Are you ready to compose your cover letter? Did you get the name and address of the hiring manager conducting the interviews? What? You just got the company address and you were planning to send it to To Whom It May Concern in the human resources department? (Why on earth would somebody give their child such a name?) Oh, I see, you figure if To Whom It May Concern in the human resources department was the one to craft the job posting and advertise the position, she will have all the information about the job and just forward everything to the hiring manager as it comes in.
Ok, so you are going to address it to To Whom It May Concern in the human resources department. Do you plan to present any of the benefits of hiring you on a more personal level? Oh, I see, you can’t do that because To Whom It May Concern could be anybody so it’s a little more difficult to get personal. (Thank goodness because I was feeling sorry for that child.) You’ll just let whoever opens your letter know you have seen the job opening on the internet so you have enclosed your resume and are looking forward to hearing from somebody soon.
Well, forgive me for bursting your bubble, but there is a darn good possibility you aren’t going to hear from To Whom It May Concern or anybody else anytime soon. Let’s take a look at this and see what we can do to your cover letter to personalize it and speak directly to the reader. Sending it to To Whom It May Concern will not do much to increase your odds of getting an interview with a real live person that has the power to hire you.
You will have to put forth some real effort to find out just exactly who will be doing the interviewing and making the final hiring decision. Your cover letter should be addressed specifically to this person with your resume enclosed. Do not staple or paperclip your resume to the cover letter. Make it quick and easy to handle.
Be direct and don’t try to impress them with your vocabulary. Your resume is full of industry buzz words that show your expertise. Write as though you are speaking to them face-to-face. Addressing your cover letter to the hiring manager and writing in a direct manner will introduce you to them on a more personal level and establish a friendly rapport.
Begin your letter by letting the reader know where and how you heard about the position. Move on to reveal what you have gleaned from your research about their company and the role the job plays in the overall scheme of their goals. By doing so, you will show the hiring manager the depth of your interest and your knowledge of the company. You want to keep as much of the focus on them as possible. Your resume will focus on you after you have addressed their needs in the cover letter.
Your resume will take care of painting a portrait in their mind of you and your career. It showcases how much you contributed to reaching the goals of your former employers. At this point your cover letter needs to let the hiring manager know how you can apply your talents and skills to benefit their company and the results you believe you can achieve. Make sure you are confident about what you can achieve and don’t be afraid to let that confidence show.
After you have specifically addressed their challenges is a good time to point out the relevance of your past accomplishments to the needs of their company. This will pique their interest in your resume and reinforce the benefit of having you on their team. Don’t forget that you are a team player, but also a solo performer whenever necessary.
Last, but certainly not least, close by letting them know you will be following up with a phone call and you look forward to speaking with them. Don’t be passive and sit around waiting for the phone to ring. You are on the hunt for a job and need to keep the ball rolling. You will display your initiative and keep the door to an interview open by doing so. Oh, one more thing…it’s not a good idea to sign your letter From Whom It Does Concern either. Angela Betts has over 8 years of experience writing compelling resumes targeted to specific job postings as well as with long distant and internet job searches. Angela provides resume writing skills and job search tips to job seekers to assist them in their job search. Visit http://www.resumeritr.com for assistance with development or enhancement of your resume and to sign up for the Career and Job Search Tips Newsletter. You have permission to publish this article electronically
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