Dear prospective job hunters.
Thank you for taking the time to look at our site, and thank you for
being interested in working with us.
Most applications I receive go straight to the deleted-items folder
because of a few simple mistakes. I’m beginning to feel bad, so if you
are going to make the effort to apply for a job here, or anywhere
else, I’d like to offer you some advice.
To successfully interest me in hiring you, you need understand what we
as business owners face on the other side of the fence. Hiring is the
most important task I face, but it is also 76th on my list of a
hundred other things to do today. When we put a posting on Craigslist,
we usually get around 100 responses within 48 hours. They flood into
my inbox, and I have to push them aside until I have time to give them
the attention they deserve. In the meantime, I have phones ringing,
deadlines to meet, problems with our systems, employees with
questions, and much more to compete for the limited capacity of my
brain.
But, don’t let this put you off. It doesn’t take much to distinguish
yourself. Here’s how :
1. YOUR COVER LETTER MUST ANSWER OUR NEEDS.
When I do get round to your email, I do not have time to look at every
detail. I make quick and rapid decisions about whether I will call you
or not. I don’t even get to most resume’s because the cover letter is
so drab. If you want to stand a chance at getting a response, you
ABSOLUTLY MUST spend some time on this.
So, how should you write a cover letter? – Simple, read our post, and
tell me quickly how you can meet the needs we have listed. Use
examples wherever possible. Take a look at these two different
letters….
An excellent cover letter (5% are like this) The run of the mill
cover letter (95% are exactly the same)
James,
OK, I admit. I saw your posting just now for the Product Marketing
Manager for Outdoor Adventures and Experiences just now on Craigs
List, and I’m salivating. so I can’t imagine a better adventure for a
career than to market excitement and fun. Let me tell you 3 reasons
you should consider me for this position :
1. Strong Design Skills You’re ad said you were looking for someone
who can design brochures and other marketing materials. I have 2 years
of design, and am proficient in Adobe Illustrator and Pagemaker. I
have created brochures for XYZ company, and ABC company, and have
attached a PDF of my work. I’d be happy to show you my portfolio in an
interview.
2. Good communication and writing skills – In my former job, I
regularly led meetings that involved dozens of people. Several times a
year, I would speak for my company at industry events… sometimes to
audiences of several hundred people. I know how to craft a good press
release and have successfully managed to get several articles into
print.
3. I love experiences – I completely relate to your philosophy that
life is about experiences. I love to travel, and have recently
returned from 2 months in Peru where I helped feed orphan children in
a small town. I’ve never been skydiving, but it is on my top ten list
of things to do next year. Perhaps this is my opportunity.
ExperienceTHIS is a place where I know I can make a difference, and
with my experience at conceiving plans and putting projects into
motion, I’m sure I could impact you very quickly without spending too
much time in the starting gate. I would love to meet with you in
person to talk about how I can help take the adventure to a whole new
level.
Dear Sir/Madam
Please accept this letter and resume for the Product Marketing Manager
position as referenced on craigslist.com .
As a recent MBA graduate, I believe that I offer the skills that are
crucial to this position. My background in public relations, as well
as my formal education in business and marketing from the University
of San Francisco will serve as a complement to your firm.
After doing some extensive research about experienceTHIS.us, I am sure
that my work history and educational background will greatly benefit
the future endeavors of your organization. (Did you really do
extensive research on us??? – no evidence here, that’s for sure) My
work history coupled with my education in business administration has
provided me with an invaluable sense of communication and negotiation,
as well as quantitative analytical skills. Blah Blah Blah
From both my professional and personal experiences, I have developed
an enthusiastic, entrepreneurial, and disciplined work ethic. I
possess the ability to work under pressure and rapidly adapt to
changing work conditions. I excel in both individual and team driven
environments. With this in mind, I am confident that my employment
background, eagerness to learn, and genuine character will prove to be
an asset to your company. Blah Blah Blah
I look forward to discussing employment opportunities with you in the
near future. I am available for an interview at your earliest
convenience. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Blah Blah
Blah
Which one would you call back? – The one on the right doesn’t even
come close to responding to what we’re looking for. If you just
regurgitate a form cover letter from some book you read, or the email
you sent to the last company, I’m going to yawn and hit the delete key
before I ever get to your resume. I feel bad doing it, but I just
don’t have time for blah blah blah.
2. Don’t blah blah blah.
Be super clear and concise. Use the same language to describe your
achievements to me, as you would to your grandmother. For example…
"My work history coupled with my education in business
administration has provided me with an invaluable sense of
communication and negotiation, as well as quantitative analytical
skills"
*yawn* – This means nothing to me. Compare it to this…
"I have only really had one job. It was at Larry’s Video Store
near my college. We were losing customers to Netflix so I helped
convince my boss to offer a subscription service to our customers. I
made up a business model of our projected sales, and showed how this
would improve our bottom line. My boss agreed, and tasked me with
spreading the word. I designed flyers and put up posters around campus
to promote our new service. Our subscription model was a success, and
I’m sure my boss Larry would sing my praises for my business and
marketing initiative.
Be clear, concise, and factual. Don’t use fluffy words. Describe
yourself, who you are, and how exactly you can help. – If you can’t
make a selling proposition for yourself, how on earth will you do it
for me?
3. Don’t make the mistake of attaching your cover letter as a word document.
You’re writing me an email…. imagine me sitting at my desk with my
inbox dinging every minute. Do you think I really want to fire up Word
to see a formatted cover letter. No… just write your cover letter as
you would any other email. That’s what email is for.
4. Respond with the title of the job advertisement in the subject heading.
Yes, it’s good to use some initiative in the subject line to grab my
attention, but I sort my email based on subject, and if you’re not in
the right subject, you’re going to get lost.
* Bad : I love skydiving and work really hard
* Good : Product Manager job
* Best : Product Manager job (I love skydiving and work really hard)
5. Win me over by being open and honest.
I respect failure, and I look for potential. Yet, it seems to be
common practice to BS on resume’s nowadays. It’s ok to be proud of
your accomplishments, but a little modesty makes you look human. I’d
much rathe
r meet with someone who admits they’ve failed, than someone
who pretends they’ve always been successful.
"I successfully led a ten person team to generate sales of $200,000"
Yeah, ok… but I’d respect that person even more if they had the
balls to write this :
In my last job, I had ten people working for me. It was stressful,
and I didn’t have a clue about how to manage at the time. Two of my
team resigned in the first month, and I found it difficult to motivate
the other eight who were all older than me. We still met our quota,
but I was let go. To be fair, I was in over my head at the time. I
have since been to two leadership training seminars, and I can see now
where I went wrong.
Which one would you rather talk to?
Must get back to work now, but I hope this has helped you out.
James Dilworth, CEO
experienceTHIS.us – Experiences make better gifts