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7 Secrets of a Highly-Effective Resume Cover Letter
Just like the late, great Rodney Dangerfield, the "humble" cover letter gets no respect. Job-seekers spend so much time and energy on their resumes they've got nothing left to offer their poor, neglected cover letters. Big, BIG mistake! It is the well-written cover letter not the resume that can single-handedly land you more job interviews. The cover letter is your one chance to really "market" yourself to an employer using proven marketing strategies rarely found in the typical cover letter. Conversely, there's only so much you can do with the traditional CV or resume. I believe the carefully crafted cover letter is more important to your job search success than any other written document, including the resume. As a direct marketing professional for over 20 years, I bring to you my 7 secrets of a highly-effective resume cover letter: 1. ADDRESS your cover letter to a specific person. Do your best to find out "To Whom" you should address your cover letter. "Dear Manager" is lifeless. 2. OPEN with an attention-grabbing first sentence to really grip the reader. This will almost guarantee your cover letter and resume get a closer look. 3. REMEMBER less is more. The best cover letters have plenty of white space. Cover letters that are clear, focused, short and sweet land more job interviews period. 4. FOCUS on what you can do for the employer. How can you benefit the company specifically? Do a little research and relate this simply and clearly in your letter. 5. CHOOSE WORDS that show enthusiasm and passion for the position you seek... (big, big secret!) Then, carry this passion into the interview with you. 6. REQUEST ONE ACTION you want the employer to take: "I would really like the opportunity for a personal interview this week." (You never know until you ASK.) 7. END your cover letter with something enthusiastic and telling like, "I look forward to being interviewed at your earliest convenience. Thank you so much for this opportunity." Sincerely, Jane Jobseeker. (Notice how Jane assumes she'll land the interview? This is clever, smart, and it works like a charm). Think of your cover letter as a sales letter. The only purpose of your resume cover letter is to land you more job interviews. That's the bottom line. By using the proven marketing strategies I've outlined above you will land more quality job interviews than your competition. You must find a way to get your "foot in the company door" to have any chance of landing the job. With the right cover letter you can blow the doors of opportunity wide open. And remember, more job interviews translate to (drum roll please)... more job offers. Finally, the most important advice I can offer you is this: FOLLOW-UP every job lead, contact, and communication. Following up is the "golden key" to getting hired for the job of your dreams. Use follow-up cover letters, thank you letters, even follow-up phone calls. Following-up can literally double your chance for success. It is also the one secret ingredient missing from 99% of every job-seeker's playbook. Good news for you! Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the new, "Amazing Cover Letter Creator." Jimmy has written several career-related books and his unique, "think-outside-the-job-search-box" approach, make his articles a job-seeker favorite. Jimmy is regularly published on some of the Internet's largest career web sites. Who else wants their phone ringing off the hook with more quality job interviews? Visit Jimmy on the web right now at http://www.Amazing-Cover-Letters.com for your 'instant' cover letter today.
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University National Park Service restores some jobs of fired employees, pledges to hire 7,700 seasonal workers WVTM13 Birmingham Corporate Lowe's 2025 Job Hunting: The Skills That Will Make or Break Your Career and the Fastest Growing Fields Investopedia Careers Baxter Commonwealth Job Fair Governor Tom Wolf Careers at USCIS USCIS Charted: Which Jobs Are Using AI the Most? Visual Capitalist Investigation: Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources lawyer worked second job on state's dime The Columbus Dispatch Careers ontarioca.gov Employment at IEA Illinois Education Association Compensation & Benefits Lowe's Careers | Home USDA.gov Thousands of federal employees fired from US regulatory and science funding agencies Chemical & Engineering News Employment opportunities Department of Taxation and Finance Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) Employment Opportunities | Game Commission Governor Tom Wolf Store Hourly Job Areas Target Corporate Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University Work at Butler Butler University Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News Work at the U.S. Department of Energy Energy.gov Employment | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf Careers at University of Missouri Health Care | University of Missouri Health Care jobs University of Missouri Health Care Careers and Jobs at CRS Catholic Relief Services Apply to Work as a 911 Call Taker RaleighNC.gov Work With Us National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Work for the City of St. Louis City of St. Louis Career Opportunities UMHB Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers at Willamette Willamette University Careers BASF Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Careers Washington State University IOM career gateways International Organization for Migration (IOM) Careers West Virginia Department of Education Careers at FEMA FEMA Jobs and careers | Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs Careers at the IOC Olympics MTA is hiring for jobs with no education requirements or experience PIX11 New York News Meta slashes 3,600 jobs worldwide, including in the Bay Area KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco Future of Jobs Report 2025: The jobs of the future – and the skills you need to get them World Economic Forum UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Fargo VA Health Care System Jobs And Careers | VA Fargo Health Care | Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs Careers CrowdStrike MBA applications bounce back in tougher job market Financial Times Current opportunities Turner & Townsend Job Opportunities Bellevue School District Careers KPMG DOE Report Shows Clean Energy Jobs Grew at More Than Twice the Rate of Overall U.S. Employment Energy.gov The Number of Americans Wanting to Switch Jobs Hits a 10-Year High The Wall Street Journal Work at UI Health Care | University of Iowa Health Care University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Careers S&P Global California’s economy continues growing & creating jobs Office of Governor Gavin Newsom Recorded Video Interviews Target Corporate Explore BCG locations around the world Boston Consulting Group WORK AT LVMH LVMH Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Surging job market could prove costly for households, businesses as odds of quick rate cuts fade The Associated Press Early careers NHS staff increasingly unhappy at work Personnel Today Work with us JPMorgan Chase Department of Public Health City and County of San Francisco Internship Opportunities | BCG Boston Consulting Group How many jobs are available in technology in the US? Computerworld Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota |
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