Please let me start off by saying how sorry I am for the tardiness of my application. I saw the job posted a few days after your originally put it on your website and I knew immediately that I wanted to apply. And then I read the worst words known to the avid job searcher: “To apply please send resume and [dun dun dun…] COVER LETTER to the director.”
I mean you do know that cover letters are the most time consuming things ever, right? If you’re like me and you aren’t applying for a bunch of similar jobs you really have to write a new cover letter for each job you are applying to. They always tell you that you should make each cover letter unique which means I have to find a new Whitney Houston quote or fun fact to use as an introduction which I then have to relate to my own experience. It’s like a cruel version of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
Not only do you have to write a new introduction, you also have to take the job qualifications and the description and write about how you fit all the requirements and are the absolute perfect candidate for the job. For me this is the most difficult and intense part of writing the cover letter. It’s one thing to write about yourself in blog format where you can make sarcastic remarks and quote People.com; another to write about how you’re perfect for a job without using the phrase “really, really awesome.” Cover letters seem so stiff and formal – two things that I am not. I never feel like I really infuse my own personality into them, but instead I just write what I think they’ll want to read. I think the skill I lack is “backdoor bragging” which is inserting complimentary statements about yourself in ordinary conversation. Fellow 30 Rock watchers know what I’m talking about.
Cover Letters really are a long process for me. I usually take a day or two to write something that I’m okay with and then I utilize CP&R and send it to Valinda or Julie to read over. They get back to me that day or the next with their always helpful edits and suggestions, and then I take another day or two to make my changes and sometimes I send it back to them once more. All in all, it takes me anywhere from 3-5 days to write a cover letter. Then I’m spent. I don’t even want to see the words “cover letter” for the next few days. I realize it is an inevitable part of the job search, but it’s just not the part that I most enjoy.
Anyway, despite my cover letter about hating cover letters I think I’d be really really awesome for the job. I’ll write again in one to two weeks.
Sincerely,
Heather
Enclosure
P.S. I’ve been networking! I promise!!
P.P.S. Check out this website for 10 easy to fix cover letter mistakes: http://www.savvysugar.com/5040874. They also frequently post relevant tips on job searching, interviewing etc.
P.P.P.S. Always remember what a great resource CP&R is! They all really care about your job search and they give very helpful comments on cover letters and resumes, and don’t forget about mock interviews! Don’t we all just love seeing ourselves on camera?