3 _ CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD COVER LETTERSs chapter, we will be discussing food cover letters and thet risice, What makes one cover llter effective and another ineffective? Perhaps the best way to meaninglly adress this sto discuss the elements and characteristics of good and bad letters and show some examples, so that you can actually see the 3c. The focus of this chapter willbe on good cover liters; the ‘ofthe next chapter will be on those that are poor written and Reting started with our discussion, I strongly encourage you 1. few moments carefully reviewing the four examples of good leer atthe end of this chapter. You wil find ths review partic- helpful in understanding the points I wil be making Important Elements ‘examination ofthe sample cover letters provided atthe end of chapter wll reveal that they exhibit the fllowing similarities: 1L_An introductory paragraph that: a. Isinterest generating” 1, Stats or implies employment intrest. 2 Aalue sling” paragraph that: 1 Demonstrates your ability tobe value adding. | __b. Highlights your key strengths and abilities, 3. Ahackground summary” paragraph that briefly summarizes your relevant education and experience. 4. Astatement tat ether “compels or ensure follow-up action” 5. A"statement of appreciation,” We wll now praced witha detailed discussion of each ofthese key ‘ements fora fuller understanding oftheir importance to the success ofan elective cover letter Introductory Paragraph ‘The introductory paragraph is extremely key tothe effectiveness ofthe ‘ermployment cover letter Essential i has two important objectives.‘The fists to grab the reader's attention and thus compel the reader to continue reading the letter. The second ist establish your interest n ‘employment the purpose of the letter ‘The first paragraph can render the cver letter useless ft fis to ‘compel sufficient interest on the part of the reader to warrant his or her further reading, Its important, therefore, to get the reader's at tention right from the start by opening your letter in an interesting Usually if the reader senses that yours sone of those “mass-maile, Ieoadcast variety” letters tat has been sent to hundreds of ether exec utves, there i ite incentive to read it. On the other hand if there is some indication of personal knowiedse of or connection withthe com pany andthe eter seems tailored to that specific reader or his or fer ‘organization, the reader's interest is usually heightened immediately and te probability of readership increases great. Generally, there are three effective techniques fr crating per sonal, customized touch in the introductory paragraph, These ae: A. Use of personal contact. 2 Use of specitic company knowledge. 3. Use ofa compliment Each of these canbe reasonably effective in adding just that ght amount of personal touch, Let's examine some examples ofthese three techniques, (Of the three interestgenerating techniques mentioned here, the ‘most efective isthe use of personal contact Cover leter sample C at the end ofthis chapter provide a good illustration of effective use of this technique You will note in sample C thatthe author has mentioned the name ‘ofa company employee, Walt Stevenson, inthe very firs sentence of the introductory paragraph. Although the author does not state this, the implication is that Stevenson and he ae persona friends or ac. |quaintances. Because ofthe wording there is no wa forthe ltter’s recipient, Craig Deters, to know jus how close this relationship is Stevenson could bea very close personal friend or simply a rie ac auaintance Tn this situation, where there is no immediate way to confirm the nature of the relationship, the general tendeney i for the teader to ji safe” and assume thatthe relationship i a fairly clase one. In eases, the reader usualy feels obliged to read the cover etter with care than ifthe letter were sent by someone not having 2 {connection with the organization Tesson here should be clear If you have a personal connection the company to which you ae writing, hy all means use iin the ing paragraph of your letter Iwill ut guarantee that your let- lhe read. tote cass where you ae particularly intrested in working fora fc employer and know no employees whom you can reference in introductory paragraph, try elivating such a contact within the ‘This can normaly be done with a litle research and some ‘networking, Here are some ways you can accomplish this. f “1. Industry Association Networking Using an industry association ship roster, identity key persons wo, by tile, would appear to employed by your target firm in positions that are closely related to field. Call these individuals, introduce yourself, and engage in ‘conversation about the company (eq, products, markets, com- ton strategy. You are now ina position to quote these people on ass of these conversations 2. Professional Associaton Networking Join one or two profes- jnal associations and search the association membership roster for currently employed by your target company As with industry cation networking, call these individuals and engage them in con “versation about the company (its products, markets, competitors, Imanagement philosophy, strategies, job opportunities, ete). Here “agin, you have made a contact you can quote inthe introductory sen- ence of your eove eter. 3, iterature Search If you can't Mentity employees through titer a trade or a professional association membership roster, try ‘doing so through a literature search. Using the computer feces of a local library ty searching periodicals for articles that reference {your target company. Many times, such articles will quote company employees whom you can contact, Using the articles youve found as the basis for initial discussion with these employees, you ean soon Jead the discussion toward topics of more immediate concern to your J search