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Optimizing Your Job-Specific
Letter
Also: Cover Letters – An
Important Introduction, Beat
The Crowd With Winning Cover Letters, 7
Deadly Cover Letter Writing Signs
A
job-specific cover letter is one of the most promising to
send because the company is hiring! You know this because
the company told you so; possibly, through an online job
board, help wanted ad, or a posting at the local
unemployment office. You know that the company is
aggressively seeking someone with your skill set — and that
shows great promise.
Jobseekers typically want to focus their efforts on those
who are actively seeking new employees. In comes the need
for a job-specific cover letter.
Before
continuing, however, learning what not to include can make a
“loser” letter into a “winning” one. Jobseekers seem to make
the same mistakes. Maybe it’s because they don’t routinely
job search, so their knowledge of conducting an effective
job search dwindles between jobs. You should write a cover
letter with these cautions in mind:
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-
Don’t
tell the prospective employer more than what they care to
know.
-
Don’t
tell them about your volunteering, extracurricular
activities, or your personal hobbies, unless you feel it
will add to your value.
-
Don’t
let your content stray away from the scope of the job
announcement.
Before
starting to write, and to avoid these “don’ts”, print the
job description and break out a highlighter. Dissect the job
description by highlighting the nouns strategically hiding
within the text. By doing this, you not only verify that you
possess all the skills and qualifications that the company
is seeking, but you also ensure that each of them are
prominently or strategically listed within your job-search
materials (i.e. resume, cover letter).
Nouns
aren’t difficult to locate. Take a purchasing agent
position, as an example. Nouns (AKA keywords) would include
procurement, inventory management, and vendor auditing. Once
you have a clear indication of these keywords, keep them in
mind when you begin to write your cover letter. It’s all
about reflecting you as the perfect person for the position.
If you possess the skills they are seeking, then it’s simply
a matter of ensuring your cover letter meets the company’s
expectations.
The next
step is to strategically weave the words into your
sentences. Be careful. Use only those that are relevant to
your career history, and ensure each are adequately spaced
throughout the content so hiring managers don’t feel you’re
being blatant.
Consider
using different word variations, if the need calls for it.
Some descriptions can be reworded and shuffled around — and
although they mean the same thing, it will help you shy away
from plagiarizing the company’s job description.
Let’s
say that a human doesn’t review your cover letter, but maybe
a management system stores it instead. Inserting select
keywords into your resume and cover letter will definitely
increase your chances there too. Amidst the dozens,
hundreds, or thousands of jobseekers all vying for the job
that’s intended for you, selectively inserting keywords is
great for both real and computer eyes. Keep that in mind
when designing any portion of your job-search materials
Also: Cover Letters – An
Important Introduction, Beat
The Crowd With Winning Cover Letters, 7
Deadly Cover Letter Writing Signs
Editors and
publishers are welcome to reprint articles
found on Job Interview Advice as long as
the author's byline appears intact and the email
and web address are hyperlinked. In addition,
the phrase Source:
Job-Interview-Advice.net
should appear after the author's byline
and should be hyperlinked as well.
Learn how to write and design an amazing cover
letter
.
Written by Teena Rose of Resume to Referral
http://www.resumebycprw.com
Teena Rose is a certified and published resume
writer and author of "The
20-Minute Cover Letter Fixer"
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