Straight Talk about Writing Cover Letters
November 19, 2008 (10:00AM) by Julie O'Malley, CPRW
It's easy to find resources that teach you the best practices for writing cover letters. You can find several right here on this blog, more in our Learning Center, and plenty of others on the web. But I'm not sure it will be any more helpful than hearing these somewhat harsh words from Blaine Hilton, a business owner and hiring manager who tells it like it is regarding cover letters. In his Blaine on Business blog, he gives a 9-point reality check that might make you rethink the way you've been writing your letters.
Although Blaine's post is titled "Resume Writing and Submission," it provides at least as much insight into cover letters. In fact, his first two points are:
1. Have a cover letter.
2. If your cover letter is a form letter, forget it.
He also gives great tips on how to focus your letter on the business and its needs, rather than on you and yours. Here's one of his big complaints:
4. Cover letter is focused on the applicant
While it is great you are telling me about you, I quite frankly don’t care. I’m trying to run a business and make a profit. 99.9% of people talk about only themselves if they send a coversheet at all. If you really want to get my attention on a cover sheet, focus on talking about me and my business. Tell me how you are going to help me.  Tell me how you are going to solve my problems and [make] me money.
Read that again. He frankly doesn't care to hear about (gasp!) ... you. Don't worry, once you're hired, your employer will (probably) come to care about you as a person. But at this phase of the hiring process, when they're comparison shopping among applicants, you're just one of the products they're considering. So your cover letter should be like a product advertisement; a clear and memorable message about the benefits you have to offer the "buyer."
Or, as Hilton puts it:
7. Answer my concerns
Hiring someone is going to have the single biggest impact on my business. It is my business and thus I'm going to have many concerns for you. The applicant that realizes this will tailor their writing to answer the questions I have and make me feel confident that I should choose you.
I thought Hilton's candor was a valuable reminder of what you're really trying to do in a cover letter. It's easy to get wrapped up in talking about past jobs, but your real objective is to convince the employer that you'll do a great job for them in the future.
What do you think about these points? Overly harsh or helpful? Leave a comment below.
I believe this is to the point and right on the money. To sell oneself, to get the job of one's desire. Everyone should take note of this.
Thank you for presenting this comment by Mr. Hilton. It makes sense, and is extremely informative.
Christina
Consider my head thumped! Clear. Succinct. Useful. Thanks.
Why should an employer have any interest in a potential employee, other than, how can they can improve the productivity of the company. An employee is an investment. My personal experience, tell an employer how you can/will make or save them money.
Thanks for the comments, Christina, mosi, and Brandon -- Seems like we're all in agreement.
Brandon, I especially like your point that "An employee is an investment." We should all get into that mindset when we sit down to write cover letters. Tell the employer what the ROI* will be when they hire you.
*ROI = Return On Investment
Julie
How do you find out if a company is having problems who is going to tell you. Most of the times after you have researched the company and obtain a phone number you get shoved to HR and they ask for a message to be left on the recorder. Thats it. Is there a way around this?
@Ken
I'm not quite sure if you're asking how to find out if a company is having problems, or how to get past HR, so I'll try to address both:
To detect business problems, use the Internet. Look for information on the company, its management team, its annual report (if any), newspaper articles or press releases, etc. It's up to you to uncover business problems; no one in the company is going to volunteer that information.
As for getting past HR on the phone... well, you probably won't. Phone calls are great for followup after an interview, but almost no company (unless it's tiny) is going to accept phone calls from job candidates prior to their initial screening of resumes.
Julie
I NEED AN EXAMPLE OF A COVER LETTER FOR A RESUME, NOT SURE HOW T BEGIN
@Dana C.
First, let me say that you should NOT write your cover letter in all capital letters :)
Next, you should check out our Learning Center (click the "Learn" tab at the top of the page). These two articles in particular should help you get started:
Cover Letter Basics: 5 Steps to a Top-Notch Letter http://www.pongoresume.com/articles/37/cover-letter-basics.cfm
Your Cover Letter: The Gateway to Your Resume http://www.pongoresume.com/articles/39/cover-letter-gateway.cfm
Good luck! Julie
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