Draw the Reader Into Your Cover Letter

The biggest trick to composing a dynamic cover letter is to begin it in a way that will draw the reader in and make him or her want to read more — and ultimately read your resume and invite you for an interview. And you may have 20 seconds or less to grab that person’s attention. Let’s look at it this way: A study funded by Pitney-Bowes revealed that the average worker receives 190 messages a day of all kinds — faxes, e-mails, phone calls, letters, memos, air-express deliveries, people just stopping by to chat (and this was a few years ago, so the numbers are likely higher today). Most workers have to actually stop their work to deal with messages at least three times per hour, and 40 percent are interrupted six or more times an hour. That means the busy hiring manager has very little time to spend on each piece of communication crossing his or her desk, so your letter needs to get attention in a hurry to be effective. — This tip is an exclusive excerpt from the 3rd Edition of Dynamic Cover Letters.