Title:The Value of a Cover Letter
Author:Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, MFRW, MMRW, MFCA-T
Date:April 2015
Source:www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com
In a professional world where communication skills are a must for any job, your cover letter introduces you, puts your resume in context, and demonstrates your writing skills. In fact, from your first contact with an employer to the day you start that new job, there are a number of opportunities to use letters or emails to advance your candidacy.
There are different types of cover letters for different situations: follow-up letter after telephone and face-to-face interviews, resurrection, negotiation, acceptance, rejection, and resignation letters, to name a few.
Because the majority of resume typically end up in a resume data-base, where cover letters often can’t help you, learning to use the more personal approaches where a cover letter can make a difference will greatly impact the productivity of your search. When you identify hiring managers by name you can avoid the resume databases altogether, and when you have a name, your cover letter can be a very effective marketing tool.
Furthermore, when you know the hiring managers name and the position available, it is a good idea to research the company and find out about their mission and goals. Highlighting how your experience would be a value to the mission and goals of the company, would really make your cover letter stand-out and your increase your chances of your resume being read.
Many resume banks and corporate websites have a place where you can upload or paste a cover letter along with your resume, and employers look more favorably on candidates who take the extra step.
