COVER LETTERS AND THINGS A RECRUITER WILL NEVER TELL YOU There is a very interesting article posted at web site at www.alphaadvantage titled TEN THINGS A RECRUITER WILL NEVER TELL YOU written by Deborah Walker that I highly recommend for anyone who is planning to work with a recruiter. This list gives some excellent insight into what motivates recruiters and hopefully the reader will realize that recruiters are human being also. I am going to use this list as a springboard for my next set of articles on how to improve your job search.
The first item on Deborah Walker's list is about the COVER LETTER. A good cover letter is worth its weight in gold, a bad cover letter should not be sent. You are better off with no cover letter than a bad cover letter.
What is the purpose of a cover letter?
This is an excellent question and I am glad you asked it. There is only one purpose for a cover letter and that is to establish rapport, not to introduce your resume. A simple paragraph can introduce a resume. Here is an example of one of the best opening paragraphs in a cover letter that I have ever seen.
"Dear James (James Heilman). I really enjoyed your Job Hunter's Journal. I give your an enthusiastic thumbs-up. I just wanted to let you know your words of wisdom
were truly inspirational. I am energized to improve upon my cover letter, resume, and professional search strategies."
I could not wait to call this individual and help him with his job search, in contrast with the cover letter I received from a job hunter a few days earlier which obviously was created for mass distribution (it did not make me feel very special) and provided little motivation to immediately begin working with the individual. The principle of establishing rapport can also be used when sending a cover letter to a company. Find out what the company manufactures, how one of the products positively impacted you life, and how through that interaction it left you wanting to work with the company. I know this sounds a little like pandering (after all pandering almost got John Kerry elected) but if done skillfully rapport can be created with the cover letter and in this impersonal world, a personal touch can go a long way.
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