Ah, good old cover letter. How many years have you been predicted to be outdated, redundant, or even extinct? Some recruiters say they never ever read you. Yet, you are still around, and you still get read by hiring folks. As the old saying goes, "There's life in the old dog yet."
Watch: Q&A Quick Tip: Use ‘Dear Hiring Team’ In Your Cover Letter
That is great news: you still get an extra shot to stand out from the crowd. Yet, I rarely see effective and well-targeted cover letters. Chance missed. Now your resume has to do all the hard selling alone... that is, if your resume still gets read now.
It's Not All About You
The number one cover letter mistake (and major turn-off) I frequently see is what I call the “egomaniac trap." In the egomaniac trap, the applicant focuses throughout the entire document on him or herself without properly addressing the employer’s needs.
But how is it that so many bright, highly educated job seekers come up with such mediocre cover letters?
Stop Being Lazy
In my opinion, the number one reason is usually mere lack of motivation. You already spent so much time on your resume, the online forms and you have this existing cover letter for pretty much the same kind of job, and it is getting kind of late and you really want to submit this application now. Just quickly change the addressee and the company name, and voilà, right?
Not quite. The problem of proceeding this way is that your content will lack employer specific content. And that is exactly what HR is looking for: employer specific content. To make matters worse, due to your lack of motivation, you consequently end up in the egomaniac trap. If you don’t fill any of your one page whitespace with employer and job specific content, you have a lot of whitespace to write for the only other cover letter ingredient: yourself.
Certainly, you have to showcase you and your skills in your cover letter. But you need to do it in a smart way. No-one wants to read the “and-then-style” kind of resumes.
Focusing on employer and job position specifics will naturally shift your writing style from the “obnoxious-bragging-mode” to the “our next go-to-guy-mode."
How To Get Out Of The Egomaniac Trap
To get out of the egomaniac trap, you first need to shift your motivation focus: the cover letter is not a duty you need to get over with so that you can finally submit your documents. The cover letter is a chance for you to set yourself apart. You get the chance to show what you know about the company and their specific market or even about upcoming projects or events. A chance that your resume does not give you to that extent!
Now as a second step, you need to do your homework
Read the job posting in detail. What specifics can you address in your cover letter?
Analyze and understand the employer’s needs behind the open job.
Understand your own very specific value for the very position.
All you need to do as a last step is to “weave” your skills and achievements around your findings of the previous step. Done.
Are you still unsure about your cover letter? I provide free checks via my website www.windhof-communications.com. Just send me an e-mail.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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