Learning how to write a cover letter is perhaps the most vital piece to your job search. Cover letters not only help you get your foot in the door at a prospective employer but a great one will also open doors that you may have never thought existed in the first place.
1 - Do Your Homework. You need to find out who the hiring manager for the position you want is and what makes them tick. Search the company and make a few phone calls. You may be surprised at what the chatty girl at the front desk may be willing to tell you if you just ask. Try to find out if you have any common connections and be sure to use that in your favor. Making a personal connection can separate you from the crowd and make the hiring manager remember you when decision time comes around.
2 - Go After What You Really Want. A simple but often overlooked method to double the response of your cover letters is to ignore all the job postings entirely and target the company or companies that you want to work for. Why would you do this if there isn't any opening posted? Simple, by going where the competition isn't and thinking outside the box you will catch the attention of management as someone who specifically wants to work for them. You will be considered a person of action in the mind of management and you can avoid having to compete with hundreds of other applicants. You will stand alone and make a great impression at the same time.
3 - Write a Different Cover Letter for Each Job. A great way to increase the response to your cover letter is to make each one that you submit very specific to the job opportunity you are after. What are the competitive advantages that you have over all the other equally qualified candidates for this job? Make sure that each cover letter clearly answers this question. Describe how you can contribute to that companies most important mission. You do know what their mission statement is, don't you?
4 - Evaluate Your Cover Letter and Yourself. Ask yourself the hard questions like: What makes me unique? What ways can I add value to this company? Why should they hire me? Now, think over these questions for a while then jot down the answers when they come to you. Make sure you are being creative, different and distinctive. This will insure that you will get noticed.
Learning how to write a cover letter is really just about painting a clear picture for the hiring manager as to why you are the best candidate. Perhaps, the best advice I can give you is to think like the hiring manager. Ask yourself, would you hire yourself for this position!
5 - Get Some Help. Maybe the simplest of all 5 steps is to get some help. Make sure that your cover letter is the best that it can be.
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1 - Do Your Homework. You need to find out who the hiring manager for the position you want is and what makes them tick. Search the company and make a few phone calls. You may be surprised at what the chatty girl at the front desk may be willing to tell you if you just ask. Try to find out if you have any common connections and be sure to use that in your favor. Making a personal connection can separate you from the crowd and make the hiring manager remember you when decision time comes around.
2 - Go After What You Really Want. A simple but often overlooked method to double the response of your cover letters is to ignore all the job postings entirely and target the company or companies that you want to work for. Why would you do this if there isn't any opening posted? Simple, by going where the competition isn't and thinking outside the box you will catch the attention of management as someone who specifically wants to work for them. You will be considered a person of action in the mind of management and you can avoid having to compete with hundreds of other applicants. You will stand alone and make a great impression at the same time.
3 - Write a Different Cover Letter for Each Job. A great way to increase the response to your cover letter is to make each one that you submit very specific to the job opportunity you are after. What are the competitive advantages that you have over all the other equally qualified candidates for this job? Make sure that each cover letter clearly answers this question. Describe how you can contribute to that companies most important mission. You do know what their mission statement is, don't you?
4 - Evaluate Your Cover Letter and Yourself. Ask yourself the hard questions like: What makes me unique? What ways can I add value to this company? Why should they hire me? Now, think over these questions for a while then jot down the answers when they come to you. Make sure you are being creative, different and distinctive. This will insure that you will get noticed.
Learning how to write a cover letter is really just about painting a clear picture for the hiring manager as to why you are the best candidate. Perhaps, the best advice I can give you is to think like the hiring manager. Ask yourself, would you hire yourself for this position!
5 - Get Some Help. Maybe the simplest of all 5 steps is to get some help. Make sure that your cover letter is the best that it can be.
Following my Social Networks on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Pinterest
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