What's In It For The Employer?

John Krautzel
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When you approach potential employers, Introducing yourself and your resume with a cover letter will greatly increase your chances of getting job interviews. A resume outlines your qualifications, experience and abilities, but a well-written cover letter sets you apart from other candidates and makes a lasting impression on the reader. The key is to use this opportunity to let potential employers know why they need you and to explain what you can do for them.

Employers want to know what's in it for them before they hire a new employee. When you write a cover letter, your primary focus should be explaining what you can do for them. Keep it concise, no more than a page long, and create a unique, personalized letter each time you apply for a job. Incorporate a few creative ideas to make your letter stand out from the rest.

Develop a creative tagline that summarizes your expertise, and include this tagline at the beginning of your cover letter. A phrase such as "Expert Project Manager with an Eye for Detail" catches the reader's eye when it sits near the top of the page, and this increases your chances of getting an interview. Continue the letter with relevant experiences and accomplishments that support the claims made in the tagline, elaborating on why you're the best suited candidate for the position.

Take the time to learn more about the company's history and values before you apply. Describe how your qualifications align with the employer's core values and how your skills help fulfill their primary mission. Review the short and long-term goals of the business, then mention ways that your experience can help in bringing the goals to completion. Use 3 to 5 paragraphs to show the employer what you can do for them, along with details explaining how you can do it.

Close your cover letter with something more memorable than a traditional thank you, suggests an article on IvyExec.com. Finish off with a brief summary of what the employer can expect to gain when they hire you, or reiterate the key benefits the company enjoys when they employ someone with your skills and expertise. Remember to directly address the specific position you are interested in throughout the letter and always maintain a professional tone.

Job seekers often find themselves on a very competitive playing field. Don't rely on a good-looking resume alone to give you the advantage you need to stand out from the competition. Grab the attention of potential employers by letting them know what's in it for them before they even glance at your resume. Always introduce yourself with a short, creative and well-written cover letter and your chances of getting job interviews will multiply.

 

Photo courtesy of phantom_900 at Flickr.com


 

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  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson

    @Joel, everyone has an opinion on this subject. Talking to both job seekers and recruiters, the cover letter most definitely is not dead. Bottom line is if they request a cover letter on the job posting and you don't send one, it doesn't matter if you have the world's best resume with all of the right keywords just in the right order, they will trash it because you didn't follow directions. More than likely they don't spend much time on the cover letter but, when you go in for the interview, you will see that they have your cover letter along with your resume and they will reference both. So, it's up to you but my recommendation would be to send a cover letter unless the posting specifically says not to!

  • Joel Drotts Esq.
    Joel Drotts Esq.

    No. The days of treating job seekers as slaves is over. No longer must we research and study half a day and fuss over cover letters, time after time, and to no avail. Cover letters are useless, as theyre almost never read. Employment seeking is a strict numbers game! It's about getting your resume in front of as many employers as possible, as fast as possible, and not wasting human efforts, emotion, thought, or time, just to have your efforts reviewed, filtered, and read only by the human resources smart software used to judge and find candidates these days. Your resume must do one thing, get passed what ever software the HR department has goal tending for the eyes of the decision maker hunan, who then too only spends a bare minimum amount of time reviewing resumes. It's all automated and therefore to waist ones efforts on an HR program is far too soul crushing. I would recomnend the exact opposite, and completely forgo cover letters.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson

    @Corinna - good for you for wanting to do something new and different. Yes, the medical field has advanced by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Records are all electronic now and many other things have changed. If you are truly interested in the medical field, you might want to check with your local community college and see if they have any type of refresher courses that you can take to get yourself up to speed. Depending upon your age and how long you plan to be in the work world, you might even want to consider going for another degree. Some places offer on-the-job training, too. So I would try to narrow it down to where you want to work and then make some contacts. Find out if they would be willing to do on-the-job training since you already have some experience. I wish you all the best.

  • CORINNA G.
    CORINNA G.

    My name is corinna and I have been at the same job for fifteen years and have decided I want to do something new , but I am finding out that I have been out of the medical field for far to long and my training is out dated and out of practice. I would like the opportunity to improve and or add to my skills

  • Muhammad Sabir Ishaq
    Muhammad Sabir Ishaq

    thanks

  • Ebenezer  .
    Ebenezer .

    Excellemt piece of advice

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