Why are great cover letters that sell you more important than ever today? Well, experts acknowledge there are still 60 million people out of work in America, and there is a true unemployment rate of 18%. With this huge glut of talent, employers can simply use a search engine like Google, Yahoo, Bing or Baidu to locate large resume databases like LinkedIn or ZoomInfo. Once there, for a modest monthly fee they can use advanced Boolean Searches with 10-15 keywords to pinpoint and download resumes from the best American talent in minutes. If you want to work for a most admired employer like Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs or Disney, you should know applying without a cover letter will sink your chances because you are not showing them proper respect.
The higher your annual compensation is or the more you want to advance your career or secure employment, the more essential it is to employ and optimize your cover letters, networking and follow-up letters. Resumes alone are not enough. Try not to exaggerate in your cover letters. Edit out most of the information that is already mentioned in your resume unless it is of paramount importance. While strategic repetition is a powerful way to get your message across, limit it to your primary motivational point. A hiring manager's time is precious, so use it wisely.
To be successful in earning interviews, you must remember that only people hire people. Thus, you must act accordingly in your job search. Did you know that, if you attach a cover letter to your resume (make it the first page) when you submit your resume online to an employer, you can likely double the amount of interviews you get due to keyword inclusion alone?
Employers today also want to know you will be loyal enough to think of them as a permanent employer because rehiring and retraining talent regularly drains an organization's profits. Thus, another advantage your amazing cover letters should include would be passion and enthusiasm for your line of work. People who love what they do have always performed better than those who just show up for work every day. Employers know this and appreciate the extra dividends employees pay when they exceed expectations.
The simple act of writing a cover letter and customizing it to a particular employer clearly demonstrates that you are making an investment of your valuable time and effort. Thus, your enthusiasm and diligence separates you from all others that do not. Dedicated people tend to be great employees, even if they temporarily lack some experience. Strategically targeting one employer with a cover letter shows you want to work for them, not just find a job any job. Finally, your cover letter should clearly show you have a fine command of English writing and editing because written communication skills are essential in many types of work and it shows your brain is in good working order.
National trade journals for Human Resources Managers confirm that including cover letters improve your chances of earning an interview by approximately 50%. Therefore, do not be lulled into thinking that an online submission is your chance to skimp on this proven strategy. Successful business professionals and executives know that when they receive multiple offers instead of only one their annual income improves by more than 10-15% on average. This is especially true during a recession when employers often give initial lowball offers for annual compensation and benefits because they know they can get away with it (it is only business after all).
Finally, do not even think of copying cover letter samples or example online as 95% of them are unsuitable, weak and lack any sales effort or customization whatsoever.
I write High Performance Resumes, Interview Bonanza Cover Letters and LinkedIn Professional/Executive Profiles, >95% of my clients are hired in 90 days.
Copyright 10/08/2011 by Darrell Z. DiZoglio of http://righteousresumes.com/ Would you like to finish your job hunt in half the normal time? Did you know professionally written resumes twice as many interviews? http://RighteousResumes.com/services.html You do know your resume is the sink or swim mission critical part of your job hunt right? (Free resume reviews by email too.)
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