Tips for Developing Your Cover Letter

Your cover letter will open doors or close doors depending on how you write them. I personally believe that a good cover letter will open doors faster than a resume. I believe that if you have a well written cover letter, you will spark interest in the hiring manager or recruiter and they will want to read more about you – thus your resume.

If you just present a resume that looks like everyone else’s resume, you have about 4 seconds to make an impression and if you miss it the hiring manager or recruiter has moved on to the next one. A good cover letter that grabs the reader at the first line, will create interest in the candidate and the hiring manager will want to read your resume, and if they want to read it, you are well on your way pass the 4 second courtesy glance. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Develop a personal letter for each organization you have an interest in. Do not send form letters or general letters. Be specific and targeted
2. Use strong action words that describe who you are in one sentence that will make the reader take notice, or remember you. Here is how my cover letter opens:

“My high energy, strength in people development and excellent facilitation skills make me an excellent addition to your organization. Attached you will find a copy of my resume. As you can see my work experience demonstrates a person with working knowledge in the areas of people development, organizational assessment, training, project management and relationship building.

I change the last sentence of my cover letter to parallel the job description I am responding to. I also change line one depending on the organization, however I always open with “My high energy”. Why? Because it is one of the keys to my personality, and it is part of who they are going to get. I like to start with on my cover letter, and they get to meet me and my energy when I arrive for the interview. I send a consistent message to potential organizations. They now know that my cover letter matches the person sitting in front of them.

3. Share highlights of your accomplishments and qualifications. This is what will draw them into your resume. They will go looking on your resume for more detail on the items you mention in your accomplishment and qualifications.

4. Use bullet points to lay out your cover letter. Don’t try to give them all of your work experience in the cover letter. Give them a foretaste of what they will read in the resume.

5. Include a closing paragraph that will restate why they should consider meeting you and discussing your qualifications. This is your strong close that will move them to wanting to read your resume and ultimately create a desire in them to “want” to meet you.

Cover letters are the appetizer in the full course from interview to job offer. Cover letters help to develop the first impression that organizations will have about your candidacy. So don’t be lazy about the cover letter. This is one of those tools that can give a lasting first impression that may lead to you successfully landing a job. So take your time and carve out a strong cover letter.

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