Mark Cenedella, head of The Ladders.com recommends in his email newsletter that you keep your cover letters short and to the point.
In his email newsletter Mark lists the following advice–
Your goal in a cover letter is to indicate that you have a reasonably good shot at being a plausible candidate for the job; to show that you’ve read even a little bit about the company and aren’t just blasting your resume everywhere; and to get the reviewer to actually read your resume. Here’s how you’re going to do that…
Mark goes on to write that a good cover letter should be only two to three paragraphs in length and cover one to two major points. Give them the idea of why you believe you would be a good fit for the job, and then move on.
Honestly, this says as much or more about the importance of a cover letter than anything I have read in awhile. Considering that so many job applicants screw this up, Marc’s advice should be well heeded. I know of few HR people who want to plow through either the history of your life or wonder why you contacted their company in the first place.
A polished resume is not just a valuable tool but it is a necessity. A cover letter that demonstrates your knowledge of the relevance of a cover letter only adds to your credibility. I have seen enough clunky resumes and enough something or others that call themselves resumes to know that person doesn’t understand his or her competition. By writing the history of your life in a cover letter, you are demonstrating either lack of awareness or lack of concern for the human resources procedures.
The professional looking resume and cover letter will enable you, the applicant, to move on to the next level of review, the beginning of the preemployment screening process, including the telephone interview.
So be smart. Keep it short. Keep it clean.
Check them out before you hire.
