September 01, 2009
By Janet Farley
Much like the life of a military spouse, job hunting is not for the faint of heart. Throw in multiple PCS moves, a continuously high unemployment rate, and stiff competition for the existing jobs and you can find yourself facing a real challenge.
To succeed in landing job interviews (and hopefully job offers), you have to convince an employer that your skills are a better fit for the job than anyone else’s. One way to do this is to have a killer resume, of course.
But wait. Before you, like many others before you have done, soak all your time and effort into creating one, don’t forget about the oft-forgotten cover letter. Without it, your carefully crafted resume may never see the proverbial light of day.
To give your resume the best chance possible, follow these step-by-step directions to create its attention-getting cover letter.
Step One: Think it out first.
Take five minutes before you ever touch the keyboard to simply think. Figure out what it is you are trying to accomplish with your soon-to-be written cover letter in the first place.
Are you seeking information?
Are you sending a thank you note for a past interview?
Do you want to rely additional information you forgot to mention during an interview to a potential employer?
Or do you just want to schmooze it up in hopes of enhancing your chances at landing the job?
Step Two: Begin to structure your basic cover letter outline on the paper.
Type your heading at the top of the page, respecting one-inch margins on the top, bottom and sides of the layout. To clarify for the clueless, a heading includes your name, address, telephone number and email address. Use a Times New Roman font between 11-12 points.
Skip two lines and type in the date. For example, type August 15, 2009 rather than 15 Aug 09.
If you are emailing your cover letter rather than snail-mailing it, you can skip the previous two steps and begin with the salutation itself.
Skip two more lines and type your salutation. An example might be Dear Jane Smith or Dear Mrs. Smith. Avoid misspelling names or referring to a Mr. as a Mrs./Ms. or visa-versa. If you don’t know, find out. Also avoid generic salutations such as “Dear Human Resources Manager” or “To Whom It May Concern.” Such tactics may suffice in a mediocre cover letter, but they don’t make the cut in the pursuit of perfection.
Now, skip several lines, leaving what appears to be space for roughly three single-spaced paragraphs.
Skip two more lines from that point and type in the words Sincerely,.
Skip five lines (adjusting as necessary to avoid spilling into a second page) and type your name. This in-between space is where you will eventually sign your cover letter. You will also be able to edit the spacing here if you need it after you’ve input your content.
Step Three: Draft the main content of your cover letter.
Writer beware. Do not edit yourself as you draft this. Give yourself the chance to achieve a workable starting point. Later, you can edit away to your heart’s content or discontent, as it may prove to be. Until then, bulldoze through and get something down. Now.
In the first paragraph, explain succinctly why you are writing in the first. If it is to ask an employer to consider your resume, state what job you are interested in applying and include any job number with it. Also mention where you learned about the position.
If you plan on name-dropping, this is a good time to do it.
If you are writing to say thank you, do so. You get the idea. In this first paragraph, get to the point. Get the point?
In your second paragraph, digress. If you are applying for a job, explain how your skills and experiences are the perfect fit for the job. If you are sending a note of thanks, remind the employer that your skills and experiences are a perfect fit for the job. If you are writing to ask for a networking meeting or an informational interview, explain why.
In your third and final paragraph, draw your cover letter to a close. If you are following up from a job interview, state that you will contact the employer by a certain date to follow-up if you don’t hear anything prior to that time. If you are thanking someone for their time, reiterate your sincere thanks and perhaps even mention how you plan to incorporate their passed off wisdom in your greater game plan. If you are requesting that info interview, ask the person to respond to you by a certain date if possible.
Step Four: Take a deep breath and regroup your thoughts.
Read your draft cover letter once or twice and ask yourself the following questions:
- Does it do what I want it to do?
- Do I effectively communicate my points to the employer?
- If I were on the receiving end of this cover letter, would I take it seriously?
Now, go ahead and make your edits. Change a word here; add a comma there. Make your cover letter your own, reflecting who you are and not just replicating a sample form letter from some random job search guide.
Step Five: The Finishing Touches
Run a spell and grammar check on your nearly finalized product. Re-read it again for mistakes that only the human eye can catch. Consider having an objective second party read your cover letter as well before you launch it to its final destination.
Once you are satisfied that your cover letter is ready to roll, print out the addresses on an envelope, enclose it, stamp it and mail it post haste. Be sure to save a copy of the letter in your highly organized “Job Leads” folder on your Desktop before you close out your word processor.
Janet Farley, Ed.M Freelance writer specializing in Careers & Workplace Issues Author, The Military Spouse's Complete Guide to Career Success (Impact Publications, Jan 2008) and The Military-to-Civilian Career Transition Guide (Jist Inc). Visit my website at www.janetfarley.com