The problem for most job hunters is, not only has the job market changed dramatically, but so have basic job search tools like cover letters. Today, it's a caffeine-fueled, face linking, blog eats blog world. Your cover shows how you're razor sharp and savvy.

That's a lot of responsibility to lay on the shoulders of samples of cover letters you can find on some site supported by Google ads.

But creating a killer cover letter of your own doesn't have to be tough. See below for a couple of quick ways to use your cover letter to get singled out as a hot prospect:

1. Make yourself the hero of a story. Use an anecdote to showcase your skills. Instead of a bare recounting of your job history, pick a specific event in your career and create a story around it. It should give concrete examples of how you were resourceful, hard working, how you overcame obstacles, or achieved results. Give the reader a reason to root for you and applaud your creativity or guts. Edit it so it's only the least bit indulgent.

Again, it's likely to come up in the interview allowing you to lock in a favorable and lasting impression. It will set you apart on paper much more than anything you find in samples of cover letters, and add an extra benefit for the reader. They'll have an interesting story to pass around at the water fountain. You could become a celebrity before you walk in the door.

2. Get the right writer for the job. Unless you happen to be a cover letter writer or an advertising copywriter, consider whether you're the person you would hire to do this job. If you were building a deck on your house would you look for a good accountant to do the work? No, you'd look for someone with years of experience in deck building. Someone who knew the ins and outs of the business. You'd want to see samples and get references. In short, you'd want a pro. Think about it. Is your ability to generate income worth less consideration than a deck?

This isn't a pitch for hiring a writer. They can be very expensive and give you little output. Rather, choose your samples wisely. Look at the samples of cover letters you find on the net. It may be competent, but is it inspired? Will a hiring manager see it and put you on the short list. If not, get a system that helps you crank out copy that sells you. They're out there. And there's no more important investment (or bigger payback) than investing in your career.

Listen, you're facing a huge opportunity. Every job applicant you're competing against submits the same two docs - a resume and a cover letter. And they're all wasting one of them completely. Imagine your advantage when you consistently knock it out of the park. Here are your two steps to take:



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Teresa_McGill

Ask a hiring manager what they want most to see in your cover letter, and you'll hear one answer: "my name". 14.5 million people are throwing elbows to get at the few good jobs left. When you're writing cover letters, addressing them to "Dear Sir or Madame" could give it a free ride back to the bottom of the look-at-these-later pile.

Find the name of the specific individual who's hiring, and you automatically get at least a little extra cred. From the company's perspective, you take initiative, do your homework, and care about relationships. Welcome to short list for interviews.

But how do you find the hiring manager's name? Here are the three most sure fire ways:

1. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the largest professional networking site in the world. It has over 45 million members in over 200 countries. You can find executives from every Fortune 500 company, but more importantly, you can find the names of the people who hire. Simply search on the name of a company and then click on it for more information. Popular profiles are automatically displayed for recruiters, human resources personnel, and staffing - just the people you need to find if you're writing cover letters. If you don't know which person to contact pick one and ask who the recruiter is for the position you're interested in.

2. Jigsaw

Jigsaw is an online directory of company contacts and information. They're only about a third the size of LinkedIn, but what they lack in quantity they make up for in detail. Every Jigsaw business contact is complete with hard-to-find direct dial phone numbers and email addresses.

3. Ask a Friend

If you know someone at the company see if they can find out a name for you. Or use your own social network on FaceBook or MySpace to find someone who might have a connection to the company. It's a social networking world. All you need is one name to find the next link in the chain.

Listen, you're facing a huge opportunity. Every job applicant you're competing against is doing the same thing as you - writing cover letters and resumes. And none of them is leveraging the power of a personal letter nearly as much as they could. Imagine your advantage when you consistently knock it out of the park. Here are your two steps to take:



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Teresa_McGill

You must have a cover letter. More than 80% of recruiters surveyed by the Society for Human Resources say cover letters are a necessity. A bad one is worse than none. A good one can set you apart from the crowd.

Free cover letter examples are a great way to move yourself into the middle of the pack. Is that what you're after? Here are a couple hints for breaking out:

1. Send more than one. Conventional wisdom says you can't. If the job is attractive, the hiring manager is receiving hundreds of resumes. Duplicate cover letters will be confusing at best and sound like begging at worst. And that's true. Except when you continue to add value.

"Multi-step campaigns," multiple mailings that add incremental value each time, are scarily effective. And follow up can be your most valuable tool. As long as the follow up isn't just "when will I hear back from you" but rather, "here's something else that may be helpful for you." Go look over the companies you've already applied to. Then use Google News to figure out what's happened in the industry that is critical to the manager. Better yet, set up a Google Alert for companies as you apply to them and write them back every time you hear news that you can help with.

2. Give the manager a reason to identify with you. The hiring manager is just like you. And she'll feel closer to you if you point it out. "Last year, we were so overcrowded, four teachers left in one term. How about your teachers? Do they have the same concerns?" Then, when you've established some identification with the hiring manager, show her how you can help her. "Well, while we couldn't stop them from leaving, I could do this... and you wouldn't believe the results. Of course we'd need to talk about how that would translate to your environment." Now you're advising the hiring manager instead of coming hat in hand. And there's a natural reason for you to get together.

Free cover letter samples don't lend themselves to this kind of optimizing. They're just too generic. This is a different way to approach cover letters. It can make your letters jump off the page, and catapult you ahead of your job competition.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Teresa_McGill