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15-MinuteCover Letter

MakeoverDonn LeVie Jr.

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Which type of hiring manager is your cover letter targeted to?

The soft-sell hiring manager who loves to read cover letters….or…..

…the hard-nosed hiring manager who hates screening cover letters and résumés? (Answer: THIS GUY, because if you can get through to him, you can get through to anyone

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10 elements of a GREAT cover letter

1. ¾ to one page in length

2. Always addressed to a specific individual

3. MUST have an attention-grabbing opening sentence: You MUST get to the point in your first sentence—do NOT state the obvious (“I have enclosed my résumé…”)

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10 elements of a GREAT cover letter

4. Bullet list of quantified accomplishments pulled from résumé

5. High-level selling/promotion of your expertise as it applies to the hiring manager’s needs (sound like a problem solver and game changer rather than just another potential employee)

6. Is NEVER a summary of your résumé

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10 elements of a GREAT cover letter

7. Has more instances of the words “you/your/yours” than “I/me/my/mine”

8. Always takes control of the next contact in the last paragraph (improves your odds of continuing forward in the hiring process)

9. Never uses “please” or “thank you” or other emotive words (come on, it’s a sales letter for Pete’s sake!)

10. Emphasizes the future benefits of your expertise rather than the past features of your experience

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• You have 5 to 7 seconds to grab the hiring manager’s attention in your opening paragraph

• Open with a rhetorical question to peak the hiring manager’s interest

• A hiring manager doesn’t care that you:• “Love” your professional specialty

• Are “passionate” about your professional specialty

• Are “confident” he or she will find you qualified

• “Believe” your skills are what the position calls for

What the hiring manager does care about is what you have done; what you have accomplished primarily, then duties and responsibilities. All the “love”, “passion”, “confidence”, and “belief” will be communicated by your accomplishments, and not your just saying so.

A few more suggestions…

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Contact information block

Best email address

Don’t need physical address

Best phone number

LinkedIn links are good if you have a professional profile

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Salutation/greetingOne simple rule: always use name of an individual in the greeting line

First preference: name of hiring manager who has vacant position

Second preference: name of Human Resources manager

Use LinkedIn network to locate people or get introduced to people who can provide leadsto others in the organization

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Opening paragraph: Get to the point – quickly!

You have 5 to 7 seconds to grab hiring manager’s attention… none of the examples below do that.

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Opening paragraph and sentence quickly get to the point with a rhetorical question…which jumps immediately into quantified accomplishments

Opening paragraph: Get to the point – like THIS!

These specific quantified accomplishments were pulled directly from the candidate’s résumé—as demonstrated proof of his being a game changer, solutions provider, and problem solver

Understand the difference between task completion and accomplishment—most candidates do not

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Don’t summarize résumé in cover letter

Too much “I”, “Me”, “Mine”, “My”

No “You”, “Your”, “Yours”

EXAMPLE:

For the last eight years, I have been a Chicago Police Officer on the west side of the city. I have spearheaded fraud investigations which have required the cooperation of outside agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the County Sheriff’s Department. I have performed hundreds of interviews and interrogations, which have resulted in the successful prosecution of offenders.

My passion for combating fraud motivated me to join the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and become a Certified Fraud Examiner. Also, I have received my Master’s of Business Administration with a focus on financial fraud.

Avoid using self-accolades in your cover letter…let others speak highly of your work ethic

RULE OF THUMB: Use more instances of “you/your/yours” than “I/me/my/mine” to sell hiring manager on benefits of expertise (same concept taught in advertising copywriting classes)

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Body paragraphs• Use slightly unabashed self-promotional tone to the writing

• Bold key words and important phrases bolded (sparingly)

• Speak directly to the hiring manager’s concerns

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Take control of the next contact to stay in the game

This is a weak close and emphasizes the candidate’s goals rather than the hiring manager’s needs; it also completely leaves the next contact up to the hiring manager…and the proper close to a cover letter is “Sincerely”

This is a VERY weak close as it highlights a presumed deficiency in experience or knowledge; it uses “please” and “thank you” (never in a cover letter!); completely leaves the next contact up to the hiring manager; it duplicates information (the phone number and email address are in the closing block)… the proper close to a cover letter is “Sincerely”

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In the closing paragraph, you must initiate the next contact to better your odds of staying in contention for the position…

EXAMPLE:

The best way to close a cover letter…

If the job ad says “No phone calls, please”, then the close becomes:

“I can do the same for your company to help you (it) be more successful in an increasingly competitive marketplace.” That’s a much stronger close than “I hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.”

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Books by Donn LeVie Jr.

Winner of the 2012 Global eBook Award and Winner of the 2012

International Book Award for Jobs/Careers

Available September 2015

Author, consultant, and speaker Donn LeVie Jr. has more than 25 years in various hiring manager positions for Fortune 500 companies. He has reviewed over 1,000 cover letters and résumés, involved with hundreds of interviews, and hired countless numbers of technical, marketing, and communications professionals.

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www.donnleviejrstrategies.com