--- title: High tech resumes | A Resume For Today | cover letter writing description: cover letter writing | What's new in high tech resumes, executive resumes, cover letters, job search, and personal branding for executives in technology. --- [![A Resume for Today](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/hs-fs/file-324385420-png/images/logo.png?width=285&height=103&name=logo.png "A Resume for Today")](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/) [Home](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/) | [Contact Us](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/contact-us/) | [Blog](http://aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes) ![Phone-icon](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/hs-fs/file-323327772-png/images/Phone.png?width=11&name=Phone.png) 888-737-3963 # Executive Resumes, Personal Branding & Executive Job Search ## [The NEW Cover Letter: 5 Crucial Ways It is Different](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/todays-new-cover-letter-5-crucial-pointers) Posted by [Tyrone Norwood](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/author/tyrone-norwood) Dec 9, 2014 9:47:24 AM ![image-cover-letter](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/hs-fs/hub/34101/file-2186331284.jpg?width=200&name=file-2186331284.jpg) **You'd think something would remain the same in the job search world!** But one of the last bastions, the cover letter, has fallen. Traditionally, cover letters were one-pagers conveying qualifications. Today, two factors have changed how cover letters must be written to get a recruiter to take a closer look: - If the resume gets a 6-second look from recruiters, the cover letter (read by 50%) must get just a glance, certainly not careful consideration of lengthy content - There is much greater competittion in the job market requiring a different approach in terms of message **So, scrap the old cover letter and think about incorporating these elements into your new one:** 1. **Make it short -** 135 words or less - so that the main message can be grasped at a glance 2.** Give it a title,** like this:  "Re: Penetrating Japanese Markets" and place it right before the salutation. This is the **"Secret Ingredient" **that will grab your reader's attention. 3. **In your first short paragraph** provide a match between your position, industry, specialization, and value- added qualifications and the open job you're applying for. 4. **In your second short paragraph or list of 3 bullet points** hit the benefits you have delivered that match what the recruiter will be looking for from a new hire - use numbers such as dollars and percentages. 5. **In your last paragraph **state that you would like to meet in person to discuss the value you can bring to the company. **To sum it up,** make your new cover letter "Short, sweet, and to the point." And "Make them care" to quote my colleague Deb Dibb. If you follow these pointers your cover letter won't be discarded. It will be kept as quick summary showing why you should be contacted. If you're interested in seeing a sample of today's cover letter [CLICK HERE.](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/how-to-write-the-new-cover-letter) More on [cover letter writing.](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/cover-letter-writing) Here's [another](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/bid/85122/Your-Secret-Cover-Letter-Weapon-5-Tricks-to-Pass-the-Initial-Screen) relevant post. Good luck!       [more](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/todays-new-cover-letter-5-crucial-pointers) Topics: [cover letters](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/topic/cover-letters), [cover letter writing](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/topic/cover-letter-writing), [free cover letter sample](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/topic/free-cover-letter-sample), [cover letter example,](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/topic/cover-letter-example), [cover letter sample](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/topic/cover-letter-sample) ## [Your Secret Cover Letter Weapon - 5 Tricks to Pass the Initial Screen](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/bid/85122/Your-Secret-Cover-Letter-Weapon-5-Tricks-to-Pass-the-Initial-Screen) Posted by [Tyrone Norwood](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/high-tech-resumes/author/tyrone-norwood) Jun 19, 2013 3:00:00 PM  ![Cover Letter Secret Weapon](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/hs-fs/file-201100584-jpg/images/image-hr.jpg?width=237&height=157&name=image-hr.jpg) There have been volumes written about [cover letters](https://www.aresumefortoday.com/cover-letter-writing/), but has anyone really addressed the following crucial question and what to do about it? WHO READS IT? That's right, how you write the letter should depend on who's going to read it ***first.*** Take this example. A company is hiring for a CIO, and HR has been given the job description and  requirements for screening purposes.  Since candidates are not screened by the hiring authority (in this case the CEO or the CFO), but rather by HR, your initial and arguably most important audience is an HR person. And do you think the head of HR will be doing the screening of resumes and cover letters? In any company with more than one HR staffperson, the top authority will probably not be the one making the decision to escalate the candidate to the next level. So your future with that company most likely rests in the hands a relatively junior HR staffperson. Will they be sophisticated enough about technology and senior technology roles to interpret your resume and cover letter in light of the job requisition? We can assume that your resume has already passed the keyword electronic screen. So what can you do to help your candidacy make it to the next stage? With your initial audience in mind, here are five things you can do in your cover letter to get past that initial human screen, a very human being whose training is not in your field of expertise. 1. WRITE your cover letter in easy-to-understand terms, avoiding too many multisyllabic words, complex sentence structure, highly abstract concepts, or technical jargon that is not among the keywords for the job. 2.ENGAGE the reader's emotions. Be human. Let the person know that you like the company and what they do. Say why you are interested in the company. Adopt a warm tone.  Infusing this warmth into your writing will help you at this level and won't hurt as your candidacy goes up the ranks to the top hiring authority. 3. IMPRINT a memory in their mind of you by making a connection through story. Try a quick paragraph story that talks about a challenge you faced, what you did, and how it turned out. Indicate why it is relevant to the job at hand.  Stories are remembered far longer than facts, and a person's suitability for a job can be best demonstrated to an unsophisticated audience (or even a sophisticated one) through story. 4. MATCH your background to the requirements in a way that's easy to grasp visually by a non-techie. Consider using a 2-column format with the requirements on the left and your match on the right. I suggest you place this visual after your closure (after "Sincerely, Your Name"), so that the human connection can be made first. Or include a 2nd page addendum with the column matches. 5. HELP the HR screener help you, by stating specifically what you want: an opportunity to speak with the hiring authority about the value you could bring to the company. Thank them for their time. Observe the usual courtesies in writing a cover letter. Address it to the person whose name is given in the job ad. But hold in awareness the likelihood of someone less senior reading it first. Newspapers are written to be read for someone at the 5th grade reading level. Ads also are written for a basic reading level as well. Leave the complex, sophisticated content in the resume, but let your cover letter be your wedge in the door to advance your candidacy. 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