Make a Professional First Impression: Start with a Great Cover Letter

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Written by:
Paul Freiberger
President of Shimmering Resumes
San Mateo, California
www.shimmeringresumes.com

"Make a Professional First Impression: Start with a Great Cover Letter"

Make sure that your select a resume writing service or a professional resume writer able to help you with a cover letter and interview preparation. Hiring a resume writer who doesn't do these things is like hiring a chess coach who only knows how to move the pawns.

There is no substitute for first impressions. During your job search, you may make your first impression with any of these essential three introductions: Cover Letter, Resume, and Interview. Eventually you will probably use all three. You want to impress your possible employer with each one.

A first impression may occur faster than the blink of an eye. But it takes serious preparation that requires far more time than that. Many people will promise you that they can write your resume or cover letter. They think it's easy because these are relatively short documents.

Don't be fooled. As a professional writer with thousands of articles and several books under my belt, I know that writing a short resume or cover letter well can be more challenging that writing a lengthy paper. After all, you have less space and a great deal of critical information to cover.

Keep in mind the purposes of the cover letter:

1. It introduces you. A pleasant, clear, brief cover letter conveys one message; a remote, gnarled, wandering letter another.

2. It shows your care for detail. Or, rather, it shows that you aren't careless, that you haven't dashed off a last-minute message.

3. It's you. The cover letter is your voice. It's the prelude to the interview. You stand on the foundation of the resume, which indicates what you can do. The cover letter suggests how you will do it.

Employers often scrutinize the cover letter. Countless smart executives have never heard back because their cover letters sabotaged them. On the other hand, a sharp one helps move you to the top of the resume stack. Take the time to make sure you get the cover letter right.

Here are Some Cover Letter Tips

Use the following tactics when you sit down to draft your cover letter:

Highlight the key parts of your resume. The cover letter illuminates the key parts of your resume, so they make the biggest impression. It also lets you emphasize the fit between yourself and the position.
Be concise. A very long cover letter suggests that you don't understand the purpose of the letter, which is simply to introduce yourself.

Follow a four-part structure. In general, the letter should follow this framework:

Introduction. Provide your name and, if helpful, your position.
Your goal. Indicate the position you seek. You can sometimes fuse the first two parts into the opening sentence.
Your key qualifications. Present outstanding qualities or achievements that will pique the employer's interest.
Request for action. State that you'd like an interview or the job itself. While submission of the resume implies that goal, make your interest clear. An explicit invitation is stronger than an implicit one.

Getting the Cover Letter right is so important. No less crucial than the resume. If you wonder about hiring someone to help you, keep in mind: The right Cover Letter and Resume can get you the job you want, one that pays more, helps you gain a better salary, and more prestige. Surely you deserve this opportunity.

Paul Freiberger is President of Shimmering Resumes, a resume-writing and career counseling service based in San Mateo, California. Paul is the author of several books and the winner of the Los Angeles Times book award. You can visit his website at http://www.shimmeringresumes.com.