Posts Tagged ‘job applicants’

This week a  manager in the hospitality industry had an easy time weeding out several of the applicants for a mid-level job she was advertising. One rejected applicant sent a three-sentence cover letter — too short to say anything meaningful. Another prospect said that her computer skills were “too numerous to count.” Again, not helpful.

Don’t write a cover letter when you’re too tired or impatient to think of the needs of the recipient. If you can’t bother to supply useful information  to your prospective boss before you have the job, why would she expect you to do any better once you’re hired?

• Do make it very clear why you are uniquely qualified for the job you want.
• Do make it clear that you know what the employer does and needs.
• Do write in clear, grammatically correct sentences.
• Do take responsibility for following up in a reasonable time frame, and then follow through.

When you are looking for a job, there are no guarantees but one:  lousy cover letters are among the fastest ways to be eliminated from consideration.