7 Cover Letter Tips That Will Get You Hired! (plus a valuable bonus)

Hi! Hope you're enjoying the summer weather! - and yes, I am well aware that you'd be able to enjoy it more if you could just get hired, right?Well,  help is on the way.... just keep reading...

I originally published a slightly different version of the article below for syndication in ezines, online newsletters, and other websites but it has gotten such a good response I thought I'd post it here as well. I'm also going to give you guys a bonus tip at the end that was not in the original article. So, here's actually 8 cover letter tips, not 7, that will get you hired (remember, these are tips that I have found to be very helpful to my clients in a job center):

You Need To Focus On Getting the Interview, NOT On Getting Hired

When most people write their cover letter, they have in their mind the goal of getting the job. They forget that applying for a job is 2 step process. You first have to get an interview in order to get a job. When the hiring manager reads your cover letter, they are focused on who to bring in for an interview, not who to hire, so that should be your focus too. I can't emphasize the importance of this enough.

You Should Specifically Ask For the Interview

It is well known in business that one of the most effective ways to increase sales is to actually ask for sales. You can apply this strategy to your cover letter as well. If you specifically ask for the interview in your letter, this will drastically increase your odds of actually getting the interview. Notice I didn't say ask for the job. Of course, this has to be done with finesse to be effective (read the bonus tip to learn how to do this).

You Should Definitely Keep It Short and Sweet

Don't be long-winded and don't try to cram in too many details. You want the hiring manager to notice you and invite you in for the interview - that's all - end of letter. You can give them more details in the interview. Yes, I know it can be difficult to be succinct and almost painful to edit out certain things... BUT if you really want to get hired, your cover letter needs to be short and sweet.

How Does Your Cover Letter Look When You Squint Your Eyes?

Beyond what it actually says, you want your letter to be as visually pleasing as possible. Think of your letter as a piece of abstract artwork and blur out the words as you look at it. How does it look? Remember, white space can be really important in how your cover letter appears visually. How are the blocks of text laid out? Is there any way to move them around and make them more visually appealing? You may need to play around with the formatting and borders.

Will They Want To Ask You Out For a Beer After Reading Your Cover Letter?

People hire people they like. Yes, it REALLY IS this simple! This is true even when they try to be "objective." In reality, no one really is completely objective, no matter how hard they try to be. They may be doing it subconsciously but the hiring manager will hire the person they like the most 99% of the time. If you come across as a likable person, someone they might like to have a beer with (or maybe a cup of joe), your odds of being hired improve drastically. Again though, conveying this in your succinct cover letter will take some finesse and you may need some help in the writing of your cover letter to get this point across without actually saying it.

You Should NEVER EVER Use a Cover Letter Template!

Again, I work in a job center and the vast majority of job seekers that come through my door that have been struggling to find a job pulled a cover letter template off the net or from a book and then modified it. This is a big mistake I assure you!! While this may get you a "professional" sounding cover letter, "professional" (at least what's in those templates) is NOT what you need to get the interview. In our testing, unique letters beat templates virtually every time. In fact, when I work with someone who is has been looking for work unsuccessfully for months, it often only takes this one change to their application to start getting interviews. In fact, this is the most important thing I've learned working with my clients - and it's the thing that has made the most difference to the most people.

Do You Understand the Magic of Marketing?

You can have the best product in the world but if it isn't marketed well, it will never sell well. When you are applying for a job, you need to think of yourself as the product. One of the most effective ways to sell yourself is by using time-tested marketing phrases in your letter that will push all the right psychological buttons. You also need some marketing mojo throughout and some finesse.

It's Probably Better If You Don't Write the Cover Letter Yourself

The vast majority of job candidates can not write the kind of cover letter I describe above. This doesn't mean you aren't the best person for the job. It just means you you don't have the ability to write the best possible cover letter that is going to market you in a way that they can see that. Getting help with your cover letter is probably the most important thing you can do to give yourself very best chance possible to get the job you want.

For a REALLY Easy and Effective Solution, You Should Use This Software

In working with my clients I have discovered this software - it is by far the easiest method I have found for creating the perfect cover letter that will market you well. It was developed by a true marketing genius. This guy gets paid a fortune just to write one page of sales copy - he's known throughout the marketing world as a wizard with words and is in very high demand. With this software, you can get his help without having to spend a fortune.  You can go here and get more details. It is the best cover letter help I have seen on the market anywhere and I've reviewed and tested MANY products. In addition to creating a really great cover letter, this software is super simple to use. You simply answer a few questions and then click a button... and yes, it is set up to be tailored for each job industry and will create a cover letter that is UNIQUE to you and you alone (these are the questions I get asked most often). Many of my clients have created a cover letter using this software and we have seen tremendous success with it.

Cover Letter Help Is On the Way

I work at a career center where I help people in their job search. One of the most important things I've learned is that it's the cover letter, not the resume, that is the single most important factor to getting called for an interview. Therefore, I concentrate much of my effort doing everything I can to give job applicants cover letter help. Recruiters, HR personnel, and business managers all get so many resumes they have to very quickly go through the stack and make some super quick decisions to create two piles. The bigger pile consists of the discards. The smaller pile consists of the resumes that were accompanied by really GREAT cover letters that caught their attention. Notice I said great cover letters, not good cover letters, and not even very good cover letters. You must have a GREAT cover letter to compete well these days and that is nearly impossible to write on your own. Even people who are very smart and very well educated can't write a cover letter in a style that is going to motivate most hiring managers to call them in for an interview. In fact, most educated people usually write rather boring cover letters that are sure to get their resume thrown into the discard pile.

Most of the large companies have already downsized a good deal and they're looking for ways to downsize some more. The small to medium businesses really can't afford to hire more people because of how uncertain the future economy is now. They are in therefore in a holding pattern and that means they are not hiring. That means that there are way more people applying for jobs than there are open job positions. The job market has gotten so tight it is scary in fact. At the career center, I see people all the time who are used to living a very nice lifestyle not even being able to buy groceries for their children.

If you want to compete in this extremely competitive job market, you'd be a fool not to take every step you can to give yourself an advantage. You've got to be in the top 1% of the job applicants if you want to guarantee you'll get a job in this tight market.  I highly recommend obtaining a really good cover letter software package that can help you write a killer cover letter.  Click here for the package I recommend above all the others. It will give you better cover letter help than most professional job coaches. That's why I recommend it to all my clients. The reason it is so good is it was developed by a guru of marketing whose job was to write sales copy designed to maximize profit by motivating people to buy products and services. He is the king of successfully motivating people to a specific action such as buying a certain product or getting the hiring manager to call you in for an interview. He is in high demand because his sales letters perform better than any others in the industry. He just has a way with words that a powerful almost hypnotic effect on people. It's marketing magic. He has applied this extraordinary ability to his cover letter software. This software is so powerful I have seen it produce amazing results. I've worked with many people who were not getting any response at all from sending in their resumes and cover letters. Then, they get this software and use it to generate a cover letter that knocks it out of the park. Voila. All of a sudden, they start getting invited to interview for jobs. They say money can't buy happiness. Well, for $39.95 I've seen this cover letter software send people shrieking for joy. If you are job hunting, I'm sure it could provide cover letter help for you too.

Cover Letter Help - How To Find Out Who To Address It To

Another post that surprised me on a recent survey of a job board was this:

Now this guy needed cover letter help!

He had found out about a job online and was planning to submit his resume. He knew it was better to address a cover letter to a specific person, rather than the generic "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear HR Manager." He was desperately trying to find out the name of the person by searching the website online but couldn't find it. Several other people on the board chimed in and suggested he try certain online business databases to find out who he could email.

This was quite a lengthy discussion and I was quite amused that this "tech generation" didn't see the obvious...

Pick up the phone, the old fashioned phone, and dial and make friends with the person or persons on the other end of the line. Secretaries, administrative assistants, and office managers are often the real powerhouses, the engines, of businesses and organizations. They hold the key to everything and help everything flow along smoothly. Show them the respect they deserve, be kind, have a sense of humor, be patient, and you will get all the information you need... including who to address your cover letter to. Hope this helped. Be sure to check out this incredible tool to help create a totally unique cover letter.

Good luck to you all in your job hunting.