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How to get a job by getting into the mind of an employer
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There's an old marketing maxim that can improve any cover letter, says Kevin Donlin, a national job search expert who has one goal in mind – to help you get a job – fast.
Donlin helps people find jobs using marketing methods that have worked for 113 years in direct mail, print advertising, and door-to-door selling. Donlin is also the author or co-author of 4 books - 51 Ways to Find a Job Fast -- Guaranteed, Guaranteed Sales Resumes, Resume and Cover Letter Secrets Revealed, and (with David Perry) Guerrilla Resumes.
Here are some tips from Donlin on how to get a job by getting into the mind of an employer – and if you read to the end, you can find out how you can get a FREE Guerilla Job Search DVD. That’s right – FREE.
It goes like this: To create successful advertising, the writer must enter the conversation already going on in mind of the reader.
Because, everybody is always thinking about something. If you tap into a person's thoughts with your message, they will pay attention.
Applied to your job search, it means that your cover letter should address concerns that are already in the mind of the employer.
Here are two ways to do it ...
1. Use the News
Every day, the news headlines offer you a ready-made source of ideas to capitalize on when writing cover letters.
Let me illustrate with two examples.
Example #1: Local news
If you're in Minnesota, you can start a cover letter with this headline, based on a timely sports topic:
"The Vikings Have Won 7 of Their Last 8. Would You Like a Winning Percentage Like That?"
... then begin your letter like this:
Dear Ms. Abercrombie,
I don't know if you follow the Vikings, but they're hot. And my recent experience as a project manager is even hotter: I've managed 8 of 8 projects to on-time, on-budget completion this year, for a "winning" percentage of 100. Could your team use a performer like that? I hope so!
Let me explain ...
The rest of that cover letter is up to you.
But you WILL have the reader's complete attention by this point, so the battle is half won.
Example: #2: National news
If you live in the U.S., here's a cover letter headline based on a story that was in the news all summer:
"Cash for Clunkers -- Now Coming to ABC, Inc.?"
Begin your letter to the president of ABC like this:
Dear Mr. Peterson,
While there's no government program offering cash to ABC, Inc., I've produced annual savings of more than three times my salary for my last two employers.
Could your business use "cash" like that in today's "clunker” of an economy?
Etc. etc.
2. Use the Competition
Every business, including your next employer, is in competition with at least one other business for customers and revenue. In many cases, the competition is not only on an employer's mind all day, it's keeping them awake at night.
Use this to your advantage when writing a cover letter.
Example: Let's say you want to work for XYZ Company, whose #1 competitor is Acme Widgets.
Do you think the president of XYZ might be impressed if you told her/him that you worked for Acme's biggest client? Or that Acme's new VP of Marketing worked at UPS for 13 years (and that as a former UPS employee, you're familiar with their culture)? Etc., etc.
Competitive intelligence like this can improve any cover letter by letting you join the conversation going on in the mind of an employer.
How do you find actionable intelligence about the competition?
Here are 2 web sites that can help ...
1. Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts). Track the name of any company, person (or anything else) whenever Google finds it online. Search for names of competitors to your ideal employers. What announcements are they making? What do they see as hot markets? Is their president being quoted in the news?
2. Linkedin (www.linkedin.com). Who works at the competition? Where did they work before? Who are they hiring? What departments are growing? It's all there, if you look.
To sum up, every employer is always thinking about something.
All you need do is find one thing you know an employer is thinking about, then write a cover letter tied to that thing. When you do, you can make an instant connection with hiring managers -- and get called for more interviews.
Resource: Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio
Resource: Guerilla Job Search DVD Guarantees You Get Hired – or your money back!
