amanda's career

CL Strategies

So this cover letter book, called "Winning Cover Letters" (you can't miss it, the cover is neon green and yellow), identifies the first error in writing CLs as the following:

"Don't start your letter with "I'm applying for the job I saw in Sunday's newspaper". [She goes on to say that you need to start with a powerful, results-driven statement about why you're awesome for their company,

Here's another gem:

"...at least 25% of the people who respond to an ad or apply for a posted position do not have the minimal qualifications for the job. ... I recommend self-selection: Do not apply if you lack most or all of what's being asked for."

Interesting and valuable points, both of which I've been pretty much ignoring until now. Another thought I got from the book: you need to put lots of thought and effort into each job application you send out, otherwise it's not worth your time. The approach of picking very few jobs to apply for and giving it your all is probably a better strategy than applying to everything and hoping something hits. It's so tempting to go with the second strategy! Or better yet, strategy three, which I like to call:


...forget cover letters, head to the freezer, eat Ben and Jerry's.

posted by amandascareer @ 11:45 PM