Having never written a cover letter before, I really spent some time pouring over this week’s readings, finding some useful tips and some disappointments. For a change, I actually found some of the questions posed really helpful. The two I found the most helpful from the Thompson handbook were “Why am I interested?”, and “How am I qualified?”. Being a little in the dark about cover letters up to this point, answering these two questions really helped me to see where I needed to go.
Some of the advice from Junk Cover Letters Kill Good Resumes was also very helpful. By making sure your letter has a personal approach and that it uses layman turns, they can begin to form an image about you other than your technical resume. Being that cover letters aren’t read first, by the time the HR coordinator gets around to your letter, he already has a pretty good idea if you have the knowledge and experience they are looking for. I see this as a chance to show them what you couldn’t in a resume; really let them know there is nobody better for the job.
Re-iterating key words in your cover letter is also a big boost. I know in my cover letter I am going to try and take the key words I used in my resume, and elaborate on them in my letter. By doing this I think it really enforces the idea that not only do you know what they are looking for, but that you are what they are looking for.
Something I wish there were more of in these readings were example cover letters. The one in the Thompson Handbook was a good start but I would have liked to see more. I was also kind of confused that the author put a salary requirement into the cover letter. Is that normal for a cover letter? It seems like its kind of getting back to me approach. I always saved that for an interview or even until there was an offer on the table.
Cover letters are not read first....even if they're read
As the reading Junk cover letters kill good resumes, I also found it interesting that cover letters are not read first even though a cover letter is the first piece of paper seen. Are they even read? From one of the previous readings, “A Glimpse and a Hook" , he talks about he never reads the cover letter and he doesn’t pass them on. From this weeks reading “Junk cover letters kill good resumes” says that 60 % are read This sounds contradicting; however, I feel if you can create a great resume and a great cover letter that accompanies it to catch the readers eye; this might be that ticket with getting an interview.
Zebulon Rouse
Cover letters are not read first
I think that cover letters are user as a sort of last resort. If someone has four or five equally impressive resumes and can not decide who they should hire, I think that they would go to the cover letter as a deciding factor. If you have pretty much the same qualifications as someone else applying to the same position but your cover letter is generic and bland I am pretty sure they would call the other person. While this also means that your cover letter may never get read it is still important to make it unique and to make sure it helps you stand out.
First Impressions
I took a lot from these articles and one of the most important suggestions, I think, is the personal approach for cover letters. Using laymen terms and personal expression are important next to a professional resume. There should be a balance of both a personal touch and keywords while expressing your importance to the company’s needs. I think when creating a new cover letter, you want to treat it almost like the dialog of the first face to face interaction. First impressions are important when provided limited time. Discover what you want to focus on from your resume so you can go into further detail in your cover letter.
Salary
I was curious about the salary requirement as well. It definitely seems out of place in the cover letter. I would think that putting something such as that would be an easy way to get tossed aside. "Oh he wants how much? Forget it." Especially when you consider the fact that you could make less at one place but get better perks/benefits at another place. However I could see where you'd want to put it in there if you have 3 kids, a mortgage, and a car. You know you need to make at least X dollars to pay for it it all so putting a salary requirement could be an easy way to weed yourself out of a low paying job. But in this economy and especially when you are just starting out it seems better to leave it out.
Andy