On Cover Letters: Are You Trying to Get My Attention?


“Are you kidding me?  Are you trying to get my attention?  Well you did, but not the way you had hoped!”   That was my reaction to the most recent cover letter I received with resume attached.  The only positive thing I can say was that the sender’s timing was perfect as I was beginning to draft this series of blog posts on job-search correspondence.  I did read the letter and then scanned his resume, which I would not have done save for this article.  This cover letter, with a subject line reading “Senior Executive: Consumer Packaged Goods Industry” was 367 words long, yet never spoke to the candidate’s career goals or parameters for his ideal job.  So much for helping me help you.
From the opening paragraph of his email introduction, I would have never guessed that he was accomplished CEO with experience in mid-cap and small cap food and beverage focused consumer packaged goods.  Following his intro paragraph he offered five bullet points, actually sentences with bullet points, demonstrating his value proposition.  Only two of those points spoke to objective performance metrics.  This whole section came across as very tactical.  Was I being introduced to a CEO or a Manager.  The third paragraph said that he was doing consulting/project work for small to medium sized companies, followed by an attempt to reinforce his value proposition.  This section was heavily laden with buzz-words and trite clichés that stepped on his message.  To close, he told me that he had received a BS in Accounting and would welcome an opportunity to meet for further discussion.  I never learned what he was looking to do now.  I would have expected far better from a viable CEO candidate.   
His email introduction was clearly a mass mail effort, probably sent to a large number of Executive Recruiters.  The football analogy would be a “Hail Mary” pass.  For all I know, he may have sent this same intro letter to a large number of potential employers and Private Equity Groups.  If so, he really tarnished his personal brand.  When writing a cover letter, remember, you are making an introduction seeking help in your job-search efforts.  You may be interested in a networking relationship; applying for a specific job; seeking to be placed in a recruiter’s data-base; or looking for a referral to one of the preceding.   Viewed in this way, would you send the same letter to all of these people?  Of course not!  Mass mailing is not the issue as you can personalize mail merge to a large degree.  The point is to customize your intro letter to fit the audience.  Mass mailing is not appropriate for one-off introductions for networking assistance, or when asking for a referral.  Those introductions must be highly targeted and personalized.
When sending a resume to an executive recruiter, a short three to five sentence paragraph will suffice.  We are looking to know the parameters around the position you seek, the industry segment, your compensation requirements, and any limitations you may have to relocation.  Your resume should provide the details I need to initiate further conversation. 
In following blog posts I will offer advice on the various types of job-search correspondence.  In the meantime remember to stay focused on the needs of your audience, and keep your correspondence short and to the point.

Thank you for visiting my blog.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics Executive Search

www.newcenturydynamics.com

Your Resume is Not Getting Traction: It Is Not Easy to Contact You:


Isn’t cell phone technology fabulous!  And what about those apps!  Awesome!  My little iPhone has dramatically improved my efficiency, allowing me to spend more time out of the office building relationships.  The GolfLogix app has been especially helpful with club selection and tracking my golf stats.  I will likely develop that thought further if I ever set up a Blog about golf.  The point is that I probably spend more time using my iPhone on the job than at my computer.  It is great to be able to respond promptly to an email message from a client or a text message from a candidate via my iPhone.  I never miss a call to my desk as I instantly receive a message from my Voip Service. This feature provides the caller’s phone number and a text version of any message left.  The ability to touch a phone number or email address to respond is vital.  It would be an understatement to say that my iPhone is fast becoming my preferred business tool.  In fact, it is very fair to say that the apps I have on my iPhone create a virtual office wherever I happen to be, so long as I have my iPhone with me.  I am certainly not unique in this regard.   
I become irritated when my candidates or prospective candidates fail to appreciate the importance of my iPhone in my work.  I am certain this will come as no surprise to anyone reading this post.  The first thing I tell my candidates is “help me help you.”  The first rule is to make it easy to find you.  Make it easy to find your resume and make it easy to contact you.  By contact, I mean via text, email, or voice.  My correspondence includes my complete contact information including my website, blog, and LinkedIn profile.  All of my correspondence!  A savvy candidate will add that information into their electronic address book across all of their devices.  Likewise they should provide a complete signature section to make it easy to respond to them;  wherever I am and on my schedule.
Help me help you.

  •        Label your resume file as follows:  last name_first name_year

  •        Provide complete contact information in all of your correspondence.

  •        If using MS WORD for your resume complete the ‘file properties’ menu.

  •        Put my complete contact information in all of your address books.

  •        Become very familiar with my website content and blog posts.

If a candidate can follow these rules it is a signal to me that I am dealing with a savvy professional.  Savvy, at least as it concerns the effective use of technology.  But that is a good start!  Reviewing their resume and talking with them on an introductory call will confirm that opinion.  I am confident that any hiring manager or internal recruiter will think the same.  So, put yourself in the place of your audience; a recruiter or a hiring manager.  Let them help you, by helping them.  Embrace the technology!
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com