Harty p. 306-246

The Basics of the Cover Letter: Like effective advertisements, effective cover letters attract an employer's attention by highlighting the most attractive features of the product.
Format: Before reading a word of your cover letter, a potential employer has already made an assessment of your organizational skills and attention to detail simply by observing its appearance.
The parts of a letter: either of two styles may be used for cover letters: business style (sometimes called block style) or personal style. The only difference between them is that in business style, all the elements of the letter-the return address, salutation, body, and complimentary close-begin at the left margin. In personal style, the return address and complimentary close begin at the centerline of the page, and paragraphs are indented.

• Return address: should appear at the top margin, without your name. Avoid abbreviations in the addresses of your cover letter, although abbreviating the state is acceptable. Include your phone number.
• Date: appears two lines below your return address. Write out the date, don't abbreviate it.
• Inside address: four lines beneath the date, give the addressee's full name. On subsequent lines give the person's title, the company's name, and the company's address. The text of the letter below the date should be centered approximately vertically on the page, so if your letter is short, you can begin the inside address six or even eight lines down. If the letter is long, two lines is acceptable.
• Salutation: should be typed two lines beneath the company's address. never use a first name in the salutation.
• Length: three or four shot paragraphs on one page is ideal.
• Enclosure: it's not wrong to include it in a cover letter but it's unnecessary.

Paper Size: use standard 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper

Paper Color and Quality: use quality paper that is standard size and has weight and texture, in a conservative color like white or ivory. Use matching paper and envelopes for both your resume and cover letter. Never use the stationary of your current employer.

Typing and Printing: You will generally want to use the same typeface and size that you used on your resume. Remember that serif typefaces are generally easier to read.

Envelope: unless your handwriting is extremely neat and easy to read, type your envelopes. Address your envelope, by full name and title, specifically to the contact person you identified in your cover letter.

Mapping it out: the idea is to give an overview of your capabilities and show why you're a good candidate for the job. The best way to distinguish yourself is to highlight one or two of your accomplishments or abilities. Stressing only one or two increases your chances of being remembered. Be sure it's clear from your letter why you have an interest in the company-as many candidates apply for jobs with no apparent knowledge of what the company does.

• first paragraph: state the position for which you're applying.
• second paragraph: indicate what you could contribute to this company and show how your qualifications will benefit them. don't talk about what you can't do. remember keep it brief.
• third paragraph: if possible, show how you not only meet but exceed their requirements-why you're not just an average candidate but a superior one.
• fourth paragraph: close by saying you look forward to hearing from them if you wish, you can also thank them for their consideration. don't ask for an interview.
• complimentary close: should be the two lines beneath the body of the letter, aligned with your return address and the date. "Sincerely" followed by a comma, suffices. Three lines under this, type your full name as it appears on your resume. Sign above your typed name in black ink.

What writing style is appropriate?: adopt a polite, formal style that balances your confidence in yourself with respect for the employer. Keep the style clear, objective, and persuasive rather than narrative. Don't waste space boasting instead of presenting relevant qualifications.

Tone-Reserved confidence is always in style: the trick is to sound enthusiastic without becoming melodramatic.

Emphasize concrete examples: cover letter should highlight your most significant accomplishments; use concrete examples. List tangible, relevant skills rather than personal attributes. Avoid using "etc."-don't expect a potential employer to imagine what else you mean. Either describe it or leave it out.

Use powerful language: your language should be hard-hitting and easy to understand. your message should be expressed using the fewest words possible. use action verbs; simple, common language and avoid abbrevations and slang. Also steer clear of language that's too technical or jargon heavy.

Avoid catchphrases: it's tempting to use catchphrases you've picked up. Improve on these descriptions by listing actual projects and goals. Concrete experiences are more valuable than vague phrases or obscure promises.

Mention personal preferences?: refrain from offering salary information unless the advertisement you are responding to requires it. give a salary range rather than a number.

Blunders to avoid:

• unrelated career goals: tailor your cover letter to the position you're applying for. convey a genuine interest in the position and a long term pledge to fulfilling its duties.
• comparisons and cliches: avoid cliches and obvious comparisons. these expressions detract from your letter's purpose-to highlight your most impressive skills and accomplishments.
• wasted space: every word of every sentence should be directly related to your purpose for writing.
• form letters: this approach doesn't allow you to personalize each application. may indicate to a hiring manager that you're not truly interested in joining that organization.
• inappropriate stationery: don't rely on graphics to "improve" your cover letter.
• "amusing" anecdotes: when writing, remain polite and professional.
• erroneous company information: verify the accuracy of any company information you mention in your cover letter. on the other hand, if you haven't researched the company, don't bluff.
• desperation: sound determined, not desperate-a fine line often separates the two.
• confessed shortcomings: some job seekers mistakenly call attention to their weaknesses in their cover letters, hoping to ward off an employer's objections. this is a mistake, because the letter emphasizes your flaws rather than your strengths.
• misrepresentation: erroneous information contained in a cover letter or resume will be grounds for dismissal if the inaccuracy is discovered.
• demanding statements: your cover letter should demonstrate what you can do for an employer, not what he or she can do for you. Also, since you're requesting an employer's consideration, your letter shouldn't include personal preferences or demands.
• personal information: do not include your age, health, physical characteristics, marital status, race, religion, political/moral beliefs, or any other personal information. List your personal interests and hobbies only if they're directly relevant to the type of job.
• choice of pronouns: in general, using the first person is preferable.
• tone troubles: a cover letter should steer a middle course between extremely formal, which can come across as pretentious, and extremely informal, which can come across as presumptuous. Try to sound genuine, not stilted. When in doubt, err on the side of formality.
• gimmicks: no matter how creative these ideas may sound, the majority of employers will be more impressed with a simple, well crafted letter.
• typographical errors: a few common technical mistakes-misspelling the hiring contact's name or title in the address or salutation or on the envelope; forgetting to change the name of the organization you're applying to each time it appears in your application, especialy in the body of the letter; indicating applications for one position and mentioning a difference position in the body of the letter.
• messy corrections: if, for any reason, you forget to communicate something to your addressee, retype the letter. avoid using correction fluid or penning in any corrections.

cover letters for special situations: the key to improving your cover letter in these special situations is to emphasize your strengths. focus on your marketable skills, and highlight impressive achievements, relevant education and training, and/or related interests.

• response to a "blind" advertisement: since you're not provided with a company name in a blind ad, your cover letter should sharply define your knowledge of the industry, position and how your qualifications specifically match up to the stated requirements. in other words, tailor your letter to any information given.
• cold letters: with a "cold" cover letter, you can directly contact potential employers without a referral or previous correspondence. advertise their availability to hiring managers or personnel departments.
• broadcast letters: well-qualified candidates can advertise their availability to top level professionals in a particular field. Since this type of letter is used primarily by seasoned executives, its tone should reflect the candidate's experience, knowledge, and confidence in his or her capabilities. not recommended for those candidates conducting widespread job searches, where cover letters may end up in the human resources department rather than in the hands of a fellow industry executive.
• letter to an employment agency: letters addressed to employment agencies should focus on who you are, what type of position you are looking for and in what specific industry, and some of your strongest skills related to that field. mention personal preferences, including geographic and salary requirements.
• letter to an executive search firm: actively recruit candidates for client companies.
• networking letters: refer to a third-party industry contact to garner the reader's attention and induce him or her to assist you in your job search. it is essential to achieve the right tone in your networking letters. if you have been in contact with this person recently, it could be useful to remind them. many networking letters are written to an addressee whom the candidates has not met but has been referred to by a mutual acquaintance. in this case, immediately state the name of the person who referred you. effective to ask for assistance and names of people to contact.
• thank you letters: it's acceptable to handwrite your thank you letter on a generic blank note card. if you met with several people, it's fine to send each an individual thank you letter.

Your Resume on the Internet: writing your resume, actually creating the one that employers and others will review, is one of the most important tasks in a job search, one place where you must take the time to do it right, really thinking about what you want to do before you can start pounding the pavement.

You do not need to limit yourself to just one resume. You can have several that are presented in different ways-a designed or hard-copy version; a scannable version; a plain-text version; an e-mail version. You may also want to consider an HTML version of your resume. The main problem with HTML resumes is the too much information factor. Post it in a location separate from your personal website, and do not create a link between the two.

• format your resume correctly for e-mail; send your resume in the body of the e-mail message; always include a cover letter, whether or not you are responding to an advertisement opening; use the advertised job title or job code in the subject line of your e-mail message; read the application instructions included in the job announcement and follow them exactly.

Don't use the websites that allow you to build your resume right on the site because-it's very easy to have typos if you type directly into the site's form; the form may force you to use a resume format that you don't like; you cannot easily save your resume for other uses because the resume bank is on a website.

never use you current office address, email address or phone number on your resume.

The further your resume spreads, the less control you can exert over it. If you don't get any responses to your resume within 45 days, remove it from its current locations and place it elsewhere.

• post it only on one or two of the large online databases, preferably ones attached to popular job sites.
• post it on one or two targeted resume databases specific to your industry, occupational group, or geographic location.

Protect yourself online: carefully evaluate the job sites you use. below criteria can help you do so:

• does the site have a comprehensive privacy policy?
• do you have to register a profile or resume before you can search through the jobs?
• are most of the jobs posted by employers or by agencies acting on behalf of employers?
• can you set up one or more "email agents" that will send matching jobs to you when you are not at the site?
• who has access to the database of resumes?
• can you limit access to your personal contact information?
• can you store more than one version of your resume so that you can customize it for different types of opportunities?
• will you be able to edit your resume once you have posted it?
• will you be able to delete your resume after you have found a job?

Before you post your resume think about whether you want your resume to be public and if you are prepared for the consequences should an electronic resume come back to haunt you.

resume distribution services, sometimes called resume broadcasters, are proliferating online. Such wide distribution may offer little, if any, control on where a copy of your resume could end up. Your name, address, and phone number, in addition to your education and work experience, could become completely public for a very long time. Not all those who are on the lists of services actually requested they be placed on the list-broadcasting resumes to employers who have expressed no interest in receiving them is almost guaranteed to eliminate even the slimmest possibility those resumes will be given any consideration.

Follow-Up Letters: provide you with an invaluable opportunity to impress your readers with your skills, your background, your professionalism, and your personality.

• Networking Interview Follow-Up Letters: serves the purpose of reminding the reader who you are and the fact that you're looking for a job. In addition, because executives in any given industry tend to know each other, the person you follow up with may contact you if he or she hears of a position in another company for which you would be qualified. Should be sent ASAP after the meeting-preferably the next day, but certainly within the next few days.
• the opening: be brief, straightforward, one or two sentence paragraph in which you thank your reader for taking the time to meet with you.
• comment on the meeting: the second paragraph is the place to comment on the discussion you had. if either you or the person you met with promised to do something in the course of the meeting, this is the appropriate place to do what you promised or (tactfully) remind the other person of his or her promise.
• the closing: include both a promise and a request.
• Job Interview Folluw-Up Letter: even more important! Since many job candidates don't send them, interviewers tend to more clearly remember those who do. Also gives you an opportunity to remind the interviewer of your skills and experience, as well as of their applicability to the position for which you've been interviewed. Write within 24 hours of the interview.
• the opening: the place to thank the reader for meeting with you.
• the pitch: "why me?": the purpose is to make a final argument for your candidacy. You should reiterate the best points that you already made in the interview itself as well as add others that you may have neglected to mention.
• the pitch: "why you?": where you discuss why you're interested in working for this particular company. your comments should be based on both whatever you learned abou the company during the interview and any information you may have gathered from other sources.
• the closing: following up with a phone call to an interviewer a week or so after a meeting is acceptable, but calling day after day is not.
• Job Acceptance Follow-Up Letters: very different from the other types of follow-up letters. enthusiastic, warm and to-the-point.
• Job Turndown Follow-Up Letters: it's likely that you will turn down the offer over the phone. it is still a good idea to send a letter because the chances that you may find yourself being interviewed again by, or working with, a person whose offer rejected are good.
• Job Rejection Follow-Up Letters: a good idea even if you haven't received a job offer. If they have another opening in the near future, a gracious, professional letter thanking them for their consideration may put in the position to be the first one they call. You may also run into the same interviewer again. Should be short, to the point, professional, and infused with as much warmth as is possible.
• Follow-Up Letters to Networking Contacts: it's courteous and makes good business sense. personal networking is a lifetime career tool because keeping those connections strong and positive will pay dividends for years to come.