Everyone seems to know you need to submit a cover letter with your resume but working in a job center I have learned that most people have no clue as to what type of letter will actually get you called in for an interview.
Here's the conventional wisdom:
In almost all cases, people are encouraged to find a cover letter template and modify that letter for their own purposes. They are told to keep it "professional" and brief. In most cases, they have been instructed to not re-hash the resume. They are told to address the hiring manager by their actual name. Most are told to focus on the benefits they can offer the company. They are told to include keywords from the job description. They are encouraged to modify their template for each job application they submit.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Most of my clients are people who have been looking for work for a long time and can't see to find anyone to hire them. When they walk in my door, most of then already know this conventional wisdom about cover letters and they've already followed that advice.
BUT... guess what? It did not get them the job.
It's not that any of this conventional is inherently wrong - it is actually good advice BUT....
It isn't enough in today's very tight job market.
If you want to really stand out and put yourself in the very best position possible to get called in for interviews, having a professional cover letter derived from a professional template and including all the conventional wisdom is NOT enough.
The problem that almost everyone and their brother also know where to get these professional templates (you can download them for free off the internet). Everyone has been given almost the same advice.
The result is that almost every cover letter in that huge stack of applications a hiring manager will be looking through will look very similar to all the others.
If you can provide a truly UNIQUE cover letter that stands out as very different from all the rest and still maintains professionalism, you will have a HUGE advantage over all the other applicants.
So, I highly suggest that you start from scratch with your letter and you do NOT use one of those "professional" templates. If you submit a truly unique cover letter with your resume, you will improve your odds of getting the job by at least an order of magnitude.
I have worked with my clients to do this and the results have been truly amazing. People who have been searching for a job for more than 6 months even suddenly start getting called in for interviews. They go from no job offers to sometimes having to decided more than one!
Because it can be exceedingly difficult to write a really unique cover letter and still maintain a professional tone, I started looking around for some help.
I discovered a very effective tool for my clients that you can also use to easily write a unique cover letter. Best of all, it only takes a few minutes with this tool!
It is cover letter software that was creating by one of the most talented sales copy writers in the marketing industry. You answer some questions and it will produce you a cover letter that is sprinkled with marketing magic and tailored to your specific job industry. The resulting letter is one that really sets you apart from all the other applicants.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_Baxter
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