Mark Baker - Stand Out Cover Letters: How to Write Winning Cover Letters That Get You Hired

Stand Out Cover Letters

How to Write Winning Cover Letters
That Get You Hired

Mark Baker

Copyright Mark Baker 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner or publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

The information provided within this book is for general informational purposes only. While the author tries to keep the information up-to-date and correct, there are no representations or warranties, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this book or associated workbook for any purpose. Any use of this information is at your own risk.

Disclaimers

Some of the links in this book may be affiliate links. If you click them and buy something, I may be paid a commission, with no extra cost to you. I only include links to my own products or services or to products or services that I have used or would happily use.

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following trademarks mentioned in this work of non-fiction:

Google: Google Inc., Post-it: Post-it Notes, Facebook: Facebook Inc., Ford Motor Company, SurveyMonkey, Preptel

Dedication

To all people everywhere who are ready to stand up and stand out, whatever it takes.

Acknowledgements

My family and friends have always allowed me to stand out no matter how bizarre and off-track my path may have seemed at the time. Thank you for always believing in me no matter what.

Chandler Bolt and the wonderful team and community at SPS, thank you for holding my hand throughout the writing and publishing process.

Everyone else who assisted me with preparing this book for publication: My editor, Miranda Regan, my SPS accountability partner, Candela Iglesias Chiesa and my wonderful launch team. Without you this book would never have come to be. Thank you.

Download the Workbook

Increase your chances of writing a great cover letter by using the workbook while reading this book. You can download the workbook here 100% free by clicking the link below:

http://www.thestandoutway.com/stand-out-cover-letters-workbook-download

About This Book

This book is based on an approach to life inspired by a quote from Dr. Seuss, Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
The Stand Out Way is articulated and explored further at www.thestandoutway.com

Stand Out

Verb

To protrude, stick out

As in, Are you ready to stand out?

Standout

Noun

A person or thing of exceptional quality or ability

As in, This cover letter is a standout.

Adjective

To describe a person or thing as exceptionally good

As in, It is a standout cover letter.

Regardless of how you spell or use the phrase, the meaning is the sameremarkable, extraordinary, unique. In this book, for emphasis, Ive chosen to use the spelling, stand out, for all forms.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Stand Out or Miss Out

If youve ever applied for a job only to never hear a word back, youll know exactly how disheartening this silent rejection can be. The fact is its becoming increasingly more difficult to be noticed in the overcrowded job market. Basically every job gets far too many applications.

Technology makes it easy for companies to post their job openings to a mass audience, which means they can potentially reach a larger target market, and that means more competition for every job. For the same reason, that larger target market can easily apply regardless of whether theyre a good match or not. Many people apply for jobs they should never have applied for in the first place.

Recruiters, hiring managers and their personal assistants are bombarded with far more applications than they have time to read. Often these applications start with no cover letters or letters that are either too generic, add no value at all or look no different than any of their competitors letters. N o wonder theyve had to become ruthless cullers in an attempt to find the best candidates for the job.

Remember too that the chief culler or gatekeeper sometimes takes the form of an even more unforgiving agentthe dreaded Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This is automated software used by most large companies to screen out candidates long before human eyes ever see an application.

Fail to move past any of these pre-screening checkpoints and you wont even get an interview. Without an interview, youll lose any opportunity to convince a potential employer that you're the one for the job. End of story. The message to job seekers is simplestand out or you'll miss out.

The Solution

So whats the solution to this problem? How can you stand out from your peers? By taking advantage of an often marginalized element of the application package: the cover letter. In short you need to learn how to write a letter of introduction that's impossible ignore.

First impressions count for a lot, especially when it comes to applying for jobs. A cover letter designed to have you stand out from the rest is the perfect vehicle to help you make a great first impression fast. And fast youd better be, because youll only have seconds in which to accomplish this. Get it right though and youll showcase your personality and unique qualities in such a way that recruiters and hiring managers will be excited and eager to meet you.

I'm not talking about just any cover letter and definitely nothing like the ones youve written beforeif you have. Rather, this will be a newly-repurposed, dynamic and devilishly well-crafted piece of marketing that will grab peoples attention and fast track you all the way into your dream job. This book will show you exactly how to create such a cover letter.

But Does Anybody Read Them?

Wait, Im suggesting you write a cover letter, but you may have heard that no one reads cover letters these days, so why should you even bother? Ive seen the statistics used to support this idea, but Ive never heard it said that you shouldnt include a cover letter unless a company requests you leave it out. Could it be that more letters would be read if they actually stood out from the rest?

I'm not alone in believing cover letters still have a place in the application process. I searched for the term on Google and got 119,000,000 entries. Okay, so it's not as popular a term as 'sex and the city' (698,000,000), but Id say more than a hundred million entries is enough to declare that cover letters are still among the living.

Isn't a Resume More Important?

But what about a resume? Isnt it more important? In one word, no! Having a relevant and tailored resume is important but leave out a compelling cover letter and youll miss out on one of the most potent marketing opportunities available to you as a job seeker. A resume by nature cant be as dynamic as a cover letter can be. Resumes list relevant information as succinctly and effectively as possible, period.

Cover letters, on the other hand, dont have to just be a list of facts. They can be bold, sizzling, unexpected, full of personality and impossible to ignore. If cover letters are being ignored, its because most arent worth reading.

Why Should You Listen to me?

Firstly, I have had plenty of experience creating cover letters that work. I'm not a recruitment guru nor do I profess to know everything there is to know about this subject. But I am someone who gets bored quite quickly, which means Ive applied for and been accepted for more jobs across a wider range of interests than the average person.