How to Get that Job!

When applying for that dream job, it's important to distinguish yourself from the dozens of other applicants. Experts share the following tips for cover letter writers: Research the employer and position you're applying to, linking your background to the specific opportunity.   Always tell the employer which job you're applying to, how you heard about it and whether anyone within the company recommended that you apply.   Keep it short - try not to write more than half of a page. Highlight relevant projects and past clients as well as skills.   Stay formal, businesslike and direct.
Check spelling and grammar - and have at least one person read your letter before you send.   If you say you're going to follow up with the recipient, do it.

Write Winning Cover Letters
It requires a smart strategy in today's job market because of the extra care needed to distinguish yourself as a candidate when employers are awash in applications. Cover letters are much more important than they used to be because of the tight labor market.

The cover letter can be a powerful document. A single sheet of paper, it can determine whether an employer will invite you to an interview in just three or four paragraphs.

Your prose can determine whether a hiring manager will turn the page to view your resume and confirm that your background and skills match his needs; it can also serve as a de facto writing sample and glimpse at your ability to put sentences together without spelling or grammatical mistakes.

Apart from precision, recruiters and employers agree that the secret to effective cover letters is personalization. Successful job seekers, they say, use cover letters to illustrate what they know about the company they're applying to and how their skills fit into the position being offered.

Gone are the days of printing off one letter and changing the recipient's name. Instead, strong letters can help candidates connect with an employer before they ever set foot in the building.

A good cover letter should be no more than half of one page and should open with an explanation of why the person is writing and what position they're seeking.

The second paragraph should sell the candidate's skills while explaining what the candidate knows about the employer, the position and how their skills fit the employer's needs.

The tone of a cover letter should be:
18 percent bold and creative
82 percent assertive yet polite
0 percent passive and understated

Excerpted from "Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer" (JIST Publishing, 2007) by Susan Britton Whitcomb.