Memorable cover letters ignore convention and stupid "rules."

I cannot tell you how many cover letter conversations I've had that go something like this:

Client: "What's the 'right' way to address this?"

Me: "Depends. What's the culture of this organization like? What do you know about that person?"

or

Client: "What if the cover letter goes over one page?"

Me: "No one will die, so long as it's excellent and doesn't rattle on."

or 

Client: "Am I supposed to put two spaces after the date, or four?"

Me: "If this is your main concern, we've probably got some work to do here." 

Hear me out, people. Please.

Hiring managers, recruiters, HR people, and almost every human on the planet (except for those really uptight English majors who cannot read a single document without mentally copy editing the hell out of it) ...?

They don't care about your line spacing correctness.

They don't care if you address them as Ms. Jill Smith or Ms. Smith or just plain Jill (most of the time).

They don't care if you follow every single textbook rule ever written about writing a cover letter, resume or email.

In fact, most prefer that you not.

What they do care about is that you're amazing, cool, original, genuine and CAPABLE OF DOING THAT JOB for which you are applying.

They want to like you, right from the start.

They want to know precisely what's in it for them if they bring you on board.

They want to know that you've cared enough to study their company, and that you have very specific reasons for loving them and wanting to work for them.

They enjoy wit, creativity, humor and yes ... accurate spelling.

(There's a big difference between being uptight about line spacing and being a pathetic speller.)

And so I beggeth you ...

Next time you sit down to write a cover letter, vow to not get uptight about all the tiny little "rules" you've picked up along the way. 

Instead, buck convention. Be memorable.

Nail the stuff that will make you a true standout.

Exceptional grasp of line spacing?

As far as I'm concerned, this is completely optional because guess what?

A perfectly structured crappy cover letter? Is still a crappy cover letter.

Yes, you may crash and burn: Engage anyways.

Today, we have a guest post from recruiter, author and blogger Drew Tewell. He helps people navigate the world of work and is nearly mid-way through a year-long quest to land a guest spot on career and development blogs every week in 2013. We admired his spirit and are happy to introduce Drew here.

Years ago, while hanging out with a couple of friends, I decided to go talk to a girl. I tucked in my shirt, walked up to her and gave her my very best “I’ve noticed you around lately.”

She didn’t say a word. She didn't need to. The cross between annoyance and pity that spread across her face was all I needed as feedback. Without saying another word, I turned around and walked away.

Crash and burn. 

But I didn't let it get me down, and this is key.

Whether personally or professionally, meeting new people is not easy, even for the most extroverted among us. Yet as professionals, most of us realize how vital it is to connect with people and build vibrant and supportive professional networks.

So the question is, how do you pull it off without looking like some dork with a hyper tucked-in shirt, throwing out a cliched one-liner that will, invariably, lead to quizzical, annoyed or pity-filled responses?

My top four thoughts on building professional relationships:

1. Be courageous. The definition of courage is the ability to do something that frightens you. Approaching strangers? Definitely intimidating. But it's through these very moments of boldness that we can build some of our most beneficial, satisfying relationships.
   
   
2. Lead strong. As in, not with the workplace version of "I've noticed you around lately." People appreciate genuinity, thoughtfulness, humor, humility and flattery. Build some of these into your lead on every occasion.
   
   
3. Acknowledge the risk. Go for it anyways.  Of course there's risk when connecting with new people. Even if you consider yourself a world-class reader of people, you still never know with certainty how they are going to respond. Proceed anyways. 
   
   
4. The rewards far outweigh the risks. In our new economy, having influential and supportive people in your corner isn't just a nicety, it's vital to your success. These are the very people who are going to point you to new opportunities, support your learning and growth and stand by your side when you're navigating rough terrain.
   
   Certainly, you're going to approach a dud or two (or even four or five) as you build or strengthen your professional relationships. Who cares? It's better to get the door closed in your face a few times than never go ring the stinking doorbell in the first place. No one ever died (that I know of) from someone turning down their request to connect on LinkedIn. 

The bottom line is that we all need each other. We are literally all in this together.  

So go engage with people, for crying out loud. 

Introduce yourself, with an outstretched hand or an email. Send them a message on LinkedIn or tweet something out to them. Pick up the phone and invite them to lunch. 

Don’t overcomplicate this; just do it. 

And if you crash and burn in grand style, much like I did?

Fuhgettaboutit.

You'll get 'em next time.

In addition to his work as a recruiter and blogger, Drew is the author of the book, The Dream Job Program. You can read his blog and follow him on Twitter.

PROOF: Job seekers who did it.

   

Proof is an occasional series that showcases (and celebrates!) people who employed new job search strategies and landed THE job or promotion they wanted. Today, we feature Vince W. of Portland, Oregon.

He landed in Portland with his bags and a mission.

Well, he landed with two missions:

1. Build a life in Portland, and
2. Continue growing his career as an insanely talented and energetic program manager, preferably within the aerospace industry.

That was Iowa transplant Vince W.'s plan. And he'd cooked up a fairly decent strategy with his former employer, a global corporation with offices around the world, to make it happen.

Unfortunately, their plans changed.  Vince got to Portland, achieving goal #1, but he soon realized that his employer would not be able to place him into a program management position, as initially discussed. So he would either need to work in a completely different role, or leave and go be an amazing program manager elsewhere.

He decided on the latter.

It was around this time that we first met Vince; he ordered a Ridiculously Awesome Resume package.

From the moment Vince rolled into our first Starbucks meeting, it was clear that this guy was a rising star. Articulate, smart and well-dressed, Vince had a near school-boy enthusiasm about him as he talked about his goals.

In spite of his ability to deliver a strong first impression, Vince was starting to become discouraged because he was getting very few calls from recruiters and HR people. And those he was getting? Seemed to be quite unrelated to the types of roles he truly desired.

"I finally realized that these calls were probably my sign that my resume wasn't representing me well, and that I was likely being overlooked for the jobs I really wanted," he said.

We got down to business.

We first tore Vince's resume apart (he was correct; it didn't match up to his dynamite 'in-person' self) and rebuilt it, so that it was smack-in-the-forehead obvious to his target audience that this guy knew program management like nobody's business. We also made it clear that he had highly advantageous skills that would appeal directly to players within the aerospace industry.

Next, we worked on strategy. Since Portland isn't exactly a mecca of aerospace industry jobs, we convinced Vince to stop relying on posted job advertisements (there were few) and, instead, make a short list of companies in Portland for whom he wanted to work. Once he had this, he developed and executed (like a champ) a game plan that involved proactively introducing himself to players within these organizations.

"I made a list of companies that served my industry as well as a few that were in adjacent industries and then I targeted them by following their LinkedIn pages, Twitter pages and Facebook pages," he said. "Then I took it further and introduced myself to as many people close to those companies as I could. And last? I made myself memorable. This has everything to do with being memorable."

(Hilariously, Vince admits that he started introducing himself to others as a hand model. The reactions, he said, were spectacular.)

The part where Vince wins

Vince's strategy won. It wasn't immediate, but his strategy and efforts resulted in an immediate increase in relevant interview invitations. And then they paid off in a huge way:

Last month, Vince accepted a program management position with a wholly owned subsidiary of a global helicopter manufacturing corporation. His new job is the culmination of everything he loves to do: planning, managing schedules, serving as a customer liaison and making sure huge projects are profitable.

He's elated, and hopefully pretty stinking proud.

Vince said that, while his systematic (and impressively organized) approach was vital, the new resume is what clinched it for him.

"I'm 100% positive that my new resume had a huge effect on my landing this new job," he said. "The company I work for has over 220,000 worldwide employees, so the competition is pretty fierce. In order to stand out, I absolutely had to showcase my skills in a clean and professional way and make it instantly clear to recruiters that I was the standout."

As he settles in to his new assignment, Vince offers this advice to other job seekers wondering how to proceed toward their goals:

"Don't delay in getting help like I did. Find a professional that can coach you in a genuine, targeted and motivating way," he said. "You might think you're getting a 'deal' when you find a site with really inexpensive prices for job search support, but it's not a deal if you only get a generic resume and generic answers."

Huge congrats to Vince W.  Mark our words, this guy is going to light the world on fire. In fact, he already is.

Got a Proof story of your own? Please email me at Jenny@JobJenny.com if you’d like to be featured in the series.