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Your Resume Cover Letter - Does It Say Read Me Or Toss Me

A resume cover letter should always be sent any time you submit a resume. Almost all job searchers are aware of how important the resume is when applying for professional & even some semi-professional positions. However there may not be many that realize the accompanying cover letter also plays a very crucial role in the hiring process. As a matter of fact, some say that during your job search the resume cover letter has just as vital a role as does your resume.

The resume cover letter may even be more important with the state of today's economy and current unemployment rates that have increased the the number of job applicants for almost any and every position. It is now quite common for recruiters, managers, and job fairs to get a hundred to a thousand or sometimes more applicants everytime they advertise that they have positions available. When they get that many applicantions to review, they usually will not spend very much time in determining who is qualified for the job and who may not meet their standards. Typically most hiring personnel will only allot between one and two minutes to quickly scan over a resume and some times they will actually take even less time then that. It's obvious that this isn't any where near enough time to thoroughly review your work experience and background to see if you would be a good fit for the position that is available.

The lack of time is what gives your resume cover letter such a pivotal role in your job search process.Therefore the sole purpose of your cover letter is to clearly and quickly convey your qualifications and interest in the advertised position to the company's hiring personnel. Since your resume is mostly a generic description of your work history and background, your cover letter should be focused on matching key parts of your resume to a specific job for a specific company. Therefore it is also critical to rewrite your cover letter for every new job application.

It is a simple matter of breaking your resume down into the key points that you want to make sure the hiring person knows about you. When you draw their attention to the most relevant parts of your skills and/or experience, you are helping them match up your qualifications and abilities for the current open position. This brief summary will greatly increase your odds of getting the all important face-to face interview by making the important parts of your resume stand out.

However your resume cover letter also needs to sell yourself to a total stranger to convince them that you are more than qualified to at least go to the second stage of scheduling an interview. Therefore, as you can probably guess, it should not be taken lightly and may not be an easy letter to write. Although there is no reason to fear writing it since you just need to follow the few guidelines below and we hope you find them to be beneficial in assisting you in the cover letter writing process that you will master the process in a limited amount of time.

The standard resume cover letter should take up less than one page and contain four main key points. The four points would be your introduction, a summary of your qualifications, a statement of why you have an interest in the advertised position, and a conclusion follow-up statement. However before you start listing your key points it’s imperitive you do some research on the position for which you are applying and on the company where you could be potentionally working in the near future. This research should be done to find out what the services the company offers or what they produce, their history of how long they have been in business, their values, and what customer market they target. This will give you a much better vision of what the company will most likely be expecting to see in a job candidate to where you can write your cover letter to specifically fit into the company's culture.

1. Your introduction is key.
Your cover letter should be addressed directly to the hiring manager by name whenever possible and specifically state the job position for which you are applying. Also be sure to include the information on how you found out about the position and where you saw the advertised position or who referred you to the open position. If you grab his or hers attention you just may arouse their interest enough right away to where they may give your resume a closer inspection & review!!

2. Summarize your qualifications in bullet points.
You should list only your strongest qualifications and experiences that pertain or are the most relevant to the advertised position for which you are applying. However in lieu of just simply telling them your qualities you should show the reviewer why you are qualified by using very credible and specific examples from your past experiences in order for them to draw a favorable mental picture of you. This is done by concentrating on appropriate figures, undertakings, awards, and the different types of tools you have used in the past that are pertinent to the open job position. As an example you should indicate that you maintained a 98% satisfied customer rating or that you personally increased your department sales by 30% in the last quarter instead of using plain generic statements that simply state that you have excellent or excdeptional customer service skills.

3. State why you want the job and are interested in that particular position.
It's as simple as specifically stating why you want the job and why you would like to work for their company. A good way to do this is to state why that particular position appeals to you and how you would be a good fit in the position and why their company draws yor interest to where you feel that you will be a valuable new asset to their expanding team.

4. Conclude your cover letter and state how you will follow-up with them.
Your conclusion should refer to your enclosed resume in order for them to get more defined details about your qualifications and needs to specifically request a personal face-to-face interview or meeting with the hiring committee or manager. You also need to state what the best way is for them to contact you either by giving them a daytime phone number or e-mail address that you check regularly throughout the day. Then indicate that you will follow up with them on a specific day and whether it will be in the morning or afternoon. Lastly one of the most important steps is to thank the reader for their most valuable time!

In conclusion, keep in mind that your cover letter and resume is the first impression that the company personnel will get from you.