Hi! Are you currently in the job market? Well, please read on. Today’s topic was written just for you.
There’s a ton of info available about how to create a killer resume, but in my opinion, your cover letter is the most underappreciated (and under-talked-about) piece of “personal marketing real estate” out there. Let’s jump right in.
It’s always a good idea to start by thinking about the process of getting hired. This is exactly what a recruiter, hiring manager, or interviewer does when he or she is perusing your cover letter and resume: they start by dividing up your skill sets into two categories—hard skills and soft skills. First, they’re going to ensure that you’ve got the hard skills necessary to do the job: a working knowledge of Excel, a degree in electrical engineering, a teaching credential, or an ability to drive a forklift, depending, of course, upon the job you’re applying for. This sort of rudimentary candidate vetting is characteristically performed by reading an applicant’s cover letter to some extent, but to a much greater extent, their resume. And if you have the hard skills they’re looking for, congratulations. You get to proceed to the next level of scrutiny: your soft skills.
So next, when it comes to assessing soft skills, the importance of the cover letter vs. the resume reverses. Once a hiring manager can see that you possess the necessary hard skills, they move on to your soft skills—and that’s where a cover letter can be invaluable. In my professional opinion, soft skills are much more essential for a successful candidate/job matchup than hard skills—and much more difficult to discern before meeting the candidate face to face. And ultimately, like it or not, the candidates you’ll eventually be competing against will most likely have the exact same hard skills that you do—it’s the soft skills that are going to set you apart from your competitors.
Everyone talks about soft skills, but what exactly are they? Soft skills are essentially people skills: communication skills (both speaking and listening skills), leadership skills, teamwork skills, your ability to relate to and empathize with others (a biggie), time management skills, and personal organizational skills. And if you want your application package to land on the top of the pile, you need to stand out in these areas—and be able to illustrate those skills in a believable, appealing way. Hiring managers are scanning your application materials to make an educated guess about whether you can get along with others, have the energy and motivation to do the job, possess the values and work ethics of the company…simply put, whether you have the overall personal attributes to succeed. Enter, the cover letter.
The best thing about a cover letter is that it isn’t a list of accomplishments, or a series of summary statements, like your resume. It’s conversational. And this conversational format allows you to tell a few (brief) stories that can spotlight your soft skills and really gain the attention of the hiring manager. Enthusiastic personal revelation is a good thing! Talk about your love of working with customers. Or your ability to organize diverse groups of people. Or how much you enjoy the challenges of international commerce. Or how you’re at your best when you’re challenged with an “impossible” project. Or that you’re eager to be part of a successful, energetic sales team. Use this conversational opportunity to your advantage, and showcase your warmth, eagerness, and humanness—coupled with your professionalism and competence, of course. (Red alert: proof your cover letter as thoroughly as you do your resume—they both fall into the “zero tolerance for mistakes” arena.)
Together, your cover letter and resume should tell a complete story of you, hard and soft skills combined into an irresistible employee package—this is personal marketing at its best.
That’s it for today. I want to take the opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Hannukah (I realize it’s already passed), Merry Christmas, Peaceful Kwanzaa…whatever traditions you celebrate, may they be joyful, loving, and beautiful. See you in three weeks!