To start with, this article is a sequel to my first article titled Receiving 100s of Rejections To Your Applications? Read This! It’s only been about a week since publishing that article and it reached over 800 shares in such a short span of time. I doubt it had anything to do with the catchy title.
OK, maybe Just a little…
In that post, I talked about the fact that you are using wrong methods to reach out to employers, the fake job posts, and the real recruitment cycle.
Today, I will talk about the importance of the Letter of Interest and show you how it actually works! In my next article, I will then talk about how to craft the perfect letter of interest and which tools to use to distribute the letter of interest.
So, go ahead and quickly read that article I linked above and come back here because I am still going to be here waiting for you.
This is my second post at Work It Daily so I have to exceed the already very high expectations. I’ll sure try. But if you find value in this post at the end, please feel free to share.
Very well… Let’s get started already. Letter of Interest is one tool that can absolutely land your dream job. Yes, I just used that cliché phrase; land your dream job… Don’t hold that against me but I couldn’t find another phrase in my English vocabulary to emphasize the power of this tool.
Maybe visuals will work better:
Let’s say you want to work for my employer PwC Consulting as a consultant. Assuming that you possess all the required experiences, skills, education, and determination, the usual recruitment process looks something like this for you.
See, the problem with this structure is that all those stages in pink with HR are;
Extremely competitive
Sometimes very lengthy
Just a frustrating process really…
If you started your process in this funnel from the top left corner, I’d say you have about 0.001 chance to make it to Hiring Manager interviews. Once you reach hiring manager interviews, your chances are significantly higher. As in, around 100 times better. I’d say, as a hiring manager, me and the partner for our business unit hire about 1 out of 5 applicants whom we interview. Sometimes it so happens that we just hire anyone who is lucky enough to pass the HR stages.
One of the reasons you will always have a higher passing ratio with Hiring Manager as opposed to HR is because we speak the same language.
HR and Hiring Managers look for completely different things. HR looks for certain character types, like ENTJ or ENTP to determine whether you are suitable for management consulting, whereas hiring managers are usually too busy to even know what those character types are. Also, my personal view, I don’t really believe in finding certain character types for consulting. If it was entirely up to me, I’d be looking at getting all the character types in alphabet to create the diversity. If we all possess the same perspective then we wouldn’t be able to get creative and move fast.
I will give you a weird analogy here. A horse cart with ten horses pulling it will go as fast as a cart with 200 horses pulling it. Every team needs a “that person.” What I mean by “that person” is; a certain member of the team must be the strongest in a certain area. For example, I am the presentation guy in our team. I am also pretty creative. I love presenting in front of an audience, to our clients, in general I just like presenting and I am pretty good at it. If you think I am being side-tracked here, then let me just tie this back to the content flow. This “that-person” can hardly be known by HR.
HR wouldn’t really know what kind of character that we are missing in our small business unit. In addition to usual skills, we may need the next excel master in our team or the next presentation master. We may need a proposal person or client pleaser. We may need a completely radical thinker with incredible creativity or we may need a business developer. See, in this short paragraph I must have mentioned at least ten different Myer’s Briggs character types.
Alright, so what am I suggesting?
I am suggesting that certain rules are meant to be broken, pushed, stretched…
Will you go to jail if you entirely skip the pink stages above and get in touch with the hiring manager? What is the worst that can happen? Will they blacklist you for having contacted the hiring manager directly?
Absolutely not.
If anything, I usually get quite impressed when I see a really well-written letter of interest sent to me through LinkedIn or an e-mail. I even get phone calls from potential candidates from time to time. A person who has the guts to call me on my mobile just to pitch her background definitely is worthy of a shot. She will still take the analytical tests but at least we hiring managers can pull some strings to completely eliminate the pink stages for her.
So, that’s why the Letter of Interest sent directly to Hiring Managers can just be the best bypass operation you take. Wow, this was a nice punch-line, wasn’t it?
Finally, before you go, I have one more awesomeness for you. If you want to take your career to the next level and achieve a thriving career with multinational companies then I strongly recommend you join my free 3-day video training series at Landing Interviews Guaranteed. It already transformed the lives of over 1,400 people…
See you there.
P.S. Please stay tuned. The next article will be about how to craft the best Letter of Interest. Until then, I’d really appreciate if you share this article with your friends.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.Photo Credit: Bigstock
Are you terrified of screwing up a job interview? Does the thought of writing a cover letter horrify you? Are you scared to network with others? What do you even say, anyway? If you're struggling to overcome your job search fears, this live event is for you.
We get it. Looking for work can be scary, especially if you’ve been at it for a long time and haven’t gotten any results.
Understanding which fears are getting in the way and how to overcome them will make all the difference. Sometimes you might not be aware of which obstacle is getting in the way of your goals. If you want to overcome these fears once and for all, we invite you to join us!
In this training, you’ll learn how to:
Utilize strategies for coping with your job search fears
Be confident in your job search—from writing your resume to networking
Face your fears and move forward
Join our CEO, J.T. O'Donnell, and Director of Training Development & Coaching, Christina Burgio, for this live event on Wednesday, October 5th at 12 pm ET.
CAN'T ATTEND LIVE? That's okay. You'll have access to the recording and the workbook after the session!
True or false? Recruiters don't read cover letters.
Most people may think this is true, but guess what? They're wrong!
Recruiters do, in fact, read the good cover letters.
So, what does that tell us? If most people don't hear back from recruiters, and recruiters only read good cover letters, that means a majority of cover letters aren't written well and, therefore, don't stand out to them.
That may be hard to hear, but it's the truth.
CRITICAL Cover Letter Mistakes
Often, there's WAY too much "blah, blah, blah" and "brag, brag, brag" going on in a cover letter. If you write a cover letter that only focuses on how great you are, recruiters are going to toss it.
Why? Because it's exactly like all the other cover letters they've read.
Think about it. Why should they think you're incredible when they've read hundreds of other cover letters saying other people are incredible, too?
If you want to stand out in the hiring process, you MUST have an attention-grabbing cover letter. This an important tool to have, and one that shouldn't be glossed over. In some cases, your cover letter can hold more power than your resume. That's huge, right?
Getting Personal On Your Cover Letter
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Because the cover letter holds so much power, you need to know how to write one that stands out from the rest. One way to do that is to show a personal connection with the employer.
So, how exactly do you do that?
You can explain how you learned that what they do is special. Showing them that you personally connect with their brand will make you memorable.
Another thing you can do is tell them what it was like the first time you used their product or service. That also shows recruiters that you understand the company and that you believe in what they do.
Lastly, you can tell them about an overall life experience that helps you feel connected to their tribe. This shows that your values and beliefs align with theirs.
The big fact here is that the more personal the cover letter, the better! When you have a cover letter that really has recruiters at "hello," you know you have their heart AND their mind engaged.
Creating That Crucial Connection
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The reason you want to get personal in your cover letter is because you want to create an emotional connection with a recruiter. Once you establish that connection, you're not just a piece of paper anymore.
This is what we at Work It Daily call a disruptive cover letter. Why? Because it disrupts the reader and gets them to snap out of autopilot mode and really think about who you are as a candidate.
The First Step When Writing A Disruptive Cover Letter
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The first thing you need to do is watch a quick video tutorial on how to write this kind of cover letter. You're going to want to see specific examples so that you know how you should be writing them.
Step 2: Fill Out A Simple Template
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You'll have a template that tells you where the beginning, middle, and end of your cover letter are, and what content should be where. This gives you a great foundation for how to fill out a cover letter properly.
Step 3: Submit That Cover Letter For Review
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Once you're done with your amazing cover letter, have someone review it.
It's always good to have a second set of eyes on this, especially someone who understands cover letters, recruiters, and the hiring process. This person should be checking grammar, spelling, etc.
So, when all is said and done, how long should it take you to craft a disruptive cover letter? The average time is between one and two hours. That may seem like a lot of time, but think of it this way: once you've built a cover letter you know will grab a recruiter's attention, you'll be able to use that cover letter format for other job opportunities. You'll just have to tweak the content in your disruptive cover letter here and there to match the company and job you're applying to.
Does The Disruptive Cover Letter REALLY Work?
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Here at Work It Daily, we know these disruptive cover letters work. We've seen hundreds of our clients write KILLER cover letters and get calls for their dream jobs!
So, wouldn't learning how to write your own disruptive cover letter be good for your career? If so, how much would it be worth?
All of us at Work It Daily personally believe that it's priceless.
Owning your career change or job search process is a powerful thing, and we believe you can take control of that process and do incredible things.
Need more help writing a disruptive cover letter recruiters will love?
Let's face it: job search can be challenging, and staying motivated during a frustrating job search can seem impossible sometimes. However, it's critical that you stay positive. Otherwise, you risk falling into a downward spiral, which will only make things worse.
So, how can you get past your job search struggles?
Here are some tips for staying motivated during a frustrating job search:
1. Find Things You Can Get Excited About
What gets you excited? Think about your hobbies and interests. What do you do for fun in your life? Make sure you dedicate at least one day a week to doing what you love. This will help you get your mind off of the negative and focus on the things you enjoy.
Looking for a job shouldn't take up all of your time. By customizing your resume for each position you apply for and writing disruptive cover letters, you won't need to spend hours a day sending your job applications to a dozen different employers. Two or three will do.
For a strategic job search, quality is always better than quantity. It also means you'll stay motivated, won't get burnt out, and still have time to do the things you love to do. Balance is key!
2. Surround Yourself With People Who Inspire You
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When you're feeling down in the dumps, it's important to surround yourself with positivity. Make an effort to meet up with positive influences in your life—your family, friends, significant other, and mentors. These people will help you stay on track.
Also, surround yourself with your "virtual mentors," people who inspire you from afar. Whether they're celebrities, successful business people, or authors, keep them "nearby." Read their books or showcase their inspirational quotes. A little inspiration can go a long way.
3. Help Others
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Helping makes us feel good! If you're feeling bad about yourself, see how you can help someone else. Volunteer. Pay it forward. Give back somehow. This will recharge you and get you in a good mood.
Another way to help others is to provide value to your professional network, whether on LinkedIn or in person. Share articles, videos, or podcasts you find inspirational, informative, and insightful. Offer to help your connections in any way you can. Chances are, they will be more than happy to return the favor, and may refer you to an open position at their company.
Never help anyone with the expectation of receiving something in return, though! If helping others keeps you motivated and makes you feel grateful for what you do have, don't stop doing it while looking for a job.
4. Get Some Exercise
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You've got to expel that negative energy! Make sure you take time to exercise daily. Take a walk. Go for a run. Do yoga. Lift weights. Just get GOING! Exercising equal endorphins and endorphins make you happy.
Not having structure can make your life seem unstable. Create a plan for your week on Sunday nights. Have a schedule and stick to it. If you like to-do lists, write one of those too.
You'll feel accomplished at the end of the week when you look back and see everything you got done while making time for yourself and prioritizing your career as well as your physical and mental well-being.
Staying motivated during a frustrating job search isn't easy. We hope these tips will help you find the motivation to not only land your next job but also improve your career.
When everything feels overwhelming, just remember to work it daily! Small, consistent actions can make a big difference. Good luck out there.
Let’s say you want to work for my employer PwC Consulting as a consultant. Assuming that you possess all the required experiences, skills, education, and determination, the usual recruitment process looks something like this for you.
See, the problem with this structure is that all those stages in pink with HR are;
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Bigstock
