Here's a tip for cover letters to get
more interviews. Use a bulleted format
cover letter rather than a standard letter
in paragraphs. The bulleted format is
more eye catching, and is more likely
to be glanced at by the hiring manager
or other person assigned to sort through
resumes. This format will help you get
your resume seen by more people and as
a result get more interviews and more
job offers.
If you follow this advice and decide
to use the bulleted format, make sure
that each bullet point specifies a reason
for the hiring manager to talk with you.
This reason can be your number of years
experience, your education, a personality
trait that you have, or an accomplishment.
Examples of bulleted points would be:
. Over 20 years experience in Human Resource
Management.
Or.
. Outstanding work ethic. Lead by example.
Or.
. Master of Science in Education. Currently
enrolled in Doctorate program.
Or.
. Saved last employer $30,000 in revenue
through modernization of accounting system.
Or.
. Increased sales by 25% last quarter.
This bulleted format allows you to toot
your own horn, but in a way that does
not seem egotistical because it is obviously
part of a resume package.
Another tip that will increase the readability
of your cover letter is to use bold faced
fonts on occasion to emphasize points
you want read. Bold face catches the eye,
and is a common device used by graphic
designers in advertising copy. Your resume
and cover letter are marketing tools for
you, just as a print media advertising
piece is a marketing tool for a business.
Consider using bold face as tip from the
Fortune 500 ad agencies that you can use
without charge.
The next piece of advice to consider
concerns the final paragraph of the letter,
and will help you in your follow up efforts.
When following up often times the hardest
thing to do is to get past the gatekeeper.
The secretary or administrative assistant
that screens calls for his or her boss
has an important job to do, but so do
you, and reaching the decision maker will
make you look good. The gatekeeper will
try to stop you if the decision maker
is busy-after all, he has better things
to do with his time than speak with job
seekers. So, in the final paragraph of
your letter, before the "sincerely" and
your name, simply state "I will call you
next week to check on a convenient time
to speak with you in person." You've told
the hiring manager you will be calling.
Logically he should be expecting your
call. For this reason you may tell the
gatekeeper that " Mr. HR Manager is expecting
my call this week." This will increase
your chances of getting through, and of
getting the interview. This tip is a variation
on techniques that good business-to-business
sales people use, and will work for you
as well, bringing you more interviews
and more job offers.
This article was posted on December
08, 2005
