The cover letter is more than a wall of text to toss aside and move on to the resume. In fact, the cover letter offers Atlanta headhunters a wealth of knowledge that a resume cannot.
Unfortunately, some candidates can become too wordy with their CV, making it impossible to sift through and find the most important facts.
While Jeff Lareau on LinkedIn mentions that 60 percent of recruiters do not read cover letters, those that want to hire the top talent do.
There are certain things headhunters will look for in a cover letter. These items tell them about the candidate’s potential, and whether their resume is worth considering.
Five Items to Look for on a Candidate’s Cover Letter
1. A Strong Personal Statement
A good cover letter is one that contains a strong personal statement, an opening paragraph or point of contact. According to The Writing Center, this opener is what essentially introduces the candidate to Atlanta headhunters.
It only needs to be 30 to 60 words, and a powerful statement that talks about abilities, achievements, career motivations, and more. It is by no means a standardized line.
2. Work History
The most recent work is the most relevant and the most interesting to Atlanta headhunters.
Therefore, this is the information that is at the beginning of the cover letter (or should be, at least). This information tells the potential recruiter about the candidate’s work experience and how that past job is relevant to the new job.
Recruiters look for the candidate’s “shining moment” in this segment. They want to see how this position holds up to the one the candidate is seeking, and how their experience can be leveraged to make them a great hire for the role.
3. Keywords
When scanning a person’s cover letter, a headhunter will look for particular keywords.
These keywords are what match up with the skills and experience requirements for the job they are recruiting. They may focus on words that are unique to experience and, most important, they will look to see if the candidate just copied and pasted from the job post.
4. Explanation of Gaps
Gaps on the resume should be covered in the CV. When a headhunter notices a gap, they reflect back on the cover letter to see if those employment gaps were addressed.
When the candidate leaves out information explaining any employment gaps, it leaves the recruiter thinking there may be something to hide.
5. Grammar and Spelling
The best way to judge a candidate’s communication skills is to assess the grammar and spelling of their cover letter.
Bad spelling and awkward sentences are easy to avoid, and a recruiter will notice if the candidate seems to have rushed through the cover letter or if they took the time to write something outstanding.
Need Help Sifting Through the Resumes and Cover Letters?
Sometimes reading the cover letters and resumes to pinpoint the ideal candidate is not easy.
That is where Crawford Thomas comes in. The Atlanta headhunters at Crawford Thomas help find the right candidates, know how to scan cover letters, and have the interview skills to find top talent.
Schedule a consultation now by contacting the Crawford Thomas team online.