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Read The Cover Letter Steps Here
Then Go Through The Cover Letter Links at the End of the
Page!
Cover Letters That Raised Pay $2,000 to $80,000 More!
A cover letter that SUCCEEDS immediately addresses the top needs
EACH employer has, as well as hidden needs (not described in
job ads) that you can solve ... a cover letter like this
convinces employers and recruiters to PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL
YOU! The success stories in the right column illustrate how
important cover letters and resumes are in landing higher
pay! So take the time to follow these key steps and
strategies to write your cover letters -- it will position
you as a top candidate!
To Write Powerful Customized Cover Letters
Gather 5-10 job ads for the jobs you want and underline all
of the skills in the ads you possess. Then compile
them into a list, then group them by skill categories, and
then review your cover letter ad skills and key skills in
your resume that match what employers need. Using them
together, create bolded cover letter paragraphs to sell your
top skills in seconds. Once you write your bolded
cover letter headings, use the more detailed skill
statements and phrases in the ads to write the content of
your cover letter paragraphs along with experience detailed
in your resume.
Don't Copy Cover Letter Samples - Instead Sell Your
Skills
When writing your cover letter - don't copy
someone else's cover letter! Employers want to read
about your unique skills in a cover letter - not things
you've merely copied. Copying also won't result in
cover letters that match your skills to employer needs and
job ads.
How Employers Screen Cover Letters
To write an effective cover letter it's important that you
understand how employer's screen them so that you can write
a cover letter that lands on top! Otherwise your cover
letter will get buried in hundreds to thousands of other
cover letters and resumes. Imagine you're the employer
and that you've received 600 cover letters and resumes and
have 4 hours to pick out the top 12 cover letters as people
to call for an interview. That means you have 14,400
seconds to review all of the cover letters. This then
gives you 24 seconds per cover letter to decide if the
applicant meets your needs! This proves why your cover
letter must truly sell you in seconds.
If your cover letter is scanned and put in a database the
computer will screen you - and that means you need to have
imbedded keywords, skills and experience from your job ads
into your cover letter! Otherwise the computer won't
pick out your cover letter either!
Cover Letter Writing Prepares You for Phone & In
Person Interviews
Keep Your Cover Letters & Job Ads in a Notebook by Your
Phone!
Cover letter writing also prepares you for interviews -
especially if you analyze the employer's job ad - and then
write your cover letter to the ad. Keep all cover
letters you write and send in a notebook near your phone or
with you when expecting employer calls.
Then when an employer calls, ask the employer which job ad
was posted that you sent your cover letter to, and find it
quickly in your notebook. That way you can review your
cover letter and the ad requirements and be ready to answer
questions as well as ask questions about the job when you
are interviewed - another reason that cover letters can
raise pay when you approach them correctly! This is
something that few job seekers do and will also help to put
you in the Top 5%-10% of candidates.
Cover Letter Follow-Up
To generate the most interviews, follow up on your cover
letters. Again, few people do this and if you can
speak with a decision maker you can learn more about the
job, show your initiative, and also ask when interviews will
begin. If the person you contact has your cover
letter, ask if there are additional details you can provide
that address specific skills being sought by the
employer. This is excellent cover letter follow-up!
Send Your Cover Letter As Quickly As Possible
Once you find job ads or openings you are interested in -
send your cover letter as quickly as possible. Many
people procrastinate and often those at the beginning of the
cover letter screening process get noticed as well as those
at the end of the interviewing process. If someone is
manually screening cover letters they may be overwhelmed the
first few days in piles of cover letters, then some
candidates may be interviewed but not hired, then the person
has to begin screening the next batch of cover letters
received. Those in middle may not be screened a
thoroughly.
Use The Same Header for Your Cover Letter as Your Resume
When I write resumes for clients, I use the same header
from the top of the resume, as for the cover letter.
If you brand yourself in your resume and that matches the
jobs ads you're answering use the same branding header in
your cover letter. For example, as a Master Resume
Writer, if I was looking to be hired by a resume writing
service, I could use my resume header and place it at the
top of my cover letter and it would like like this:
EXAMPLES OF
COVER
LETTER HEADERS |
REGINA
PONTOW
MASTER RESUME WRITER
425-398-7378 r.pontow@provenresumes.com
___________________________________________________________________
ANDRESSSA ALEXANDRIAA
Global Marketing Strategist / Business Development
Executive
425-398-7378 r.pontow@provenresumes.com
Generic
Cover Letters - Don't Use Them!
Unless you absolutely have no time to write custom cover
letters, don't use a generic cover letter. As you
analyzed your 5-10 job ads (I know you did that!) you
probably found that each employer emphasizes certain skills
or problems they may be facing. If you make a generic
cover letter - one size fits all cover letter - how
will you be able to address each employer's individual needs
and problems and prove in your cover letter that you can
solve those unique needs and problems?
Cover Letters & Email
Once you've analyzed job ads you'll understand what to
highlight in the subject line of your email for submitting
your cover letter. For example if a job ad is for a
Sales Representative - a cover letter email subject line
could read: Sales Representative - Took Revenues from
$2 Million to $5 Million. Then in the body of your
email you can insert/copy/past the content of your cover
letter.
Before Posting Your Cover Letter In a Job Search Site
Before posting your cover letter and resume in a job site
where you've found an opening, see if you can do some online
research and identify what employer has placed the ad.
If you can locate the employer's name - then go to the
company website - and look for Careers or Jobs. You
may then find the job ad posted there along with a person
who you can contact. This way you can send your cover
letter directly to the employer. Cover letters with a
little research like this can dramatically increase the
number of interviews you land!
How to Address Salary Information in Your Cover Letter
I recommend you provide a salary range of what you will take
but make sure it's either your bottom line (if it's higher
than what the employer wants to pay) or that your salary
range is at or slightly above the salary being offered.
Once You Write Your Cover Letter
Critique It to See How Effective It Will Be?
Since cover letter writing is often more difficult than
writing a resume, use the link below to critique your
letter. It will remind you of all of the key cover
letter strategies and help you pin point weaknesses in your
cover letter before you send it to employers! That
alone could help you land more interviews!
Cover Letter Templates, Samples & Examples
Use the cover letter template, samples and examples links
below as a guide to writing your cover letter - but don't
merely copy them. Use them to kick start your brain
and learn how to write cover letters that will blow away
your competition.
How Long Should Your Cover Letter Be?
I like cover letters that are one page - click the cover
letter length below for more information on cover letter
length.
Use Cover Letter Design That Sells You in Seconds
As mentioned above, with employers receiving 100's to 1000's
of cover letters and resumes - your cover letter must stand
out. Read the link below on effective cover letter
design!
This
information is extracted from my book, Proven
Resumes Strategies That Have Increased Salaries.
The cover letter strategies in my book have been responsible
for helping clients raise their pay $2,000 to $80,000 more
per year.
If you're having difficulty creating a resume and
cover letter - you
might consider hiring me to write your resume.
The fee is $150 or $250 ... or consider buying my largest
book, Proven
Resumes Strategies That Have Increased Salaries -
it's 331 pages for $9.95. |
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Order Master Resume
and Cover Letter Service
by Regina Pontow
Cover
letter landed 14 times as many interviews
from
$36,000 to $53,000
$17,000 pay Increase
sales
resume from $20,000 to $40,000+
from $5 hour offer to $46,000 with $6,000 pay increase
from
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Contents, Regina Pontow, 1997-2013
