William Mitchell
Value of a Good Cover Letter
We all agree on the fact that a resume is a very important
part of your career search arsenal. After all, how else
would you be able to communicate to a prospective employer
your valuable industry / professional experience, training,
and accomplishments? But what about our friend the cover
letter? Resume clients often question the need for this
under-appreciated tool, completely unaware of its value as
a complimentary marketing strategy.
Allow Me To Introduce Myself ...
As the saying goes, first impressions are lasting ones. A
well written cover letter acts as an introductory handshake
for your resume, and by extension, for you. When you send a
resume without a cover letter, you essentially begin
holding a conversation without context.
Ever had a friend who began a conversation in the middle,
leaving you wondering what they were talking about? Your
cover letter places the "conversation" into the proper
context, communicating to a potential employer the position
in which you are applying, and whether you are applying
for a posted opening or sending a cold communication.
Here's What My Resume Doesn't Say ...
Think of your resume as an objective "just the facts"
document that primarily details the verifiable, tangible
skill set that you bring to the table to satisfy the core
requirements of the available position. What your cover
letter allows you to do is communicate the all of the
intangibles that you won't be able to address in your
resume.
This is where you tell the reviewer about your soft skills,
penchant for attention to detail, and willingness to devote
the extra time necessary to complete assigned projects on
time. Yes, you can usually touch upon one or two of these
intangibles in your resume, but any more than that and you
run the risk of your resume coming off as fluff and loaded
with filler. The ability to cover these peripheral skills
gives your strict and fact-packed resume personality.
Where Else Can You Close The Sale?
When you are seeking employment, you are marketing yourself
in the best possible light. Your resume brilliantly conveys
everything you have to offer to the position and the
company as a whole. But the key to "selling" any product
with consistency is providing for the buyer a call to
action.
Employers with job openings are like consumers looking to
buy you (or your competition) as a product to fill a need
within the organization. The cover letter is the vehicle
you need to ask for the sale, or in this case, the
interview.
A good closing paragraph will reiterate your desire to help
the organization accomplish their goals, and request an
interview to further examine how the employer can benefit
from your integration into the team. We've all heard the
saying "Ask and you shall receive." This isn't the time to
be shy. The product that doesn't ask to be bought ...
usually isn't.
Optional No More
There was a time when the cover letter was considered an
optional document, but not anymore. Some employers consider
it a breach of application etiquette to submit your resume
without an accompanying cover letter. It is now
"understood" that a cover letter is to accompany the
resume, even if the job posting does not specifically
request one.
Remember, your job search documents are usually up against
those of dozens of other applicants for consideration. To
beat out everyone else in the race, one must pay attention
to detail and use every tool available to their advantage
to outshine and outlast the competition. The cover letter
is an integral cog in the wheel that keeps your career
rolling along.
Let's face it, if you make the mistake of applying for that
great position without a cover letter that properly
introduces you, communicates your intangibles, and asks for
the interview, you are likely to be up against competition
who will take the time to do so. And just how do you think
your submission will stack up against theirs?
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William Mitchell is a Certified Professional Resume Writer
and Owner / General Manager of the Resume Clinic
(http://www.theresumeclinic.com), serving clients in the
United States and Canada with highly targeted resume and
cover letter packages since 1995.
