Don’t think “outside the box”- forget all the cheesy management titles about cheese and parachutes and focus on what works and that’s creating relationships and building value. If you hand your cover letter to a friend do they get excited and wonder why you don’t work in their office or do they smile and say that’s a nice cover letter. A cover letter should get a hiring manager excited enough to get off Pinterest and over to the managers desk with your letter in hand.
Buzzwords- No term has caused more paper to get recycled in the waste paper bin other than possibly “let’s decide this by committee”. If people actually responded like robots to buzzwords then every viral video would just be people using buzzwords. Video’s go viral because they’re short and have a powerful message like the Ice Bucket challenge unless you’re a cute kitten in which case this rule doesn’t apply. Everyone loves kittens but you’re not going to fill a resume with kitten pictures so leave the buzzwords where they belong and let your resume be brief but powerful.
Networking, Networking, networking- People today suffer from MIOO or Massive Information Overload Online. Requesting someone on LinkedIn, sending an email and follow up cards are important pieces of a job search but ultimately a live human being makes the hiring decision. Do you share a common passion, are in you in a social group or a volunteer group where a manager would know you from and personally vouch for your work ethic?
Learn to use Concrete- Instead of using Buzzwords create sections in your cover letter that show concrete of examples of skills that will bring value to a potential employer. I tell everyone crafting a cover letter use the following format: cite a transferable skill and then provide a high quality concrete example of the skill from a previous position.
Build real and lasting and relationships, create a cover letter and resume that build excitements and provide concrete examples of high quality work. The new economy has seen a job market that shifts rapidly so get some outside help from a professional head hunter or a human resources professional and learn to move forward with confidence.
