Want a Job Offer? Take This Advice

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Elizabeth Nientimp, the director of brand design for General Mills, was asked by Inc. magazine (in its May 2012 issue), “What are the most important considerations when designing food packaging?”

Her answer:

“Three things. First, make it simple. Resist the urge to tell consumers everything about your brand on the front of the package.”

Allow me to interrupt Ms. Ninetimp.

A couple of months ago I was at a career fair. There were thousands in attendance. One would-be candidate came over to me and handed me his resume and cover letter.

I took one look at the cover letter, an eight by 10 single spaced sheet covered from top to bottom with his employment story and told him, “It’s too long. No one is going to read it.”

“But it’s all important,” he replied. “No one is going to read it.” “But it’s important. You have to know this.” “It’s too long!” “It’s important.” “Give it to me.”

I didn’t read it. When the crowd eventually cleared, the gentleman at the booth next to mine, a hiring manager from a Fortune 100 company, asked me, “Remember that guy with the long cover letter?” “Yup.” “He didn’t listen to me either!”

Keep your cover letter short. No need for more than five paragraphs and no paragraph longer than a sentence or two.

• The position you are applying for and where you heard about it.
• Why you should be considered.
• The answers to any questions asked (presuming you’re replying to an ad).
• Reference to your resume.
• An appreciative close.

And that’s it. Simple.

But let’s get back to Ms. Ninetimp.

“Make it special. Understand what makes your brand unique, and own it.”

That’s the second paragraph.

• Why should you be considered for the position and not any of the hundred others applying for it?
• What makes you so special?
• What’s that one thing you did that sets you apart from the crowd?

It’s your elevator pitch. Own it.

Let’s let Ms. Ninetimp finish.

“Finally, make it personal. Know your key consumers and what motivates them; let them see themselves in the brand.”

And that’s the key. The fellow with the long cover letter was only interested in himself. That was his focus: Look at how great I am! Your focus has to be on the employer and what she wants.

Because the answer to the second paragraph question, “Why should you be considered?” is also the answer to the question, “What can I do for you?”

And if that’s your attitude, what you can do for the employer, and not what the employer can do for you, your half way to a job offer.

Job offer advice image from Bigstock

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2 Comments

1. 

   Bert

   June 22, 2012 at 6:29 AM

   Resumes and cover letters are documents that you, the job seeker, prepare and submit to prospective employers. I figure you give your best effort in putting something like that together, the least they can do, is read it. If you’ve done your best work in presenting yourself ‘in writing’, and a prospective employer turns their nose up at it, that might actually say more about THEM, than it does about you. You could of course knock it all together in a paragraph, “Hi, my name is________ … please hire me.” You could also do something that short, in an email. And, maybe that’s how you should honestly proceed, instead of farting around at job fairs with people in 3-piece suits that apparently have nothing more pressing to do at their companies than stand around drinking coffee and being stuffy about cover letters, get ye e-mail going, and start contacting companies directly, find open positions, and apply online. No guarantee of success, of course, but no guarantee that you’ll get anywhere by simpering and B.S.-ing and pressing the flesh and business cards and the rest of it, either.

   If you’re a jobseeker, the word to keep in mind is “competition.” As in, not just all the people IN this country, currently looking for work, but ALSO millions of people OUTSIDE this country, also looking for work with visa applications in-hand, so forth and so on, not to mention the trend of companies moving overseas or opening new offices overseas to interface with a foreign workforce. So, “competition,” very good word to keep in mind. So, if someone snubs your stuff, don’t take it personally. There apparently wasn’t very much riding on whatever hiring decision they weren’t making anyway.

   Reply
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     Guest

     April 4, 2013 at 3:19 PM

     I really enjoyed your post and it really troubled me a lot. I have two BA’s and two MSc’s with about eight years professional experience. It’s really tough to put all that in 10 lines and also refer to the company AND the selection criteria of the job description. After thought and attention my cover letter is something less than 1 page and a half (A4). The actual text is less than a page but in all that also include addresses and correspondents. Some of my friends say its too long others say its fine. I guess the only way to find the truth is work at an HR department.

     Reply