Write a dynamic cover letter -- part 1

by Randy Place

You’ll write a dynamic cover letter when you take the word “cover” out of letter. Correspondence designed to cover all situations is boilerplate writing. A boilerplate is “writing that says nothing new, informative, or interesting,” according to Webster. 

Different strokes for different folks

Because there are no cover interviews or cover phone calls, why write the same old, same old to everyone? A one-size fits all approach to writing job search letters – boilerplate writing -- fails to satisfy the needs of each of your readers. Employers, like everyone else, are people with different needs. A job search requires you to write various kinds of letters to satisfy those needs. That’s why the phrase, “different strokes for different folks,” makes the point.

Promotion cover letters

You can think of letters you write to those “different folks” as promotion letters. When you take the word “cover” out of letter as suggested earlier, substitute the word “promotion” and call it a promotion letter or promotion cover letter. The later is what you write after an interview. The former, what you accompany your resume with. 

Either way, a promotion letter, also called a promo letter, promotes a product or company. When it comes to your job search, you are the product that’s being promoted in correspondence you write, be it e-mail or snail mail. 

The purpose of promo letter…

…is about the same as the purpose of a cover letter, that is to show why you’re a great fit for a particular job. A promotion letter, on the other hand, is designed to promote, or make people aware of a product to clients. Because you are the product to be marketed and sold, I like to call them promotional cover letters because you will need to promote different features or yourself during a job search, depending upon the situation, along with convincing job prospects you’re the right person for the job. 

Nobody needs to tell you that a letter sent by itself or accompanying your resume won’t get you an offer. The  real objective of a promotional cover letter is twofold – 

1. To induce a contact or prospective employer to meet with you after receiving your letter and resume.

2. To induce the prospective employer to strongly consider your candidacy after receiving a letter following the interview. 

When it comes to writing promotional letters, it’s not enough to know and write about you as a product. You have to show how and why hour services will bring satisfaction to prospective employers. You’ll satisfy their needs when you understand what their problems are and what you can do to help. 

How to obtain the knowledge or information needed to uncover their needs so you can satisfy them in your letter and how you can help is the subject of our next report on Your Career Service. .

In the meantime, click this link to read “How to write a personalized cover letter,” featured on Your Career Service last January.

See you tomorrow with PART TWO  of how to write a dynamic cover letter.