Most of the applicants that I encountered working at the human resource department of a company had one flaw in that they all didn’t know how to write a cover letter that stood out. They all seemed to lack the concept of effective marketing. It is obvious that most individuals who are not involved in sales and or marketing fields have not been trained to have their brains think alongside those lines but honestly, employers don’t care.

In my own effort to offer whatever economic stimulus I can and provide help with people looking for employment I am going to concentrate on an effective strategy that will get noticed immediately on the next job you apply for. That solution ladies and gentlemen is knowing how to write a cover letter using benefits instead of features. I’m not talking just any cover letter but a cover letter that makes your job application stand miles above the rest.

How To Write A Cover Letter – Definitions

The features of someone hunting for a job can be described as those factors or skills that differentiate one applicant from the rest of the herd. Some frequently noticed features on resumes include; likeable, good work ethic, committed, X years of experience, great people skills, fast learner, innovative, excellent budget spending management skills, etc.

The benefits a potential candidate will provide an employer are defined as the ways in which you as an employee would bring an increase in company sales, reduce company cost, and improve the firm’s overall efficiency. You should avoid writing your cover letter focusing your duties from past work experiences solely on an empty work history shell. That is a bad method of how to write a cover letter and it is not going to get you callbacks or interviews. This is not meant to apply only to those in the sales industry but rather professionals in all fields.

How To Write A Cover Letter From My Experience

From firsthand experience I know that successful human resource managers prove themselves successful by raising the worker retention rates, hiring better performing employees, decreasing worker conflicts and substantially decreasing the expenses associated with staffing a company. These managers are successful because they know how to weed out candidates who are not the best fit for a company. So knowing how to write a cover letter that falls in line with exactly what a company is looking for is the best way to increase your odds of getting the job.

Consider this for a second; what do you believe would happen if you lowered or completely removed your resume’s emphasis on all those prior responsibilities which the potential employer is probably not interested in?

Now what do you thing would take place if you instead mastered how to write a cover letter that included all the many benefits and ways in which you would provide value to the employer? Showcasing your real worth to a possible employer is precisely what you need to be doing. The thing is most people are not trained to think this way. Thankfully, finding an expert writer to help pen your resume or locating tools that will show you how to write a cover letter that employers love is quite easy.

When it comes to applying for a new job one of the most effective methods to showcase your numerous benefits to a possible hire is to make a checklist of all the benefits your possess that would be considered relevant to the position you are applying for. For instance: “As a Advertising Supervisor for Google Inc., I launched a new customer relationship administration software program that improved our product sales and services performance which resulted in a 20% boost in sales year after year.” Knowing how to write a cover letter which includes this kind of benefit sets you apart because it shows the potential employer the kind of results they can expect if you hire you.

Now that you know how to write a cover letter that grabs a hiring manager’s interest it is time to act upon it. If you are not able to effectively stuff your cover letter with benefits then I suggest you hand out this task to someone with the skill set necessary to do so.

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How To Write A Cover Letter – Recap

With today’s economy employers are looking for the best value for their money so not only do you need to stand out but you also need to create that sense of value if you want to receive callbacks on jobs you apply for. Your resume and cover letter will be going against 1000-2000 others so use the skills you just learned about how to write a cover letter that is full of benefits and you will increase your odds of getting the job you deserve.

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If you are looking to learn how to write a cover letter you’ve came to the right place. It is safe to say that a cover letter can make or break your chances of landing a really good job, therefore the importance of knowing how to write a good cover letter cannot be over emphasized.

The main objective of a cover letter is to force the potential employer to feel compelled to get in contact with you but it also functions as a way of introducing yourself and setting up the right stage for your resume. If you can create a compelling cover letter then your resume basically turns into a record of prior work experiences and demonstrates extra skills and abilities that you can bring to the table.

How To Write A Cover Letter Like a Sales Pitch

Let us approach the subject of how to write a cover letter from a sales point of view. The sales strategy to writing a cover letter is basically made up of 4 components:

- The Approach

- The Presentation

- The Evidence

- The Closing

Your cover letter is meant to be seen as the presentation and the close. Your resume then becomes the evidence that backs up everything you presented as written in your cover letter. Let’s not forget the approach which is simply what you do to ensure that the human resources manager takes the time to go through your entire offer.

With a solid presentation in your cover letter, the proof aspect of the offer is simply something the potential buyer (the HR personnel) needs to enhance his feeling that he has made the right purchase. Therefore, the resume (the evidence) in a way turns into something of a small afterthought with no real importance. If you are able to write a cover letter that successfully can convince the potential employer to get in touch with you, then the resume merely reinforces that feeling of, “yes, I am making the right decision by calling this particular person, no need to look at how impressive the resume is!”

But in the other case, when your cover letter does not impress or persuade the employer all the time and hard work spent putting together an impressive resume might be gone to waste. Someone must already have been placed into a “buying” mindset in order for the supporting proof to be effective otherwise all the proof in the world might not enough to convince them.

How To Write A Cover Letter so It Stands Out

Most people have an idea of how to write a cover letter yet they don’t know how to make their cover letter stand out from the rest. Let’s go back to our sales example for a second. As with the writing a cover letter most individuals are acquainted with the main features and benefits of a particular product and what the distinctions are. Basically, the features are what sets an item apart from another and the benefits can be considered the “what’s in it for me” aspect. However, when presenting the product it is not enough to merely provide just the benefits or just the features.

Features and Benefits in a Cover Letter

A great presentation works to create a link between a feature that is of great interest to the buyer and the benefit of that feature as it pertains to that customer. The link that you are able to draw is what will set the stage for the close. For example, it is not enough to say in your cover letter “I am very adept at product sales management, and I directed 7 sales reps in reaching 105% of the income quota for 2010.” That is the feature part of the product, nicely written by the way, but so what?

In the presentation part of your cover letter you can’t also just say, “I am able to create an improvement in revenue for you firm by developing a crew of aggressive sales associates.” That is great, and is a nice benefit to the employer if they hire you I suppose, but why should they believe you will be able to do that? They would have to go back to the earlier statement and draw their very own connection.

When thinking how to write a cover letter, particularly your presentation, the feature and the benefit should always follow each other. An example would be something like this, “I can deliver improved sales and earnings for your business as I was able to do for Foyah Global, Inc., where I attained 105% of the sales quota for 2010 while directing 7 sales reps.” You initially state the benefit followed by the feature. In this scenario you are considered the product therefore your cover letter is the sales pitch.

As you write the presentation of your cover letter, remember that even though making the connection for the potential employer is important, even more important than that is making the proper connection between the feature they are seeking and the benefits they desire. The best way to tackle that lies in the job description and added research on your part of the company. It is not a good idea to send cover letters left to right to every single job opportunity you are interested in.

Research Before You Write A Cover Letter

Before you begin to write your cover letter, choose the job opening in the company that is the best fit for you, and then pick apart the job description. Use bullet points to make a list of all that they are searching for in the position. Follow that up with another bullet pointed list of your job skills and abilities. Then simply link between what they are looking for and what skills you have to offer by drawing lines from one to the other.

Study the company, its market sector and try to figure out which of the things on your bullet list appear to be the most essential.

To write the most effective cover letter, make sure that you are mirroring the phrases and descriptions as picked by you out of the job description. When it comes to job posts virtually every single one is quite precise in exactly what they are looking for in their candidates. Therefore it makes sense to deliver exactly what they want in the words they phrased it in. If you used a cover letter template to get the flow of your letter going, then be sure to come back in and make changes so that the letter mirrors what the employer desires.

Most people ignore this important feature of their cover letter. You should always end off the letter with a call to action on the part of employer, preferably asking them for some form of a decision, “I would like us to meet sometime soon to talk more in detail about what I can bring to your company, and I can be reached at (111) 222-3333.”

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Recap – How To Write A Cover Letter

Just to recap, in answer to the question of how to write a cover letter, I recommend writing the cover letter as if it was sales pitch for a product. Before you write the letter dissect the job description and do a thorough research of the company and its related industry. Finally write the letter in regards to what the employer is looking for and use the words/phrases that they used in the job posting. Do all these things and you are sure to end up with a far more persuasive cover letter which greatly increase your odds of landing the position. So now that you know how to write a cover letter its time to take action and apply for that job you’ve had your eye on.