Many executives sit down to write their resumes and cover letters thinking it will be simple. Resumes are generally about facts and statistics, but the cover letter takes a different approach. You have a little more freedom to show your personality in your executive resume cover letter, which can be good or bad. The important thing to remember is having a cookie cutter cover letter isn’t going to get you recognized. Here are some tips for making yours stand out.
Hook Your Reader
Any cover letter writing service will tell you the opening sentences will make or break your entire cover letter. In fact, if you don’t hook your reader right away, they may not even continue reading after the first few sentences. The most important thing is to stay on topic and explain why you are excited about potentially working for their company and why you believe you are a good fit.
Target The Company
One way to get the reader’s attention is by showing them you’ve done your research on the company. When writing an executive resume cover letter, targeting the company will make yours stand out over someone who just recycled theirs from a previous application. No matter if you give certain statistics or tell a quick story you learned about the company, the reader will be more interested when you talk about something they can relate to.
Demonstrate Confidence
Talk about the things you accomplished in your career with confidence. As an executive, you need to be assertive in your cover letter, even if it’s natural for you to be humble about your accomplishments. Your cover letter writing service will suggest backing up your claims with facts and evidence, though, so your confidence doesn’t appear to be just words on a page.
Always Be Honest
Anything you write in your executive resume cover letter could come up again later in an interview. If you’re honest in your cover letter, then you should have no problem answering those questions. However, any time you’re dishonest, most interviewers can see right through you and you’ll immediately be disqualified as an applicant.
Proofread Closely
Finally, proofreading a cover letter is something many people forget to do. It may take you a while and several visits to your cover letter writing service to make it perfect, but it’s always worth your time to proofread it closely. Many times an employer will seek out typographical or grammatical errors and throw out those resumes and cover letters right away.
* By Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, BS/HR, a Certified Professional & Executive Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, Inc. She has achieved international recognition following nominations and wins of the prestigious T.O.R.I. (Toast of the Resume Industry) Award. Find Erin at http://exclusive-executive-resumes.com.