Cover Letter Creation

Once Upon A Time…

There it is. That’s the one.

The job you’ve always wanted. The one you always dreamed of as a kid.

Mega-Evil-Super-Villain.

Okay, expert resume crafted using psychoticresumes.com? Check. A thorough read-through and understanding of the job posting? Check. Homework done on the company you’re trying to get a job with? Check…

Now what? Well, now you tell a “story” about yourself with your Cover Letter. If you did your cover letter prep, you know that you need to format this as a standard business letter. Addresses for you and your hiring manager, your hiring manager’s name, and a short paragraph about why you’re writing the letter in the first place – and how you found out about the job.

Introducing yourself is the hardest part – first impressions are tough. You need to sound exciting and like a person they want to hire in the very first sentence, so… be yourself, but make sure that your choice of words and tone is easily read and interesting. You need to make this cover letter special – treat this as if this was the only job you ever wanted and could ask for. Make them feel special for reading your application.

It might be important to note here that you want to avoid name-dropping as much as possible. Your friend referred you to the job? Fine, throw him a bone. Just don’t make a huge deal out of it.

Slay The Dragon… Tell Your Story

The real meat of your “story” will come from your past employment, your achievements, and your skills. You should specifically include any jobs you listed on your resume, and if you have them, any skills on the job posting should also be in your cover letter somehow. It should talk about accomplishments, especially the ones you placed in your accomplishments section. But these things can’t just be copied-and-pasted. Think of your resume as the cliff notes to the real story of your cover letter. You want to convey the sense of pride that these accomplishments has given you – what skill sets specifically you derived from each action, and so on. You want to give the details behind each job and how you got each skill.

You can talk about your education, particularly if you have very little job experience, and what sorts of courses and projects you worked on while in school. Remember – this section is all about you. You’ve already told the hiring manager why you’re talking to them, what position you’re applying for, and so on. Just be honest and talk about what skills you have and how and where you got them.

I’m The Missing Link, The Last Piece of the Jigsaw, The Ugly Duckling All Growed Up…

Next, talk about how you can apply these skills in a useful way to the position in question, how you’ll be useful to the company you are applying for. Talk about how you’ll fit in, or how you respect a certain aspect of their business. This is where your research on the company comes into play. If you’ve done your homework, coming up with one or two things to talk about in this section will be no big deal. This is pretty much self-explanatory – they have skills listed on the job description, duties, and so on, most of the time. Use these to fill in this section, and use your research to fill out the rough edges.

It’s Like The Jedi Mind Trick, But With Paper…

Finally, you need to ask them for an interview. This is my preferred method of initiating a “call to action”. In your own words, you want to say, “I am very interested in this position and I would love to talk with you about scheduling an interview.” Then give your contact information – both your e-mail and your phone number.

You need to make this an effective sell – you do this by restating your interest in the position (specifically mentioning it by name), then ask for an interview.

Remember – you are applying to a job that you really want, but not one that you really need. In fact, unless you’re running out of unemployment benefits or just really down on your luck, it’s important to always remember that they need you much more than you need them. You still need to treat them like you would rather work there than learn how to use a lightsaber.

Finding Your Voice… One Ritalin Junkie At A Time

Remember, you’re writing this “story” in your own words – be persuasive! Don’t sound like a robot. Don’t sound like a tool. Sound interested, exciting, fun, energetic. Reflect your personality and your professionalism. Be engaging, use action words – “built, performed, maintained, trained” when talking about achievements. Use present tense action words when talking about skills – “motivation, programming, stuffing children into tight spaces”.

It can take a bit of work, but once you have your one-page cover letter written, take it to an A.D.D. friend or two to read over. See if they finish the whole thing before they lose attention. If they can, you’ve got a good cover letter. If not, well… re-work it until another person with A.D.D. can read through it without losing their attention.

Be clear – be as simple as possible, explain your acronyms, don’t waste your time with pretty adjectives or prose. Don’t waste your reader’s time. Don’t include a photo unless you’re a model, applying for a modeling gig or something… it adds an unnecessary and complicated layer of social dynamics that shouldn’t be in play yet. Make sure to talk about how you are going to help the company – not just about yourself: if you seem selfish or self-centered, you’re not going to get to the interview.

Finally, if you’re going to submit your resume and cover letter in person or via mail, print them out on nice resume paper – maybe even styled paper. If you’re going to e-mail it, make sure it looks nice and readable. They might print it off on a laser printer, but they sure won’t be able to read 4 pt font. Your whole cover letter should be 12 point font in one of the standard fonts (and should match your Resume font) – Verdana, Times New Roman, etc.

A well-written cover letter can make the difference between Caviar and Food Stamps, (or, in the case of your super-villain job, regular sharks or sharks with friggin’ “laser” beams on their heads!) so take your time and get it right!

Good luck! If you have any questions or comments, please let me know by clicking on the Contact Me button!