are applying. Remember to keep this area brief, the prospective employer should not have to work hard to see that you are right for the position. If need be incorporate the use of bullets in this section. By using bullets you will allow the prospective employer to be able to quickly scan your qualifications and skill and see that you are fit for the position.

Follow this by telling the prospective employer briefly in one paragraph what it is about the company that you like and why you would like to work there. This offers a compliment to the prospective employer and shows that you have done your research and are familiar with the company.

Another mystery of an attention grabbing cover letter is the use of assertiveness. Most job seekers do not realize that they must be assertive within their cover letter. Your cover letter is designed from beginning to end to get you an interview. When you end your cover letter in a passive way you are allowing for the prospective employer to pass you over. So make sure to end your cover letter in an assertive way. Ask at the end of your cover letter for an interview. Inform the prospective employer in this section of your cover letter that you will be contacting them on a certain date to schedule a time for an interview. This will show the prospective employer that you are serious about the position in which you are applying for.

Solving the cover letter mystery is in itself fairly easy. As you can see with the above areas when you take the time to address the specific needs of the prospective employer, you have thus written an attention grabbing, interview getting cover letter.

About the Author
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on effective cover letter checkout his recommended websites.

Source: Job resume cover letter information at goarticles.com

Should You Write A Resume Cover Letter Yourself?

Job Resume Cover Letter Articles : Should You Write A Resume Cover Letter Yourself? by Mario Churchill

In this day and age competition is fierce for a limited number of desirable positions in the professional world. The only hope that many job seekers have, no matter how qualified they may be for the position, is to create a cover letter that turns up the "wow" factor and impresses hiring managers as something a little above and beyond the others.

If you are wondering whether or not you should write your own resume cover letter the answer is a resounding "yes." There are many reasons you should write your own cover letter not the least of which is the fact that no one knows your qualifications any better than you. Feel free to take suggestions and research the proper methods of doing so but do not fall into the trap of using a form cover letter for your resume that was written as a one-size-fits-all sort of cover letter or having a cover letter written just for you by someone else. The voice will not transfer well to the interview and you want perspective employers to resonate with you rather than someone else who filled in the blanks on your behalf.

Your cover letter is your first chance for a first impression with potential employers. It is the opportunity to highlight the skills and talents you can bring to the table or, more to the point, how you can help them rather than how they can help you. It is also the perfect opportunity for you to give them a small taste of your personality in action. Personalities are the ones that show up to the office day in and day out. Your personality is going to have a greater impact on your ability to fit in well with a particular corporate climate than your skills (unless you are grossly incompetent or some sort of prodigy). Use your cover letter to let a little bit of your personality shine through. This will make it a little more interesting than the boring "just the facts ma'am" approach that so many job applicants use when creating a resume. While it may have worked in Dragnet it isn't quite as likely to work in the corporate climate of today.

Cover letters are becoming popular because they are more personality influenced (or they can be) than traditional resumes and they allow a good feel for the person on the other end of the paper without reading quite as many stale facts and figures as you will typically find in a resume. Many hiring mangers simply find a cover letter much more appealing than they find reading resumes and they can often skim cover letters initially and review those that they found compelling a little more closely.

Ultimately a cover letter is one of, if not the most powerful tools in your job application arsenal. An artfully written cover letter that remains positive, professional, and personable is much more likely to achieve the desired results than a resume that has been professionally prepared in hopes of gaining a foot in the door and that is no small accomplishment. The problem for most is that professional cover letter services cannot provide that personal touch that can only come with you. As I mentioned above no one knows the contribution you can offer by way of skills and personality better than you. This makes you your best advocate in the process of creating a killer cover letter for your resume.

Make sure that your passion for the position shines through when writing your resume. If you have a sincere passion for the work you do or the work you are hoping to do your words are the best in the world to get that message across. A passion for the job, product, or service is one of the greatest things you can bring to a company and hiring managers are well aware of this fact. If you write your own cover letter you can explain your passion, it might make the difference between being invited back for an interview or not and every positive edge you can find is an edge worth exploiting in today's competitive business climate. Most importantly, try to have fun writing your cover letter yourself. You may discover a hidden talent.

About the Author
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on write resume cover letter checkout his recommended websites.

Source: Job resume cover letter information at goarticles.com

Tips for College Student Resume Writing

Tips for College Student Resume Writing

If you are a college student, you may not yet be accustomed to writing resumes and cover letters. However, the time will soon come where you’ll need to learn in order to secure an on- or off-campus job, internship, or job after graduating.

You’ll be happy to know that the process is not difficult. It’s just a matter of gathering your experiences and organizing them effectively. So to give you a jump start on the writing process, let’s look at some ways you can utilize your current skills and talents to create great cover letters and resumes for the jobs you want.


Think of the Purpose of Your Resume

Though you may feel like a novice resume writer, if you set your sites on the purpose behind creating your resume, you’ll find that even your first one can be very successful. So what is the purpose? To engage the hiring manager by displaying the many ways you are qualified for the position you want.

Of course, if you are new to the workforce, you may not have a great deal of experience to list on your resume. However, you can list other information, like volunteering efforts or community service projects, technical or computer skills, coursework and GPA (if over 3.0), skills acquired through internships and summer jobs, awards, and any positive personal characteristics that show the employer you are a good fit for their company. Highlighting this information showcases your strengths, and offers insight into your potential as a great employee.

Research, Research, Research before Writing Your Cover Letter

The most important thing you can do when writing your cover is research the job and company you’re applying with. This way, you can not only get the inside track on what the company is looking for in an intern or employee, but also tailor your skills and experience to match the position you want.

For instance, let’s say you are applying for an internship with a design company because you are pursuing a degree in fashion. First, you’ll want to research the company’s mission to learn their organizational culture. Then you’ll want to make sure the skills you have match that culture, as well as the job you want. If you’ve tailored outfits for your friends or sewed costumes for your church’s play, tell them about it. You can use your experiences to date, alongside an explanation of your passion for the field, to illustrate a great picture of why you’re qualified for the position.

Consider the Layout Design

Because you may not have a lot of information to include on your resume, it is that much more important that you consider the layout design. If you don’t want yours looking like everyone else’s, you may want to avoid MS Word templates. You can look for really creative designs at your career center or on the Internet to help you organize your information. That way, your resume will not only be informative, but eye-catching as well.

While you may not have a lot of work experience, you still have plenty to offer. So gather everything that you’ve accomplished in your high school and college years for your resume and cover letter. You’ll be surprised to find that you’re a much stronger candidate than you could have ever imagined.