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Here’s a cover letter tip 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 cover letter tip 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 cover letter tip 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 cover letter format allows you to toot
your own horn, but in a way that does not seem
egotistical because, in bulleted format, it is
obviously part of a resume package.
Another cover letter 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 a cover
letter tip from the Fortune 500 ad agencies that
you can use without charge.
The next cover letter tip to consider
concerns the final paragraph of the cover
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
cover 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 cover letter 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. |
