Writting Cover Letter (Part 2) ~ Unbeatable Careers

Get Them to Like You
So you have their attention - now what?

Use it to get them to like you. Because, at the end of the day, people want to hire people they like.
Now, as we've discussed, the secret power of the cover letter is that it can illustrate your personality as well as your qualifications. The only catch is that, in your rush to show off your sterling personality, you may come off as having a terrible personality! After all, who likes a candidate who just brags about himself?

Thus, while you want them to like to you - you need to earn their appreciation carefully. Here are three methods:

Humility - Start by admitting that you're not perfect or completely unique. For example: "As passionate as I am, I realize I'm just one of millions of Disney fans out there."
Culture - Specify that you're not a great fit for every company, but for this one in particular. And, if possible, draw upon a reference at the company to help give you more credibility: "But the one thing I know is that I'd fit right in with Disney's collaborative culture. After talking with Joe Smith in marketing, I'm truly excited about the possibility of working in such a team-driven environment."
Testimonial - If you're going to brag, let someone else do it for you. You could draw a quote from a LinkedIn recommendation or even an old performance evaluation: "As my former manager at Warner Bros. said, I 'excel in fast-paced team settings.' So I'm confident that Disney is the right place for me."
If you can blend these different elements together smoothly, you can create a compelling portrait of yourself. One that's both a good fit for the company and eminently likable.

See another example in our sample letter:

Jane Doe
123 Main St., Anywhere, AL 12345
jane.doe@gmail.com | 123.456.7890

January 1, 2012

Jill Smith
Hiring Manager, Acme Inc.

Dear Ms. Smith,
December 14, 1985 was the day I first realized how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Going door to door, selling cookies for my local Girl Scout troop, I realized that I'd never been as passionate about anything as making the sale. Although my friends had long since gone home to drink cocoa, I kept trudging through the snow until I had knocked on every door. And from that day forward, starting as a sales professional with P&G and later as a regional manager for General Mills, I knew that sales was my life. So it gives me great pleasure to apply to serve as Acme's next VP of Sales.
I know, however, that there are even more talented sales people out there. So I think my greatest qualification for the role is my strong fit with Acme's culture. From talking to Jim Dell, I've learned that the salesforce is extremely ambitious - and that's exactly what I'm looking for. As my first boss at P&G said about me, "Jane is never happy with an easy goal, she always shoots for the moon." So I'd love to aim high with Acme's enterprising team.

Show Them What You Can Do

Now that you've hooked the reader's attention and gotten them to start liking you, you've got to seal the deal. In other words, you've got to blast away any lingering doubts about your ability to do the job. Because no matter how much they like you, they don't want to be embarrassed by bringing in someone who's unqualified.

Here, the best tactic is to systematically take down any objection they may have. You do this by going back to the words the reader loves best - the ones they wrote! Specifically, take the requirements from the job description, put them in the first column of a two-column table, and start knocking them down one by one in the second column. Not only does this make it easy for you to structure your qualifications but the unique format will catch the reader's eye - as always, a critical feat when competing against hundreds of other similar-looking applications.

Here are some examples:

Job Requirement	My Qualification
Proficiency using Microsoft applications	Deep expertise with Office suite, taught colleagues to use advanced Excel functions
Excellent communication skills	Wrote marketing copy for ad seen by 2MM readers, presented to 500 attendees at annual conference
Team player	Collaborated with team of designers and engineers to build a new iPhone app, leading to $500K in new revenue

There are a couple of characteristics that define a good response here:

Unique stories - It's one thing to say you have Office experience. It's another to say you've trained teammates on it. By adding a quick story to each point, you gain significant credibility and keep the reader's attention.
Quantification - Another way to demonstrate skill is to attach a number to your work. Again, anyone can write ad copy. But only someone with serious qualifications will have the chance to reach two million people!
Clear impact - You're being hired to move the needle, not just do stuff. So wherever possible, try to show the impact of your work. Whether it's the revenue your app generated or the positive buzz your press release caused, see if you can illustrate the outcomes you created.

Now, since this approach is so unconventional, two questions inevitably arise:

Isn't this the same as the resume?

While it's true that some of the points you call out in your defense may also sit on your resume, it's also likely true that application reviewers missed them. This is because the standard way to review a resume is to glance at the titles (the companies you worked for and the schools you attended) and skim over the details. There's just not enough time to look at the specific points. However, cover letters need to be read more closely since their format is less easily digestible. And thus, your awesome accomplishments are more likely to get viewed on the cover letter.

This is especially important if you're trying to change functions or industries. In these situations, reviewers won't find any familiar headlines on your resume when they do their quick scan. For example, if they're hiring for an Accountant and all your titles say Project Manager, they're likely to toss you out (remember that reviewers tend to be risk averse!). But if you're able to catch their attention with a powerful cover letter, they may actually take the time to see all the transferrable skills you've built up in Project Management (organization, detail orientation) that could serve you well as an Accountant.

Do I have to list all of the requirements?

Nope! In fact, it's better to just list the five key requirements that are critical to the role. This keeps the cover letter on one page (remember the importance of speed for the reviewer) and leaves you more room to describe your most important qualifications.

How to determine the key requirements? Just think about what would be essential to performing the job. In the case of the Accounting job, bookkeeping experience and expertise with QuickBooks would probably count as key. Whereas the generic requirement of being a "hard worker" isn't always worth responding to.

See how it all comes together in our sample cover letter:

Jane Doe
123 Main St., Anywhere, AL 12345
jane.doe@gmail.com | 123.456.7890

January 1, 2012

Jill Smith
Hiring Manager, Acme Inc.

Dear Ms. Smith,
December 14, 1985 was the day I first realized how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Going door to door, selling cookies for my local Girl Scout troop, I realized that I'd never been as passionate about anything as making the sale. Although my friends had long since gone home to drink cocoa, I kept trudging through the snow until I had knocked on every door. And from that day forward, starting as a sales professional with P&G and later as a regional manager for General Mills, I knew that sales was my life. So it gives me great pleasure to apply to serve as Acme's next VP of Sales.

I know, however, that there are even more talented sales people out there. So I think my greatest qualification for the role is my strong fit with Acme's culture. From talking to Jim Dell, I've learned that the salesforce is extremely ambitious - and that's exactly what I'm looking for. As my first boss at P&G said about me, "Jane is never happy with an easy goal, she always shoots for the moon." So I'd love to aim high with Acme's enterprising team.

Finally, in addition to my passion and fit, I want you to know that I have what it takes to deliver huge results for Acme. So here are how my qualifications stack up to the role:

Job Requirement	My Qualification
Experience leading a sales team	As a regional sales manager for General Mills, I managed a team of 25 sales professionals, achieving 25% growth in revenue over four years
Ability to participate in executive decision-making	I worked with my VP at GM to craft a new sales strategy for the whole company, presenting in front of the CEO and board at the firm's quarterly meeting
Skilled at entering new markets	In my first sales role at P&G, I saw an opportunity to sell cleaning products to college students to build brand loyalty. Despite doubt within the company, this segment has now become a $50MM/year business.
Good at operating in ambiguous situations	While serving on the board of a local children's charity with many different programs, I helped the organization define its mission statement to focus its resources on teaching 10,000 kids to read each year
Amazing multitasking abilities	In the midst of earning GM's "Southeast Sales Professional of the Year" Award, I got my pilot's license by organizing my time effectively and making the most of training opportunities throughout the region I was covering.

Set the Stage for Follow-up

If you put nothing in your cover letter from this book except for one sentence, make it this one: "I will contact you next week to discuss the possibility of an interview."

This is because, as powerful as the cover letter is at getting your candidacy noticed, being noticed isn't always enough. Not when there are so many candidates vying for just one spot.
No, the only sure-fire way to get the job is to get interviewed. And getting interviewed often requires follow-up.

Thus, let the last line of your cover letter set the stage for you to follow-up soon. This way, if you don't hear back from the company, you've got a written pledge to follow-up. And who are you to break a promise?

Here's how it looks in our sample letter:

Jane Doe
123 Main St., Anywhere, AL 12345
jane.doe@gmail.com | 123.456.7890

January 1, 2012

Jill Smith
Hiring Manager, Acme Inc.

Finally, in addition to my passion and fit, I want you to know that I have what it takes to deliver huge results for Acme. So here are how my qualifications stack up to the role:

Job Requirement	My Qualification
Experience leading a sales team	As a regional sales manager for General Mills, I managed a team of 25 sales professionals, achieving 25% growth in revenue over four years
Ability to participate in executive decision-making	I worked with my VP at GM to craft a new sales strategy for the whole company, presenting in front of the CEO and board at the firm's quarterly meeting
Skilled at entering new markets	In my first sales role at P&G, I saw an opportunity to sell cleaning products to college students to build brand loyalty. Despite doubt within the company, this segment has now become a $50MM/year business.
Good at operating in ambiguous situations	While serving on the board of a local children's charity with many different programs, I helped the organization define its mission statement to focus its resources on teaching 10,000 kids to read each year
Amazing multitasking abilities	In the midst of earning GM's "Southeast Sales Professional of the Year" Award, I got my pilot's license by organizing my time effectively and making the most of training opportunities throughout the region I was covering.

I am eager to speak with you about the value that I can bring to Acme and the clients you serve. As such, I will contact you next week to discuss the possibility of an interview.

Thank you for your consideration,

Jane Doe

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Writting Cover Letter (Part 2)

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