Communicating Your Fit in a Cover Letter - Staci Collins and Ivy Exec

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Communicating Your Fit in a Cover Letter

Staci Collins, Senior Resume Specialist, Ivy Exec

2Want more info? Go to IvyExec.com/Resume or email us at [email protected]

About Staci• Senior Resume Specialist at Ivy Exec

• 15 years as Executive Career coach

• 7 years in consulting with Accenture, Ernst & Young

• 7 years Staff and Adjunct Career Adviser at Haas

• 1,100 managers and professionals coached

• MBA in organizational behavior from Haas; BA in anthropology from Harvard

• Specialist in technical career changers, consulting, high tech, healthcare, and non-profit - and finding the career & fulfillment you want


What’s the Purpose of a Cover Letter?

Cover Letter Trends

Aesthetics and Formatting

Content

o Your Fit

o Recent Experience

o Relevant Accomplishments

Don’ts

E-Covers

Q & A

Outline


Poll Question: How many of you are actively looking for a new job?

What’s different today vs. five to 10 years ago?

Senior execs and retained recruiters are your audience now

Executives are busier than ever, their share of mind for you is smaller

Online media has changed how people are vetted & how we take in information

The bar is higher: you must deliver more information in less space

Markets can be flooded. You must make the case very quickly

There’s a greater demand for specificity, authenticity, credibility and transparency

Times have changed. . . has your cover?

Poll Questions


To get them to read your resume

To show how your background fits with their needs

To get them interested in your background

To deliver a taste of your brand (what it would be like working with you)

To highlight the overall areas you’ve worked in and results of what you’ve done; (you provide details in the resumes)

NOT: go on and on about how you believe “you can sing like the next American Idol”

Note: A dose of humility is always helpful. Not really about you, about what you’ve done for others.

Purpose of a cover letter:


Forms an opinion in 4 - 10 seconds

Has no doubt looked at many cover letters before looking at yours

Looks for key information in expected places

Wants to know what you do immediately

Would like to be taken on an easy journey to understanding your fit for the position

When someone looks at your cover letter, he/she


In fashion now:

o Begin with paragraph about the company & your interest/fit

o Use key words from actual job description for fast or computer matching (narrative or list)

o 2/3 of a page

o Lots of white space for notes

o LinkedIn URL/website

o Brief client quotes

Charts linking your skills to their needs are very welcome

Out of fashion:

o Claim “Idol” statements

o Thick blocks of text

o Multiple fonts/sizes, graphics, colors, too much bold; Underlining

o More than one page

o Large blocks of text without numbers

o “Chatty” or overly clever covers

o Lots of personal information about your goals


Match the type to your resume

Use a serif type face (as opposed to a sans serif):

Garamond: 10.5 or 11

Palatino Linotype: 10 or 10.5

Cambria: 10

Times New Roman: 10.5+

Same font and font size throughout

Not too small (makes your background seem small)

Use bullet points and chart formatting where possible

Use bolding, italics, and ALL-CAPS with discretion

Aesthetics: Inviting to the Eye


Poll Question: What are you using your cover letter for?

Most letters should have 4 to 5 brief paragraphs or sections.

Paragraph 1: Introduction

– State who you are and how you learned of the opportunity - from networking, from a colleague, friend, or job board. Then say what attracts you to the company and the specific position.

– Explain why your role / skills / experiences matches whatever you’re applying for

– Keep this short - 2 to 3 sentences is best.

Location of Information:


Paragraph 2: Your Background

– This is usually your longest paragraph. Start out by writing what you’re currently doing, and your most recent accomplishments. Focus on keyword skills (e.g. customer data analysis) and whatever you did that’s applicable to whatever you’re applying for.

– A reverse chronological structure works well because most of the time, your most relevant experience will also be the most recent.

– Use no more than 5 sentences for this one.



Paragraph 3: Your Overall Career

– For most of you, you career is long enough that you must summarize your experience, e.g. 7 years as a engineer, 3 in product development..don’t just list every job in reverse chronological order

– Highlight your accomplishments most relevant to the job. Up to 5 overall

Paragraph 4: Conclusion

– If you have any unique qualifiers (e.g. you’re from India and looking to return there; or you successfully managed your family’s funds), you want to mention it here as another selling point.

– Remind them that your resume is attached, and say that you look forward to hearing from them soon.



Requirement/Responsibilities

– Coordinate forecasting and budgeting activities

– Oversee adherence to company financial policies and procedures

Content: Charting

My Experience

– At Barclays Global Investors, developed annual operating budgets, and periodic forecast updates thereon.

– At Federal Home Loan Bank, monitored interest-rate risk, capital adequacy, and investment limits, all subject to strict policies.


A discrete project that you managed: scope, scale, on-time, under budget, overcame obstacles

Improvements over time (e.g. – annual % increases/decreases) Has a result/benefit (make money or save money; give #s

whenever you can) “Selected to” “First-ever” “In spite of…” “Grew revenues x% OR from $x to $Y” Replace:

o Did thus and such to improve something; with

o Did thus and such that improved something X%

Accomplishments: a definition


Your recent posting on IvyExec.com for Chief Financial Officer, Ref Code, captured my attention. I have a strong background in financial management. My qualifications are an excellent match for your key needs. The following summarizes my experience:

Having grown TVM Group from $13MM to $85MM in Sales Revenue and overseeing the successful sale to XXX International for nearly $200MM, my position was eliminated, as expected. I am now seeking a CFO position with a high growth, pre IPO, high-tech corporation.

My background includes extensive experience in Financial and Accounting Management with key accomplishments and strengths in:

Sale of Corporation / Pre and Post IPO

Rapid Growth Management

International Experience

I look forward to meeting with you in person to discuss my background.

Job Opening Cover Letter: Preferred Example

Successful sale of company for close to $200MM

AR Collection Exceeding Industry Standards during explosive growth from 20 to 20,000 customers

Establishing International Operations on time, exceeding targets for 6 successive quarters


As a Senior Manager with heavy public consulting experience, I am

forwarding my resume for your review in the anticipation I will meet the

needs of one of your clients.

My background includes 15+ years of experience in Business Process

Improvement for major American utilities in all regions. Highlights of my

experience include:

● Conducted a decision analysis to recommend 20 actions to reduce $112M

in implementation project overruns by $62M

● Identified process and vendor improvement to streamline performance

management tool production time by 80%

● Created resource management process to identify cost-to-serve initiatives

resulting in 3% margin increase

Recruiter Cover: Consultant Example


Dear XXXXX,

It’s been too long since we’ve been in touch and I hope this letter finds things going well for you. [Even when we do get together, we seldom talk business, so] the enclosed resume will probably fill in some gaps for you on what I’ve been doing since B-school.

As you can see, I have been primarily involved in building new businesses in consumer electronics. If you used an iPhone recently, you used one of my products. It would be great to count on batting 500 forever!

Recently, I’ve made a career decision to look for a long-term position with a growing, but stable, small to medium-sized CE company. And I would greatly appreciate your feedback on my resume, particularly on the areas of SaaS Applications and my Cloud experience.

I would love to pick your brain for any business associates, friends, acquaintances, or organizations who may be in the market for someone with my proven product and business development abilities. Your advice has always been of great value.

I will call you next week to see if any opportunities have come to mind. I look forward to catching up.

Best regards,

Distant Network Cover Letter


Don’t:

Make claims “I am confident I would be the best choice…”

Bury the lead or try to take them on an “intriguing journey”

Repeat the same accomplishment in different places (even if stated differently)

Use too much jargon (true professionals mix technical language with colloquialisms)

Write “successful” and “effective” all over the place (specifics of results, companies and countries establish credibility)

Give too much text, or over-explain your actions; results are more important in sales process

Take your accomplishments out of the jobs in which they occurred

Poll Question


Are even shorter

Can be more informal

Do include links to LinkedIn and websites

Can include client or boss quotes

Don’t include too many attachments, just resume

E-Covers:


Good morning:Hope am not too late. I am writing to apply to join your team as a resume coach. I have developed hundreds of MBA level resumes in my coaching career at Haas School of Business, and for managers at all levels throughout the Bay Area. I have coached over 1000 in my 15+ year career. I specialize in High Technology, Management Consulting, and Healthcare. And as an Ivy League gal, my undergrad is from Harvard, I particularly like complex roles/ accomplishments to tackle.

Listen to what my clients say about my resumes:

● "As a result I received three offers which I am currently evaluating. Thank you.“

● "While interviewing with a leading video game publisher, an executive I met with said right off the bat, "This is the best resume I've seen. Ever." He's not the only one."

● "Well, your suggestions were fantastic, and I ended up getting an offer with them, as well as McKesson and Genentech! You really helped me smooth out my stories and succinctly capture the skills I wanted to communicate.“

Perhaps, one difference is, I am a published novelist. See more about my in the attached, on my website, or on LinkedIn.

E-Cover: Example

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439214328?tag=stacicollinsc-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1439214328&adid=0G3S7QABED86KP4DH1FY&&ref-refURL=http://stacicollins.com/realedgeconsulting/career_coaching.php

http://www.linkedin.com/in/stacicollins


Cultures can be more formal, even on email

Use Dear Sir and Mr./Ms. Last Name vs. first name

Using Mrs./Miss – varies by culture - Ms. Is safer

But that is often cut with corporate cultures, e.g. HP Way where first names are always used

Use your best judgment, err on the side of formality, respect for people, professions, and organizations…ask first

In some cultures, personal information is used, e.g. wife, children’s names and ages; in the U.S. asking about these things is illegal, so we suggest leaving them off; use your best judgment elsewhere

But still, everywhere these days, less is more!

Outside the U.S.:


Staci Collinsspecializes in making visible the invisible accomplishments of especially technical career changers. She has over 15 years of partnering with 1100 executives, directors and senior managers to achieve their career goals. She has consulted in change and coached 60+ senior managers at Accenture and Ernst & Young, many now partners. She earned her MBA at University of California - Haas and BA at Harvard.

Laura Hillis an expert in designing career strategies and job search campaigns. Her industry experience includes 10 years as a career/outplacement coach and recruiter, as well as 10 years in banking with JPM Chase. She has been published in The New York Times, The WSJ, and Forbes, and has been a featured expert on CNBC's The Wall Street Journal Report.

Kim Mohiuddin was a TORI (Toast of the Resume Industry) Award nominee in the international category and has been featured in Yahoo News, NBC Chicago and Time Out NY. She is the former certification chair of the National Resume Writers’ Association and certified job search strategist whose resumes have been highlighted in multiple publications.

The Ivy Exec Senior Resume Writers


The Ivy Exec Elite Resume Package

The Elite Package is a comprehensive evaluation of your career and accomplishments which includes a career diagnostic, a fully rewritten resume and a coaching session focused on overcoming any professional roadblocks.

In-depth intake session with your certified senior resume writerGain valuable insight on how to articulate your skills and

accomplishments when interviewingA finalized and re-written resumeAn enhanced Ivy Exec profileA full hour of Career Coaching (which can be used for a cover

letter)

To set up a 15 minute appointment to inquire about next steps, please email [email protected] or http://bit.ly/ivyappointment

mailto:[email protected]

http://bit.ly/ivyappointment



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