|
 We've covered electronic resumes in-depth elsewhere so it's about time we closed out this series by discussing electronic cover letters. This way you're completely prepared if you find it necessary to distribute your resume and cover letter electronically.
In this article we're going to first briefly review what we believe are the building blocks of a good cover letter. Then we'll talk about the growing use of scanners and large databases that are used to store and retrieve information previously supplied by job applicants. Finally, we're going to finish up with a primer that will cover the basics of converting cover letters into a format that can be quickly and easily scanned or read into an electronic database.
Writing Effective Cover Letters
A good cover letter is one that helps you make it through the first level of applicant screening. It's one that entices the reader to take a closer look at the resume accompanying your cover letter. The important thing to remember when preparing either document is that your resume and cover letter need to supplement one another.
If you've been applying for jobs that match your qualifications and you're not getting calls back from potential employers then either your cover letter and / or your resume are not clearly demonstrating to the reader that you're qualified. This is just one of the many reasons why it's so important to follow a prescribed, or predefined, method of writing cover letters.
Successful Cover Letters
A successful cover letter serves as your formal introduction to a potential employer. And, as such, it also needs to clearly state what your seeking - your employment objective. The cover letter should briefly highlight some of you past achievements and it needs to conclude on an upbeat, positive, and optimistic note.
If we translate that approach into a prescribed cover letter format, then the information contained in a cover letter needs to cover four elements or topics:
- Introductory Paragraph
- Objective Statement
- Achievements
- Closing Statement
If you're not getting good response from your existing cover letter and resume, then you really need to spend some time learning more about writing effective cover letters. We've got plenty of information on that topic in this publication as well as many examples of well-written cover letters.
Advantages of Electronic Cover Letters
The movement we're seeing from paper to electronic cover letters is directly related to the use of office scanners and computers in the workplace. In mid-to-large companies the human resources department may be responsible for the hiring of hundreds or even thousands of employees each year. The automated processing and storing of job applications, cover letters and resumes is now considered essential to the efficient processing of potential new hires.
Storing this information electronically allows for faster screening, identification and retrieval of qualified applicants. The matching of qualified applicants to job openings is usually accomplished through keyword matching. Keywords and key phrases are the specific terms that best match a job opening to an applicant's work experience. That means it's important that resumes and cover letters contain these essential "buzz words."
Electronic Cover Letter Posting and Scanning
The process of collecting and storing electronic cover letters into a database is pretty straightforward. In general, you can send or post your cover letter in one of several ways:
- Email - you can simply append your cover letter directly into the body of an email that you're sending to company.
- Electronic Document - you can attach your cover letter to an email in the form of a word processing document such as Microsoft's Word or OpenOffice's Writer.
- Online Forms - you might be asked to fill out an online form that is directly imported into the electronic database over the Web.
- US Mail - you can mail your cover letter and resume to a company and they will scan the hardcopy directly into their job applicant database.
The point we're trying to make here is that there are many ways a cover letter can be imported into an electronic database - as long as you follow a couple of simple rules or guidelines when you're preparing the document.
Scanning Electronic Cover Letters
Most job applicant databases store information in a simple ASCII format. This is a simple alphanumeric character set - so formatting such as underlines, bolding, italics or the use of fancy fonts is simply ignored. If fact, to make the work of the scanning software easier, and more efficient, it's best to avoid these same formatting features we might include in a printed cover letter or resume.
Guidelines for Cover Letters Being Scanned
If you're submitting a paper cover letter to a company and you think the cover letter might be scanned into a database, then we strongly suggest you consider taking the following steps:
- Remove any graphics or artwork on your cover letter including shading, vertical and horizontal lines.
- Bulleted items can confuse scanners, so convert them to simple hyphens or asterisks.
- Move all text to the left margin. Tabs, tables and centered text can sometimes confuse the scanning software.
- Restrict your use of fonts to Times New Roman, Arial or Helvetica.
- Use only one font size, preferably between 10 and 14 points.
- Remove all underlining, bolding and italics.
- Use 8.5" x 11" paper that is white with black ink and print your cover letter only on one side of the paper. This will improve the contrast of your text and help the scanner to read your documents.
- If possible, do not fold or staple your cover letter or resume. That means mailing the documents in 9" x 12" envelope.
Whether you're sending your cover letter by email or via the post office, keep in mind that you can always submit two copies of your resume and cover letter - one copy in a simple format that can be readily scanned into a database and a second copy that is elegantly designed using all of the appropriate word processing features to produce a professional looking resume and cover letter.
Keyword in Cover Letters
We mentioned earlier the importance of keywords or key phrases in cover letters as well as resumes. Typically, the hiring manger will describe the skills and even former job titles that apply to his or her current job opening and the human resources person will query the job applicant database for those same terms or keywords. Applicants are then screened out and / or ranked based on a simple matching algorithm.
If you want to increase your chances of success in making it through this screening and ranking process then you need to make sure you've got the right keywords or key phrases in the body of your electronic documents. Our publication on resume keywords is an excellent resource which provides guidance on both the selection and use of these types of words.
About the Author - Electronic Cover Letters
Copyright © 2007 Money-Zine.com
Resume Writing Resources on the Web |
Home 
