Resume Cover Letters

by Wootang01

Searching for a job isn’t easy and using a generic online resume cover letter didn’t make it any easier for me.  I lost months of productivity and energy with a letter that was doing nothing to sell me.  I had been using the same letter for 6 months until a good friend of mine shed some light my way.

I was getting the same generic answer every time I followed up on a submitted resume and cover letter.  “So sorry, the position has been filled.”  It sounded as bad and generic as the online resume cover letter I was sending them.  When you think about it, what else could I have expected?  Unfortunately it took me to long to realize this.

Out of frustration, after 6 months of job hunting I took a friends advice to revamp my online resume cover letter.  She moved out to Washington in 2008.  We don’t get a lot of time to talk but I did share with her my difficulties securing a job.  She mentioned to me that she used a resume and cover letter manual to put hers together and how it improve her presentation which got her more interview opportunities.  Having had about six call backs and just four interviews in 4 months I really told myself I needed to make a change.

She shared with me that for the place where she currently works she went above what most of us do when applying for a job.  She didn’t exactly follow instructions on how to submit.  The instruction was to email it.  She did email but followed it up by taking it in herself.  She also chatted up the person at the front desk before going and asking about the job position and who the new hire would be working with, before she submitted it.  That gave her some incite on how to customize the letter.

I took some of her advice and I retired my online resume cover letter for a new and improved one.  I walked it in to the potential employers I was applying for and though I don’t have her personality to just pick up and talk to a stranger at the front desk as if I’ve known them for years.  I did learn about the company through their website and incorporated my knowledge of the field of business their in, into my already improved cover letter.  That along with how I wanted to be part of a great company with a good solid base and I saw myself there for years helped my secure more interviews and eventually the job I have now.

Tags: Cover, Frustration, Generic, Letter, letters, Online, resume, Using