Covering Cover Letters

 Covering Cover Letters

Cover letters go hand-in-hand with resumes. While a resume presents a candidate's general skills and qualifications, cover letters go into more detail regarding qualifications for a particular vacancy. Therefore, in most cases a cover letter should accompany a resume mailing, and should be tailored for each job opening whenever possible. There are two basic types of cover letters. A letter that is written in response to a job posting or want ad is a solicited cover letter, while an unsolicited cover letter is written to an individual or organization for consideration regarding possible future job vacancies.

Regardless of type, keep the following four rules in mind when composing letters:

1. Address the cover letter to a specific individual whenever possible. Sometimes the name of the person is contained in the ad or posting. Blind ads with box number addresses are usually addressed as 'Dear Recruiter.' For unsolicited cover letters, write to the Human Resources Director, or head of the Department in which you are seeking employment (such as the Sales Manager or Director of Communications). A quick call to the organization will usually get you the information that you need. It is a good idea to use the name of the individual whenever possible to make the letter more personal. Make sure that you have the correct spelling of names and appropriate titles for your cover letter.

2. Use the first paragraph to indicate why you are writing and to outline your qualifications. A typical first paragraph of a solicited cover letter might read:

"I am responding to your ad for the position of Production Manager that is currently available. As a skilled professional with over eight years of experience in a light industrial manufacturing plant coupled with an Industrial Engineering degree, I am confident that I possess the skills and background necessary for success in this position." For unsolicited cover letters, it's best to focus more on your interest in the organization rather than specific positions. For example, "As the largest teaching hospital in the region, I am confident that Ridgeview Hospital would be interested in the healthcare education and experience that I can offer."

3.Use the next few paragraphs to outline your skills and background -- be selective in paragraph order. Devote one brief paragraph to outlining your education and training. Other ones could focus on any relevant experience, activities, special training, or other related professional achievements. When compiling this information, be sure to highlight what your training, experience and activities have taught you. "My Associates Degree in Business Management has provided me with a strong foundation that complements my sales experience". For each cover letter that you write, determine which of your qualifications would be of greatest interest to that particular employer, and make it the second paragraph. Rank order the other paragraphs in a similar way.

A cover letter for a job requiring sales experience would call for paragraphs in this order:

a. Introductory paragraph

b. Sales experience paragraph

c. Educational/training paragraph

d. Activities paragraph

e. Closing

By contrast, the same candidate might apply for a sports reporting position with a cover letter in this order:

a. Introductory paragraph

b. Educational/training paragraph

c. Activities paragraph

d. Sales experience paragraph

e. Closing

Computers also make the editing process for cover letters a lot easier. It is easy to tailor make any cover letter with a few simple strokes of the cut and paste keys. Be sure to keep all of your cover letter paragraphs on a diskette, and compose your cover letters as needed. Remember that the first paragraph will always be unique and written for a specific job or organization.

4. Whenever possible, close your cover letter with a specific promise of action. Unless the ad or job posting specifically tells you not to call, a follow-up phone call is appropriate and can often indicate interest and confidence to any prospective employer. In your closing paragraph, state something like "I will contact your office the week of (specify a date about 10 days after mailing) to arrange for a mutually convenient time for a meeting". In cases where you do not have the employer's name or phone number (such as blind ads), simply request that the employer call you if they're interested in learning more about your background.



--Kay LaRocca is Vice President Corporate Services for CareerSoar.com. Her email address is kay@careersoar.com.