Does Your Cover Letter Make These 5 Critical Mistakes

Does Yur Cover Letter Make These 5 Critical MistakesYouve polished your resume to no end, especially after finding a great job posting that seems tailor-made for your leadership skills. But did your titelblatt letter merit the saatkorn attention?Many hiring managers use your titel letter to gauge your interest in the company, as well as to measure your aptitude for the job.Therefore, when you resort to Dear Sir, Im interested in your open job, heres my resume, youre missing out on a critical chance to persuade employers to take you seriously for an executive or leadership role.Here are 5 of the most crucial mistakes made in cover lettersincluding those that can quickly knock you out of the groe nachfragening for a leadership job1 Your opening line was boring.I am an Operations Director with 18 years of experience or In response to your ad for a CEO, I have enclosed my resume really arent compelling enough to use as opening statements.Instead, try a hook that makes the hiring manager sit up straight in his or her chair, as in these examplesWould a ausverkauf Vice President who consistently pushes teams past quota (up to 52%) make a difference in your national rankings?As a CIO for global company ABC Consulting, Ive increased customer satisfaction to 97% in 3 outsourcing engagementspushing our revenue growth to its peak despite the recession. Im interested in creating the same results for you.The idea is to speak precisely to the employers pain points, while describing the performance impact youve had in previous roles.Note that each of these sentences contains metrics, a targeted job title, and a career-defining achievement that is framed in context and laid out quickly for the reader to absorb.Your opening line should also leverage the research youve done on the company, per the next point.2 You didnt demonstrate the ability to solve the employers problems.Rattling off a list of competencies isnt strong enough to distinguish you from other candidates, but spe aking directly to the companys needs will do the trick.You have to dig into the companys history, press releases, annual reports, and other news to figure out their pain points.What type of expansion is planned? Were earnings down in previous quarters? What do industry analysts say about the companys future and their business strategy?Armed with this information, youre able to connect your leadership skills to the employers needs much more succinctlyMy ability to produce business development results (30% rise in cloud-based solution sales during Q4 2010) can address any struggles youve had in breaking into this market. Can we talk?3 Your key points dont match (or exceed) the job requirements.Like resumes, cover letters must be precise and direct the reader keeping them attentive to the reasons they should hire you and the edge your work can give them.While youre writing, put the job description in front of you to remind yourself what the employer is seeking. Then, look for ways to point out how you can surpass these expectations.The following example is taken from an IT Director cover letterYour ad noted that you require a leader in service delivery and customer satisfaction. My career includes 3 years of 97% satisfaction ratings, achieved by improving infrastructure and network capacity, and I hold responsive service as my 1 priority.4 You didnt address the letter to an actual person.Finding a contact name inside the company has never been easier. First, you can use LinkedIns Advanced People Search function to put in the employer name, then fill in the Keywords box to find potential contacts.For example, a Business Development Manager might look for keywords such as VP Sales or COO to identify the next-level manager contact, while an IT Product Director can try to find the CIOs name.If you dont find a name through LinkedIn, be sure to check Zoominfo.com, Spoke.com, or the company About Us page.If you have access to Hoovers database or Dun Bradstreet, you c an also use these resources to locate company insiders. In addition, ReferenceUSA.com is a free contact name database available through many public libraries, and requires only your library card for access.Taking the time to locate a name (vs. resorting to Dear Hiring Manager) will help your letter create lasting impact with target employers.5 You forgot to be assertive.Especially if youre pursuing an executive or senior-level role, employers like to see a take-charge style (the same one youll use to deal with vendors or your new team). If your closing line isnt strong, you run the risk of looking too passive.Thank you in advance for reviewing my credentials is certainly polite and professionally stated.However, I look forward to describing how I plan to exceed your requirements as Vice President of Finance and Offer me a personal interview, and I will share how my leadership as CIO will impact your IT organization are both stronger.Even more intense, I will follow up with you next Tuesday shows definite intent on your part to influence the hiring audience, and gives them advance notice of the proactive steps youll take to secure the interview.To summarize, theres no reason to settle for a bland, one-size-fits-all cover letter that blends in with the others.Your job search will fare better when you zero in on the hiring audience with an unforgettable openingespecially when it draws a parallel between employer needs and your unique value.Guest Post by Executive resume expert Laura Smith-Proulx an award-winning Executive Resume Writer and former recruiter with a 98% success rate opening doors to prestigious jobs through personal branding. The Executive Director of An Expert Resume, she partners exclusively with CIO, CTO, COO, CEO, CFO, SVP, VP, and Director candidates.For additional tips and advice on resumes and cover letters, follow us on Twitter GreatResume or visit our blog.