Coverletters - what works best?
on Mon, 2006-10-30 10:59. Tips and Best Practices Hello oDesk Community,
It was already mentioned, that a coverletter submitted by a provider when applying to a job opening is a source of important information from the Buyer. See node/467#comment-776 to confirm that.
There have alredy been some suggestions regarding coverletters posted, available at:
node/147 and http://blog.odesk.com/2006/08/how-to-not-get-a-job/
Have any of our Providers experienced an increase in the number of interview invitations after improving coverletters?
What information do our Buyers like to see in the coverletters they receive? Do you reject a candidate off-hand if the coverletter is empty/ obviously copy-pasted from the a different application?
Regards,
Olga Kudamanova
Provider Operations Manager
And the best cover letters
Are all:
Personal, casual, descriptive, complete, relevant.
I would not hire you for
I would not hire you for these reasons in the cover letter:
- Cut & paste
- Too short or too long
- Poor grammar, poor spelling (you don't have to be perfect in live chat or casual dialog, but your cover letter better be)
- Describing skills that I didn't ask for. (ie. I don't care that you've got every computer language skill invented, I'm only interested in Java and if you read my job posting, you would see that)
- No contact info (I don't want to have to look up your contact information, I want you to provide it for me)
- Too casual voice. (like: "Hey man, I heard about the job dude and thought I would apply. I've got like great h@x0r skills and everything)
- Missing references to past work experience. (I want to see past projects that relate to what I'm looking for. I'm not going to weed through your resume or profile to try and guess whether you've got the skills I'm looking for. Show me. Provide links. Provide quotes from past employers, etc.)
You should have at least 2 paragraphs. You should have no more than 4 or 5.
Make it a little dialog, but also some bullet points. Strike a good balance between formal professionalism and casual / approachable.
Overall: Show me that you've got what I'm looking for: Your technical skills and your communication skills.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Thank you very much for your
on Mon, 2007-01-08 07:33.Thank you very much for your advice. I am sure this will help our providers come up with better coverletters and make it easier for you to select the best professionals.
-Olga
Something Additional To Keep In Mind
As another point to cover letters and such, some time ago I was in a conversation with a supervisor of mine from days way gone and they brought something to my attention that I've taken with me all these years.
If you were to take Jane Smith and John Doe who have the exact same education and experience, when it comes to cover letters and resumes, Jane Smith with invariably downplay her skills and tend to be not as sure while John Doe will tend to overplay his skills and come across as the best thing since sliced bread. This is due to just general society upbringing.
When I was a provider manager, one thing I told all new providers (male and female) was to first personalize their cover letters and then ensure they worded things in such a way that they *knew* this prospective employer was going to hire them. This is not to be confused with "cockiness". It's just a matter of going over your cover letter before sending and perhaps changing wording a bit. A prospective employer can sense strength and weakness without even realizing it just by the way you word things within your correspondence.
Just my .02 cents!
Susanne Bullo
oDesk Support
sbullo@odesk.com
Support: https://secure.odesk.com/console/ticket.php
And if you're a manager
And if you're an affiliate manager who will not be doing the work himself, and instead is looking for the opportunity to discuss other qualified candidates in the organization, clearly state this in the cover letter.
Make it personal and relevant
The worst cover letters to receive are blanket introductions from firms announcing how wonderful they are and how broad their skill sets are. I've received a bunch of applicants, and in general the cover letters were quite good, but a few gripes:
1) Read the job opening! If I ask for an individual, show me the profile of an individual, not a whole team of developers.
2) No need for contact info - I know how to click the interview button.
3) The portfolio links are good, but tell me more about what YOU did on that project. Don't just send me a link and say "I was involved inn this project". Did you do it yourself? Were you the graphic designer? Tell me more about your role.
4) Tell me why you're applying to MY job. Passion is important to me. I want to know that you're specifically interested in working on my project and not just any project you can get.
Thanks!