I have been a recruiting professional for 38 years as of April 2018. In April 1980, my father introduced me to the world of technical recruiting in the contract staffing industry. Today, temporary staffing services are a dime a dozen, but back in 1980, only a handful existed and most were either technically oriented or administrative agencies.
I say all of this as background for today’s subject. Over these past 38 years, I have probably met a minimum of 500 other recruiting professionals. One of my standard questions when I’m getting to know someone professionally is “do you read cover letters?” The answer is overwhelmingly “no” (about 95%), but occasionally, the cover letter will get read. Getting a cover letter read is arguably the most difficult thing to do in a job search. But the consensus is that you have an exponentially greater chance to have your cover letter read if it is under 200 words.
I have found that you want to communicate 5 things in a cover letter:
1) You want to introduce yourself and for which position you are applying.
2) You want to state what you are currently doing vocationally, or what you had been doing.
3) You want to state why you are writing.
4) You want to let the reader know when and how they can contact you.
5) You want to thank them for their time.
6) And possibly #6 if requested: selected career highlights or any information that you are requested to include, like salary information.
If you are asked for additional information, you can expand your word limit to 250. Sometimes, too much information is not a good thing. That applies to lengthy resumes and cover letters. The goal is to pique the interest of the reader to the point where they will have to contact you if they want answers, or as Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.”
If you honestly do not know what additional information to include, error on the side of too little information as opposed to too much information. Too much information tends to “turn off” the reader, especially if that information is poorly formatted, with a font that is two sizes to small and requires a magnifying glass to read.
If your words are going to define you, follow these guidelines:
1) Be brief.
2) Be clear.
3) Be concise.
4) Be simple (and don’t confuse simplicity with being trite).
5) Finally, always be kind.
Regarding kindness, I’m a firm believer in the world being totally too rude these days. You may vehemently disagree with someone, but you can still be civil. I like to carry it one step farther and be kind.
Arlen R. Crawford
arlenarcresumes@gmail.com
www.arcresumes.com
John 14:6 / Acts 4:12
“The waves and wind still know His name.”
