How to Make Your Individual Voice Come Through

From: Karen Silins

I've heard it from clients a thousand times: "How creative should I be?" Don't worry –your natural creativity is probably coming through with no special effort on your part. After all, even the most poorly written cover letter mirrors aspects of the writer's personality. If you're funny and quirky in conversation, chances are your letters will contain an element of humor, too.

On the other hand, if you're serious and soft-spoken, your letters are likely to be more refined and controlled. If you're attentive to detail, you'll catch all typos and spelling errors and make sure the document reads perfectly. If you're a bit careless when it comes to the nitty-gritty, small errors may find their way onto the page.

Because this is your one and only chance to write a "pick-me" ad, it's essential that you recognize your own strengths and weaknesses related to writing. Keep the weaknesses under control and let the strengths go to work and do their magic. What you'd do in an interview, you'll do in a cover letter as well: watch your language, and let your personality shine through.

The secret: be yourself. Don't try to sound like someone else. Someone else is not applying for this job. You are. Let your special qualities come through so the employer will want to learn more about you.

Focus on you, and how you can help the potential employer. You are unique, and you have distinctive traits to offer the company of your choice. Think of your letter as a chance to sit down with the employer and show off your most admirable qualities. Your cover letter should make the employer feel as though you are in the room talking with him. (Don't worry – by the end of this amazing guide, you'll know exactly how to do this.)

By the time he finishes reading your cover letter, the employer should have the sense that someone just walked into his office, put out his hand, and said: "Hi, I'm so-and-so. I'm completely qualified to do this job. Not only can I do this job, I can do it better than anyone else. You won't regret hiring me."

Your letter should convey the idea that you have "people skills." It should say, "I'm going to fit in extremely well with the rest of your team, and I'm going to make valuable contributions to your firm. You should hire me right this minute. You can't afford not to."

Who could resist that? Not any of the employers I know!

I see so many inappropriate letters that are far too casual. While the applicant should be friendly, the tone of the cover letter should not be. It should be business-like rather than overly cheerful.

Treating the employer as if he were your friend is a huge mistake, and it's one that can cost you the job. You need to strike a balance between being professional and friendly, between injecting your own personal voice and sticking to the "rules" of writing a great cover letter.

Rest assured that your creative voice will come through no matter what you do. That should be the extent of your creativity. Don't break the rules thinking that excessive creativity will be impressive. Avoid slang, and resist trying to dazzle the employer with too much uniqueness. Employers don't want fluff; they want a truthful document they can assess quickly.

Karen Silins has been a professional resume and cover letter writer for 16 years and is the acting president and executive board member of the Association of Online Resume & Career Professionals

For more information about writing a cover letter that will grab the employer’s attention, please visit: http://www.breakthrough-cover-letters.com/