Worst Cover Letter You Can Send

There’s a stat kicking around that says 50% of recruiters don’t read resumes.

Actually, 100% of recruiters don’t initially read resumes. Instead, they skim them. They take six seconds to glance at it. If they don’t see something they like, they don’t bother to read the whole thing. That’s the truth.

Bad Cover Letters Can Still Cost You The Job

Even worse, if recruiters see something they don’t like while skimming your cover letter, it can get you put in the “no” pile. Sadly, there are plenty of mistakes job seekers are making that get their cover letter (and, their candidacy), tossed from the pile.

Here’s a great example of an epic fail of a cover letter:

To WHOM it may concern,

I am applying to your ____ position as cited online at the job board, ______.com.

As you will see from my resume, I am a highly competent, organized, and independent leader, with exceptional people skills. My training is extensive and I exceed all of your qualifications as listed.

I am confident once you review my resume you will see I am a perfect fit for your job. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss my outstanding qualifications.

The above is boring, self-important, subjective, and offers no value to the recruiter. Is this really the first impression you want to give?

Cover Letter Test: Would You Say It To Their Face?

I always tell job seekers, “If you don’t think you could walk up to the hiring manager and read the cover letter to him or her without sounding silly, then your cover letter is bad. It’s their first experience with your personal brand. Make it authentic and worth their time.

Cover Letters = An Opportunity to Get them at ‘HELLO’

When A) formatted properly, and B) contain the right content, you can actually get a recruiter to pay attention and read your cover letter. To do that, you need to know what mistakes to avoid – and, what they really want to know.

I’m not going to tell you the answer now because you need to learn more about the mistakes you’re making first. To do that, I suggest you check out this free webinar on cover letter blunders. Invest a little time and you’ll know exactly what you are doing wrong. Then, you can get down to the business of building cover letters that make the phone ring.