Resume Cover Letters: Stand Out From the Crowd!

In effective resume cover letter writing you need to stand out from the crowd. Too often because they are lazy, not paying attention or both; job candidates send in a generic resume cover letter and call it a day.

What a waste of time and effort. Anytime, in a job search, that you take a one size fits all approach you get categorized with the crowd. Those in the crowd do not get the job but someone who stands out and is unique will be the successful job candidate.

You are trying to impress an employer with your skills at effective communication. A well written resume cover letter, carefully formatted with no errors of any kind will go a long way to make you stand out.

In writing your resume cover letter, your first goal is to get the reader's attention with the letter's first sentence. Do not start letter like everyone else. To often the average letter starts with, "I'm responding to the Customer Service position I saw advertised in the Milwaukee Journal last Sunday." Wow, this will sure get their attention.

How about putting a reference line about the salutation (please address the letter to a real person like, Dear Mr. Smith and never to whom it may concern or Dear Mr./Ms Hiring Manager) where you indicate; "Re: Customer Service Manager/Milwaukee Journal 5/8/11".

After study of the employer's needs for the position you find they are looking for someone who can make a dramatic improvement in the company's customer service. Now for a strong attention-getting first sentence, "I'm an award-winning customer service manager who in one year vaulted our company from the bottom quartile in customer service satisfaction to the top 5%." Now you've got something going for you as you are clearly demonstrating what you would bring to the job.

Now in the balance of the first paragraph discuss, as in this example, your other customer service management strengths.

You should not use the resume cover letter to copy what is in the resume. Give them something that directly relates to the needs of the job. Perhaps it's supervisory skills, or the ability to manage a complex program or project, or maybe its building productive relationships with vendors and suppliers.

Highlight your background as it relates to the listed qualification for the job. Bullet points seem to work best at this effort.

End with a strong call for action. Indicate you would like the opportunity to discuss their needs in greater detail how you could make a valuable contribution to their organization.

In summary your well written resume cover letter, to stand out, should include the following:

1. Address the letter to a person. Make every effort to find out the name of the hiring manager.
2. Never use business phone numbers or email addresses as your contact information.
Get a special email address for your job search efforts. Be sure the message on your answering machine is professional and upbeat.
3. Use a reference line to indicate the job applied for.
4. Open with a strong statement addressing the employer's main need.
5. Add one or two more results driven statements in the first paragraph.
6. Highlight your other strengths in the second paragraph as they relate to the needs and qualification of the position. Use bullets to make the information easier to read.
7. In the third paragraph tell the employer what value and benefits you would bring to the company.
8. End with a strong call for action.
9. Always keep the resume cover letter to one page.

Now you have a resume cover letter that stands out from the crowd, makes you unique and motivates the employer to read your resume and call you in for an interview.