Posted by Mark in You don’t have to take the bait on that 12-month, 0% APR credit card offer cluttering your mailbox to appreciate the value of junk mail. That’s because a lot of those letters from insurance companies and coupon brochures to water park resorts have something every job hunter really does want: writing that sells.
So if you want to keep your resume and cover letter out of the circular file, you may want to incorporate some of these golden junk mail tactics to prepare killer resumes and cover letters.
An Enticing Offer
It shouldn’t take long for a job recruiter to get the message of who you are and why you would be valuable. If you apply by email, condense your single biggest selling point into the subject line (example: award-winning graphic designer w/ 5-years experience seeks Sr. Design position). And in the first paragraph of either format, sell your key qualities as you express your intent to apply. Don’t just inform them you want the job, make them want to hire you.
Crisp, Concise Language
Good direct mail wastes no words; neither should your cover letter or resume. Make your sentences short and your points clear. You need to convey confidence and excitement with substance, not flowery verbiage. A recruiter sifting through a stack of applications can see a time-waster a mile away. Get your point across fast and get thanked with an interview.
Be Professional
Good direct mail would never be mistaken for a personal letter, except that junk mail actually designed to trick you into thinking it’s real mail. Annoying, isn’t it? Don’t get too cute and familiar, especially if you’re sending an email. Save the emoticons and LOL’s for your friends. This is especially important on your resume, which should look polished, appealing, and easy to read.
Be Personal
You are still a person. Emotion, connectedness, and shared experience will always have a place in business, and, with the right balance, they can work wonders for your job search. Your cover letter is the ideal place to relate to the reader on a personal (but still professional) level. It’s also an excellent opportunity to reference any colleagues or connections you have to the company.
Highlight the Benefits
Most job applicants list all their qualifications, just rambling on about themselves. The most compelling junk mail pieces, however, don’t just list the features of a product or service, they show how those features will benefit the user. Don’t just say you’re experienced. Tell them your familiarity with their procedures will eliminate the need for training and boost efficiency from day one. Don’t talk about you, talk about what you will do for them.
Reference your Sales Sheet
Don’t use your cover letter to repeat everything on your resume, but do draw attention to the key points (especially if you can show how your “features” will turn to benefits). By asking them to refer to specific points on your resume, you are driving them to further action and engagement with your profile rather than turning to the next candidate.
Invite a Response
Don’t print a coupon on your cover letter (unless you really are that desperate for ideas). But do make it easy to respond. Instead of just saying you look forward to their response, direct them to the best way to reach you. It’s a small touch to repeat your contact information, but you want to close the deal. At the very least, make sure your contact information appears on both your cover letter (or email) and your resume.
What do you think? Do you agree that there is a “junk mail tactic” that we can apply to write killer resumes and cover letters?
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When I worked as a Network Administrator at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum part of my job (and my partner’s) was to accept and review about 100 IT related resumes and cover letters a week, weed out the bad ones and pass the rest on to a different department head under HR.
Large corporations sort resumes in this manner.
ENTRY LEVEL (and lower level) APPLICANTS resume’s and cover letters shouldn’t look too spit and shine polished because then they lose all credibility – they also shouldn’t look like professionally created Madison Avenue advertising campaigns. However, keeping them short and to the point using the “Spam Mail” suggestion is still good, except that for entry level applicants its understood that you’re human, so being a little humble actually makes us put your resume into the good pile.
MORE ADVANCED LEVEL resumes go a different route. There you will be writing to the heads of other departments including HR, the CFO, the CEO, etc. and your resume will likely be screened by non-experts in your particular field. This makes no sense, but that’s the way it usually works. In this case then, using the spit and polish Spam Mail marketing speak with the bullets and highlights of accomplishments and “selling” with all the flair, flash and fanfare of a Fifth Avenue Parade should work quite well in your favor.
Great article. I particularly like the ingenuity of using what most people would otherwise see as the worst kind of digital detritus and turning it into solid gold! Some very good pointers also – particularly in how job seekers and direct marketeers are in analogous positions – need to capture attention, present value and invite further action from an otherwise unengaged audience. Keep up the good work, this post is getting tweeted.
Hung
Good points. Job seekers, like all writers, should look at the writing around them. What makes you pick up a magazine or forward an article to a friend? See what works for other writers and incorporate it in your resume and cover letter.
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This post was mentioned on Yahoobuzz by Ritu: Junk mails, although junk have some really good copy when written by someone who knows what they are doing. The same “junk mail tactic” can be utilized to write effective resumes and cover letters. …
“If you apply by email, condense your single biggest selling point into the subject line.” Well said and it is very important to draw attention through subject. Thanks for an awesome article.
[...] Before you throw away the junk mails, make sure you learn how to create outstanding resume using tactics used in junk mails. [...]