Ultimate Career

How have you been writing your job application letters (or “cover-letters” as most of us know it)?

A lot of job hunters do not think that a cover-letter is necessary unless it is specifically asked for in the job advertisement.

WRONG.

Even if the job advertisement asks only for your resume, it is a given that your resume will be accompanied by a cover-letter.

Well, of course, unless you are applying for a job that does not require a degree.

A cover-letter is an excellent platform to pitch and sell your value and why you are different. It also allows you to demonstrate your written communication skills.

(Now, if your writing and language skills need improvement, you better find professionals to help you write the cover-letter!)

Most of all, it shows that you are really interested in the job and would spare no effort to get in the door.

Look at it another way: 95% of job-hunters will not be writing cover-letters and so, if your application has a cover-letter, it will immediately stand out.

Now, auto generated cover-letters (like those generated by JobsDB.com) don’t count as cover-letters!! Don’t ever use them!!

Now, here’s the outdated way of structuring your cover-letter content:

Paragraph 1: How you heard about the job
Paragraph 2: Why you want the job
Paragraph 3: Your qualifications for the job
Paragraph 4: How you will follow up on the job

Hiring managers are busy people. Very busy, in fact, as with most executives. And your cover-letter and resumes will only get 3-5 seconds of initial attention.

Get this: If you can’t capture their attention within 3-5 seconds of them reading your application (i.e. your very first sentence!), you can say, “Bye Bye” to the company and “Hello” to the trash bin!

Who cares about how and where you heard about the job? And who cares about why you want the job?

As an employer, what I want to know is how you can help me solve problems, in what ways can you contribute and add value.

If you truly want the job, here’s how you must structure your cover-letter:

1. Gain and retain the reader’s Attention

You must draw the reader’s attention enough for them to continue reading your letter and resume.

This is the “hook,” if you like.

Try making a personal connection, start with how you got interested in the field, why you like the job or company, special skills or experience that you have, or a great opportunity you had which triggered your passion.

For example, applying for a teaching job, the first sentence can be,

“Inspired and motivated students. Would this be what you want to achieve for your school?”

2. Generate Interest in you

Go on to talk about the problems or issues you know of in the industry, company, or job. This will show that you have done your homework in researching the relevant information and that you know what you are in for.

Only people who are truly interested in the job will put in such effort and go the extra mile.

Guess what? It is never crowded on the extra mile.

Continuing from the example above,

“There are no lazy or incapable students. Only unmotivated ones. As such, the best thing that a school can do to encourage students to learn (and thus, towards better results and achievements) is to find ways to motivate them.”

3. Create Desire to meet you

This is where you show yourself as a solution to the problem. Here you present your features (qualifications, experience, attributes, passion and interest) and clearly outline how they will benefit the job and the company.

“With over 7 years of learner-centred learning experience couple with 5 years of education administration, I have an excellent grasp of the tertiary education sector and have mastered the art of motivating students.

“These are the reasons why I have been able to consistently achieve high levels of teaching evaluation as well as produce students who are high achievers.”

4. Call for the reader to take Action

As the reader goes on, you want him/her to do something, right?

So, get them to do it: Refer to specific highlights in your resume or your reference letters, read your blog, watch your video clip online, etc.

Remember to close strongly where you affirm your strong interest and ask for an interview. You can either ask them to call you or, more boldly, tell them you will call them to follow-up (if you have the number or email, of course!)

“I am anxious to tell you more about my qualifications and how, together, we can truly inspire students in your school towards greater heights. I plan to follow-up in a week’s time. In the mean time, feel free to contact me at 1234-5678 or abc@gmail.com