At last, create a cover letter guaranteed to get you a great job without any stress…

It’s hard to look for a job. And, by hard I mean downright crappy. It will never make a “Top 10 favorite things to do” list. However, when looking for a job, it’s important to stay positive. Because of that, I wanted to show you a link to 5 strategies for staying upbeat.

Click here to check it out: http://www.quintcareers.com/job-hunting_weak_job-market.html

Feel free to follow all of the advice listed EXCEPT step 3 which says, “Don’t believe everything you hear or read”. You should definitely believe everything I write and say .

When it comes to your cover letter, it’s not just the content that counts. Therefore, as much time as you spend on the words, should be spent on the look. A few quick tips (more to come later):

• Use a serif font (not sans-serif)
• Use size 11 font
• Use black ink on a white background (Sounds simple right, but I’ve seen this go wrong many times. For an example, check out this website: http://cfy2009.com/myblog/?p=1472 . Notice how the gray font color with the bad background image make the words very hard to read)

I know these seem simple, but they’re worth getting right. Do these and you’re 80% of the way there. However, the other 20% is just as important and we’ll discuss that later.

One more thing, in case I haven’t made it clear yet.

On average, a cover letter only exists in the hands of an HR professional for 60 seconds. After that, it either disappears to a trash can, or gets filed as an interview. With only 60 seconds you need to be:

• To the point.
• Interesting.
• Relevant.

Don’t waste time. What would Nic Cage do? Actually, I can’t stand Nic Cage. Let’s reference another driving movie (The Fast and the Furious) so I can say, “What would Vin Diesel do?”

I don’t want to be mean, but this cover letter is SOOOOO boring! ResumeCoverLetterSamples.net created a sample cover letter for a Mortgage Attorney. Here’s the link:

http://www.resumecoverlettersamples.net/mortgage-attorney-cover-letter/

Whatever you do, do NOT use this cover letter. Its number one problem is that it is terribly boring. I’m writing a post about it, and I didn’t even read the entire thing. I couldn’t get through it. It was boring cliche after boring cliche. In fact, I’ll make you a promise. If you use this cover letter, you will NOT get the job. Guaranteed. I beg you, don’t make a cover letter like this.

We’ve been talking about the importance of the first sentence lately. Check out the first sentence they recommend: “I hereby present my resume for the post of mortgage attorney in your organization that could suit my educational qualifications, as well as experience in the relative field.” What the!? First off, I don’t get it. Second off, boring. Third off, I’m definitely not going to read the rest.

Here’s an insider’s secret – your cover letter is the first thing the company you’re applying for will read. You know what that means, it’s SUPER important. It’s the first impression that the company is going to get of you. If we take it a step further, then the first sentence of your cover letter is the most important sentence in your job search. And, then, the second sentence is the most important sentence after that. Problem is, most people rush through the first few sentences and say things like, “As an amazing person, I’d be great for the job.” Okay, they don’t say that, but you know what I mean. If you looked at 100 cover letters, then 95 of them would have the same beginning structure, and 95 of them would go to the trash. Trust me, I’ve read thousands of cover letters.

Stand out with your cover letter, and stand out with your first sentence. I have some first sentences which are proven winners. They’re out there. Take the time to create your own winner.

Who would’ve guessed that there was a Career Doctor? Not me. Love doctor? Definitely. Career doctor? No way. However, it appears that there is now such a thing as a career doctor, he has advice, and (believe it or not) I agree with it.

Here’s the article that the lonely career doctor wrote on Valentine’s Day: http://www.careerdoctor.org/career-doctor-blog/2010/02/use-resume-and-coverletter-sam-1.html

Doctor’s orders: Use sample cover letters, but don’t plagarize them. Also, it’s okay to pay someone to write a cover letter for you.

Phil’s orders: Write the Career Doctor a Valentine’s card immediately.

Hmm, well, I suppose this is good news for me – considering how I help people create amazing cover letters. You know it’s a sad day when I agree with someone called the career doctor.

(By the way, I really have nothing against the career doctor. Truly, if he didn’t already have that title then I would’ve taken it. I’m just jealous I suppose.)

The Sacramento Bee wrote an article today with some solid advice. I recommend checking out the whole article here - http://www.sacbee.com/2010/02/22/2554195/job-front-advice-for-job-hunters.html

If you’re looking for a quick summary, here goes:

1) Tailor the Cover Letter and Resume to the specific job you’re applying for. In some cases, this is an entire re-write, and in others you only need to change a few words.

2) If you’ve been out of work for a while for something outside of your control (for example, a medical condition), then you’re best to explain that in the resume and cover letter. Don’t give it too much space, but one sentence will help your cause.

I was digging through some old articles and came across this one about cover letters from the New York Times. Check it out!

NY Times article on writing cover letters

Career expert Liz Ryan recently had an interesting post at the Huffington Post. You can check it out here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-ryan/conversational-cover-lett_b_443300.html

Basically, this reinforces how important it is to have some personality in your resume and cover letter. Avoid cliches at all costs. Are you a “results oriented professional”? Maybe. But, the problem is, eveyone else in the world is a “results oriented professional” too. What makes you results oriented? What makes you a professional? Be specific and show some personality and you’ll be on the right track.

I know, it’s cool to not like lawyers. But, my sister is a lawyer, and they need jobs too. Attorney resume specialist Karen Anderson just wrote an article helping lawyers write cover letters. If you’re a lawyer looking for a job, then check it out. Here’s a link: http://www.esqresume.com/article/how-to-write-an-effective-cover-letter-for-an-attorney-job.html

The one thing I was most surprised by when reading this article is that Karen claims that lawyers don’t recognize the importance of a great cover letter. How could you NOT recognize the importance of a cover letter. It’s like your resume, but with character (thus making it more important than your resume). Your cover letter talks about your experience, how you can benefit the company you’re applying to, and gives a brief look into who you are as a person. If this isn’t important, then what is?