Cover Letters

[Trainer]

Agreed. I had horrible gpa in college but still got a job right out of college. The boss said they were most impressed with the thank you letter as most other candidates did not send one.

This may sound stupid, but I have not heard it before. Do you send the thank you after you get a interview? I am applying like a mad man to education jobs across the state. I have been to multiple trainings on career and cover letters over my education career, and not once have I heard about sending a thank you letter.

 

[VeloClone]

This may sound stupid, but I have not heard it before. Do you send the thank you after you get a interview? I am applying like a mad man to education jobs across the state. I have been to multiple trainings on career and cover letters over my education career, and not once have I heard about sending a thank you letter.

I have always heard you send a thank you letter. I have not always been real good about doing this.

Be careful to be short and sweet with it. I have gotten full page thank you letters that are a bit much. I have also gotten both a thank you email and a card from applicants. If you overdo it you come across as desperate rather than simply grateful.

 

[BCClone]

This may sound stupid, but I have not heard it before. Do you send the thank you after you get a interview? I am applying like a mad man to education jobs across the state. I have been to multiple trainings on career and cover letters over my education career, and not once have I heard about sending a thank you letter.

My wife is a teacher and is usually on the interview committee whenever they hire teachers, be it in-house moves or new hires. She will usually come home after the interview day and say who they decided on. She will say who their top 3 were in order, so if other schools are like this a thank you for the interview would be too late.

I would ask the timeline and/or process they are going through, if they say anything more than having their mind made up in a day or two, then I definitely would send one.

If you interview with one or two people, I would send one as it can't hurt.

 

[zwclones51]

What I did was when I got home from the interview just sent a couple paragraph email to the interviewer thanking them for the opportunity and then explained how my skills would fit in with their company.

It shows that you listed in the interview and that you are interested in the job.

 

[longtimeclone]

I have always heard you send a thank you letter. I have not always been real good about doing this.

Be careful to be short and sweet with it. I have gotten full page thank you letters that are a bit much. I have also gotten both a thank you email and a card from applicants. If you overdo it you come across as desperate rather than simply grateful.

Yes I always heard that a short hand written thank is the best after an interview.

During an office interview, I accidently locked my keys in my car and the receptionist helped track down a locksmith to open my door. I was really appreciative of her help and I also thanked her in my card.

Later in the day when I was heading back to Ames, my transmission blew and I stopped at an elderly couples house. My cell phone was dead and I had to use their phone to call a tow truck and someone to come pick me up. It was a pretty terrible day and I also sent a thank you card to the couple for helping me and waiting with me because it took quite a while for the tow truck and a ride. I didn't know this at the time but it turns out that the couple's grand daughter worked in the HR department for the same firm I was applying for. I actually ended up getting hired by the firm and I joked about the whole thing with the grand daughter. She said that her grand parents were appreciative of the card I sent them too. I can't remember but I also might have sent an ISU basketball poster because they were fans.

Just goes to show that little acts of kindness can go a long way.

 

[VeloClone]

I stopped at an elderly couples house.

Were they named George and Martha?

 

[longtimeclone]

Were they named George and Martha?

I don't think so, but not sure. Is this the couple from Book of Eli?

 

[VeloClone]

I don't think so, but not sure. Is this the couple from Book of Eli?

Yes. Did they have the shakes?

 

[rebecacy]

I'm in the process of looking for a new job and am feeling pretty good about the state of my resume. There are a handful of openings that I'm going to apply for but am stuck on the Cover Letters. It seems like the online advice that i can find is all over the place and most is contradictory.

My current approach is to take the skills/attributes section from job posting and add a short statement with each one that says how I meet that requirement. The process of doing this is alright and should help come interview time but I'm not thrilled by the overall look of it.

I know there are some hiring managers on this board so I figured it would be worth a shot for advise.

I'm applying for Project Management jobs in Technology development fields.
Thanks in advance for the help.

send me a PM ...... i can help

 

[longtimeclone]

Yes. Did they have the shakes?

Nope but they had a healthy heard of sheep.

 

[greatshu]

The cover letter is not that important, the resume is. Just keep it simple.
The resume tells the manager if you can do the job, and the interview tells him/her if you're a fit, and if you want to do the job.

I disagree to this statement as well. I've served on many hiring committees and we all looked at the cover letters very carefully. Cover letter is where you can talk about how your past experience relates to the one you are applying for. It is not the place you list all of the things you have done. I see so many cover letters that only states what they are applying for and reasons of it.

Here is what you want to include:
Position you are applying for.
Reason.
Highlight of your past accomplishment.
How your past accomplishment relates to the position you are applying for.

If you need help on how to write the cover letter, PM me.

 

[shildreth]

Covers letters - things of the past, dont need them and most of them arent read.
Resume length - depends on skills and experience. Freshly graduated - keep to one page and easy to read, good flow. Experienced workers - Length is not an issue and much more relevant info can be placed on it.

 

[4Cyclones]

Great thread. Very helpful information. Thanks for the insight and recommendations from everyone.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a recruiter for account managers and sales positions? Or is Indeed, Monster, etc the best way to go?

 

[CTTB78]

I disagree to this statement as well. I've served on many hiring committees and we all looked at the cover letters very carefully. Cover letter is where you can talk about how your past experience relates to the one you are applying for. It is not the place you list all of the things you have done. I see so many cover letters that only states what they are applying for and reasons of it.

Here is what you want to include:
Position you are applying for.
Reason.
Highlight of your past accomplishment.
How your past accomplishment relates to the position you are applying for........

The position your applying for and why can be written in two sentences. Keep it simple. Control the fluff. Past accomplishments are already in the resume and do not need to repeated, at least for me in the last thirty years of hiring managers. Just my preference I guess.

 

[marothisu]

Depends on the company for cover letters really. Some have it as a formality and some take them seriously. As a rule of thumb, don't double up information in an exact manner. Don't take what's on your resume and copy almost exactly onto a cover letter.

Just start out with saying who you are and stuff like that, and then move into why you would be good for the position and what you bring to the table for the company. You might mention some work you've done before, which MIGHT be on your resume, but more of the stuff that directly relates to the job you're applying to. You might be able to expand on a point more than just one sentence (like your resume says "-Worked on ___________" let's say (not a good example) and you might expand on that point in your cover letter for how it relates to the job you're seeking)...but also write more about how you're proactive (if you are), like working with people, strive to get things done, etc etc etc. Stuff like that..soft skills that might not be explained on your resume 100% well.

 

[marothisu]

How important is it to try and whittle your resume down to one page? If you have years of experience and have worked on many different types of projects, how do you suggest minimizing the resume to one page? Just curious on how others feel about this.

Depends on the company and how many resumes were submitted. I've been in processes where only the first 1/3 of the first page is looked at and the rest is skimmed. I know some people who will hold a resume in worse light if it's more than 1 page.

It's bad, but a lot of people don't read *everything*..a lot of it is skimmed over, which is why you want to put the most important stuff at the top (i.e. most recent experience).


It also depends on how much relevant experience you have as well, but a resume should only be the starting point for the rest of the process. It should give the hiring managers an idea of what you've done, but doesn't have to be everything. Just the things you feel are important and important enough to get you into an interview position.

 

[DeereClone]

I would suggest sending a thank you email. A letter in the mail won't get there for a few days, so email is better in this situation.

Just something simple like this is what I have done:

Dear Interviewer,

Thank you for taking the time to interview me today. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you and learn more about XYZ company. (add a sentance or two about something you talked about in the interview). I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Thank you for your time,

Farminclone

 

[CtownCyclone]

I would suggest sending a thank you email. A letter in the mail won't get there for a few days, so email is better in this situation.

Just something simple like this is what I have done:

Dear Interviewer,

Thank you for taking the time to interview me today. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you and learn more about XYZ company. (add a sentance or two about something you talked about in the interview). I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Thank you for your time,

Farminclone

One of the most recent people that we hired called me after the interview process to thank me. He was the only one to do that. Definitely stood out to the hiring committee, and he was an easy recommendation to make (also, he had a good resume, which never hurts! :yes.

Basically, show interest in the position and thank those who you talked with for taking time out of their day to interview you. That goes a long way, at least in my experience.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

I would suggest sending a thank you email. A letter in the mail won't get there for a few days, so email is better in this situation.

Just something simple like this is what I have done:

Dear Interviewer,

Thank you for taking the time to interview me today. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you and learn more about XYZ company. (add a sentance or two about something you talked about in the interview). I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Thank you for your time,

Farminclone

Redundant, plus it's wishy-washy.

Also, I'd suggest something for the beginning like, "Thank you for the opportunity to visit with/interview you and Mr. xyz today about the abc position at mno company. I appreciate meeting you and learning more about your company."

In the next sentences, mention your possible contributions to the company or answers to questions they asked to further jog their memory about you and your interview

As a potential employer, I don't like to read "thank you for taking the time..." because that indicates groveling. I didn't decide to take the time, I decided to interview you.

Email is fine. Be sure to use correct grammar and punctuation and don't cc anyone. Send separate messages to each person who was at the interview. Include all your contact information in each message.

 

[2ndCyCE]

Asking hiring managers if they think the resume or cover letter is most important won't likely produce a substantial qualifying answer, much like if you polled 100 random men whether they preferred big boobs over nice legs/butt. It is just a matter of preference.



*Although the correct answer would be legs/butt > big boobs, and always complement your resume with a solid cover letter.
:v_SPIN: