There are two approaches you can take. One is to state what you have accomplished in the function you have decided upon as your objective.
In developing the motivation part of your sales letter, don't be afraid to use the words. Granted, most successes are team efforts, but would you have been the one pointed at had things turned sour? If so, there is no reason not to state your accomplishments in the first-person singular. A job campaign is definitely not the time for modesty; if you don't tell your PE what you did, no one else will.
Always use short, dynamic, action words such as directed, led, developed, ran, and managed. A thesaurus will be of assistance in choosing the proper words.
Keep your sentences short and to the point. Write objectively and in a hard-hitting manner, with few adjectives. Let the accomplishments speak for themselves. For example, instead of saying, "I increased sales an incredible 200%," say "I increased sales 200%." Rework your sentences until you get them just right, and check all words for spelling.
Don't cite any accomplishment, no matter how great, unless it supports the job you are seeking. For example, if you are looking for a job in finance and also have an outstanding record in market research, do not describe any of your market research accomplishments unless they relate to finance. Try to state every accomplishment in quantitative terms. Instead of saying, "I gave interviews to a large number of journalists," say, "I gave interviews to 27 journalists." Instead of writing, "I cut cost of sales by a huge percentage," write, "I cut cost of sales by 25%." Don't say, "I prevented a major slippage," say, "I prevented a 4-month slippage."
How to Develop Credibility with Your PE
It is extremely difficult to check on the accomplishments that job hunters claim in their sales letters. Most companies will not release percentage figures, even if known. Nor will they talk about their business in quantitative terms with an executive from another company, especially if that company is a competitor. As a result, many of the accomplishments you have so carefully worked out in quantitative terms cannot be accurately checked. Your PE will recognize this.
How, then, do you establish conviction in the mind of your PE that everything you have said is true? You can do so by stating positive facts about yourself that a PE can check if he desires. You should, for example, state your educational qualifications: "I have a BA in journalism from California State University," or "I have a BS (1962) and MS (1964) in business administration from the University of Wisconsin, specializing in marketing." Or "My BS is in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1954)." Or "I completed my BA in communications at New York University in 1975."
One question that frequently arises is whether you should state your year of graduation. The answer depends on your situation and the kind of job you are seeking. For example, if you are seeking a chief executive officer's position and you are relatively young, you may want to omit the year of your graduation; if you are older, you may want to include it to emphasize the depth of your experience. Before deciding, consider whether your PE would most likely prefer an older or a younger candidate. Any other information that would document your age should be included only if it is in your best interests.
Whenever possible, tailor your education to the specific job. If you have an MBA specializing in marketing and are seeking a marketing position, state the specialty. If the position is not in marketing, state only that you have an MBA. If you have a BS in industrial engineering specializing in human engineering, do not state your specialty unless the job you are seeking is related to it. The principle, as always, is to insure that every bit of information contained in your sales letter supports your job objective.
What if you haven't graduated from college or haven't attended college? Find something else in your background to use. If you have a professional license of one kind or another-CPA, professional engineer, and so on-use it. If you attended a school but did not graduate, state your educational qualifications in this way: "I attended the University of Minnesota (mechanical engineering)." If you attended more than one school without graduating, you can use this format: "I attended Baltimore City College (business administration), the University of Maryland (business administration), and the University of Pennsylvania (business administration and management)."
If you are not a college graduate but feel you must have a degree in order to obtain a superior job, you might consider enrolling in one of the many non accredited institutions across the country. These schools are variously called "universities without walls" or "nontraditional colleges." Some are clearly "diploma mills," though few would admit to being in the last category. They offer non accredited degrees based to a varying extent on life experiences. Thus for a fixed sum, which depends on the school, you can become in some cases an almost instant college graduate.
To find out how such institutions operate under the law, I contacted the California Board of Education and discovered that California, like many states, has several classes of college-type institutions. The highest is the one we are all familiar with: an institution that has been accredited by the state. Next on the list is an institution that the state has recommended for accreditation but has not yet accepted. Then comes, the lowest class: the state "empowers" the institution to grant degrees but makes no comment on the quality of the education given. At the time of my call, the basic requirement for this legal "empowerment" was incorporation under state laws with $50,000 in educational equipment. Naturally, this figure is subject to change and undoubtedly varies from state to state.
If you are interested in this type of program, check The Wall Street Journal, the business section of your local paper, or the Yellow Pages of your phone book. You can also call your state's Board of Education. A number of non accredited schools are available to choose from.
I am mentioning these schools primarily because of the relative ease and speed with which they can make you a "college graduate." However, I should also state that in some cases the quality of the education they offer is quite high and no less an institution than Harvard accepts credit-hour transfers from one of these non accredited schools.
The Secret of Calling of Your Sales Letter
The last part of your sales letter is the call to action. You must indicate to your PE exactly what you want him to do-namely, to invite you in for an interview. Here are several variations:
- "I would be happy to discuss further details of my experience in a personal interview."
- "I am prepared to discuss additional facts concerning my background in a face-to-face interview."
- "Please call me after 5:30 any day for a personal interview."
