Cover Letter Resume Writing – Are you applying for more jobs than you really need to?
People don’t realise how important the cover letter resume writing or cover resume email is to your job application. They don’t really even realise how important the whole resume is! I have looked through many resumes and have read many resume cover letters and have been astounded at how people throw away great opportunities by not presenting themselves well on paper.
Spend a little, Save a lot!
If you spend a little time to do some cover letter resume writing for each job application, you will most likely end up saving a lot of time by applying for a lot less jobs. Follow these very simple but powerful cover letter resume writing tips and you are set for a much more fruitful and productive job hunting experience.
Tip 1: Tailor your Cover Letter to each Job
Don’t complain or discard this one! It is important that you write or tweak your cover letter to be read for that specific job you are applying for. This means you will address the person who is advertising the role by name (if you know it), you will use the same terminology as what is being used in the job advertisement and you will mention the specific job title and reference exactly as it appears on the job advertisement.
Tip 2: Make it as easy as possible for the recruiter
When you do the cover letter resume writing make sure you write the specific role title (as advertised) with its reference number and the date you saw the advertisement in the title of your cover letter or cover letter email. Do the exact same thing in the first sentence of your cover letter, see the cover letter sample for an idea of how to do this. Doing these two simple things will already make it really easy for the recruiter to know which role you are writing about.
Tip 3: Keep it Short, Sharp and Focussed
You should not write more than one paragraph which summarises your profile and relevant experience to the recruiter. Again, use the same terminology as what is being used in the job advertisement, this is what is familiar to the recruiter and therefore you meet his needs to understand your skills. Remember, a recruiter advertises thousands of jobs and writes lots of job role ads and often they don’t know all the relevant terminology for each profession. In the case of Business Analysis, this is no exception. To them a systems analyst, business systems analyst, IT analyst or business analyst are interchangeable. So if they choose to describe the role as for a business systems analyst, then you phrase you response using the term business systems analyst too. Get it?
Tip 4: Start your profile from the top
This simply means that you need to write your professional profile in a way which tells the recruiter the most important things about you first and then you drill down to the detail. You will therefore state in your profile paragraph of the cover letter resume writing efforts what qualification you have, how many years experience in that type of role and which industries you have worked in. Now the recruiter knows whether you would potentially be suitable by just reading the first sentence of your profile paragraph. Cool hey?
Tip 5: Drilling down more
After that powerful first sentence you need to keep the recruiter interested. So he / she is searching for ‘key words’ that matches the job advertisement. Use the keywords in the next sentence. If they are looking for a business analyst with requirements gathering and workshop facilitation experience, then you say that next. The most important tip here is to use as many of the job advertisement’s key words in the next 2-4 sentences.
Tip 6: Close on a Positive and Confident note
You have managed to get the recruiter to read this far which means they would most likely be interested to talk to you. You start the closing sentence of the cover letter resume writing with saying that you have attached or included your resume for their reference. You can then perhaps add a line something saying along the lines of that you believe this opportunity sounds like it matches your skills and experience very well. This last closing paragraph should be 1 or 2 lines tops!
Tip 7: Finally, remember your Contact Details!
Ensure you include your contact phone number and email address in the signature of your cover letter resume writing. Again, your focus is to make it as easy as possible for the recruiter to know who you are, why your skills and experience match (by making it match in words!) and how to get hold of you. You will soon need to get ready for your job interview!
Return from Cover Letter Resume Writing to BA Career..
Return from Cover Letter Resume Writing to Business Analysis Excellence..