Chapter 8

Your Cover Letter

You now have the bulk of your personal sales kit ready for the market. Nobody is going to look at your résumé, however, without an excellent cover letter.

Your cover letter is measured by its ability to draw your reader beyond the front page and to the résumé behind it. It is designed to work as a partner with the résumé. It doesn't contain all the details packed inside your résumé but there is no way you can hope to attract any attention without a great cover letter.

If you are currently sending out résumés without cover letters you are wasting your time. In most cases, you will more than triple your response just by adding a cover letter, even if it isn't very good. By using the techniques I am about to show you and putting your brand new powerful résumé behind it, your results will be staggering.

Just like the résumé, there are things you definitely don't want to include in your cover letter. These can be very detrimental to the chances of your potential employer looking beyond this front page.

The reason for a cover letter is to introduce yourself and give your future employer a reason to look at your résumé. You want to tell them why you are of high value and what you have to offer. Hit on a couple of qualifications and let them know your résumé is attached.

Keep the cover letter brief. Match the context to your knowledge of the position for which you are applying. Personalize it as much as possible. Look at the examples and you will see what I mean. Remind them you talked on the phone, in the hallway or at the office on what day and time.

The biggest secret to an effective cover letter is to make specific references to skills listed on your résumé that make you uniquely qualified for the position. Your ability to capture these things will make your cover letter a powerfully persuasive tool.

What NOT to Include

Never put anything in your cover letter that may bring out a strong bias in your employer.

Things not to include in your cover letter are much the same as your résumé.

Do NOT include:

A photograph.
Your birth date or how old you are.
Marital status.
How your health is.
Any negative information.
Why you left previous positions.
Names and addresses of references.
Religious affiliations.
Political affiliations.
Salary requirements.

DO include these important items:

Return address.
Date.
Future employer's name, company and address.
A proper salutation.

Targeted Cover Letter

Use the top of your résumé as letterhead for your cover letter.

Targeted Cover Letter Example

Generic Cover Letter

If you were sending this to a number of potential employers in another city you are traveling to on a certain date you would want to change the cover letter to something like this:

Adjusting for Your Audience

If the company isn't rapidly growing, don't put rapidly growing. If you know that to be the case then leave it in. It doesn't hurt to just say growing or leave the entire "rapidly growing" phrase out. Just say, "My ten years as a successful independent marketer should be of interest to a company like yours", and then tell them why.

In your cover letter you are trying to meet your potential employer's needs. You are only concerned about what you can do for them. Talk about all your qualifications and desires in terms of how you can help them. Don't toot your own horn just to toot it.

There must be a perceived value for your future boss to look at your résumé and invite you to an interview.

Persuasive Rapport

Notice in the first cover letter example, the first sentence mentions the fact you had talked to this individual. In fact, you said you would send your résumé. Leading off with this simple sentence adds to the rapport that you have already built. It assures your interviewer will continue to read your résumé.

Power Words in Your Cover Letter

If you didn't get an opportunity to do all your homework or chose not to, you may not know your potential employer well enough to use words from the earlier power lists. Be conservative with these words and don't use too many skill words such as, bold, competitive, assertive, aggressive, independent, leader or self-confident where the job description is calling for someone that is careful, open-minded and tactful.

The balanced approach is almost always the best bet, even when you know your audience.

Final Thoughts on the Résumé Process

Using these cover letter and résumé methods will be very productive even if you choose to use the generic format. It is possible, however, after all your preparation you may not get the nod for an interview if you appear to be too much of one type of person.

One way to avoid this is to do the research and target your résumé to the specific position you want to obtain. You will be much more productive by targeting a handful of potential employers than blindly sending a résumé to everybody and their dog. I can't emphasis how important it is to do your homework.

When you do get the call, you must be prepared to seize the opportunity. In the next chapter you will learn how to do this effectively by using simple rapport techniques and preparation to win yourself the job you want.