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Tips For Cover Letters To Get More Interviews
By: Heather Eagar
Here's a tip for cover letters to get more interviews. Use a
bulleted format cover letter rather than a standard letter in
paragraphs. The bulleted format is more eye catching, and is
more likely to be glanced at by the hiring manager or other
person assigned to sort through resumes. This format will help
you get your resume seen by more people and as a result get more
interviews and more job offers.
If you follow this advice and decide to use the bulleted format,
make sure that each bullet point specifies a reason for the
hiring manager to talk with you. This reason can be your number
of years experience, your education, a personality trait that
you have, or an accomplishment.
Examples of bulleted points would be:
* Over 20 years experience in Human Resource Management. Or... *
Outstanding work ethic. Lead by example. Or... * Master of
Science in Education. Currently enrolled in Doctorate program.
Or... * Saved last employer $30,000 in revenue through
modernization of accounting system. Or... * Increased sales by
25% last quarter.
This bulleted format allows you to toot your own horn, but in a
way that does not seem egotistical because it is obviously part
of a resume package.
Another tip that will increase the readability of your cover
letter is to use bold faced fonts on occasion to emphasize
points you want read. Bold face catches the eye, and is a common
device used by graphic designers in advertising copy. Your
resume and cover letter are marketing tools for you, just as a
print media advertising piece is a marketing tool for a
business. Consider using bold face as tip from the Fortune 500
ad agencies that you can use without charge.
The next piece of advice to consider concerns the final
paragraph of the letter, and will help you in your follow up
efforts. When following up often times the hardest thing to do
is to get past the gatekeeper. The secretary or administrative
assistant that screens calls for his or her boss has an
important job to do, but so do you, and reaching the decision
maker will make you look good. The gatekeeper will try to stop
you if the decision maker is busy--after all, he has better
things to do with his time than speak with job seekers. So, in
the final paragraph of your letter, before the "sincerely" and
your name, simply state "I will call you next week to check on a
convenient time to speak with you in person." You've told the
hiring manager you will be calling. Logically he should be
expecting your call. For this reason you may tell the gatekeeper
that " Mr. HR Manager is expecting my call this week." This will
increase your chances of getting through, and of getting the
interview. This tip is a variation on techniques that good
business-to-business sales people use, and will work for you as
well, bringing you more interviews and more job offers.
About the author:
Heather Eagar provides reviews of the top resume writing services
that put you in charge of your career so that you can get the
job you deserve. sign-up for your free Job Search
Tips E-course.
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