Get A Job HQ

Because a cover letter is your first chance to make a lasting impression with a hiring manager, it must be professional. To accomplish this:

1. Always use the same heading for your cover letter that you have used in your resume.

2. Whenever possible, use the hiring manager’s name. This personalizes the document and shows attention to detail.

3. Include in your opening paragraph what job you’re interested in and a specific reason as to why you feel qualified for this position.

4. Include in the body of the letter the specific experience, skills or accomplishments from your past that dovetail with the requirements of the new job. This data should be bulleted, rather than presented in a solid block of text. The human eye is drawn to bulleted areas, and they provide the data in an easy-to-read format, so that the hiring manager can digest the information from one sentence before moving on to the others.

Examples of bulleted areas follow:

As my enclosed résumé indicates, my background includes more than two decades of service at US Flight with significant experience in:

*

Aircraft accident investigation as a member of the US Flight disaster team.
*

Security checkpoints, where I handled countless calls for assistance.
*

Training the Ground Security team to protect and promote public safety.

In addition to the above skills, I can also offer your firm:

* More than 30 years of experience in the airline industry.
* Expertise in dealing with government agencies, including the FAA where I facilitated communications to reduce company fines.
* Reduced absenteeism and occupational injuries -- standards I maintained at US Flight, where I achieved the best employee safety record of all US Flight cities.

5. If the letter is being addressed to a specific hiring manager, close your letter proactively indicating that you will be contacting the hiring manager’s office within the next week to see if you might set up a time to meet.

Sending Your Cover Letter by “Snail” Mail

With today’s technology, most resumes and cover letters are sent as attachments via email. However, if you have reason to send your cover letter and resume by “snail” mail, the documents should be printed on good bond paper (20 lbs.) with a watermark. Choose a color that evokes professionalism; the best choices are white or cream, though a light gray can also be considered.

A follow-up letter sent a few weeks after the initial application is essential in today’s poor job market. Hiring managers are seeing more and more applicants for each position and are generally so swamped that they cannot respond to all of them. Nor will they remember most.

To ensure that your candidacy gets the attention it deserves, use a follow-up letter to again place yourself in front of the hiring manager. Not only will that person take note of your continued interest in the position, but you will certainly move ahead of those other, similarly qualified candidates who did not send a follow-up letter.

To ensure a professional look for your follow-up letter and to maintain consistency, use the same heading that was on your resume and initial cover letter.

Within the body of the follow-up letter, reiterate your most stellar qualifications as they relate to this position.

In this tight job market, with countless candidates vying for the same position, to be called in for an interview is a success not many jobseekers experience.

To make the most of the after-interview stage, always send a personalized thank you letter to the hiring authority. Not only does this indicate unusual and continued interest in the position, but it also shows follow-through and a professionalism that simply can’t be beat.

Make sure that your thank you letter uses the same heading as your resume and initial cover letter, as this maintains consistency. Keep the content brief, mentioning only the highlights of your meeting with the hiring manager. This will serve to remind that person of the skills and qualifications you can bring to the opening.

If there were some matters that you forgot to mention during the interview, such as your ability to work extra hours and take on extra responsibilities, a thank you letter is the perfect way to introduce this.