Hi Tammy Cobell here founder and CEO of career resume consulting and today I'd like to give. You some real quick advice about cover letters. This is going to be a real quick video. You know compared to some of my other videos. However it could really change up your executive job search very quickly and it's about cover letters. I don't want. You to do them they take two to three hours to put together and according to whatever study. You might read anywhere from 75 to 83 percent of people. That you send. It to do not. Even read it they throw. It away so don't waste. That effort don't waste.
That time doing it here's what I have found and what I have told my clients to do over and over and it has proven to get a much much better response rate in other words people are calling them back at a much higher rate. They were doing cover letters prior to working with. Us and that is write a handwritten note in the margin of your resume so let. Me explain what I like to do is write a resume. That is functional based and if you've listened to any of my other videos you've seen. That I like a functional format. That is one page. However there's really no room on that one-page resume to write a handwritten note that's quick. That might take five minutes versus the two hours of cover letters or that a cover letter might do so. What I do is I take. That one-page resume and I reformat. It to give it a two inch left margin. Now of course. You could do. This on the right but people read from left to right and so.
You want to put. It on the left hand side. I believe and reformat. That you've got a two inch margin. That actually brings the career summary and possibly the last achievements paragraph down to a second page but that's okay. Because I recommend sending it hardcopy and when. You do send in hardcopy people will read. Both pages however. You do want. That two inch margin so. That you can write a handwritten note. I recommend copying it off in black and white printing it off in black and white. Because it's cheaper and then using a blue pen on the left hand side to write a handwritten note and here's what I want. You to write so. This is the point. You get out a piece of paper and a pen and you take notes okay in the two inch margin.
You to write dear first name. That would be the first name of the person you're sending it to what I would recommend is you send. It to the person. That would be your boss. You were to be employed in the company. That you're sending it to in other words send. This proactively. Whether or not there's a job available so there's two different situations. That you would send. This you would send. It for companies. That you would want to work for and you would also send. It for companies. That just have. Some good news about them in the Business Journal. Because they're. More likely to be hiring because they're growing so I'll explain. What you want to write in the two inch margin in that case but the first case. Where you've been looking at the company and you want to send your resume there.
What you'll say is dear first name you'll find that person in LinkedIn do your first name comma newline I've been researching your company and I would love to talk with. You about joining your team period please call. Me this week period sincerely comma your first name it's very short very simple. I do not want. You to use this two inch margin as a handwritten cover letter. You go on and on trying to sell yourself this is not the time to do. That you simply want to tell them very quickly why you're reaching out to them and what you want them to do okay so let. Me repeat that it's dear first name I've been researching your company and I would love to talk with. You about joining your team period please call. Me this week period sincerely your first name. You notice I use the word love in there which is a pretty strong word but what I found in and this is a marketing technique is that. You use strong emotive words like love. You get a better response rate so again.
That time doing it here's what I have found and what I have told my clients to do over and over and it has proven to get a much much better response rate in other words people are calling them back at a much higher rate. They were doing cover letters prior to working with. Us and that is write a handwritten note in the margin of your resume so let. Me explain what I like to do is write a resume. That is functional based and if you've listened to any of my other videos you've seen. That I like a functional format. That is one page. However there's really no room on that one-page resume to write a handwritten note that's quick. That might take five minutes versus the two hours of cover letters or that a cover letter might do so. What I do is I take. That one-page resume and I reformat. It to give it a two inch left margin. Now of course. You could do. This on the right but people read from left to right and so.
You want to put. It on the left hand side. I believe and reformat. That you've got a two inch margin. That actually brings the career summary and possibly the last achievements paragraph down to a second page but that's okay. Because I recommend sending it hardcopy and when. You do send in hardcopy people will read. Both pages however. You do want. That two inch margin so. That you can write a handwritten note. I recommend copying it off in black and white printing it off in black and white. Because it's cheaper and then using a blue pen on the left hand side to write a handwritten note and here's what I want. You to write so. This is the point. You get out a piece of paper and a pen and you take notes okay in the two inch margin.
You to write dear first name. That would be the first name of the person you're sending it to what I would recommend is you send. It to the person. That would be your boss. You were to be employed in the company. That you're sending it to in other words send. This proactively. Whether or not there's a job available so there's two different situations. That you would send. This you would send. It for companies. That you would want to work for and you would also send. It for companies. That just have. Some good news about them in the Business Journal. Because they're. More likely to be hiring because they're growing so I'll explain. What you want to write in the two inch margin in that case but the first case. Where you've been looking at the company and you want to send your resume there.
What you'll say is dear first name you'll find that person in LinkedIn do your first name comma newline I've been researching your company and I would love to talk with. You about joining your team period please call. Me this week period sincerely comma your first name it's very short very simple. I do not want. You to use this two inch margin as a handwritten cover letter. You go on and on trying to sell yourself this is not the time to do. That you simply want to tell them very quickly why you're reaching out to them and what you want them to do okay so let. Me repeat that it's dear first name I've been researching your company and I would love to talk with. You about joining your team period please call. Me this week period sincerely your first name. You notice I use the word love in there which is a pretty strong word but what I found in and this is a marketing technique is that. You use strong emotive words like love. You get a better response rate so again.
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