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Ok so I'm tired of riding the unemployment train, and I think I've found my stop. I'm fairly qualified for the position, I live in the area, and I'm experienced at much of what they ask for in the ad. My only problem is I have zero skills when it comes to writing cover letters. I can write anything else in the world, but cover letters are like my kryptonite, my writing skills vanish. So I'm askin you kind folk. How do you do up your cover letters all purty like?
You don't. You keep it plain and simple. State that you are responding to the ad, reference your attached resume, your applicable experience, why your interested in the job/why they should take time to meet with you, and that you look forward to hearing from them shortly. The End.Quote:
Originally Posted by Error
Note: Make sure you proofread it about 100x. While a typo on these boards might result in some mockery, a typo on a cover letter or resume = no job.
Good luck.
p.s.- here's another freebie: 99% of the time, you get hired because you either (1) directly generate profits for the company, or (2) indirectly retain profits for the company by being efficient/reducing risk/cutting costs. That's it. Know which one of those is applicable, and emphasize that point as much as possible without sounding like a tool. [This is for use during the interview, and not for blathering on in your cover letter.]
p.p.s. - one more: make sure you comply EXACTLY with any instructions stated in the ad. A demonstrated inability to follow instructions is another surefire way to insulate oneself from any potential interviews.
Awesome. Thanks for the advice.
Not that I'm an expert on this, but for the past several months it's been my job to wade through about a million resumes for my company. I can say one thing, keep it short! Keep your resume succint too! After like the 500th resume, if it's this long ass mess, I just don't even look at it. Or maaaaybe I give it a quick glance and hope a keyword pops out. I'd bet most people in my position do that. It's gotta be to the point.
It should be no more than a page long. It's all about selling yourself. Planets advice is pretty much spot on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Planet
Demonstrate that you know something about the company in your cover letter. For instance, I recently applied for a marketing job at a local credit union. This credit union is near a US military base, and shares the name.. in fact, most of their business comes from military members. For some reason, I got it in my head that they only cater to military members, which they don't.. anyone can set up an account there. Going back over it later, I saw that the letter unintentionally highlighted my misunderstanding. Perhaps not coincidentally (or maybe it was, who knows?), I never even got an interview, even though I was totally qualified for the position.
'Course, it's just as well for them, since I probably would've just posted on message boards all day :D
Thanks for all your advice guys. The resume/cover letter has been sent and been recieved, so I'm just waiting on the good(hopefully) news.