Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Jimmy Sweeney
Amazing Cover Letters
You’re about to discover why it is the ‘humble’ cover letter and NOT the resume
that has the sales power to land you more quality job interviews and offers this
month than 99% of your competition will land all year.
If I failed to grab your attention with the title of this chapter you might not be
reading this first sentence right now.
You can call it a ‘title’ or a ‘headline’ but the secret is to ‘pack a punch’ at the top
of any written communications. Done properly, this practically forces the reader
to explore a little further, to READ more of your letter, article, document, etc.
How can you use this secret with your resume cover letter?
This little-known gem works like magic and fits perfectly at the top of any job-
search cover letter. With a powerful headline, you have the opportunity to grab
the reader’s undivided attention. Without it you run the risk of falling victim to
the dreaded, ‘scan and trash’ syndrome.
Imagine the kinds of results YOU could enjoy in your job search
when your cover letter starts off with an attention-grabbing headline
that is so compelling and unique, the hiring manager is actually
excited to keep reading?
This is exactly how YOU can land more quality job interviews in a
hurry.
You may be saying right now, “But Jimmy, I can’t do that. It sounds too
difficult!”
Let’s assume your cover letter starts with something typical like, Dear Mrs.
Smith. Well, right above this greeting is exactly where you should place your
‘show-stopping’ headline. By the way, to stand out even more, this sentence can
be typed in bold-face print and centered on the page. (Two lines maximum).
Here are THREE examples of excellent cover letter headlines:
Three reasons why I believe I may be the candidate you are searching for
regarding the [insert job opening title here].
Following this headline you start your cover letter with, Dear Mrs. Smith.
Do you think ‘Mrs. Smith’ can resist reading a little more of what these headlines
promise? Using the ‘muscle’ of a strong headline at the beginning of your next
job-search cover letter can fill your calendar with more job interviews fast.
Which of these greetings should you use to start your cover letter?
Group 1:
Group 2:
Group 3:
Answer: Group 1 is the worst of the bunch. Group 2 is better. Group 3 is exactly
what you should strive for.
Make the extra effort and find out TO WHOM you should address your cover
letter. For jobs posted online this can prove to be a difficult task but at the bare
minimum make sure to address your letter to the proper company entity.
Example: Hiring manager; HR Director; etc.
Cool Cover Letter Greeting Tip: If you cannot find the specific name of the
person most likely to review your letter, use one of the greetings from Group 2
and add this special sentence (example below) to the top of your letter tailored to
your particular situation.
Example:
Now you can insert your main headline below this sentence as I discussed last in
the last chapter.
THREE reasons why I believe I may be the candidate you are searching for
regarding the [insert job opening title here].
The bottom line: When you target your cover letters to a specific person by name,
you increase your odds of landing the job interview several times over.
So before you write your next cover letter, ask yourself this question:
One of the best secrets for getting your cover letter noticed and read
is to keep it brief!
There are few cover letter mistakes greater than that of the ‘long-
winded’ cover letter.
1. One page max. Two-page cover letters are the kiss of job-search death!
2. Let your cover letter ‘breathe.’ The more white space the better.
3. Three paragraphs max. More than this and it appears to be a ‘tough read.’
4. Use bullet points and numbered lists when appropriate. This allows for
easy scanning.
5. Start the first sentence of each paragraph with bold-faced type. It
highlights the start of each paragraph inviting the person to read further.
Works beautifully.
6. Paragraphs should contain no more than four to five sentences each, but I
highly recommend just three well-written sentences per paragraph.
7. After you’ve finished your letter, print it out to see that it’s easy on the
eyes and ‘invites’ you to read more. Remember: Less is more!
Use these SEVEN secrets to create your own highly effective cover letter and I
guarantee you’ll avoid the ‘recycle bin,’ and land more quality job interviews
next month than your long-winded competitors will land all year.
Hey look at that, I’ve kept this chapter short and sweet! ☺
I was going to begin this chapter by using some really impressive words to make
my point right off the bat. Fortunately, I decided against this approach, realizing
you probably wouldn’t make it to the second sentence and I would have lost 95%
of my audience immediately!
Writing a cover letter filled with sentences that use words an English teacher
would have trouble understanding is not only difficult to pull off, but more
important, it is totally and completely ineffective!
This is great news for you. Highly effective, interview-grabbing cover letters are
‘short and sweet’ and read like a friendly conversation with a good friend.
I realize the tendency people have towards using big, ‘important’ words in their
cover letters and resumes but trust me on this and leave the ‘big word technique’
to your competitors. Write your cover letters like I am writing this chapter. Make
your points easy to understand by using words everyone can recognize. Bring it
all together with a friendly tone throughout and chances are you’ve got yourself a
winner.
I wanted you to know I have taken some time to research your company
and am very impressed. I have a real passion for this industry. I am a hard
worker and my attention to detail is one of my best qualities. I would love
the chance to interview with (company name) for the position of account
executive. Thank you in advance for the opportunity. I really look forward
to meeting you.
BIG WORD WARNING TIP: Read your cover letter out loud and if you find any
tongue twisters and sentences that sound a little too ‘impressive’ fix them! Read it
again out loud until the sentences just roll off your tongue. Write like you speak,
let your personality shine through. Show your passion and enthusiasm for the
position and clearly ASK for the job interview.
You’re about to discover one of the most effective job-search strategies ever
revealed. Ready?
Your cover letter’s main focus and purpose should be landing YOU
the job interview. The one way to fill your calendar with more quality
job interviews is to clearly and directly ASK for the job interview
within your cover letter!
Let’s face it, without landing the job interview, it’s pretty difficult to land the job.
You can positively get your ‘foot in the company door’ for more quality job
interviews by using this one simple
strategy.
Allow me to repeat:
Asking for the job interview in the beginning of your cover letter and again
towards the end of your letter is the perfect combination. (Twice as nice, twice as
effective.) Keep it friendly and conversational but clear and direct. Remember
you are asking the reader (HR Director, Hiring Manager) to take a specific action.
You are asking him or her to pick up the telephone to call you for the job
interview. Does it get any more basic than that?
When you stop and think for a moment doesn’t it become obvious?
I’m offering you quite possibly the most deceptively simple job-search advice you
may ever read… and certainly one of the most powerful.
Here's an example of asking for the job interview within your cover letter:
This type of approach can be used as the final paragraph in your letter. It clearly
tells the reader YOU really want that job interview!
A resume does not ‘communicate’ the way a cover letter does. For all intents and
purposes a resume states a person’s name, rank and serial number as it relates to
his or her career and education. Conversely, the cover letter’s main job is to
‘speak’ directly to the recipient making it the perfect and only job-hunt document
in which to clearly and directly ASK for the job interview.
The bottom line: Use your cover letter as the marketing tool to bring home the
ONE RESULT you most desire: The job interview! (And quietly enjoy the fact
that 99% of your competition will never read this information).
Heck, you tell me, besides landing the job interview what ELSE do you expect
your cover letter to accomplish?
My thoughts exactly. ☺
Does your cover letter effectively ASK for the job interview?
If you answered no, remember this fact: A job-search cover letter that clearly and
directly asks for the job interview will beat the socks off a cover letter that does
not!
Use any one of these examples in your next cover letter to attract quality job
interviews like a magnet. For maximum effect, use my suggested Best Location
for each example.
5. If you will grant me an interview for (insert job opening title here), I feel
confident that when we meet and speak together you’ll see why I believe
I’m the right person for this job. I can be reached at 555-555-5555. Thank
you in advance. Best Location: This example is best when used as the
final paragraph in your cover letter.
Imagine your cover letter with and without these types of paragraphs.
It becomes crystal clear that these “ask for the interview” examples can have a
powerful effect on bringing you more of the desired result... job interviews! Add
this one element to your next cover letter and you’ve just given your job search a
major tune-up.
You can now stop pacing the room waiting and hoping for
the phone to ring. Instead, ASK for the phone to ring in every
one of your job-search cover letters.
There is a simple formula that will mathematically double your job search odds.
No, Im not talking about Las Vegas… on second thought, the way Las Vegas is
growing these days the job market is pretty healthy!
Today I’m going to reveal the quickest and easiest way to mathematically
DOUBLE your odds of landing any job.
Think about it. If you take the time to contact a company you’re interested in
working for on TWO separate occasions, you are TWICE as likely to get noticed.
This simple math equation escapes the vast majority of job-seekers who typically
‘throw in the towel’ after sending one application for each job listing. Don’t make
this critical mistake when it’s so easy to follow up with each contact. Market
yourself a second time — every time, by using a follow-up cover letter and
resume.
The average job-hunters fail to use any follow-up system for their job search.
They are either too lazy, don’t understand how, or the idea has never occurred to
them!
As a rule of thumb, wait ten days to two weeks and if you have not been called for
the interview, send the same person/company a follow-up cover letter along with
your resume giving you a SECOND CHANCE at the interview and ultimately the
position being offered. This is so simple and highly effective.
FOLLOW-UP COVER LETTER TIP: The easiest way to create your follow-up
cover letter is to add one short, opening paragraph to your original cover letter.
That’s it! You are addressing the same person/company as you did a couple of
weeks prior. However, by adding this one short paragraph to the beginning of
your original cover letter you are now letting this person/company know that you
are still interested and available for the position.
Here’s an example:
I realize you’ve probably received many applications for the [insert job
opening title here]. I am extremely interested in this position and would
love the opportunity to be interviewed. I am following up with this letter
and my attached resume in case my originals were lost in the ‘shuffle’ the
first time around. (Continue with the original cover letter from here on).
Do you think by adding this type of paragraph to create your own follow-up cover
letter you could increase your chances of getting noticed and interviewed the
second time around?
Definitely.
I want you to follow up EVERY job listing that interests you with a follow-up
cover letter and resume. When you market yourself TWICE, you mathematically
DOUBLE your job-search odds, effective immediately!
When you make the wise job-search decision to follow up every contact, lead, and
job listing a second time, you give yourself TWO chances to make a first
impression.
Whoever said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”
obviously didn’t use any follow-up strategy! ☺
It’s a written, follow-up communication sent directly to the person who conducted
the job interview with you. It simply says thank you, I’m available, interested and
following up to let you know these facts.
You can use e-mail, snail mail, even voice mail to follow up every job interview.
As a rule of thumb, try to follow up using the same medium you used to land the
job interview.
I feel our interview went especially well and I wanted to send this quick
note to say thank you for the opportunity. After meeting with you in
person and having a clearer picture of what it would mean to be [insert job
position title here], I am more interested than ever. I am confident I have
the skills and knowledge you are looking for. I am available immediately,
and once again thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely yours,
(Signature)
P.S. I look forward to hearing those two magic words soon! [Insert smiley
face here]
Everyone loves to hear a simple thank you and to feel appreciated. Mr.
Interviewer is no different; he is a human being with hopes, dreams, and fears just
like you. If Mr. Interviewer happens to take a liking to you, he will go to bat for
you, as well. By sending a post-interview cover letter immediately following any
job interview you are one step closer to making solid contact with the person
holding the power to utter those two magic words…
“You’re hired!”
If landing the job of your dreams were as easy as posting your resume online with
one of those massive job sites everyone would be happily employed.
Just imagine, you kick up your feet, take a drink from your tall glass of lemonade,
wait 10 days and WHAMO!… You comb through dozens of job offers sent to you
from all over the globe!
The smart job-hunter uses every strategy available to expand his or her ‘job reach’
as efficiently and effectively as possible. If you want the job you’ll need to go to
work! (Pun intended).
Today I’m going to reveal the power of using two ‘not-so-famous’ cover letters
that will add a couple of legs to your job search, giving you the reach of a multi-
tasking octopus!
The networking cover letter is a powerful way to reach friends and professional
contacts asking for employment leads, referrals, advice, and introductions. You
are not asking for a job but rather their assistance in connecting you with people
and opportunities.
A networking cover letter is the ‘vehicle’ you can use to open up a new world of
opportunity by tapping into other peoples’ contacts, connections, and knowledge.
Tap into your network immediately and produce quality job leads for yourself
right away. Create your own list from these available sources: friends, friends of
friends, family, current and former coworkers, members of professional
organizations, your spouse, and everyone in between. Use your imagination to
develop a master networking list of contacts to whom you can email and ‘snail
mail’ your networking cover letter.
Networking letters should be friendly and professional. You can find and model
templates online.
Networking Cover Letter Tips: Keep your letter brief and summarize your
strengths in the middle of the letter using numbered lists or bullet points. Make
sure to clearly ASK for job leads and referrals. In most cases I suggest you attach
your resume, as well. Don’t be afraid to make a few phone calls to key contacts as
part of your overall networking strategy. Always remember to say thank you and
to follow up on a regular basis.
Remember, if one contact can’t help you out, make sure to ask them if they can
refer you to another one of THEIR contacts who can!
Here’s an effective letter that every job-seeker should keep in his or her ‘toolbox.’
This special letter has the personal feel of a cover letter but also doubles as a
resume.
The resume cover letter is perfect for networking and also makes a terrific
follow-up letter. It is brief by design, and therefore can be used successfully when
working with recruiters, headhunters, and agencies where brevity is so important.
It allows the reader to scan one document quickly as opposed to reading the
traditional two-piece job application containing both the cover letter and resume.
Creating your own resume cover letter is easy: you are condensing and combining
the key elements of your cover letter and resume to create one document called
the ‘resume cover letter.’ I recommend the use of bullet points to list the
highlights of your resume while staying with the format of a cover letter
throughout.
I also recommend keeping your networking cover letter to one page in length, two
pages absolute maximum. Otherwise you are defeating the purpose of using this
type of letter.
Use a resume cover letter anytime you’d like to keep your communications brief,
but want to display the highlights of your resume, as well.
Final thought: I believe networking alone can provide YOU the strongest chance
for landing a job you love. Tap into YOUR network today!
There are millions of job-seekers all over the world, yet only a tiny fraction will
have the opportunity to read this chapter.
Of all the so-called ‘secret’ tips, tricks, and strategies available to job-seekers for
creating winning cover letters, I am about to reveal the one I truly believe is the
greatest of them all.
This ‘secret’ has been around for decades and is one of the most powerful
marketing strategies ever used in print advertising. However, you’ll almost never
see this technique used in a cover letter. That is, until a few years ago when my
background in marketing led me to the idea of using it at the end of a job-search
cover letter. I figured if it worked so well selling products, the same would be true
for job-seekers who want to ‘sell’ themselves to potential employers.
The P.S. is virtually impossible NOT to read! Think about it. When you read any
type of letter and your eyes notice a P.S. at the end, you are practically ‘forced’ to
read it! Harness the power a P.S. naturally commands by using it in all of your
cover letters.
It’s your best shot for a ‘direct hit’ that can increase the chances of producing the
desired result… the job interview.
P.S. I will follow up with a phone call on May 3rd to make sure you have
received my application. I would love the opportunity to meet in person
for an interview. I can be reached right away at 555-555-5555. Thank you
in advance.
P.S. I realize all I can ask for is the opportunity to be interviewed for the
{insert job opening title here}. I would love that chance. Again, I can be
reached directly at 555-555-5555 to schedule an interview at your earliest
convenience. Thank you!
The P.S. is hard to ignore! As you can see from the above examples each P.S.
clearly and directly ASKS for the job interview and tells the reader what action to
take. You can also use the P.S. to restate why you believe you’re such a strong
candidate for the job opening.
Tips for using the P.S. (postscript): Position the P.S. at the bottom of your cover
letter and justified to the left. I recommend using either bold text or italics. Do
not use both.
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Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the
new, Amazing Cover Letter Creator. Jimmy is also the author of
several career-related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Job-
Search Secrets.” Visit Jimmy on the web at Amazing Cover Letters
for your ‘instant’ cover letter today… “In just 3 ½ minutes you will
have an amazing cover letter guaranteed to cut through YOUR
competition like a hot knife through butter!”
–Jimmy Sweeney