Cold Call Cover Letter
A cold call cover letter is often the trickiest type of cover letter to write, simply because you often have limited information about the company's current staffing needs.
Use these tips to write an outstanding cold contact cover letter:
All cover letters, including cold contact cover letters must be specific and written to address the individual employer's needs.
Avoid turning your job search into simply a numbers game by mass mailing hundreds of cold contact letters that are simply form letters. This strategy is rarely, if ever, worth the time and energy spent. Employers can quickly spot a form letter, and it will not make a good first impression. There are many more beneficial ways to spend your job searching time and energy than mounting a mass mailing campaign.
It's worth every bit of the time and effort it takes to write a great, targeted cover letter for each job you pursue. You might not be able to send out as many resumes as you could in a form letter mass mailing campaign. However, you'll have much better results from sending out fewer cover letters that are outstanding and targeted to each employer's needs than you would from mass mailing a lot of mediocre applications.
Use the Internet, your library and any local career center resources to research each company.
Note your specific area of expertise in the first paragraph of a cold call letter. Don't be too general. A phrase like, "I am seeking a position that will match my skills and qualifications." rarely makes a good impression because it is not specific enough to show the employer that you are sincerely interested in working within some specific area of his or her organization.
Be sure you know the type of work you'd like to do within the company and tell the employer. Don't worry that you won't be considered for other jobs within the company if you are too specific. A targeted cold contact cover letter makes a more positive impression on employers than a general letter. If they feel you'd be a good fit for an opening elsewhere in the company, you will very likely be considered for an interview for that job.
Take your time and do your research when you write your cold call cover letter. Show the employer that you have a specific interest in the company, and that your particular set of skills and qualifications are a great match for the needs of the organization. Quality is far more important than quantity when you are submitting cold call cover letters.
