Other articles: Putting a Spin on Work Experience Claims & Credibility -- The Essence of Selling
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Asking Questions -- An Essential and Overlooked Step
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Someone is going to read your letter. It will land on their desk and
they will take time away from the work they were planning on
What action do you want the reader to take at this point? What is it
you want them to do with your letter? Why are you writing?
One way or the other, the next step you want to get to is usually a
telephone conversation of some kind -- preferably initiated by the
employer, but far more likely initiated by you. What you want the
reader to do at this point is either to call you, or to accept your call.
From there, you'll usually try to move on to a face-to-face meeting.
You're going to try to get to that next step by answering the
fundamental worksearch question: What value do you have to offer?
How will the employer be better off with you than they are now?
Your resume should provide the evidence to make your claims
credible.
Keep paragraphs short. No more than seven lines, and preferably five
or fewer. Vary the sentence length. None of the sentences should be
very long, but you don't want a staccato stream of very short
sentences. Try using the occasional sentence fragment. Like this. Or
begin with conjunctions -- and, but, or.
And you can use boldface type and italics to draw attention to
specific parts of your letter. You have to be careful with underlining
because the line is often printed too close to the word, reducing its
readability.
These devices should be used sparingly to make the highlights stand
out when the reader gives your letter a quick skim (which may be all
it ever gets if they don't see anything to make them want to read
on).
Write in a friendly, conversational tone, and avoid stiff businessese
like "enclosed please find my resume for your perusal" or "I am
sending my resume in regards to the above mentioned position."
Forget all about what you think a business letter "should" sound like.
Don't use a thesaurus to replace good simple words with ornate and
awkward language.
Be a real person, not an automaton churning it out by rote. Show
some personality and enthusiasm.
Avoid vague statements -- specifics sell. A letter that could be sent to
any employer merely by replacing the name of the company -- called
a "broadcast" letter -- can probably be improved with more specifics.
If you're planning on a mass mailing, the broadcast format may be
your best choice, but you should be aware that there are trade-offs
between high volume and customization. It's much harder to create
reader involvement with a letter that could have been sent to anyone
(and probably has).
Think twice before using any adjectives or adverbs. A common
mistake is what I call the Roget Style of writing where a truck load of
adjectives is dumped all over the letter. The writer of one letter I've
got in front of me claims to be "competent," "reliable," "committed,"
and "outstanding" -- all in one paragraph! Another says she's
"motivated and dedicated."
Says you! Unsubstantiated puffery adds nothing. The reader isn't
going to think of you as one scintilla more competent just because
you describe yourself that way.
"Effectively" and "efficiently" are particularly weak -- and some
people sprinkle them in their letters like confetti. What was so
efficient or effective about what you did? How do you know? If you
can answer those questions, then put that down instead. And if you
can't answer them, you're probably better off saying nothing.
If you start describing yourself as "well organized, proactive, and
dedicated; a team player with excellent oral and written
communication skills" or any other clichés, you'll be laughed at more
than admired.
What can you do for this organization? Try converting "I haves" into
"you wants" -- or "you don't wants" if you can play on a fear the
employer may have and show how hiring you would eliminate it.
Read More About Writing a Persuasive Cover Letter:
The problem with all guides to resumes and cover letters is that they may make you believe there are absolute rules which must be followed.... Read it here
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