Three things decision makers look for

– Your cover letter is one of your earliest opportunities to grab the attention of a recruiter or hiring manager. You want to know who gets offered the job in any given competition? It’s the person who can hint very strongly, right out of the gate, that she’s a yes to the three main things that they’re looking for in the person they’ll ultimately hire. Number one, can she do this job? This is your baseline. This has to be a yes. If, upon first review, they don’t think you’re going to have the skills to do this job, you’re not going any further in the interview process. But that’s not the only thing they’re looking for. The person who ultimately gets hired will also be a yes to these questions. Do we like her and do we think she’s going to fit in around here? If you can imply right from that cover letter that you’re a yes, a yes and a yes to all three questions, you’re off to a great start. And it’s often easier to achieve this in a cover letter than in your resume because you can be specific about what you can walk through their doors and deliver and likeability in a cover letter. You can adjust the tone to the personality of the company and you can share stories that convey your interest and your fit. Having been a recruiter for the past 15 years, I can tell you that I’ve made decisions to contact people based almost entirely on what they’ve written in their cover letters. These are people who have done a great job of presenting themselves as that trifecta of yes before I’ve even spoken with them directly. before I’ve even spoken with them directly. This is the candidate you want to be as you apply for your next job as you apply for your next job and I’m going to teach you how to pull it off. and I’m going to teach you how to pull it off.