Does Your Cover Letter Stink?

If when you read your cover letter it begins in a balanced tone and you feel as if you have safely addressed your reader--it STINKS!

Understand that recruiters and hiring managers are receiving hundreds if not thousands of cover letters soliciting employment. How many of those cover letters do you think begin with...

As advertised in…
In response to…
Allow me to…
As a professional that…
I heard you…
 
[image credit: striatic on flickr.com]

The above are all mundane ways to begin a cover letter and so, just imagine yourself reading the 100th cover letter for that day. What besides your third cup of coffee might keep you from taking a nap over the bulk of resumes and cover letters?  Perhaps an energetic, unexpected, memorable, and striking opening!?

Rewrite your cover letter; begin with a proposition, a question, a quote, an exclamation, a statistical report, even a poem. (Well, the last would be a bit hard to pull off –- but you get my point –- I hope.)

If you find that as you read your cover letter's opening sentence, you smile, you get a bit excited, you feel a bit shy or you blush -- then that is a unique and attention-capturing cover letter! (That is how I always know I have created a really great and different cover letter).

WARNING! Just be sure you don’t go too far and label yourself a moron! Be courageous, be different, be creative, BUT be tactful!

Here are a few cover letter openings I like and have used…

Knowing firsthand what type of assistance you are seeking, I am confident my qualifications position me to make immediate impact to your organization.

Exploring your needs further seems like a great idea as my qualifications perfectly match your requirements (it literally could not be more ideal)!

Would you recognize the perfect candidate if his cover letter was right in front of you?

To catapult business success, you need assistance from a manager who is not afraid to roll up her sleeves and courageously direct from a new perspective!

I must confess, I have saved the best cover letter opening statements for my resume and cover letter writing tool kit. : - )

Can you share a few cover letter openings that you like or maybe a few of the worst openings you have read?

Rosa E. Vargas
Certified Resume Writer