Must Know Similarities Between Celebrities and Cover Letters

The Success of an endorsement is related to its credibility.

An endorsement from a friend or family member is a powerful driver because of the underlying credibility of the person making the statement. This credibility is the same reason why celebrities are paid monstrous amounts of money to promote a product. A celebrity is the next best thing to a friend or loved one, we feel like we know them and there is a degree of trust stemming from our background knowledge of their lives - staged as it may be. But when that trust is lost, so are the sponsorship payouts. The Tiger Woods story is an example of such a sequence of events.

Research shows that more than half of shoppers purchase their preferred brand even when a less-expensive alternative is available. Brand names, for example, are generally more expensive than generic brands but department stores still report that brand names have an excellent take up from consumers. Why? Because we trust that the brand name will deliver the outcome we desire. If it is a piece of clothing we trust that it will be fashionable, when we buy well known food products we trust that it has been handled hygienically and treated to the correct standards.

So what does this have to do with Cover Letters?

Cover letters promote a product that is close and dear to your heart...yourself. Since you don't have a celebrity promoting your cause, nor do you have a brand name to inspire confidence, the burden of credibility lies solely on the content of the cover letter.

If I told you that my tuna is the best tasting tuna in the world, would you believe me? I may well be telling you the truth but given my credibility, or lack thereof, as a fisherman it is unlikely that my tuna product would make it further than my own dinner table.

So if I told you that I was an outstanding manager, would you believe me? How is it that some people are able to land high level, well paid positions that quite clearly seek the best talent in the field?

Credibility is the key. The reaction from an employer upon hearing that you will 'improve ROI (Return On Investment) by 20%' varies depending on whether the employer actually believes you. And when it comes to magnificent claims there is no greater source of credibility than a well-written clear account of your related experiences and triumphs. One of the main reasons that executives are able to move between high paying roles is because they are able to make statements that provide a clear relationship between previous success and the offered role.

Lets put it all together - Example Cover Letter Response

As an example lets attempt to convince the reader that we can indeed 'improve ROI (Return On Investment) by 20%';

Sample Response: 'By delivering clear and complete information policy at an enterprise level we were able to identify and group common service delivery teams throughout the infrastructure management branch. The consolidation of service delivery functions led to a decrease in administration overhead and travel which in turn translated to a 20% increase in ROI for my existing employer. This outcome, together with similar successes in previous positions leads me to confidently declare that I can deliver a similar result again as an Infrastructure Manager in CompanyX.'

As you can see, the implication in this response is that this executive is confident of delivering a 20% increase in ROI. In order to establish credibility he names the process and outcome of a previous experience that was relevant to the statement. He establishes a brief history and makes a tight connection to the offered role.


Source: http://ezinearticles.com/