4 CHARACTERISTICS OF POOR COVER LETTERS afe learned inthe preceding chapter that there are certain common characteristics of god cover letters. These characteristics are: An “interest-geneatng’ attention. A value-selling” paragraph that focuses on employer needs and ‘demonstrates the ability to sole Key problems and drive desired strategic change. ‘A “background summary” paragraph that highlights relevant education and experience. ‘An “aetion-ompelling” statement that either compels or en sures follow-up ation, statement of appreciation. st paragraph that grabs the reader's Elements of Bad Cover Letters stand to reason that poor letters are generally characterized the absence of one or more ofthese important elements. But, a gh this is certainly true, there ae other factors that ean account te lack of impact and effectiveness. The focus of this chapter wll Hon these additional characteristics that contribute to overall cover ineffectiveness, They are Poor overall appearance. Poor grammar, punctuation, and misspelled words, Rambling-—lack of focus, Selefocused versus employer focused Bland, boring tet. Gross exageration—bragging Aggressive, pushy tone. Sel-deprecition, ‘Lets examine each ofthese detracting characteristics is deta, so that you can more fully appreciate the impact they have on cover letter effectiveness. To facilitate this, I have included sample cover letters that exhibit these undesirable elements. The chapter is aranged 0that a corresponding sample immediately follows discussion ofeach of ‘these negative factors. Poor Overall Appearance ‘Sample A represents a cove eter that exhibits poor overall appearance, Perhaps the most frequent transgression of ove eter authors is to «ram too much information onto the page. Sample Ais typical exam ple ofthis. Note howe the tet is pushed out against te left and right, Imargins ofthe llter, leaving almost no white space a 9 neat frame, ‘This contriutes to an overall congested appearance and detracts su stantially fom the eter’ ffectivenes, Careful review of this sample also reveals that it does not fully conform to acceptable cover letter format, as discussed in Chapter 2 [Although it generally fllows the standard block format, its compli ‘mentary close and signature line should not be flush withthe le ‘hand margin, but should be positioned in line with the return address and date Tine atthe to. Purther, Mr. Stewart’ title is missing. and theres no space provided between the salutation and the fist line of the initial paragraph, In addition, the signature has been crammed ‘agains the Hottom of the page so that there is no room to include 2 ‘typed signature line immediztely below Simpeton's signature. "This departure from acceptable format contributes tothe letters poor appearance, detracting from both the aesthetics and general bal nce ofthe letters layout Failure to provide space between paragraphs causes the text to Now together and makes it somewhat dificult to read. Space between para straps would have set them apart and would have substantially im ‘ved both appearance and readability. ‘Also detracting rom the overall appearance of this letter are the ‘many misspelled words, typographical errors, and resultant manual ‘corrections to the text. Although you would expect tose this kind of ‘thing on first oF second draft should never appear onthe final copy that is sent to an employer ll such changes should be made on the rat and the final document should be Mavless. ‘When a cover leter of this sort is recelved by «prospective em- ployer, the impression created is avery por one. It suggests thatthe ‘andidate who has sent it is careless and sloppy. Most employes will rot even bother to read sich » poorly prepared letter and wil simply ‘move on tothe next candidate SAMPLEA oor Cover Letter (Poor Overall Appearance) Rr caer oct head marta ean taser oat ie rate