Is there such a thing as the perfect resume cover letter? If yes, how would you know it?

All right, let’s look at what a good cover letter contains. It should be addressed to an employee in the company you are targeting; it should mention an opening in which you have interest; it calls out your qualifications for the opening; and it finishes with a next step such as, “I will call your office to schedule an interview.” If your resume cover letter does not include at a minimum these key components, it most likely will not get the job done.

Okay, it’s time to deal with the first challenge… to whom should the letter be sent? Okay, if the goal is the “perfect” resume cover letter, your cover letter should probably not be addressed, “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Hiring Manager”. It should be sent to a specific appropriate person in the organization. In the ideal situation, this will be the manager who will make the decision, the individual to whom the newly hired employee will report. Your Plan B is a key manager on the team or someone that will likely forward your resume on receipt to someone with decision-making authority for the position. Last but not least, you can send your resume and resume cover letter to a manager in the human resources department. This at a minimum will get your resume cover letter a brief reading before it gets passed on or dumped into the resume management system used by the company.

If you have a colleague employed at the company, see if you can’t get their permission to receive and forward on your application. Or, get a contact name and email address from them and ask if you can refer to their name in the email… “I received your email address from Jan Halloway, your Customer Services Manager.” An introduction like that can often get your resume cover letter read and sent on to the appropriate manager. You should not presume that you have no contacts at the company. Check out networking websites like LinkedIn or Plaxo which will let you search by employer. These sites will not only list current employees, but will tell you if an individual has previously worked at a firm. There may be a colleague you know well enough that left the firm on good terms that can share with you a name and let you use them as a reference.

In the absence of knowing someone at the company, how do you determine the name and email address of someone in the organization? This can be easily accomplished these days with the wealth of information available on the web. All it takes is to spend a little time on the organization’s website and an internet search engine like Google. You can most likely find the necessary information on the “about us”, “management team”, “contact us”, or “news” pages of the company’s website. All organizations have a pattern to the their email addresses (it’s usually something like firstname.lastname-at-company.com or firstinitial+lastname-at-company.com). Once you have the template used for email addresses and the name of your contact you can construct their probable email address with a certain amount of accuracy. You can have a little challenge with nicknames; often “Rebecca” will go by “becky” in her email address. Also, if this is an executive, sometimes the mail server will be configured to forward emails addressed to either address through. On the occasion you send an email and it is returned undeliverable, just try again with a different variation.

This should get your resume cover letter and resume in the door. In subsequent discussions we’ll talk about the things that should be in your resume cover letter so that your resume gets more than a few seconds of attention.

MyExecutiveCompass is an employment portal dedicated to helping job seekers differentiate themselves in today’s difficult market. Candidates can find approaches on how to deal with many job search challenges as well as cover letter templates and resume software to make the job search process more effective.

You know your job is at risk. You’ve either been told directly or you see the signs. There have been cutbacks over the past several months: limited travel, a compensation freeze, contract employees have been released, the leadership team is spending more and more time behind closed doors. Now your boss isn’t talking to you as often. And, when she does, it’s short and very business-like. Maybe there’s just nothing to say now, and nobody is interested in chatting about the weekend when the business is in this state. No one wants to be seen as not having their nose to the grindstone.

Time to hit the job boards. No sense in waiting any longer. If other employees in your department are released, you will just be chasing the same opportunities in the job market. Don’t get left standing at the curb! Besides, why stay? The best that could happen is that you won’t lose your job. Other firms are making profit, growing, even expanding. Why should you just sit on the sidelines?

Now… you are spending every non-working waking moment at the PC, surfing the web, perusing the job boards, and applying to open positions. You threw yourself at this task with a vengeance. You have applied to a gazillion postings and have gotten… nothing from a human being. You’ve received the automated, “Thanks for your application” emails and even a snail mail from one company. But, not one HR manager or recruiter has called or emailed in response to your job applications. You even called a few of the organizations and got nowhere or talked to someone that told you the company has received a lot of responses to its ad, and that someone will contact you directly if interested.

This is for the birds. You’re tired. No, not tired; exhausted. You are not getting enough sleep. You’re grumpy and irritable, certainly not at your best. If it shows at work (and how could it not?) you are just making yourself an easy mark. Maybe you are aiming too high. There would surely be more opportunities if you just lowered your sites a little. Maybe you could relocate. Or you could sign up for one of those full time travel assignments.

So, within another week, that’s what you are doing. You are a machine, applying to almost any position that sounds like something you’ve either done or thought about doing. You’re willing to completely sell out at this point. You have no self esteem left. You are avoiding your friends (your successfully employed friends). You start looking at everyone you see in public differently, an ponder if you could do what they do better. Wondering if you could manage two jobs in order to make ends meet. You would be spending less time working than you are working now between your day job and your job search. And there wouldn’t be the stress.

Stop! What’s wrong here? Why can’t you get an answer to your applications? This is ridiculous. You might have overestimated your own market value previously, but not to this extent. Just a few weeks ago you felt safe and confident in your position. You were making a significant contribution to your department, to the firm as a whole. Customers sent you accolades thanking you and your team. You got a great performance review last year; you’ve always received great reviews. You’re still the same professional, aren’t you? So, what’s different? Why do you feel like you are just putting your resume in the trash bin?

Well, here’s the thing. The market has changed dramatically since your last job search, so you must change your approach. The Internet has made positions so much more available than ever before. Just look at how many places you’ve sent your resume. A opening that might have received several dozen applicants five years ago now receives hundreds or more, depending on the position, the location, and how widely they advertise. Every HR department has software now that manages their job applicants. Applications are presented online to a screener or the hiring manager before even being printed, and only the best (or most interesting) ever get more than 5-8 seconds of the right person’s attention.

It makes little difference if you have a great resume with all the right stuff. Well, it eventually matters, but if your resume doesn’t get read you won’t get a response. And if you don’t get a response, you won’t get an interview. And if you don’t get an interview… hopefully, you see my point.

What makes the difference is your cover letter! If you have just a few seconds to catch someone’s attention, it’s going to be with your cover letter. You probably have a stock cover letter that you’ve massaged here and there for specific opportunities, but for the most part, you’ve probably been sending out the same average, don’t-pay-any-attention-to-me cover letter for weeks.

A great cover letter has a specific structure and each component has a purpose. If you’re missing one of the key components, your cover letter and resume are not doing their job, and you are not going to get the response you are looking for. All you want is a chance to speak to a real person, to explain the value you can bring. You may still not be the best candidate for every opening you apply to (there is a lot of good talent out there), but you can improve your odds to 1 out of 2 or 3, instead of 1 out of 100 (or more).

The next step is yours… keep doing what you are doing, or do something different. What did Einstein say about the definition of insanity?

Check out our website for help on writing an effective cover letter.

MyExecutiveCompass is an employment portal dedicated to helping candidates differentiate themselves in today’s difficult market. Candidates can find advice on how to deal with many job search challenges as well as cover letter templates and resume software to make the job search process more fruitful.

Listed below are a number of practical concepts concerning how one can raise the chances of interview success

By far the most crucial factor of an interview is always to preserve direct eye contact with the particular person who’s conducting the interview. This will likely illustrate them that you mean business and are really serious when thinking about the possibility they are delivering.

During your interview, your interviewer will probably ask a variety of questions with a purpose to become knowledgeable about your knowledge, competencies and pursuits. You could be expected to resolve troubles, so be equipped to respond to both specialized and behavioral questions.

Figure out as much as possible about a corporation prior to an interview for the particular position. A fantastic start line is always to look up their internet sites and check out the services & products they provide as well as position of their offices.

Always head to an interview in sophisticated business dress. Make sure you are well groomed with tidy hair, orderly shoes and apparel. Do not wear too much fragrance or aftershave and always keep make-up, jewellery and nail polish basic.

Practise getting to your destination to see the time it can need. Public transport could be ineffective, the automobile traffic may well have|could have} been heavy, but however reasonable it won’t impact the fact your odds are lowered for everybody who is late. Bear in mind – You practically never obtain a further chance to create a initial opinion.

Try to be ahead of time – you will invariably uncover a|locate a|discover a} nearby cafe/shop/pub to pass the time in. If worst comes to worst and you will be going to be late, then without a doubt ring in and let them understand.

Employers look for employees as a result of they need a NEED. Do not mistake that the job interview is about you – it’s extremely about their NEED.

You would like to sell yourself as the right person to satisfy that need. Sure, you’ll have nice experience, but WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM? Managers hire individuals so as to form their own job easier. How are you going to form the Hiring Manager’s job easier? How are you going to form the Hiring Manager look good in THEIR boss’s eyes? You would like to form your skills, experience, and education relevant to THEM and their wants, goals, and situation. When every statement you make to the Hiring Manager, you would like to a minimum of mentally add ” … and this can create your job easier as a result of …” or ” … and this can create you look good as a result of …” Imagine the Hiring Manager asking “… therefore how would
that profit me and my wants?” Build your answers and examples relevant to THEIR wants and communicate how hiring you’ll profit THEM likewise because the company.

If Managers hire based on their wants, then you are going to possess to
uncover and reveal their wants so as to return up with answers that can get your hired. Keep in mind that every time a hiring manager asks you a question . Questions are a nice follow up to a winning response.

Early within the interview you ought to use your own questions to
uncover the hidden wants of the Hiring Manager therefore that you’ll tailor
your answers and angle to indicate that you just perceive their wants
which YOU are precisely the right person to resolve those needs.