Cover Letter for job 1

[bebby01]

Hello All,

I am working as a sales person and i would like to change of job but these days employers are looking for a cover letter, i have searched many sites & found something better useful in the web at Cover Letter For Sales. but i need more relevant to my job search if any one from sales background advise me a cover letter. Thanks for your replies.

Regards,
Beb

 

[johnherman]

The cover letter should "sell" the reader that you are (or might be) the best person for the vacancy they have. Assume they'll read your cover letter before looking at the resume. The cover letter should have no more than three paragraphs and should never exceed one page in length. Preferably half a page. The cover letter is where you explain why you want to change career fields. The truth is usually a good starting point since it's easy to replicate. However, if you don't want to tell the truth, you can talk around it. "Seeking a career change as I am currently disappointed with my current position in sales". Then tell why you're disappointed, or be prepared to discuss on a phone or f2f interview. Some ideas of why you are disappointed (or unhappy): lack of challenge, too much traveling, more interest in...., tough to sell a product you don't really believe in, better career potential, etc.



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Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side because there is more manure there - original.

 

[kwbMitel]

@johnherman, I disagree with some of your points.

The cover letter should interest the reader, not sell the job seeker. It should leave them wanting more. i.e. an interview

Don't ever tell a prospective employer why you hate your current job. Instead tell them what you are looking for that interests you, challenges you, and makes you want to stay on the job long term.

I agree that it should be short, single page.

As far as explaining why you want to change your career. This is probably self evident and should be avoided unless it can be kept positive. e.g. Research the company who's hiring and find things that you like and then emphasize those points as things you want.

The truth: Stick to minimalist statements that are 100% truthful. Don't talk around it. Grant the reader/interviewer intelligence and enough experience to be able to spot avoidance. If you feel the need to mention something that you are uncomfortable with, save it for the interview, it doesn't take much to end up in the rejection pile.

Summary, keep it short, keep it positive, show interest in the company, spark interest in them about you.



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What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[Andrzejek]

I totally agree with “statements that are 100% truthful”, that’s the ONLY way to go. If potential employer catches you on a lie, even a small one – you are out. Short and simple. Plus, there is another great benefit of telling the truth – you don’t have to remember it. If you ‘make stuff up’ then you have to remember what you have ‘created’, and that’s difficult. Especially if you apply for several jobs at the same time and you ‘create’ different deceits on each application.

Have fun.

---- Andy

 

[2ffat]

In addition, make the cover letter interesting enough to make the reader want to read your resume. Also make it appropriate to the job. This may mean doing different cover letters for different jobs while keeping the resume the same.


James P. Cottingham
I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!

 

[johnherman]

@kwbMitel - The cover letter needs to be *persuasive* such that the job seeker gets to the next step, the interview (probably a phone screen). This is what I mean by "selling the reader".

And as with any absolute statement, I disagree with "Don't ever". Never say never.

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Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side because there is more manure there - original.

 

[kwbMitel]

@johnherman - I hear what you are saying but you will never convince me that negative comments in a cover letter will yield positive results.

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What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I've read many cover letters over the years and I will offer two things. First, if I sense the author is trying to "sell" me something, then the honesty issue comes into question, and depending on how much spin I sense, the application immediately goes to the bottom of the stack or to file 13. Secondly, if there is any criticism of anyone, especially a previous employer or co-worker, in the application package, the application immediately goes to file 13.

Be prepared to discuss other issues in an interview, but they don't belong in an application package.

Be honest. Be positive.


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[JCreamerII]

CC is correct again. You can't go negative, it looks like you are a cry baby or worse. I laugh when sales people do it, they get a puzzled look just before I tell them where to go. The cover letter is just to setup the resume, and should be short and sweet. The reader is looking for the best fit, and the sales pitch in the cover letter is going to turn off more people than it ever going to grab. The person looking at the letters & resumes has a boring and tedious job, if you annoy them, they won't want to deal with your letter.

Jim C.

 

[MCuthill]

@kwbMitel:

For what it's worth -- I was once told that having acknowledged my shortcomings for the position applying (I had all but the level/amount of experience being sought), and perhaps suggesting how I felt it could be overcome or how the lack of experience shouldn't impede my ability to perform the task (as well as mentioning the "light" work I had done which would have shown "some" expereince in the area) would have perhaps got me shortlisted.

As I opted not to bring light upon my missing the skill and focused on the traits and skills I did have, one could suggest that it would be a case where "negative comments in a cover letter will yield positive results". Or "may have" anyways.

Whether I was being fed a line or not is always up for debate, but still some food for thought.

Mike
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"To be alive is to revel in the moments, in the sunrise and the sunset, in the sudden and brief episodes of love and adventure,
in the hours of companionship. It is, most of all, to never be paralyzed by your fears of a future that no one can foretell."

 

[kwbMitel]

@MCuthill - Actually, acknowledging that you do not meet the requested requirements of a job application can be done in a positive manner. I have done so in fact. I stressed my ability for self learning (with examples) and commitment to achieving the requirements within a short defined time period. (I got the job)

The negative comments I've been referring to were things like:
- "Tell them why you were disappointed..."
- "Some ideas of why you are disappointed (or unhappy): lack of challenge, too much traveling, more interest in..."
- "if you don't want to tell the truth, you can talk around it"

All of these are Red Flags and unless you stand out positively in some other way, you can expect rejection.

All of these can be done in a positive way by simply investigating the employer and looking for things that interest you.
- "I'm excited by the prospect of working for ABC company because it offers ..."
- "I've been looking for a job opportunity that can satify my need for challenges and stable hours"
- "When I was researching your company, I was really impressed with..."

I can't stress how important it is to research and customise your cover letter. Show an interest in them and the interest will be reciprocated.

Oh, and get a haircut. I got the job everytime I got a haircut the same day as my interview. No kidding.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[MakeItSo]

Best you avoid most any of these #100 outbursts of intelligence:

http://www.responsewebrecruitment.co.uk/blog/100-funniest-things-weve-read-in-a-cv/

CV 92. KEY SKILLS – “Excellent memory; strong math aptitude; excellent memory.”

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.

 

[SantaMufasa]

CV 92. KEY SKILLS – “Excellent memory; strong math aptitude; excellent memory.”

Perhaps that person should add to her/his skills the always-valuable:

Manager, Department of Redundancy Department

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

I wouldn't come across too much like a sales person in your letter, but an asset they couldn't live without, and not over doing the glamour of yourself (think about the nauseating show "The Apprentice")

I have also seen loads of cover letters and 90% of them turned me off the candidate due to either over posturing or sounding like Marvin the Paranoid Android from THGTTG

I think everyone else has covered it here. Positive, upbeat and interesting. "Put your best foot forward!"

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[Westi]

I have to weigh in here as there are different approaches depending on where you are too.

I lived in Germany and there you keep it short and only tell people what you can really do to almost perfection.
If you speak decent English but have to look up half the vocabulary then you do not put it in as you don't have it down pat.

Then living in Canada I noticed that people claim to know everything and can do everything and all that with a smile and positive attitude even if they are barely able to tie their own shoes. People here exaggerate a lot and if they can say "Schweinehund" then they are almost bilingual in German at least on their CV.
I wrote about 10 of the CV's when I came to the country and the company that hired me first told me after a couple of months that they were positively surprised because I was way better than what my CV offered them and I worked for them for almost 13 years before I went on my own.

One thing have both countries in common, negative is not good and even in an interview you do not talk down the company you (most likely) still work for but like kwbMitel said phrase it in a way that they do not come out as idiots and you as a person that just bitches about everything as they probably have already a person with that attitude and do not need another one.

Joe W.

FHandw, ACSS (SME), ACIS (SME)

http://convergednetworks.ca

Interrupt the silence only if you improve it by saying something, otherwise be quiet and everybody will be grateful.