Top Six Things to Do After You Write Your Cover Letter

From: Karen Silins

Of course, once your letter is written, revised, and proofread, you'll need to submit it. Before you do, though, pay attention to the following tips.

»      Do a thorough read-through of your own letter. It's shocking how few people actually make the effort to edit their own work.

»      Get someone else to proof your letter to catch anything you might have missed.

»      Go to the stationery or office supply store and purchase white, gray, or cream paper, matching envelopes, and a good-quality black pen for signing your name. These colors have been shown to have the most positive effect on the reader.

»      Do a practice run on inexpensive copy paper before you use the stationery to make sure the formatting and spacing look right.

»      Consider printing out the address label on specially designed printer labels if you want a really noticeable effect.

»      If using watermarked stationery, make sure the watermark is right-side up when printing.

»      Keep a log where you list the date you sent an application, how you sent the application (U.S. mail, fax, e-mail, online form), the company, the contact name, and so on. This way, you'll always be organized and will never accidentally send out two applications to one place.

My Magic Pill: A 100% Guaranteed Way to Get Your Letter Read

This is one of my best tricks. I like it because it always works. If you send your cover letter and résumé in a plain business envelope, it will blend in with the rest of the mail. It could take days to get to the company in the first place, and then it could sit around in the mailroom or on the employer's desk for a few days more.

If you can afford it, and the particular job is of special importance to you, here's a 100% guaranteed way to make sure your application gets read almost immediately. Send your cover letter and résumé via FedEx or a similar overnight express service. That big, colorful envelope will make your application stand out, and the employer is sure to read it quickly because FedEx deliveries are always important!

It's a psychological factor to which we all have the same reaction: if we get an overnight FedEx package, we automatically assume it NEEDS our attention right now. So what do we do? We stop what we're doing and open it to see what's inside.

Remember, half the battle is getting your application opened and read. Using overnight mail to your advantage is a sure-fire strategy for success!

Obviously, you can't afford to send each employer a FedEx package, but when you truly want the employer's attention (the job of your dreams), you can be sure the overnight package will achieve your goal.

So you've written, proofed, and sent your letter. Phew! Now what? Even after you've finished this stage of the application process, there's more work to be done. People who sit back and expect things to happen seldom get the job of their dreams. In the next section, I'll show you how to be pro-active even after the application is out of your hands.

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/