By The Editor
If you haven’t noticed it yet, general resumes have drawbacks. One, it’s simply too general for your qualifications to be linked to any specific job. Two, there’s a big chance more than one individual will do your interview which is a major stumbling block on your part. Even if you will ultimately be reporting to one superior, other team members may also be tasked to interview you. When that happens, you can get yourself into trouble, and in any case, a regular customer service cover letter on hand won’t cut it.
Here’s the scenario, the manager of the company asks a subordinate to spend a couple of minutes with the applicant and later asks him what he thinks of the person. Your resume, along with your customer service cover letter, may be impressive. However, the thing is, managers don’t usually give specific outlines about the jobs being filled, or the exact qualifications he is looking for. Therefore, there is really no way for other interviewers to qualify you in a fair and specific manner.
The manager will be out looking for the skills needed for the projects at hand, then the personnel will attempt to match your skills to their so called “description manuals,” while other interviewers will be fumbling in the dark because no one really told them what to look for. These problems will greatly reduce your chances of winning the job offer.
A great strategy that was developed to eliminate this problem is something called the Executive Briefing. Here you are able to customize your resume fast to any specific job and serves as the focus reference of the person doing the interview.
Even if the executive briefing is only one form of a good customer service cover letter, it is worth tackling for an important reason – you are actually in your research and you are going to come across big opportunities even before your brand new resume is done. It allows you to customize and update your old resumes’ very quickly without having to delay other parts of your research.
What makes the Executive Briefing an interesting research tool is its simplicity. The sheet of paper has the company’s requirements for the specific job opening on the left, while your skills that are strategically matched point by point are on the right. This will therefore guarantee that every resume you send out answers the job’s needs and every interviewer in that particular company are sure to interview you for the same position.
Another reason to send an Executive Briefing along with your resume is that it will increase substantially your chances of getting an interview with the company. If this is sent with your resume and not just an ordinary cover letter, the company will get a comprehensive picture of what a thorough professional you are. Not to mention a quick and easy synopsis that gives specific details of how you can contribute greatly with their current needs.
There are a few things you must take note when using this. First, it is naturally restricted to jobs you have seen advertised or discovered through your own efforts. It is not appropriate to send when not all the requirements of the said job are available. Lastly, having the E.B. as your cover letter for your resume will increase your chances greatly that your file will be chosen among the pile in the personnel department and personally delivered to the manager.