Resume Cover Letter Ideas

This video will provide some tips on how to write an effective cover letter for a resume. Renata Duma, the Interview Coach, will give you some resume cover letter ideas to ensure that your cover letter (and accompanying resume) stands out from the hundreds received by staffing agencies and potential employers.

By all means, unless you like shooting yourself in the foot, stay away from clichés like describing yourself as “well organized, pro-active and dedicated; a team-player with excellent oral and written communication skills”. Focus instead on what you can bring to this organization: instead of writing “I have this – or I have that”, try writing “you want this – and you want that” – and then tell them why you’ve got what it takes to deliver on that. You can also try saying “you don’t want so and so – or such and such”, and again, prove why by hiring you they would eliminate that threat.

Remember to end your resume cover letter with a call to action: say that you’ll be following up by calling within three days of their receipt of your correspondence – and make sure you do! That could just be the ticket that gets them to hold on to your letter until you do call.

Presentation has an effect – but nobody’s going to hire you because your cover letter looks nice – or because it’s on powder blue paper. Your objective is to stand out in a way that will improve your chances for an interview by being professional – and by addressing the employers needs in an intriguing and captivating manner.

Remember, a typical or average cover letter attached to your resume can kill months of your precious time, producing little to no results and costing you thousands of dollars in lost income while providing you nothing but stress and anxiety in return. One brilliantly worded resume cover letter can change your life overnight. It’s all in the words you use.

YOU are the product – and you need to sell yourself using your best salesperson – an attention getting, interview grabbing, dynamite cover letter. A resume can’t sell – but your cover letter MUST: it should clearly and directly ASK for the opportunity to be interviewed in a way that practically forces hiring managers to call.

The main focus should be on getting employers to say to themselves, “Hmmm… you know what, I want to meet this person. I like the tone of this letter… it’s straight to the point… I’m going to book an interview right now – or at least look forward to their follow up call. So go for it! And good luck!

To view other videos in the “Marketing You” Video Series about marketing yourself to employers and recruiters please view Introduction to Marketing You, Success and Creative Visualization, 60 Second Pitch,  Job Interview Tips, Resume Writing and Resume Cover Letters videos. The next video in this series is Job Interviews and Recruitment Interviews- Your Mindset.

You may also want to download one of our Marketing You FREE E-books or visit our vast Resources Section including Tax Tip Videos and the Interview Coach articles.