Have General Cover Letters Been Sabotaging Your Job Search too?

So I was dusting off my resume the other day and I figured any old general cover letters I could write would work. I was looking at my job prospects and they seem pretty grim right now, so I figured a general search would be best. I figure I need to maximize my chances for every opportunity I run across because right now there aren't that many.

I was scanning the web for advice on how to get a great job when I ran across some advice on writing cover letters, and the pitfalls of writing general cover letters rather than specific ones. The opening paragraph said alot about what I've been doing wrong in my job search. Here's a quick quote:

"If you're using general cover letters to initiate contact with potential employers in your job search, is it really any wonder why you're still looking for a job? General cover letters are designed by their very nature to be non-specific and applicable to any position. How then is that going to help you find your ideal job when your ideal job is specific to you?

Stop thinking about getting a job and instead start conducting a professional job search to land a great job suited to your unique needs and well matched to challenge your skills. How do you expect your application to stand out over the many other equally qualified applicants when your cover letter is equally applicable to a painting job as an accounting job? Good grief man, specificity is where the big money is. If you want to make a premium salary you need to show from your first impression to your last that your application and talents are special. Do general cover letters sound special to you? Do you think a general cover letter is going to sound special to a hiring manager? I think not."

You can read the whole article How General Cover Letters Are Sabotaging Your Job Search.

Once you get your cover letters working for you, read our job search tactics blog... then discover the job search document that will put you over the top at your next interview. Get ready to hear those great words, "You're hired!"