It's not just about resumes in the job search. Don't overlook best practice in cover letters.
What you may not know about the best practices in cover letter writing could end up hurting your job chances.
The recruiting firm Palladian International performed a study (”Cover Letter Best Practices”) of managers and executives looking at how job seekers are using cover letters, followed up with advice for improving the readability of these often thrown together introductions. The results of the cove letter study — which surveyed mid- to senior-level managers seeking salaries in the$60K to $200K range – are telling.
Thirty-one percent don’t send cover letters at all, while 45 percent say they are a great candidate, but offer no reason as to why. Two percent say nothing more than “attached is my resume”–which, according to Palladian, is surprisingly a better way to do it than saying you’re amazing but not providing any evidence or back up to that claim. But the attached-only method is still considered insufficient.
This isn’t to say you’re not amazing, but to point out some real advice that can be gleaned out of the report. Here is a little sample of what Paladian suggests:
1. Write a Customized Cover Letter:
“Personalizing a cover letter’s salutation and customizing the body of the letter to the position will help create a compelling presentation. Customization also demonstrates effort and initiative.”
2. Give a Reason to Hire:
“One of the primary purposes of a cover letter is to generate interest and sell the job seeker. Do this with tangible accomplishments.” They suggest about 3 relevant accomplishements in the cover letter.
3. Give Information Not on the Resume:
“There can be a lot of good reasons to look for a job. If you don’t include your reason in the cover letter, you open the door for doubting the credibility of your success.”
4. Keep it Short:
“The best cover letters had between 150 and 250 words. Letters that were 400+ words, on average, contained less content and were less valuable than the shorter letters.”
5. Make it Easy to Scan:
“Cover letters should draw the reader’s attention to the most important information. Once the reader focuses on the key points, they are more likely to read the entire cover letter and then read the resume thoroughly.”
And that’s the point, isn’t it? Get them to your resume by giving them a tease on why you are a solid candidate — and why to read more.
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