Resume Cover Page Targeting

Cover Letter Targeting Is a Key Strategy

An effective resume cover page is targeted. Customizing your resume is not enough. You also need to customize the cover letter you send with it. This is called cover letter targeting.

Which sets you apart best? Resume objective OR power satement?

Use a resume cover page to make yourself stand out in a crowd

The best resume cover letters are customized to show the employer how you are THE perfect match for the job. Sending a generic cover letter is not going to cut it.

The targeted resume cover page takes the advertised job requirements and matches your skills to those requirements. This way, the recruiter can see your relevant qualifications at a glance.

And believe me... when you make things easy for a recruiter, they love you... because they have hundreds of job applications to review every day.

Tips for Cover Letter Targeting

I've put together a few quick and easy to understand tips for crafting a resume cover page designed to get you called in for an interview... and then hired. I hope you find them helpful...

First, customize the letter for the person and company that you're sending your resume cover letter to.

Show that you care enough about getting the job to find out who'll be reviewing your packet. Don't use a generic greeting like, "Dear Sir or Madam" or "Dear Recruiter" unless you absolutely have to.

And please... NEVER use "To Whom It May Concern." When I'd see those letters come across my desk, I'd think, "It doesn't concern me..." and pitch 'em!

Take the time also to get to know something about the company that you can reference in the opening of your cover letter. It's so easy to get information like this now that it's freely available on the Internet. So put forth the effort to do so. It WILL impress whoever reads your resume cover page, trust me.

Next, open the letter by stating what position you are applying for and where you heard about it.

Doing so shows that this is a targeted resume cover letter for this particular job, not just some generic letter you attach every time you send out a resume.

Then tie in what you know about the position with something about how you are an excellent candidate for the job. And then show why by listing the advertised requirements and comparing them, point by point, to your skills and past achievements. Using bulleted lists is quite effective in a resume cover page and makes it easy for the reviewer to hone in quickly on that portion of the letter.

And finally, please be sure you don't waste time applying for jobs for which you are clearly not qualified.

Can you solve the resume cover letter puzzle?

After all, how targeted is your resume cover letter really going to be able to be when you're applying for jobs you clearly don't have any of the qualifications for?

I can tell you as a former recruiter that employers do frequently ask for the ultimate in credentials, while often being willing to accept something less. But that doesn't mean you can apply for jobs where you possess NONE of the requirements. So, before you start targeting the writing of your resume cover page, make sure you're actually qualified!

These are just a few tips to help you with targeting your resume cover page. But be sure you follow the advice found elsewhere in this section on cover letters too...